EU’s Deforestation Crusade: Brussels Expands Green Deal Control

By Thomas Kolbe

The European Union’s regulatory frenzy is taking on manic dimensions. Starting in 2026, a new regulation aimed at “protecting global forests” will further expand Brussels’ bureaucratic jungle. Another job creation scheme for the swelling EU apparatus.

For German taxpayers, the last 18 months have been an expensive ride. Higher property taxes, a raised top income tax rate, the rollback of VAT cuts for hospitality, and CO₂ surcharges all piled on. Brussels added its own bite: higher excise duties on tobacco and energy, a greater EU share of CO₂ revenues (its most effective cash cow yet), and a stack of new compliance burdens for chemicals and sustainability reporting.

Euro-Evangelists

This list is far from exhaustive. It merely illustrates the sheer workload Brussels and Berlin bureaucrats take on in their mission to morally domesticate their still far-too-frivolous citizens.

According to EU brochures and staged “citizen surveys,” the Eurocrats are building a better world: clean seas, clear skies, and “inclusive” working conditions everywhere. With the right indulgence payment – i.e. a cleverly engineered Brussels levy – any sin can be erased. Perhaps Ursula von der Leyen’s crew should be viewed less as regulators and more as a pastoral society of Euro-Evangelists. That way, it all might make sense one day.

Brussels vs. Beef, Coffee, and Rubber

The next crusade begins soon. In January, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) kicks in. In essence, imports of beef, soy, palm oil, timber, coffee, cocoa, natural rubber – and all products derived from them – will be restricted to “deforestation-free” areas.

The burden of proof, documentation, and costly compliance will fall entirely on European companies. Never mind that German firms are already drowning under €146 billion a year in bureaucratic costs – Brussels sees plenty of room for more experiments.

Corporate Pleas Ignored

Industry groups demanded at least limiting reporting duties to first importers. Daniel Caspary, head of the CDU/CSU group in the European Parliament, backed that idea. Brussels ignored them, as always.

The model is familiar from the Supply Chain Act: Brussels drafts a wish list of social and environmental conditions, then forces private companies to enforce them throughout global value chains. Internal chaos, spiraling compliance costs, and fresh liabilities follow. Regulators meanwhile sit back, waiting to pounce on “non-compliance” with fines.

Unlike the Supply Chain Act, which for now applies only to large firms, the EUDR will extend to all businesses operating in the EU’s single market by mid-2025. Every trader, from global giant to small distributor, must produce “deforestation-free” supply chain proofs.

The Green Deal: Hidden Trade Barrier

One wonders if this is really about forests – or about shielding EU farmers from competition. The Green Deal has already emerged as Europe’s greatest non-tariff trade weapon, one even Donald Trump couldn’t dismantle in negotiations with Brussels.

A dangerous corporatist system has taken root: European agribusiness and subsidized industries collude with regulators to suppress competitors, both domestic and foreign. Consumers pay the price via less competition and higher costs.

Ideology Over Logic

The real absurdity? Germany itself, with decades of net forest growth, will also be forced to certify its own supply chains as “deforestation-free.” Brussels will make German beef or timber producers jump through the same hoops as Brazilian ranchers torching the Amazon.

The outcome is predictable: higher prices, more bureaucracy, and yet another Green Deal brick cemented into Brussels’ growing fortress of control.

The EUDR is not environmental protection – it is power consolidation. It is part of the EU’s wider strategy to institutionalize paternalistic social engineering through regulation. And, once again, Europe’s corporate elite stands by silently, refusing to defend consumers against this regulatory madness.

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About the author: Thomas Kolbe, a German graduate economist, has worked for over 25 years as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.