EU agrees on rules for rainforest deforestation

Brussels – EU legislators have reached a provisional agreement on rules against the destruction of rainforests.

“The purpose is to simplify the implementation of the existing rules and postpone their introduction in order to give operators, traders and authorities the opportunity to prepare in an adequate manner,” the Council of Ministers writes in a press release.

The so-called deforestation regulation, EUDR, aims, among other things, to stop the import of products produced on land where rainforest has recently been cleared. However, there has been sharp criticism from several countries outside Europe as well as from companies and forestry companies in Europe, which have been worried about excessive administration and bureaucracy.

The regulation is expected to enter into force only on 30 December 2026 after the EU Parliament decided in November to postpone it for another year. The postponement of the rules and their becoming less strict has in turn been criticized by environmental organizations.

The agreement to further postpone measures intended to save the rainforest is now receiving harsh criticism from environmental quarters.

(4 December)