Euractiv’s Post

EU members call for revision of anti-deforestation law Sight Magazine #EU #EUantideforestationlaw #Austria #Europeanfarmers #deforestation https://lnkd.in/giZxzGJQ

New Law in Italy Establishes Role of Farmers in Protecting Environment

"Citing political “urgency”, the Commission conferred with just four farming unions, behind closed doors, with no opinions sought from NGOs or citizens. The previous reform had garnered input from over 300,000 stakeholders.   The resulting proposal for the revision went against the wishes of two of those four farming unions, and the Commission omitted to carry out any kind of impact assessment or otherwise demonstrate that it had taken into consideration the best available evidence.   BirdLife attempted to access documents that may have shown the CAP was already failing to guarantee environmental protection – even without this further weakening – through access to information requests, but the Commission stopped responding.   A group of 16 NGOs wrote to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ask for the proposal to be withdrawn – but without success.  ClientEarth’s lawyers termed the lightning-speed process that led to the revision “blatantly incompatible with EU law”.  " https://lnkd.in/d-Z9t5YD #cap #CommonAgriculturalPolicy

To punish or not to punish! I think it has been made clear that the negotiations for the well-needed anti deforestation law have taking place amongst well-intentioned elites but far away from those that will pick up the tab (aka smallholder farmers in Emerging Markets). The great majority would agree that we need to stop deforestation and to clean up our game on agriculture. The problem is not the intention of the #eugreendeal that is at play here, but the lack of consultations with those impacted by the law. Just a few weeks ago, the EU Commissioner visited the Latin American region (most likely in well orchestrated meetings) in order to help calm the concerns that smallholder farmers have with the law and the fact that the law doesn't (will not) compensate farmers for the cost of nature. Other than promising a few millions (not to farmers) but government agencies - nothing changed. So here is the reality: 1) Decades of abuse by Advanced Economies that never compensated EMDEs (farmers) for the right price of goods 2) Not one (1) organizations in the region has this as a priority (reporting) 3) Data sources? Who pays for the audit? 4) Just farmers ...or this will apply to finance? If the EU is serious about their proposal, they should make public the impact on farmers (I am sure this exist somewhere). They should include a mandatory "premium" price for nature. If you and the rest of the world believe in protecting nature and biodiversity then the smallholder farmer should be at the center of the solution - not by cutting access to market. Cutting access to markets will push farmers to cut more trees to plant whatever local markets will buy - forget fairtrade or living income - let's fix the problem. The current crisis in the cocoa sector is a sign of things to come.

Forest loss: Can a new EU law help to slow deforestation? In the most recent Icarus Complex issue we delved into whether a new EU landmark law, passed at the end of 2022 will realistically tackle forest loss. The law requires that companies importing agricultural products prove that the products didn't cause any deforestation. Can the law prevent deforestation or will opaque supply chains hinder the laws ability to tackle forest loss? "The reality is that only a small number of companies trading in forest-risk commodities have started mapping their supply chains, which gives oversight on the product’s journey and the environmental and social conditions along the way. And of these companies, just a fraction can meet the greater challenge of tracking a product all the way back to the land where it was produced." To find out more about this topic, please click the link below: https://lnkd.in/ee85DhMt Article by: Emma Bryce Illustration by: Pauline Cremer Afsaneh Angelina Rafii

EUDR on everyone's lips The EU is showing its weaknesses by even considering to postpone. Nothing is done yet, even though many posts make us believe it's done. The odds speak in favour of a delayed implementation in view of what is written in the below article. The following excerpts are from a Reuters article. EU proposes to delay landmark anti-deforestation law by 12 months By Bart H. Meijer and Maytaal Angel October 2, 2024 Some 20 of the EU's 27 member states asked Brussels in March to scale back and possibly suspend the law, saying it would harm the bloc's own farmers, who would be banned from exporting products grown on deforested land. The proposal would need the approval of the European Parliament and member states, the Commission said. for full article https://lnkd.in/dFUedbrh

