The EU Deforestation Regulation has entered into force. Global civil society calls on EU Member States to implement their new legal obligations (Bulgarian translation)

The new EU Deforestation Regulation entered into force on 29 June 2023. As of that day, all EU Member States have new legal obligations to implement it and start preparing to enforce it when it eventually becomes applicable to the private sector on 30 December 2024.

To mark the occasion, ClientEarth and NGO partners coordinated a global civil society statement, supported by over 150 organisations from 40 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, calling on EU governments to take their new obligations seriously.

Whether this groundbreaking new law will have an impact on global deforestation trends will depend entirely on how it is implemented and enforced. That is the responsibility of EU Member States. It is crucial that they establish robust and fit-for-purpose enforcement frameworks to ensure that this new law is as good in practice as it is on paper.

The statement has been shared by national NGOs with their respective government representatives in a coordinated effort to ensure a consistent approach across the EU.

ClientEarth and partners will be working hard to ensure that is the case.

The statement is also available in Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish from this page.