German government publishes list of countries with access rights to carry out inspections of biofuel producers

Germany’s Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) has published a list of countries that grant the BLE, as the competent national authority, access rights to carry out on-site inspections of biofuel producers.

The Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants e. V. (UFOP) welcomed this as a contribution to improving the fight against fraud.

At the same time, this positive list is an active sign of confidence on the part of the countries listed in a certification process that is being gradually tightened in accordance with EU law.

UFOP also said it expects this to have a cleansing effect on biofuel producers, including the issue of waste raw materials, which must be critically assessed and controlled.

“It is noteworthy that countries such as Brazil and Singapore are not listed, while Hong Kong is listed instead of China,” UFOP stated. “The publication of the country list should be seen in connection with the recent communication from BLE to biofuel producers and certification bodies. UFOP very much welcomes the fact that the national database ‘Nabisy’ is already querying ‘whether on-site checks at final interfaces by a competent authority of a member state of the European Union for the purpose of monitoring the functioning of certification bodies in accordance with Article 30(9), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001.’ In its communication, the BLE also makes it clear that this question will automatically be answered in the negative if the third country refuses to grant access, even if the biofuel producer would agree to an on-site inspection.”

UFOP said it also welcomes this condition because the country in question must either grant access or the biofuel producers concerned are excluded from the German market.

The BLE’s current voluntary requirement will become a legal obligation when the second law amending the greenhouse-gas (GHG) quota comes into force.

The Bundestag will debate the draft law in its first reading in late February.

According to UFOP, It is expected to be dealt with and passed quickly so that this law can come into force as soon as possible.

“With this measure, Germany is sending an important signal within the EU for the prevention of fraud and thus for building trust in sustainability certification,” UFOP stated. “UFOP expects that, in the best-case scenario, all member states will introduce a similar regulation, which should have been regulated in EU law from the outset in view of the imminent refinement of the Union Database (UDB). However, control requirements only make sense if this task can be performed actively and comprehensively. UFOP therefore calls on the federal minister of agriculture to increase the number of staff in the relevant department of the BLE  accordingly. This is also a forward-looking measure, as the demand for documented sustainability certifications is increasing in all areas, such as the material use of renewable raw materials, which is not yet as strictly regulated by law as bioenergy.”