Turbulent session – EU deforestation law: changes forced

The EU’s deforestation law is intended to prevent products entering or being exported from the European market whose production involved deforestation – that is, an area of ​​forest permanently converted into agricultural land. In addition to wood, livestock, soy, cocoa, coffee, palm oil and rubber are also mentioned as affected goods. Farmers or forest owners should therefore submit a due diligence declaration including geodata before they are allowed to market a product. However, there are exceptions for small and medium-sized businesses.

The original plan was only to delay by 12 months the entry into force of the rules of the already adopted EU legislation. However, the EPP tabled further amendments just days before the vote. Accordingly, the European Commission should now be able to identify countries or regions where there is no risk of deforestation. Products from these areas would then be largely exempt from the rules of the regulation.

The vote on Thursday was partly chaotic and was accompanied by technical problems. Several MPs complained that their voting machines sometimes did not work. Given the very close results for some amendments, some parliamentarians called for a new vote, which was rejected by parliament speaker Roberta Metsola (EPP). The result was indignant shouts. The vote on the entire text (planned postponement plus accepted motions) was quite clear, with 371 votes in favor, 240 rejections and 30 abstentions.

FPÖ criticizes ÖVP’s change of heart
“The EU Deforestation Regulation is completely inappropriate. Postponement or cosmetic corrections will not solve this problem,” FPÖ EU MP Roman Haider responded in a broadcast. He also criticized the ÖVP for voting in favor of the original deforestation regulation in spring 2023 and now wanting to implement changes.

“I do not see any added value for Austria and Styria in the current regulations,” said ÖVP EU MP Reinhold Lopatka. “Today’s amendment of the EU Deforestation Regulation by the European Parliament to include a zero risk category for states and the one-year postponement are the first important steps towards reducing bureaucracy and excessive regulation in this legislature. ”

“Making profit obvious in Europe and internationally is a serious mistake for which many generations after us will have to pay dearly,” lamented SPÖ-EU MP Günther Sidl. He is particularly critical of the EPP’s cooperation with the far-right forces in the EU Parliament.

“This patronage policy for the forestry sector also puts European forests at risk, because EU member states can now claim that everything is fine here,” said Green MEP Thomas Waitz. “The introduction of a new category for countries said to be at no risk of deforestation could also mean that even third countries, such as possibly China, would have to carry out fewer or no checks.”

Business associations are cheering
The affected business associations from Austria were satisfied with today’s result. WKÖ trade chairman Rainer Trefelik speaks of “a temporary victory for reason”. “Postponing the EU deforestation regulation is a first step without an alternative” for Renate Scheichelbauer-Schuster, president of the WKÖ Federal Department for Trade and Crafts. For WKÖ Secretary General Karlheinz Kopf, “a final agreement between the Council and Parliament is needed quickly.”

Environmental organizations are shocked
There is disgust among environmentalists. “For months, individual member states – especially Austria under ÖVP Agriculture Minister Totschnig – have blocked the implementation of the law,” Greenpeace spokeswoman Ursula Bittner wrote in a press statement. “Forests are our closest allies in the fight against the climate and species crisis. After today’s vote, we are faced with a law that exempts some countries without control, creating numerous loopholes.”