The European Parliament is piling pressure on the European Commission to revise its list of countries considered most at risk of deforestation, in yet another blow to the EU’s anti-deforestation rules.
Spearheaded by right-wing political groups, a parliamentary resolution adopted by members of the European Parliament Wednesday — with 373 lawmakers in favor, 289 against and 26 abstentions — calls on the Commission to repeal and revise the country benchmarking system based on “up-to-date data” and allowing for “regional differentiation.”
The Commission is under no obligation to act on the vote.
“We want to stop deforestation effectively, but not by drowning responsible forest managers in bureaucracy,” said European People’s Party MEP Christine Schneider. “The Commission’s current approach imposes a blanket burden instead of targeting real risk.”
