EU lawmakers split over calls to delay deforestation law

European Union lawmakers have split over whether to delay the bloc's upcoming ban on imports of goods linked to deforestation, adding pressure to Ursula von der Leyen as she seeks their backing for a second term as European Commission president.

The EU's deforestation law will, from December 30, require companies and traders placing soy, beef, coffee, palm oil and other products on the EU market to provide proof their supply chains do not contribute to the destruction of forests.

In a statement published on Thursday, EU lawmaker Peter Liese - environment spokesperson for the European People's Party (EPP) lawmaker group, which is von der Leyen's political group - urged the European Commission to delay and then scale back the law, which he called a "bureaucratic monster".

"Many small farmers around the world and even small forest owners in the European Union...