Exclusive: European Commission draws environmental concerns over proposed EUDR one year delay
EU flags waving in front of European Parliament building. Brussels, Belgium
The European Commission has proposed a year-long delay to its landmark EUDR frameworks aimed at tackling deforestation within key supply chains including, cocoa and palm oil, drawing sharp criticism from environmental groups including Mighty Earth, writes Neill Barston.
According to the EU authority, the reversal of its previous position on firmly implementing the scheme from its original date of 30 December 2024, has been down to ‘feedback from international partners’ on their state of preparedness for implementing the policy – which was agreed 18 months ago.
But the move, that came in the wake of pressure from the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and a number of other nations within the EU bloc, will now have to be ratified by the European Parliament, with a new proposed start date of 30 December 2025. It has been seen as an especially crucial piece of legislation for the cocoa sector in particular, with major manufacturers, as well as SME’s and farming communities having already spent considerable time in readying themselves for its expected delivery in under three months’ time.
Cocoa Farming in Ivory Coast. Pic: Barry Callebaut
According to a statement released today, the EU Commission asserted that there ‘would be no change to the substance’ of the agreements – but it has already seen the plans condemned by Mighty Earth, as being detrimental to global environments, with considerable forest loss over the past five decades down to a raft of industries commercial activities, including the cocoa and chocolate sector operating in West Africa.
Speaking on the proposals, Julian Oram, Senior Policy Director for Mighty Earth, he stated that the impact of further delay would have clear negative environmental consequences.
He said: “Delaying the EUDR is like throwing a fire extinguisher out of the window of a burning building. It’s an act of Nature vandalism that will serve only to drive more industrial destruction of tropical forests, threatening the people and wildlife who depend on them, while pushing climate and nature goals out of reach,” adding that the proposal appeared to signal that EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen had bowed to pressure from lobbyists.
“Shelving the one piece of legislation that would have a huge impact on tackling the climate and nature emergency is a betrayal of present and future generations of EU citizens and a decision that will come back to haunt Europe,” asserted Oram in his assessment of the proposals.
Moreover, concerns were also reinforced as regards the impact on any proposed delay on enabling greater protection for farming communities. Richard Pearshouse, environment and human rights director at Human Rights Watch stated that the legislation should be enacted as originally planned.
He said: “The need for the EUDR is as pressing as ever for the world’s forests and those on the front lines of deforestation. This proposed delay would enable at least one more year of deforestation and human rights violations in the supply chains of products widely consumed by Europeans. The European Parliament and Council should oppose this delay and remind Ursula von der Leyen of the urgency of enforcing this landmark environmental law that was so painstakingly crafted and agreed upon.”
However, the EU Commission said that it remained fully behind the legislation, and that it is releasing additional guidance documents – that had been repeatedly requested by a range of organisations including Caobisco European confectionery group, and the European Cocoa Association, which had just this week sought clarity on the existing EUDR plans, which they had fully backed.
In a statement, the Commission said: “Given feedback received from international partners about their state of preparations, the Commission also proposes to give concerned parties additional time to prepare. If approved by the European Parliament and the Council, it would make the law applicable on 30 December 2025 for large companies and 30 June 2026 for micro- and small enterprises. Since all the implementation tools are technically ready, the extra 12 months can serve as a phasing-in period to ensure proper and effective implementation.
“The guidance presented today will provide additional clarity to companies and enforcing authorities to facilitate the application of the rules, coming on top of the Commission’s continuous support for stakeholders since the law’s adoption. At the same time, the Commission recognises that three months ahead of the intended implementation date, several global partners have repeatedly expressed concerns about their state of preparedness, most recently during the United Nations General Assembly week in New York. Moreover, the state of preparations amongst stakeholders in Europe is also uneven. While many expect to be ready in time, thanks to intensive preparations, others have expressed concerns.”
Additional initiative guidance
As the Commission asserted, its latest communication stated that it is releasing long-awaited details on the functionalities of the Information System, updates on penalties, and clarifications on critical definitions such as ‘forest degradation’, ‘operator’ in the scope of the law, and ‘placing on the market’. There is also further guidance on traceability obligations.
According to the EU, the guidance is divided into 11 chapters covering a diverse range of issues such as legality requirements, timeframe of application, agricultural use, and clarifications on the product scope, which it stated would be backed-up by tangible examples to add further clarity.
It is also releasing more than 40 FAQ areas surrounding the legislation in response to a considerable array of questions raised by stakeholders connected to its delivery around the world, which also included information available to the public for how the scheme would be rolled-out.
pic: shutterstock
Methodology
One of the most significant areas of concern had surrounded methodology and benchmarking for EUDR, and it is now set to release its benchmarking parameter for low, standard or high risk countries in relation to their positions in relation to levels of deforestation. The Commission claimed this would provide reassurance for those organisations that will be monitoring the due diligence processes behind the scheme.
Furthermore, it said a large majority of countries worldwide will be classified as ‘low risk’. This will give the opportunity to focus collective efforts where deforestation challenges are more acute.
As part of its revised plans, the EU Commission said that together with the European External Action Service will deliver a strategic framework for international cooperation engagement on the EU Deforestation Regulation.
According to the EU body this is set to identifies five priority areas of action such as support to smallholders, eight key principles such as a human rights-centred approach, and several implementation tools including dialogue and financing. This comprehensive framework will aim to promote a just and inclusive transition to deforestation-free agricultural supply chains leaving no one behind. While the EU will step up dialogue and support even further, the partnership’s success will also rest on EU partners’ commitment to deliver on global targets to halt deforestation.
Another crucial area to the scheme has been at the heart of the project is the IT platform monitoring the project in terms of registration of due diligence performance. According to the EU, this is now ready to start from early November, and companies can register their due diligence statements is ready to start accepting registrations in early November and for full operation in December. Operators and traders will be able to register and submit due diligence statements even before the law’s entry into application.
The Commission invited firms and stakeholders to complete their connections, testing and training for the use of the IT System, and also stated it intended to intensify dialogue with countries as they implemented the proposals – with an implementing act due in June 2025. But this will only happen if its revised timeline is adopted by the European Parliament – with the legislation proving notably divisive, with some political groups previously having called for a two-year delay to beginning the scheme.
Support for delay
While concerns have been expressed about any delays to the project, including from Tony’s Chocolonely impact brand earlier this week, the latest proposals were supported by the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, which had feared there was insufficient time for farming communities to prepare for the initiative.
In a statement, it said: “The Indonesian palm oil community welcomes the Commission’s proposed delay. Indonesia has been underlining the problems with EUDR for more than a year, and our calls have been listened to.”
“We also welcome the strengthened international cooperation framework and new guidance for those in the supply chain.
“Despite the steps today, our three key concerns remain: the exclusion of smallholders, support for our national certification and compliance systems, and recognition of Indonesia’s anti-deforestation efforts. We look forward to working cooperatively with the EU going forward on this and other issues going forward.
“We are aware that the proposal must be approved by the EU parliament and member states, and trust they also recognise the need for the delay and the concerns of Indonesia and Europe’s other major trading partners.”
- Do you have a view on the proposed delay of one year for EUDR environmental legislation? contact me, Editor Neill Barston at [email protected]
