Romania and 10 other EU member states have signed a document calling for the revision of the deforestation directive and the postponement of the date of entry into force of the regulation, set for the end of 2025, as the requirements imposed on farmers and foresters are impossible to put into practice.

As of December 30, 2024, the EU Anti-Deforestation Directive (EUDR) requires companies selling soy, beef, coffee, palm oil and other products in the 27 EU member states to prove that their supply chains do not contribute to forest destruction.

In Romania, one of the institutions involved in the control side is the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), which gives assurances that Romanian farmers will not be affected by this European directive, given that Romania is classified as a low risk country when it comes to deforestation, and the regulation has not entered into force yet.

'Romania is classified as a low risk country in terms of deforestation, so farmers will not be affected. They will only have to fill in the due diligence statements, which show that the animals or food products do not come from deforested land areas. In order to detect all shipments that are not accompanied by 'deforestation free' certificates, ANSVSA will carry out the official control of relevant commodities and relevant products from imports and subject to Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council (EUDR),' ANSVSA Chairman Alexandru Bociu told AGERPRES on Friday.

The act regulating deforestation - Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation - was published in May 2023, but at the request of the member states, the entry into force of the regulation was postponed from December 30, 2024 to December 30, 2025, for a better implementation of the new conditions.

'In order to ensure the origin of all relevant commodities entering the supply chain, all producers, traders, importers, exporters of one of the relevant commodities or of the relevant products in Annex 1 of GD no. 1029/2024, namely cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil and soybeans, will have to familiarise themselves with the requirements of the EUDR Regulation, identify their place of production (GPS coordinates, geolocation, latitude/longitude) and make a due diligence statement,' said Bociu.

In conclusion, the relevant commodities and relevant products shall not be introduced, made available for payment and exported unless the following conditions are met: they do not originate from deforested land areas, have been produced/obtained in accordance with the legislation in force and are subject to the due diligence statement.

At the same time, the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation (AAC), made up of four major agricultural organisations, PRO AGRO, LAPAR, UNCSV and AFF, welcomes Romania's decision to sign this document on the extension of the deadline for the application of the EU Regulation on Deforestation (EUDR).

'Romania, in agreement with many other member states, welcomed the European Commission's decision to extend the start of the application of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and requested that the focus be on simplification. In principle, Romania does not agree with the form in which the directive is composed, as it has many components that are impossible to implement. The concerns are directed towards the practical applicability of the regulation, the substantial administrative burden it imposes and the possible legal uncertainties and deviations of the flows of goods that it will create,' the AAC representatives told AGERPRES.

They added that the directive does not introduce real improvements for farmers and forest owners in the European Union, which have been frequently and intensively presented by interested parties in the agricultural and forestry sector. 'In conclusion, an optimisation of the directive is being attempted, so that it can be truly applicable,' said the representatives of the alliance. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Mariana Nica; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)