The postponement of the European Union’s Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR) has been welcomed by Alois Rainer, Germany’s Federal Minister for Agriculture, who described the Commission’s initial proposal as “absolutely correct.
Minister Rainer affirmed his support for the EUDR’s core objective – global forest protection – while expressing concerns regarding the potential for unnecessary bureaucratic burden imposed on countries like Germany. He stated that despite the absence of deforestation within Germany’s borders, the regulation is causing significant strain on the nation’s economy.
Rainer has consistently advocated for the implementation of a “zero-risk” option within the EUDR. He indicated that the Commission had previously resisted this approach, but time constraints necessitated the postponement. “This delay provides a crucial opportunity to integrate the zero-risk variant effectively into the regulation” Rainer explained.
He emphasized that the added time must be utilized to ensure continued global forest protection while alleviating excessive regulatory requirements on businesses. Rainer committed to continued efforts in Brussels to achieve this objective.
