In Brazil, CNA, one of the country’s largest farmers’ organisations, has accused the European Parliament of creating an exemption for EU member states.
“It is an unambiguous sop to European interests and a knee-jerk reaction to recent demonstrations across Europe,” said Felipe Spaniol, an advocacy coordinator at the CNA.
“It is clearly designed as a protectionist measure that will distort trade, and is extremely worrying as we move ever closer to potentially finalising an EU-Mercosur trade agreement,” Spaniol added.
A problem for EU countries
Despite the ‘no risk’ provision, it remains uncertain whether all EU countries would qualify, especially forested nations like Finland and Sweden.
French MEP Pascal Canfin warned this could distort the EU single market and favour non-EU products. “These amendments could make it easier to import timber from China than from France or Finland,” he added.
However, the proposed criteria to reach ‘no risk’ status include not only a history of reforestation since 1990, but also adherence to climate and human rights treaties, and strict and transparent enforcement of national deforestation laws.
This could exclude countries such as China, which has made significant reforestation efforts but is not a signatory of the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, and has not ratified key human rights conventions.
Asked by reporters about potential market distortions for EU member states, favouring trade partners and compliance with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, Christine Schneider could not provide a clear answer.
“That’s the job we have to do in the trilogue now,” she said.
Speaking about potential WTO challenge, Spaniol, the Brazilian CNA representative, said it would explore “all options on the table” to continue to oppose what he described as a “badly drafted” piece of legislation.
Disputed vote count
The amendments were adopted by a tight margin and were marked by controversy over technical issues that allegedly prevented some MEPs from casting their votes.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola rejected a request by the leaders of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Iratxe García Pérez, to repeat the vote, despite the socialist’s claim that the matter was “too sensitive”.
After the vote, Canfin told journalists that S&D, Renew and the Greens would challenge the result, which he described as “non-transparent and undemocratic”. However, he admitted that he was not sure whether the malfunctioning voting system could be decisive in changing the outcome.
MEP Thomas Waitz, the Greens’ coordinator for agriculture, was among the lawmakers affected by the technical problem, for which he gave evidence on X.
Next steps
The proposal now returns to the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI), with trilogue negotiations expected to start next week, according to Canfin.
Liberal and left-wing groups continue to urge European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to withdraw the proposal, especially after she reportedly assured Renew’s Valérie Hayer that she would do so if amendments were passed.
The Parliament and the Council have until mid-December to reach an agreement before the regulation takes effect on 30 December. The last chance for MEPs to adopt the final text will be the plenary session on 16-19 December.
Negotiations with EU member states may prove challenging, as the Council, under the Hungarian presidency, has urged the Parliament to avoid changes to maintain “predictability and legal certainty.”
A source from the Hungarian presidency told Euractiv that this position could be revised after the Parliament’s vote. Member states will discuss the new amendments at an EU ambassadors meeting on 20 November, according to the presidency.
In a possible signal of the Hungarian presidency’s position, MEPs from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party – part of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) – broke ranks to vote against several amendments supported by both the EPP and PfE.
[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Daniel Eck]
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Publish date : 2024-11-14 08:10:00
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