Component 2 of AL-INVEST Verde organised the workshop "Due diligence for legal cocoa in the framework of the EUDR", which closed the webinar series "Dialogues on sustainable cocoa". Representatives of the European Commission and producer countries in Latin America -Brazil, Ecuador and Peru- and Africa -Ghana-. discussed issues related to the criterion of legality in the framework of the European regulation on deforestation and forest degradation-free products (EUDR).

Martin KarimLegal and Policy Officer in the Company Law Unit, Directorate General Justice and Consumers (DG JUST) of the European Commission, presented the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). He went on to say, Hélène BeagheThe Policy Officer in charge of employment in supply chains of the Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) of the European Commission, specified some of the aspects covered by this Directive.

Following this intervention, Alice BisiauxLegal expert from the European Forest Institute (EFI), gave a presentation on "The legality criterion in the due diligence framework for the EUDR". She pointed out that the EU regulation requires operators to gather "conclusive information" to verify that the national legal framework is applied in production processes and said that "a common frame of reference would reduce risks and give the country's products a competitive advantage".

From Ghana, Clement AkapameTaylor & Crabbe partner Taylor & Crabbe noted that there are currently "approximately 20 laws in the country that refer to or relate to Article 3 of the EUDR", which states that a declaration of due diligence is always required when doing business with cocoa, and indicated that these laws refer to land use, labour rights, child labour and taxation.

During the presentation of regional experiences, Felipe Nunes, director of the Territorial Intelligence Centre (CIT) and a researcher at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), presented the platform Selo Verde Minas Geraiswhich allows for the verification of production in protected areas and therefore "evidences the transparency of the legality of the process".

Nelson YepezThe Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of the Republic of Korea, the undersecretary of Marketing of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of the Republic of Korea.  Ecuador, he referred to the creation of the Inter-institutional Committee for Sustainable Production and Marketing, set up to promote sustainability and traceability of the production process, and advanced the intention to also work with companies.

For its part, Fernando Javier Martinez RuizThe director of the Directorate of Economic Studies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MIDAGRI) of Peru, indicated that the country "will provide facilities for the producer-exporter to provide the importer with information for due diligence" and advanced that they will produce a manual to compile information in the framework of the EUDR and, in this way, facilitate the due diligence declaration.

The workshop was closed by Ute SontagCoordinator of the Sustainable Agriculture Project for Forest Ecosystems of the SAFE programme of GIZ (Ecuador), and Emilio CalvoThe AL-INVEST Verde programme's Component 2 director.

The "Sustainable Cocoa Dialogues" are an initiative developed in collaboration with the SAFE programme - implemented by the German cooperation agency GIZ - and with the technical support of the European Forest Institute (EFI). The first dialogue took place on 16 May and the second dialogue12 June.

EUDR and legality

The EUDR will require operators introducing, trading or exporting cocoa or cocoa derivatives to EU markets to comply with three conditions: to be free of deforestation, to have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production and to be covered by a declaration of due diligence.

In the case of legality, production shall be in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production. The laws of that country relating to the legal status of the production area in terms of land use rights, environmental protection, forestry regulations, third party rights, labour rights, human rights protected under international law, the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and tax, anti-corruption, trade and customs regulations shall be complied with.

About AL-INVEST Verde

AL-INVEST Verde is a programme funded by the European Union (EU). Its main objective is to promote sustainable growth and job creation in Latin America by supporting the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and more circular economy. Through Component 2, led by FIIAPP in consortium with IILA, the programme provides assistance for strengthening public policy and multi-stakeholder dialogues on sustainable agricultural and value chains, environmental and labour standards, as well as sustainable trade and economic policy and regulatory frameworks.