The European Parliament supported a one-year delay to a landmark law to curb deforestation across the world and sought to soften compliance requirements that have raised concerns about the measure’s administrative burden and impact on trade.
According to Bloomberg, members of the EU assembly voted in Strasbourg, France, to amend the bloc’s Deforestation Regulation.The postponement they endorsed is in line with the position that member states agreed on at a meeting last week.
The regulation, known as European Nation Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), aims to tackle the felling of trees associated with imports into the bloc of key commodities from soybeans and coffee to cocoa and palm oil. But it’s faced criticism at home and abroad over its excessive burden and the lack of readiness of companies.
It’s also twice as long as originally proposed by the European Commission and removes the need for an extra six-month grace period put forward by the EU executive.
In the next step, representatives of member states and the parliament will hold talks to iron out the final shape of the regulation. Unless amended by the end of the year, the law in its current form is set to take effect in late December, adding to the urgency for reaching a final deal.
