Towards Deforestation-Free Public Procurement? Reflections on the Interplay between the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and Public Procurement in the EU

Deforestation and forest degradation are major challenges, primarily driven by the global demand for certain agricultural commodities and products. To respond to increasing pressures from EU stakeholders and curb consumption driven deforestation, the EU recently adopted Regulation 2023/1115, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The EUDR applies to a list of goods strongly linked to deforestation and forest degradation and often part of global and complex supply chains. Under the EUDR, relevant commodities and products can be placed on or exported from the EU market only if they are deforestation-free and legally produced. To this end, the Regulation foresees targeted due diligence obligations for market actors to ensure the traceability of their supply chains, collect information, and assess and mitigate risks. The EUDR also includes a procurement-specific provision establishing the temporary exclusion from public procurement processes as a minimum penalty for breaching its provisions. This article provides an overview of this new legal instrument and analyses the interplay between its rules and EU public procurement law. It also aims to characterise the new ‘deforestation exclusion’ in light of the regime on exclusion provided by Directive 2014/24/EU.