Three months before the Deforestation Regulation was due to come into force sharply, from January 2025, the European Commission proposed to postpone it by a year, to January 2026, citing the wishes of international trading partners. We now call upon the European Parliament to accept the proposed delay and then follow up and initiate an update of the regulation. A new version needs to be handled by experts in international trade. Geopolitical and competitive aspects must be considered alongside the main objective of preventing global deforestation. 

We, three regions in northern Sweden; Norrbotten, Västerbotten and Västernorrland are mainly affected by the regulation of all trade in forest biomass but also beef. Both are included in the regulation and are important to us. Food production needs to increase, and more than 70 percent of our area is covered by forest. 

Currently, the EU needs to develop a competitive bio-based circular economy, not least to achieve long-term ecological sustainability. Against this background, it is not reasonable to greatly increase bureaucracy and risk linked to forestry and all trade in products from forest biomass, which is a renewable resource. The increased bureaucracy and the risk of significant penalties risk the entire industry losing momentum and slowing down risk-taking in terms of innovation, refinement and investment. The potential negative impact of the Deforestation Regulation on Europe in terms of European competitiveness and security of supply should therefore be considered in an updated version. 

The most well-known problem in the regulation is the traceability requirements for the products concerned. Everyone recognises the impossibility in the global trade of bioenergy, for example pellets, to require traceability of every small sawdust that makes up a single pellet in a large shipment of pellet containers. The same applies to the pulp and paper industry. Forest change and exact day of harvest behind a single package of napkins can be counted in thousands. 

Requirements like these are particularly problematic for individual forest owners, and there are around 20 million across the EU. The difficulty of doing business on their own increases because they may be unable to meet the requirements of digital tracking, legality, due diligence, and other liability requirements imposed by the regulation. At the same time, the penalties for violations of the regulation are severe. Already now, Swedish forest farmers have been denied to sell their raw material on their own due to the expected requirements for traceability. The risk is imminent that the regulation forces small forest owners to enter into agreements with large forest industry companies that take legal responsibility. 

When the Deforestation Regulation comes into effect, the trade in forest biomass will likely be divided globally. An EU-linked market with special rules and bureaucracy for global trade and a market likely to be dominated by Russia and China. A requirement in the writing of the regulation is that all trade within or through the EU, and related to biomass from forestry, must be published on a website. This within a strategic business area for the EU, which is linked to high hopes for growth with the aim of developing a competitive and innovative European circular and bio-based economy. 

Russia and China may thus have a competitive advantage by receiving ongoing information on all collaborations, routes and business arrangements regarding goods based on forest biomass. In times of peace, this could mean reduced European competitiveness. In tougher times, it could possibly affect deliveries to and from the EU of important goods such as energy, hygiene products and building materials. 

Forestry is not in itself a global driver of deforestation. Deforestation usually occurs when trees are taken down to create farmland, build houses or roads. Modern forestry nations, such as Sweden, do not have a problem with deforestation because forest land has a real and tangible value. Therefore, allow a delayed timetable for the implementation of the Deforestation Regulation to become a time for a proper consultation between all the different actors and interests in the EU for a new elaborate, coherent and effective legislation to counteract the global loss of forest land. 

Anders Öberg, (S) Chairman of the Regional Commitee, Norrbotten Region.  

Åsa Ågren Wikström (M) Vice-Chairman of the Regional Development Board, Västerbotten Region.  

Member of the European Comittee of the Regions (CoR). 

Jonny Lundin (C) Chairman of the Regional Development Committee, Västernorrland region.  

Member of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). 

This is a translated version on a opinion piece published in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri.  

Read the opinion piece here

Read the position paper form Europe Forum Northern Sweden on the Deforestation Regulation here 

Read about a seminar on the Deforestation Regulation at North Sweden European Office here

Read about North Sweden European Office in meeting with the EU commission about the Deforestation Regulation here

Read about the Northern Sparsely Populated Areas letter on the Deforestation Regulation to the Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and 

Fisheries European Commission here