(AGENPARL) - Roma, 3 Dicembre 2024 - (AGENPARL) – mar 03 dicembre 2024 None [1] Press service ** European Parliament **
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Press release 03-12-2024 ENVI   None [3] Deforestation law: agreement with Council gives companies extra year to comply
• New rules to apply from 30 December 2025 instead of 2024
• The Commission will consider simplified requirements for countries with sustainable forest management practices
• An area larger than the EU was lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020
Companies will have one more year to adapt to new EU rules to prevent deforestation, which will ban the sale of products sourced from deforested land in the EU.
On Tuesday evening, negotiators from the Parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement to postpone the application of the new rules. Large operators and traders will now have to respect the obligations stemming from this regulation as of 30 December 2025, and micro- and small enterprises from 30 June 2026. This additional time is intended to help companies around the world implement the rules smoothly from the start, without undermining the objectives of the law.
The Commission proposed postponing the application date of the deforestation regulation by one year [4] in response to concerns raised by EU member states, non-EU countries, traders and operators that they would not be able to fully comply with the rules if applied as of the end of 2024.
Following amendments from Parliament [5] to create a new category of countries posing “no risk” on deforestation, the Commission promised a future assessment of simplified requirements for countries that have demonstrated effective and sustainable forest management practices.
An “emergency break” was also included so that the Regulation could be further postponed if the online platform for companies is not fully operational by 30 December 2025 or if the risk classifications of countries is not published at least six months before.
Quote*
After the deal, Parliament’s rapporteur Christine Schneider [6] (EPP, DE) said: “We promised and delivered: The one year postponement is agreed, so that businesses, foresters, farmers and authorities will have an additional year to prepare. In addition, we ensured that the Commission will complete the online platform and the risk categorisation in due time giving more predictability for all in the supply chain. Last but not least, an impact assessment and further simplification is to follow in the review stage for the low risk countries or regions giving countries an incentive to improve their forest conservation practices.
We would have preferred to see these improvements directly enshrined in the law, but Council refused disappointingly. It is now up to the Commission to deliver on its commitments. As Parliament, we will closely monitor this process, as reducing bureaucracy is urgently needed.”
Next steps*
The vote on the informal agreement between the colegislators will be added to the agenda of Parliament’s next plenary session (16-19 December). In order for the postponement to enter into force, the agreed text has to be endorsed by both Parliament and Council and published in the EU Official Journal before the end of the year.
Background*
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates [7] that 420 million hectares of forest — an area larger than the EU — were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020. EU consumption represents around 10% of global deforestation [8] . Palm oil and soya account for more than two-thirds [9] of this.
The deforestation regulation [10], adopted by Parliament on 19 April 2023, aims to fight climate change and biodiversity loss by preventing the deforestation related to EU consumption of products from cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm-oil, soya, wood, rubber, charcoal and printed paper. Already in force since 29 June 2023, its provisions were to be applied by companies from 30 December 2024.
  –> Further information None [11] Procedure file None [12] Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 as regards provisions relating to the date of application None [13] EP research: Towards deforestation-free commodities and products in the EU None [14] Commission Fact Sheet on deforestation None [15] EP Multimedia Centre: Free photos, videos and audio material None [16] Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
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