Industry leaders urge ongoing caution over EUDR
After the announcement that the European Parliament voted on November 14 to approve the proposed postponement of the European Union Deforestation Regulation, industry leaders have said leather-sector companies still need to keep a watchful eye on the situation.
On October 2, the European Commission proposed postponing the application of EUDR for 12 months. This would mean the traceability obligations that EUDR will impose on tanners and hide traders in the European Union would apply from December 2025 for large companies and from June 2026 for smaller ones.
The European Council, which consists of senior ministers from all 27 member states of the European Union, met on October 16 and agreed to the proposal. This seemed to leave the vote in the European Parliament as the only remaining hurdle to negotiate before confirmation of the extra 12 months’ preparation time for EUDR.
The Commission, the Council and the Parliament are the three executive bodies of the European Union. The Commission proposes legislation, the Council and the Parliament approve it and then the Commission implements it.
In the case of EUDR, the positive vote in the Parliament on November 14 appears, potentially, to have triggered an extra complication.
This centres a new proposal that should make EUDR implementation easier for companies sourcing from suppliers in countries where deforestation is not a problem. The suggestion is that there should now be a new category of countries that pose ‘no risk’ of deforestation in addition to the previously announced categories of ‘low’, ‘standard’ and ‘high’ risk.
Because this is new, it requires further discussion among the three bodies. Contacts in the European Commission have told World Leather that the key is to draw up a formal text for the ‘no-risk country’ proposal and for the Council to approve this extra idea.
Because of this, there are now concerns about this work taking place before the original EUDR deadline, December 30 this year (for larger companies).
Leather industry leaders have said companies need to continue paying attention to this because there is a chance that time will run out before the formal approval process for the postponement is complete. And there is a chance EUDR could come into application before 2025 after all.
