Brussels meeting hears leather’s EUDR case once again
An Italian member of the European Parliament, Dario Nardella, has welcomed a suggestion from the European Commission that adjustments to the scope of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will help the manufacturing sector in Europe. But he has continued to insist that the leather sector should be excluded from EUDR requirements.
A former mayor of Florence, Dr Nardella organised a meeting on EUDR at the European Parliament in Brussels on April 8.
At the meeting representatives of the Commission said that adjustments to EUDR’s scope will help preserve the industrial competitiveness of key sectors, including leather, and ensure that the cost of compliance for manufacturing companies remains “proportionate and realistic”.
Afterwards, Dr Nardella, who represents central Italy in the parliament, said that leather and hides should be excluded from the scope of EUDR altogether.
He said: “EUDR is a fair regulation, but there is a risk here of penalising leather manufacturers. They could be obliged to show that their whole supply chain, from raw material to finished product, is compliant. This is an impossible ask; the bureaucratic burden would be too high.”
He said he wanted the Commission and other members of the European Parliament to understand that millions of hides will go to waste if they cannot become part of the production chain for fashion products. “This is the only way this material will have value,” he said.
Image shows Dario Nardella (centre), listening to UNIC president, Fabrizio Nuti, at the April 8 meeting in Brussels.
Credit: COTANCE.
