The Czech Republic is among a group of EU member states that are urging the European Commission to postpone and amend deforestation regulations intended to ensure that products sold in the EU do not come from deforested land. According to a document seen by Reuters, 11 countries have joined the call.
“The problem of deforestation is not a problem experienced by the Czech Republic or most EU countries, and the Czech Republic therefore needs to ensure that the problem does not affect its farmers, foresters or traders,” Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny (KDU-CSL) said at a meeting in Brussels yesterday.
Vyborny said the regulation would mean an additional administrative burden for Czech farmers, which he found unacceptable.
Originally, the regulation was due to take effect from the end of 2024. The Commission postponed it by one year following criticism from companies, some member states, including the Czech Republic, and some of the EU’s trading partners. The new rules should apply from 30 December 2025.
The postponed regulation, which applies to cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, wood, and rubber, requires producers to verify that their products are not linked to deforestation anywhere in the world and to make a declaration to that effect before placing them on the EU market.
Last week, the Commission said the vast majority of EU countries would be spared the most stringent controls. But a group of 11 countries, led by Austria and Luxembourg, is demanding that the EU executive simplify the rules further, and urging that the effective date be delayed again.
In a document debated by EU agriculture ministers in Brussels yesterday, the 11 countries argue that the demands placed on farmers and foresters by the proposed bill remain high, if not unworkable, and are disproportionate to the objective of the regulation. The other 8 countries signing the document are Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, and Slovenia.
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In Brussels yesterday, Vyborny insisted the opposing countries do not question the global problem of deforestation, but said the problem was not experienced by most EU countries, and it was therefore necessary to ensure that Czech and European farmers, foresters, and traders would be protected.
Prague says the Commission should reconsider its approach, especially to reduce the burden that comes with the regulation. “To be very specific, there are currently about 60 inspections a year in the Czech Republic in this area. If the regulation were to come into force in its current form, there could be as many as 2,500 inspections. This is an absolutely unacceptable burden, in my opinion,” said Vyborny.
He said the Commission should rework the whole system and create a so-called zero category for countries like the Czech Republic that do not deforest, which means that the checks and obligations for farmers will not expand. If this does not happen, Vyborny and several other ministers at yesterday’s meeting said that the whole regulation should be postponed again.