Today, the Pilot Testing of the Deforestation Information System begins and will run till the end of January. 100 stakeholders will participate in this testing phase. This includes stakeholders across the relevant commodities, operators of different sizes (including SMEs and non-SMEs) and a geographical balance. The testing period will provide valuable feedback and observations about the system, to ensure it is easy-to-use.
The new Deforestation Regulation will apply to operators and traders who place or make available any of the relevant commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soya and wood) on the EU market, or export from the EU. They must ensure that the products or commodities are deforestation-free, produced in line with the relevant legislation in the country of production, and are covered by a due diligence statement. The Information System aims to facilitate the submission and processing of the Due Diligence Statements for relevant operators, traders, competent authorities and customs to ensure a smooth transition at the end of 2024, when the rules enter into application.
Next steps
The Commission will provide a training environment and “train-the-trainers” sessions to all interested companies in the summer of 2024, in coordination with member states authorities. This will give all interested stakeholders the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the System well before the Regulation enters into application. The Commission will also then make available user manuals and other relevant self-learning material such as video tutorials.
More information will follow in the second quarter of 2024. Stay up to date with the latest developments on the implementation of the Regulation, and next steps as regards the Information System.
Background
The EU’s new rules on deforestation-free products guarantee that the products placed on the EU market or exported from it were not produced in breach of the applicable legislation in the country of production, do not originate from deforested land or have not contributed to forest degradation. These new rules are laid down in the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) and will apply at the end of 2024.
The Commission began developing the Information System when the text of the Regulation was agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in December 2022. From the start, stakeholders have been involved in the development process to ensure that the System is an easy-to-use tool that can help economic operators and competent authorities comply with the Regulation.
More information
Details
- Publication date
- 18 December 2023
- Author
- Directorate-General for Environment
