Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
By Marc Menendez-Roche •
Updated: 15 Nov 2024 • 13:51 • 2 minutes read
In a move that s got green campaigners in Germany seeing red, the EU has decided to give German companies an extra year before they must comply with its tough new deforestation laws. The regulations, designed to ensure products sold in Europe aren t sourced from freshly felled forests, have been delayed after businesses claimed they needed more time to tweak the new rules.
Deadline for businesses pushed back.
Concerns sprouted from EU member states, foreign countries, traders, and operators that they couldn t fully comply by the original deadline of December 2024. Bowing to pressure, the Commission proposed a one-year postponement. In October 2024, the European Parliament agreed to fast-track the proposal, and yesterday they voted to approve the delay with 371 votes in favour, 240 against, and 30 abstentions.
Now, large operators and traders have until 30 December 2025 to get their houses in order, while micro and small enterprises have been given a reprieve until June 30, 2026. The extra time is meant to help companies worldwide implement the rules smoothly from the get-go without chopping down the law s objectives.
New leaf turned over with no risk countries.
But that s not all that s new in the woods. The Parliament also adopted amendments introducing a fresh category of countries posing no risk of deforestation, adding to the existing low , standard , and high risk groups. Countries dubbed no risk those with stable or increasing forest areas will face significantly less stringent requirements, as the danger of deforestation is negligible or non-existent. The Commission must finalise a country benchmarking system by June 30, 2025.
Next steps: Barking up the right tree.
The Parliament has referred the file back to the committee for interinstitutional negotiations. For these changes to take root, the agreed text must be endorsed by both the Council and Parliament and then published in the EU Official Journal. Only then will the new timelines and categories be set in stone or should we say, carved into the bark?
Forests falling at an alarming rate.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, a staggering 420 million hectares of forest an area larger than the entire EU were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020. EU consumption is responsible for about 10% of global deforestation, with palm oil and soya accounting for more than two-thirds of this figure.
The deforestation regulation, adopted by the Parliament on April 19, 2023, aims to combat climate change and biodiversity loss by preventing deforestation linked to EU consumption of products like cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, wood, rubber, charcoal, and printed paper. Although it sprouted into force on June 29, 2023, its provisions were initially set to be applied by companies from December 30, 2024.
Now, with enforcement delayed, critics worry the extension may sap the momentum in the fight against deforestation. Supporters, however, argue it gives businesses the necessary time to adjust without uprooting their operations.
Will the delay stem the tide or just stump progress?
As the EU grapples with balancing environmental urgency and economic reality, only time will tell if this delay will help or hinder the battle against deforestation. One thing s for sure: the world is watching.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Written by
Marc Menendez-Roche
Marc is a writer, teacher, and language enthusiast with a passion for making complex topics simple and accessible.
With a background in business and legal communication and an interest in educational neuroscience, Marc has spent over a decade teaching and writing.
Now, as part of the team at Euro Weekly News, Marc enjoys diving into entertaining topics and stories that matter to the community.
When he’s not writing, Marc loves practising martial arts, playing football, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or spending quality time with friends and family, but above all, Marc enjoys spending time with his son, Macson.
Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE!
Covering the Almeria, Axarquia, Costa Blanca North, Costa Blanca South, Costa del Sol , Costa Calida, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.
With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.
Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Close
