The new proposals to simplify the EU’s Deforestation Regulation, announced by the European Commission today, are a step in the right direction and should be fast-tracked. However, the details require scrutiny to ensure the measures will be effective and provide real relief for the small and micro-enterprises affected, EPP Group MEPs have said.
“We acknowledge that the European Commission has taken action. The proposed amendments are fundamentally a step in the right direction: they provide noticeable simplifications and finally address many of the concerns we have long raised. The decisive factor now will be whether these changes actually solve the problems our businesses face in practice”, said Christine Schneider MEP, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the file.
“Among other things, the amendments provide exemptions for small and micro-enterprises from countries with a low risk of deforestation. For these, the previous due diligence obligations will be simplified. In addition, the principle of the first distributor is to be established. This means that in future it will be possible to refer to the due diligence declaration of the first distributor, which in turn will ease the burden on the supply chain. This is a major success for the EPP Group”, Schneider continued.
“It is an important signal that those who operate in a deforestation-free manner should no longer suffer under a mountain of bureaucracy. Our goal is a fast-track procedure so that businesses can obtain legal certainty and practical simplifications as soon as possible”, Schneider stressed.
“The EPP Group will now examine the proposal in detail before making a final judgement”, adds Peter Liese MEP, the EPP Group’s Spokesman on Environment. “The legitimate concerns of businesses, forest owners and farmers are being taken seriously. Of course, global deforestation is a worldwide problem, but we must be careful not to create a bureaucratic monster in our efforts to combat it. We will examine the details of the proposal very carefully now and then decide on our final opinion.
Fonte: EPP
