KUCHING: It’s confirmed — the implementation of the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has been delayed by 12 months to December 2025.
This follows the decisive vote in the European Parliament for the postponement as well as other amendments last week (371 votes to 240 and 30 abstentions).
The European Commission (EC) had earlier proposed delaying the implementation of the EUDR by one year in response to concerns raised by EU member states and non-EU countries, traders and operators that they would not be able to fully comply with the rules if applied as of end of 2024, said a press release from European Parliament.
The postponement grants larger operators until December 30, 2025 and smaller enterprises until June 30, 2026 to achieve compliance. Additionally, the benchmarking system has also been extended to June 30, 2025.
The EUDR, adopted by European Parliament in 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.
Among the amendments approved was one which introduces a “ no-risk” country category into the law, and the criteria for risk assessment included. “No-risk” is defined as “countries with stable or increasing forest area development” and such countries “would face significantly less stringent requirements.”
This new category is designed to ease compliance obligations for businesses sourcing materials from countries deem “ no risk.” For instance, operators sourcing from “ no risk” countries are exempt from submitting due diligence statements,
geolocation data, and harvest dates for land involved. In contrast, those operating in higher-risk categories must comply with the full set of EUDR requirements.
Operators placing, making available or exporting relevant commodities and products originating from countries or regions classified as “no-risk” under Article 29 must comply with documentation requirements by providing the following information to competent authorities upon request:
* Trade name and product type of the relevant items;
* Quantity of the relevant commodities or products;
* Country of production and, where applicable, specific regions within that country;
* Supplier information, including name, postal address and email address of the business or individual providing the products;
* Recipient information, including name, postal address, and email address of the business, operator or trader receiving the products;
* Verified evidence confirming that the products are free from forest degradation, and
* Verified evidence demonstrating that the commodities were produced in compliance with the legal requirements of the production country.
For a country to be designated as “ no risk”, it must meet the following criteria:
(1) Forest Stability: forested areas must have remained stable or increased since 1990;
(2) Global Commitments: country must be a signatory of the Paris Agreement and other relevant international conventions on human rights and forest conservation, and
(3) Regulatory Enforcement: National forest conservation laws must be fully enforced with transparent monitoring.
It was reported that the addition of the “no risk” category has displeased critics who argue that it undermine the regulation’s climate-saving objectives.
“This change has sparked criticism from environmental groups for undermining the regulation’s effectiveness. Critics warn that the “no-risk” category could open the way for resource laundering, where products from high-risk countries could be routed through no-risk nation,” reported International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report (November 1-15, 2024).
Environmental advocacy groups had called the amendment a step backward. These organisations viewed the proposal as a “terrible signal” regarding potential inequity among enforcement.
