The Council of the European Union has adopted the text of the EU regulation on deforestation. The Parliament had already voted the text of the agreement. The next step will be the promulgation of the text, which will enter into force at that moment, and will be applicable 18 months later (24 months for SMEs).
After the European Parliament a few weeks ago, the Council of the European Union has adopted the text of the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR).
On May 10, the ambassadors had agreed to vote in the Council the text of the agreement reached in trilogue in December 2022, which was done this May 16 by the European ministers.
At the ambassadors' meeting, no country voted against and five abstained, including Sweden, which questioned the administrative burden that this regulation could place on smaller producers. The Presidency also criticized the lack of clarity in the control and traceability mechanism. Portugal and Slovakia criticized the definition of forest degradation, which the ambassadors believe could hinder nature restoration actions.