"EU deforestation law: Parliament wants to give companies one more year to comply," 14 November 2024

EU deforestation obligations will be postponed one year so that companies can comply with the law that ensures products sold in the EU are not sourced from deforested land.

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 end of 2024, the Commission proposed postponing the application date of the deforestation regulation by one year. Plenary agreed in October 2024 to deal with the proposal under the urgency procedure - Rule 170(6). Today, it agreed to this postponement as well as other amendments with 371 votes to 240 and 30 abstentions...

Parliament also adopted other amendments proposed by the political groups, including the creation of a new category of countries posing “no risk” on deforestation in addition to the existing three categories of “low”, “standard” and “high” risk. Countries classified as “no risk”, defined as countries with stable or increasing forest area development, would face significantly less stringent requirements as there is a negligible or non-existent risk of deforestation. The Commission will have to finalise a country benchmarking system by 30 June 2025.

Next steps

Parliament decided to refer this file back to committee for interinstitutional negotiations. In order for these changes to enter into force, the agreed text will have to be endorsed by both Council and Parliament and published in the EU Official Journal.

See also: Voices from civil society have criticised the decision-making process and proposed delay