PARLIAMENT REJECTS RESTRICTIONS ON SOY-BASED BIOFUELS UNDER RENEWABLE ENERGY DIRECTIVE
On 8 July 2026, MEPs rejected a delegated regulation that would have included soy in the list of feedstocks considered to present a high indirect land-use change risk, following a precedent set for palm oil in April. Under this regulation, biofuels produced from these crops would no longer have been eligible, after 2030, to count towards the transport target established under the Renewable Energy Directive.
The resolution rejecting the delegated regulation calls on the Commission to swiftly present a new delegated regulation that would recognize soy produced in the EU or in third countries applying equivalent standards for monitoring land use as presenting a low risk of indirect land-use change.
Ahead of the vote, Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen had warned MEPs in a letter that rejecting the regulation would have implications for a WTO dispute between the EU, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and potentially expose the EU to sanctions of up to $ 5.6 billion per year in the Indonesian case alone.