The head of environment policy for the European People’s Party (EPP), which recently won the EU elections, has called for a two-year delay to new market restrictions aimed at preventing deforestation outside the EU.
Peter Liese, a prominent lawmaker and MEP since 1994, told Euronews that recent discussions with European Commission officials have highlighted significant challenges that cannot be addressed without postponing the new law. He suggested a two-year delay as a reasonable timeframe.
Liese, who was re-elected this year, expressed support for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) but criticized its current form, describing it as a “bureaucratic monster” created by a majority of Greens, Social Democrats, Leftists, and French Liberals. The regulation, agreed upon in December 2022, is set to take effect at the end of this year, with an additional six months for small businesses to comply. It mandates that suppliers of palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber, rubber, and related products must provide proof that their production did not involve unsustainable forest clearance to market their goods in the EU.
Liese pointed to international pressure, particularly from the US, to delay the legislation. A letter from senior US trade and agriculture officials to Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič warned of “significant negative economic effects on both producers and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic” once the law is implemented. The letter, dated May 30 and seen by Euronews, highlighted four major challenges for US producers: the lack of an information system, insufficient guidance from the EU, the failure to designate national authorities to enforce the rules, and the interim classification of all source countries as ‘standard risk’ regardless of their forestry practices.
As the EPP coordinator on the parliamentary environment committee, Liese often clashed with left, liberal, and green factions, although most of his center-right group supported the deforestation law. His call to delay the EUDR has not yet become the official EPP position but received support during a group meeting on June 26. The EPP, the largest political group in the parliament, has criticized various aspects of environmental policy during its campaign.
Liese also mentioned other Green Deal legislations the group seeks to revise, including CO2 emissions standards for cars, which effectively ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035. He emphasized the importance of maintaining climate targets while advocating for more technologically neutral legislation.
Apart from trading partners like Brazil, there have also been moves among EU governments to revise the law. Under the EU’s legislative procedure, proposing new legislation or amendments is the Commission’s prerogative. Any proposed changes would need to be adopted by both the parliament and Council.
In March, Austrian Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig claimed that 20 of his EU counterparts agreed that the deforestation law would negatively impact sustainable and small-scale agricultural and forestry practices within the EU. They supported a call for “urgent action” to exempt the smallest farmers and delay implementation.
The European Commission declined to comment on Liese’s statement or whether there were ongoing discussions about reopening the file.