📅 On 24 April 2024, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 is expected to 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁 the much-discussed 𝗘𝗨 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁. The so-called 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗗𝘂𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 aims to 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 for the 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀. Companies that continue to use 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 or commit serious 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, for example, will be 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in future. In addition, the 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 from illegal production facilities on the EU’s internal market 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱. 📋 To make the directive 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 and 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻, in particular for 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺-𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 were made to the law until the very end. As a result, the 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 for the future application of the Supply Chain Act (𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲) were 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 and divided into the following stages: ·3 years after the law comes into force, the directive applies to companies with at least 5000 employees and a minimum turnover of 1.5 billion euros ·4 years after the law comes into force, the directive applies to companies with at least 3000 employees and a minimum turnover of 900 million euros ·5 years after the law comes into force, the directive applies to companies with at least 1000 employees and a minimum turnover of 450 million euros 📌 In addition, all 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 for companies from certain sectors (𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆) with 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 have been 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 from the text of the law but can be reinstated later. 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 for individual cases 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘄 makes this possible. 𝗙𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗨 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁 can be found in the article. #EU #Parliament #supply #chain #act #laws #humanrights #company #trade https://lnkd.in/d_Cvsk6a

⚠️BREAKING⚠️ We are filing a complaint against the European Commission! Together with ClientEarth, we have presented a complaint to the EU Ombudsman after they say the EU Commission defied its own democratic standards to get a revision of the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over the line. In March, under pressure from different parties and claiming to be answering to farmers’ demands, the Commission ushered through changes to two key regulations in the CAP – a vast subsidy mechanism worth around €300 billion from 2023-2027, which funds farming operations all over the EU. The changes served to weaken environmental requirements for farmers in the CAP – a fatal move for agriculture. Citing political “urgency”, the Commission conferred with just four farming unions, behind closed doors, with no opinions sought from NGOs or citizens. The previous reform had garnered input from over 300,000 stakeholders.  The resulting proposal for the revision went against the wishes of two of those four farming unions, and the Commission omitted to carry out any kind of impact assessment or otherwise demonstrate that it had taken into consideration the best available evidence.  BirdLife attempted to access documents that may have shown the CAP was already failing to guarantee environmental protection – even without this further weakening – through access to information requests, but the Commission stopped responding.  A group of 16 NGOs wrote to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ask for the proposal to be withdrawn – but without success.  ClientEarth’s lawyers termed the lightning-speed process that led to the revision “blatantly incompatible with EU law”.  #farmersprotests2024 #NoNatureNoFood

EU lawmaker Peter Liese, the environment spokesperson for the European People's Party (EPP) - von der Leyen's political group - urged Brussels to delay and scale back the law, describing it as a "bureaucratic monster." "Many small farmers globally and within the European Union find it unworkable." #environment #EUDR #regulation #europeanunion #political #deforestation #smallholder #smallfarmers #EU #europeancommission #farmers #agriculture #commodities #palmoil #soy #cattle #coffee #cocoa https://lnkd.in/gdg8WC52

The European Parliament has voted for lessen some of the environmental regulations The European Parliament has endorsed proposals to relax the environmental prerequisites tied to the EU’s agricultural subsidies, in an effort to alleviate ongoing protests across Europe. https://bit.ly/48Wvbn0 The proposed changes would lessen some of the environmental regulations associated with the allocation of substantial farming subsidies, according to Reuters. https://bit.ly/4bt2Gyv Farmers would no longer be required to leave 4% of their land unused to foster biodiversity in order to qualify for these subsidies. These modifications to the farming subsidies are among numerous policy adjustments the EU has implemented or is contemplating, in response to prolonged farmers’ demonstrations over matters such as inexpensive imports and EU regulations, according to Reuters. As the European Parliament elections approach in less than two months, a significant number of EU lawmakers are keen to address the grievances of farmers to prevent the rise of far-right parties, who see farmers as an expanding voter base. However, Green legislators and activists have condemned the dilution of environmental regulations as rash and not in the best interest of Europe’s farmers, who are increasingly challenged by extreme weather conditions induced by climate change. Farmers would have the option to diversify crops instead of rotating them, and nations could implement exemptions from these regulations if they encounter difficulties in enforcement or in instances of severe weather. Small farms of less than 10 hectares would also be exempt from inspections or penalties for non-compliance. The European Commission has stated that it is not diminishing its environmental goals, but rather simplifying the regulations. The proposal is awaiting final approval from EU countries, anticipated to occur in May. Picture credit: rtbf #europeanparliament #green #climatechange #eu #europeancommission #agricultures #EuropeanUnion #farmerprotest2024