European Parliament adopts position on deforestation-free products

The European Parliament has voted on its position on the Commission proposal for a regulation on deforestation-free products. On 13 September, the position was adopted by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). In a next step, the Parliament will start negotiations with the Council to reach a compromise on the regulation.

The new law would oblige companies to verify under so called “due-diligence”, that goods sold in the EU have not been produced on deforested or degraded land anywhere in the world. Furthermore, the Parliament calls to include human rights provision and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples as a further requirement.

The position of the Parliament suggests enlarging the scope of the regulation. The initial proposal of the Commission covers cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm-oil, soya and wood, including products that contain, have been fed with or have been made using these commodities (such as leather, chocolate and furniture). The Parliament suggests expanding it to pigmeat, sheep, goats, poultry, maize, rubber, charcoal and printed paper products. For more information on IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue, please contact [email protected].