The reason is IT problems, claims Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall.
–We are worried about the IT system due to the amount of information that must be entered. Therefore, we will ask for a postponement of one year, says Roswall on her way to a meeting with the EU countries' agriculture ministers in Brussels.
At the same time, she dismisses that the postponement is due to US criticism of the new rules.
Originally, the rules were supposed to come into force on January 1 this year, but were then postponed for a year after protests from several developing countries and the European Parliament's right-wing parties.
The idea is that a range of products, such as coffee and cocoa, may only be imported into the EU if they can be proven not to have been produced on land where, for example, rainforest has been cleared after 2021.
Critics believe that the law strikes unfairly and entails significantly more expensive administration. The forestry industry and various import companies in the EU have also been worried about potential consequences and have received support from several member states in the EU.
