New EU Commissioners have been nominated for the next 5-year EU term: this includes new EU Commissioners who will oversee the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

The new Commissioners include:

  • Teresa Ribera Rodriguez (Spain) nominated as Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition
  • Jessika Roswall (Sweden), nominated as Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy
  • Wopke Hoekstra (Netherlands) nominated as Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth

These nominated Commissioners are expected to take office in December 2024, the same month when EUDR was due to officially be implemented by the EU Commission. Following the Commission’s decision last week to delay EUDR, the new Commissioners will now have 12 months to prepare for the full implementation.

In the meantime, several deadlines will still be enforced by the new EU Commissioners, including the publication of risk assessment ‘benchmarking’ for countries, under EUDR.

The CEO of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) was quoted extensively in international media responding to the EU’s decision to delay EUDR. MPOC CEO Belvinder Kaur Sron said:

“The EU Commission’s announcement that EUDR implementation will be delayed until 30th December 2025 is the right decision. This is a victory for common sense, and a welcome relief for all of those businesses who highlighted the need for a delay.

“Malaysian palm oil exporters are able to comply with EUDR: this is not in doubt. Malaysia’s commitment to zero deforestation is written in law. The MSPO standard is the world’s leading mandatory palm oil certification scheme. Malaysia is ready to supply EUDR-compliant, sustainable and traceable palm oil to our European customers.

“This delay is a sensible decision to ensure that supply chains around the world have the time to prepare the technical and bureaucratic processes demanded by EUDR.”

The full statement from the CEO of MPOC is available online.