Deforestation, with Eudr costs up to 2.6 billion for the sectors involved

The timescale for amending the Eudr (the European regulation on deforestation that came into force two years ago and will be applicable from next January) is now tight, which is why the industrial sectors most impacted by its effects - in particular woodworking and agriculture - are stepping up their initiatives to urge Brussels to review certain aspects of the regulation that, if confirmed, will have very serious economic and organisational effects on the companies in their respective sectors.

What the companies are asking for is to further reduce the burden on SMEs and focus the due diligence obligations on first movers, through a revision of the forthcoming Environmental Omnibus package. They are also asking for the information system to be strengthened and for a country risk classification more in line with reality.

Requests made yesterday by Confagricoltura and FederlegnoArredo during a meeting at the Europarliament headquarters in Brussels, in the presence of the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida, the Vice-President of the European Parliament Antonella Sberna, and MEPs Carlo Fidanza and Herbert Dorfmann.

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (Eudr) to combat global deforestation and forest degradation, which came into force on 29 June 2023, will be applicable from 30 December 2025, with a further six-month postponement (30 June 2026) for operators who were established as micro or small enterprises on 31 December 2020 (except for products listed in the annex of EU Regulation No. 995/2010 - Eutr).

The regulation - which covers soya, cattle, palm oil, coffee, cocoa and natural rubber, wood and wood derivatives - will replace the Eutr Regulation, the so-called Wood Regulation (995/2010), which has been banning illegal wood and wood derivative products from the EU market for years and which companies believe is effective in combating illegal logging and related trade, while the complexities of the Eudr (as currently formulated) would aggregate the work of many SMEs, including those not directly involved in the import and marketing of products. In fact, the Eudr broadens the range not only of raw materials, but also of products involved and envisages due diligence declarations also for all products to be exported, thus also involving manufacturers of finished products, such as furniture, yachts or wooden houses, for whom it is very difficult to certify and document the entire supply chain for each part of their products.