European Union lawmakers are divided over whether to delay the bloc’s upcoming ban on imports of goods linked to deforestation, increasing pressure on Ursula von der Leyen as she seeks her backing for a second term as European Commission president. .
The EU deforestation law will, from December 30, require companies and traders placing soy, beef, coffee, palm oil and other products on the EU market to provide evidence that their supply chains They do not contribute to the destruction of forests.
In a statement released on Thursday, EU lawmaker Peter Liese, environment spokesman for the European People’s Party (EPP) group of lawmakers, to which Von der Leyen belongs, urged the European Commission to delay and then scale back the law. , which he called a “bureaucratic monster.”
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“Many small farmers around the world, and even small forest owners in the European Union, cannot work with the text,” Liese said.
EU leaders are expected to back Von der Leyen for a second term as Commission president at a summit on Thursday.
But it still needs the support of half of the lawmakers in the newly elected European Parliament. To do this, it will be necessary to obtain the support not only of the EPP, but also of groups such as the socialists, who are pressuring it not to dilute environmental policies.
A source from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the second-largest group of lawmakers in the European Parliament behind the EPP, said the S&D were “totally” opposed to delaying the deforestation law.
“It is a clear rejection of the S&D. The Commission has the obligation to implement it,” the source told Reuters.
Green lawmakers, whose support Von der Leyen may need to win a comfortable majority, also oppose any delay and are seeking assurances that she will continue Europe’s climate agenda.
The European Parliament negotiated and approved the EU deforestation policy last year with a large majority: 552 votes in favor, 44 against and 43 abstentions.
With information from Reuters
