Nová legislativa EU v rámci boje s odlesňováním – příprava v plném proudu

In mid-May, the opportunity for the general public to provide their stance on the draft delegated regulation, by which the Commission plans to amend the list of relevant products under the EUDR, was concluded.

The opportunity to provide feedback to the Commission was open to all interested parties, and from the published contributions, it is clear that it was utilized not only by natural and legal persons and their associations, but also by non-profit organizations and public authorities of third countries. In the individual opinions, which are publicly available, one can encounter support for both narrowing and expanding the list of relevant products, as well as ongoing concerns about the administrative burden that the EUDR brings and the uncertainties that remain within it.

Along with the draft delegated regulation, the Commission also published a new set of explanatory documents, with hopes that these will simplify the measures and steps that obliged entities will have to perform under the EUDR. New information has also emerged regarding the long-promised classification of countries according to the level of risk.

Although some of the new interpretative updates are welcomed, others are met with rather mixed reactions. The Commission's interpretation, in some cases, does not fully correspond to the regulation itself, and it is therefore questionable whether this more lenient approach will actually be applied in practice by the relevant authorities. Other newly introduced elements may represent administrative simplifications under certain circumstances, but they may also bring significantly increased risks.

For example, the often-mentioned single due diligence statement for the entire year ahead sounds like an attractive administrative saving, but can such an option really be used in every situation? And is it really that attractive when the risks associated with such a single statement are considered?

Or another topic: verification of previously performed due diligence – can mere verification of the existence of the reference number of the respective statement be considered verification of the performance of due diligence within the meaning of the EUDR?

The applicability of the regulation is (again) inexorably approaching, and from the new materials and reactions to them, it is clear that not all questions have simple answers. We therefore recommend carefully considering which of the possible procedures for fulfilling obligations under the EUDR are most suitable for your business.

Authors:

Jan Turek

Veronika Juhasová