JAKARTA – Despite appreciating the joint mission of Indonesia and Malaysia to European Union (EU) that had resulted in the establishment of a task force, the association of Indonesian oil palm smallholders (Apkasindo) expressed disagreement over such move.
“Actually, we don’t agree with the move. What for?. We want it revoked or canceled for palm oil. This will cause long term impacts. If they don’t change it, we’ll sue,” Apkasindo Chairman Gulat Manurung said.
Apkasindo is worried that the implementation of EU deforestation-free regulation (EUDR) will validate the EU tagline that palm oil is the high risk plant as the cause of deforestation. “It will be then used by other countries outside of EU and NGOs to suppress Indonesia’s palm oil,” he said.
Task Force
The Joint Mission of Indonesia and Malaysia on 30-31 May 2023 to Brussels, Belgium, was aimed to express both countries’ concern on the EUDR, which is seen hindering the access of palm oil to EU market and harming the interest of smallholders as it will place a heavy burden on the smallholders in complying with the EUDR.
The joint mission was led by Indonesia’s Economic Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto and Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Plantation and Commodities Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah Bin Haji Yusof. They met with the EU key officials, including High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell-Fontelles, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius, 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.
During the joint mission, they discussed the impacts of EUDR implementation on the palm oil access to EU market, the application of country benchmarking (labels of high risk, standard, and low risk to certain countries that are seen tarnishing their image), Geolocation Data (burdening smallholders and affecting data security).
They also discussed about the national and international standards of palm oil sector (RSPO, ISPO, and MSPO), EUDR compatibility to the stipulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the commitment of Indonesia and Malaysia in protecting the rights of workers based on the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Airlangga Hartarto said that as a follow-up step to the discussions during the EU joint mission, they will consider the proposal to set up a mechanism of consultation or platform of dialog (task force) between Indonesia, Malaysia, and EU, which can involve multi-stakeholders.
“The task force will design an implementing regulation of the EUDR that will not burden the palm oil industry companies and smallholders,” the minister said in a press statement on Saturday, 4 June 2023.
During a meeting with the representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on 30 May 2023 in Brussels, Belgium, Minister Airlangga and Minister of Plantation and Commodities of Malaysia Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah Bin Haji Yusof had also expressed their serious concern and disagreement to EU for discriminating palm oil through the EUDR, which was issued on 16 May 2023.
“The EUDR implementation will affect the commodities of plantations and forestry that are very important for our economy, such as cocoa, coffee, rubber, woods, and palm oil,” said Airlangga. EUDR seems to have ignored Indonesia’s efforts to realize its commitment to help tackling the global climate change and protecting biodiversity based on the Paris Agreement. (*)
Source: investor.id
