On 9 July, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to repeal its Implementing Act which established the country risk classification system under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The Commission published its country risk classification methodology and the countries which fall into each category on 22 May.
The resolution calls for the benchmarking system to be updated to ensure it is based on more up-to-date data on risk indicators, reflects regional differences within countries and includes a transparent weighting of risk indicators. It also expresses broader concerns about the EUDR risk classification, suggesting that three categories of risk is insufficient to differentiate between countries and proposes a fourth risk category, ‘negligible risk’.
Parliament resolutions are not legally binding, so the Commission is not obliged to follow the outcome. However, it is likely that the Commission will seriously consider the resolution.