Update – December 18, 2024
The European Parliament in Strasbourg has voted by a large majority to postpone the implementation of the EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains by one year, without making any changes to the content of the EUDR, though. Thus, the decision reached during the trilogue negotiations between the Council, the Parliament and the Commission on December 3 was confirmed without any further changes, as table.media reports.
November 14, 2024
“Today's vote is a significant success for the forestry sector and Europe as a business location. It is gratifying that it is finally being recognized that countries like Austria, which make a sustainable contribution to environmental and climate protection, should not be burdened with disproportionate bureaucratic effort,” commented Konrad Mylius, President of Land&Forst Betriebe Österreich, on the vote and Herbert Jöbstl, Chairman of the Austrian Timber Industry Association, also agrees with the content: ”The timber industry welcomes the majority in the European Parliament to improve the content of the EUDR.”
According to Jöbstl, the adopted amendments now make it possible “to make the EUDR applicable in practice and thus to realistically achieve the correct objective of the EUDR in the first place.”
Specifically, the proposed amendment, which is now in final negotiations with the European member states, includes a so-called “no-risk” category. This provides for documentation obligations with less bureaucratic effort instead of comprehensive information obligations, according to a press release from Land&Forst Betriebe Österreich.
Jöbstl also emphasizes how important it would be to reduce bureaucracy: “Especially for the many small and medium-sized family businesses in Austria and Europe, the implementation of the EUDR can thus result in fewer burdens that would otherwise be almost impossible to manage”. The trade association chairman also criticizes the original design of the EUDR directive: “Some players got lost in the EUDR's jungle of paragraphs and confused the continents. Deforestation does not take place in Europe or in Austria. Strict forestry laws and responsible forest owners have ensured that our forests have been growing for decades.”
German associations such as the Association of the German Sawmill and Timber Industry (DeSH) and Die Waldeigentümer (AGDW) also welcome the postponement and debureaucratization of the EUDR.
The EUDR guidelines, including the FAQ document, were finally translated into German a few days ago. You can find more details here.
October 17, 2024
Voices have long been raised within the forestry and timber industry that an extension of the implementation deadline for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) beyond December 30, 2024 is necessary. In response to increasing pressure from business and politics, the European Commission agreed to extend the transitional period by twelve months at the beginning of October. On October 16, the EU Council agreed to the postponement.
The European Council stated that this postponement will allow third countries, member states, operators and traders to fully comply with their due diligence obligations to ensure that certain raw materials and products sold in or exported from the EU are deforestation-free.
The Deforestation Regulation has already been in force since June 29, 2023 and its provisions are due to be implemented from December 30, 2024. The Council has now agreed to the EU Commission’s proposal to delay the application date of the regulation by one year.
Pending the approval by the European Parliament, the obligations set out in this regulation will come into force on the following dates:
- December 30, 2025 for large operators and traders
- June 30, 2026 for micro- and small enterprises
The Council stresses that the targeted amendment will not affect the substance of the already existing rules. The Council will now inform the European Parliament of its position so that the latter can take a decision on its position. The aim is to have the regulation formally adopted by both co-legislators and published in the Official Journal of the EU so that it can enter into force by the end of the year.
The Commission submitted its proposal on postponing the application date of the deforestation regulation in response to concerns raised by member states, third countries, traders and operators that there was a risk that they would not be able to fully comply with the rules by December 31, 2024.
October 3, 2024
Just a few weeks ago, the German Timber Trade Association GD Holz called on the EU Commission to postpone the entry into force of the EUDR. Promised assistance on the part of the Commission, e.g. in the form of FAQs on the EUDR or a planned guide to its implementation, was already months late at that time. Such instructions for the legally secure and practical application of the EUDR within the forestry industry have been drawn up by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture – but the Ministry also shared the calls for a postponement. In an interview with HolzkurierTV at the International Wood Fair in Klagenfurt, Monika Zechner, chairwoman of the Styrian timber industry, called the EUDR “a bureaucratic disaster” whose requirements are still not clear.
The issue recently came to a head when 76 industry associations again called for a postponement of at least two years in a joint letter to the Commission.
Approval from the European Parliament and Council still pending
In response, the EU Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen announced a few days ago that she wanted to re-examine the implementation schedule and reconsider the timetable. Now, it has been decided that the implementation period will be extended by twelve months, meaning that the new law should only come into force on December 30, 2025 for large businesses and six months later for SMEs. The ball is now in the European Parliament’s court, which must approve the proposed amendment together with the European Council.
Austrian and German associations and interest groups welcome von der Leyen’s decision:
An extended implementation period of the EUDR was long overdue. We welcome the fact that the EU Commission listened to the many critical voices from business and the member states. Since June 2023, the EU has not managed to answer key questions about the regulation in a way that allows our companies to implement the EUDR in a legally secure and economical manner.
Revision urgently needed
The postponement is just the first important step – a revision of the EU regulation is said to be essential. “It’s just not right to put regions with a demonstrably stable or increasing forested area and strict regulations for forest management, such as Austria, in the same category like overseas regions where overexploitation and deforestation are an issue,” Rudolf Rosenstatter, chairman of the Austrian Forest Association comments. “Now, the EU has to take the opportunity and adapt the deforestation regulation in a way to make it practical for everyone who already relies on sustainable and active forest management without illegal deforestation,” Martin Kubli, Secretary General of Land&Forst Betriebe Österreich, demands.
In Germany, a specific proposal has already been made by Andreas Bittner, President of the AGDW (Committee of German Forest Owners’ Associations): “A two-stage procedure needs to be included in the EUDR. If there is no proof of deforestation in a country, no specific procedure should be required at company level.”
The German Forestry Council (DFWR) is already optimistic following the announcement of the planned postponement. “This is great news and a relief for the entire forestry and timber industry in Europe,” the DFWR’s President Georg Schirmbeck says, thanking the decision-makers in Brussels who “recognized the urgency of a postponement.”
