UPDATES ON THE EU DEFORESTATION REGULATION (EUDR)
Background: Related Legislation and Strategies
The EUDR builds on existing EU policies, including the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan and the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). While the FLEGT Action Plan addresses illegal logging and associated trade, it does not directly tackle deforestation. The EUTR, which prohibits the placement of illegally harvested timber on the EU market, will eventually be repealed and replaced by the more comprehensive EUDR.
This regulation aligns with the EU’s 2019 Communication on Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests, the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030.
Deliverables, Implementation and Compliance
- Due Diligence Obligations: establishment of comprehensive due diligence systems to trace the origins of companies’ products. This includes collecting detailed geolocation data and conducting rigorous risk assessments to ensure compliance with anti-deforestation criteria.
- Reporting and Transparency: Businesses are required to submit regular reports detailing their due diligence efforts. This transparency ensures that the public and regulators can verify compliance with the EUDR.
- Penalties for Non-compliance: The regulation includes stringent penalties for non-compliance, ranging from fines to bans on placing non-compliant products on the EU market.
Key Deliverables
- FAQs: Update announced for May 2024 but is delayed. More than 40 new questions and answers, as well as additional clarifications on existing questions are expected.
- Guidance: Still missing. No consultation is foreseen prior to publication.
- Benchmarking: Guidehouse and European Commission are currently collecting data. More information will be provided in due time.
- Information System: Ongoing API conformance testing. More than 70 companies have applied and are reaching the lasts steps. No second testing foreseen.
Scheme on API Conformance Tests for the EUDR Information System
EPF Summary position and sustainability commitment
- Supporting the fight against global deforestation. It is essential to mitigate climate change, preserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable raw materials and supply chains.
- Strong commitment to meeting the requirements of EUDR in full such that WPB placed on the European market may remain role model products.
- Ensuring full compliance for producers: the European Commission and national competent authorities shall provide them with sufficient time to adapt, right guidance for implementation and efficient tools to do so.
EPF Next Steps
- Continuous advocacy with focus on 3 key elements:
- Compliance: following legislation.
- Non-compliance: non-EU imports to be held to the same standards.
- Fair Transition Period: the EUDR requires time and information to be implemented successfully.
- Next Steps related to EUDR Advocacy actions will be discussed after publication of the Guidelines and the FAQs.
- Joint Statement on EUDR – 25 September 2024
- EUDR Update for users of wood-based panels – July 2024
- EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)
- 220920 Forest-based industries considerations on the Deforestation regulation
- EP Text Adopted Deforestation and Forest Degradation
- Statement of the Forest-based Industries on the ENVI Draft Report on Deforestation Regulation
- ANNEX – Proposal for amendments
- Joint_Letter to the Council of the EU on the proposed Deforestation Regulation
- Factsheet_on_Deforestation
- Proposal for a Regulation on deforestation-free products COM(2021)706 – Annexes
- Proposal for a Regulation on deforestation-free products COM(2021)706
- SWD Executive Summary – Fitness Check on the EU Timber Regulation and the FLEGT Regulation
- SWD Executive Summary of the Impact Assessment “Minimising the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with products placed on the EU market”
- EPF Answers – EU Timber Regulation and FLEGT Regulation Fitness Check
- EPF response on Deforestation and Forest Products Impact Assessment