Coordinating Minister Airlangga Meets With Key European Union Officials To Discuss EU Sustainability

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartanto in a meeting with EU officials to discuss the European Union Deforestation Free Regulation (EUDR), Jakarta, Thursday (1/6/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Kemenko Ekonomi)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartanto continued his visit to Brussels, meeting key EU officials in discussions of the continuation of the European Union Deforestation Free Regulation (EUDR).

Activities that are members of the Joint Mission led by Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto and Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Plantation and Commodities of Malaysia Dato Sri Haji Fadillah Bin Haji Yusof.This activity is a meeting with several EU officials, including High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell-Fontelles, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries VirginijusSinkevicius. Then Executive Vice President European Green Deal and Commissioner for Climate Action Policy Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Parliament MEP Heidi Hautala, and Chair of International Trade/INTA Committee MEP Bernd Lange. In the meeting, Indonesia and Malaysia discussed various issues with key European Union officials. But the main topic in the discussion concerns the implementation or impact of EUDR on access to the palm oil market to the European Union. Previously, Coordinating Minister Airlangga said EUDR's serious rejection in a meeting with representatives of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). "The implementation of EUDR will clearly injure and harm plantation and forestry commodities that are so important for us, such as cocoa, coffee, rubber, wood products and palm oil," said Airlangga as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, June 1. According to him, the EUDR policy has reduced all Indonesia's efforts which are committed to resolving problems related to the issue of climate change. to the protection of biodiversity in accordance with multilateral agreements, agreements and conventions, such as the Paris Agreement. In addition to discussing the EUDR, the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy also discussed the application of benchmarking accounts (implementation of high risk labels, standards, and low risk to certain countries which are considered to damage the image). and MSPO). As well as EUDR's commitment to WTO provisions, as well as Indonesia and Malaysia's commitment to protecting workers' rights according to the ILO Convention.

As a follow-up step, a proposal will be explored for the formation of a dialogue platform (task force) between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the European Union that can be handled by stakeholders in the context of compiling regulations from the EUDR which will not burden and burden palm oil industry players and smallholders (smallholders).