Most EU countries, including the Czech Republic, are calling for changes to the deforestation regulation

Brussels – Most EU member states, including the Czech Republic, are calling for further changes to the widely discussed regulation on deforestation. This is evident from a letter available to ČTK, sent to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The letter was also signed by Czech Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný and 17 other ministers from the current twenty-seven.

“The regulation in its current form does not sufficiently take into account countries with effective laws for forest protection and negligible deforestation risk,” the letter states. “Instead of focusing the regulation on deforestation where the risk is highest, it imposes disproportionate bureaucratic obligations on countries where deforestation is demonstrably insignificant,” the document adds.

The regulation was originally set to take effect at the end of 2024. The European Commission subsequently proposed postponing its implementation by a year. This came after criticism from companies, some member states including the Czech Republic, and part of the trading partners of the twenty-seven. The new rules are expected to take effect from December 30, 2025.

The signatories of the letter demand that EU rules not be applied to countries where the risk of deforestation is considered low. “Excessive and redundant due diligence requirements should be removed in countries where agricultural expansion does not significantly reduce forest area,” it states. “In countries designated as low-risk deforestation countries, it should be accepted that existing national systems are sufficiently robust to demonstrate that compliance with the deforestation regulation can be properly monitored,” the document adds.

The Czech Minister of Agriculture has criticized the regulation several times. “While we do not question the global problem of deforestation, it is not an issue that the Czech Republic or most EU member states are experiencing. The problem lies elsewhere, and it is necessary that it does not impact our farmers, our foresters, our traders,” he stated at a meeting in Brussels at the end of May. (July 7)