On 8 July 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution objecting to a Commission delegated regulation that would introduce a trajectory to gradually decrease the contribution of high indirect land-use change (ILUC)-risk biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels to renewable energy targets. The resolution, tabled by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, blocks the delegated regulation from entering into force, preventing the phase-out of soy-based biodiesel from counting towards EU renewable energy targets by 2030.
The resolution objects to the Commission Delegated Regulation (C(2026)02306) of 10 April 2026, which proposed adding soybean to the high ILUC-risk feedstock list alongside palm oil, based on updated scientific data that shifts the observation baseline from 2008 to 2014. The Parliament calls on the Commission to submit a revised delegated act that determines soybean's ILUC-risk status using data 'since 2008' as required by Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/807, and excludes soybean from high ILUC-risk classification if its expansion share falls below the 10% threshold under that baseline. The resolution also demands that the methodology be updated to account for double-cropping practices in soybean cultivation, and that EU-produced soybean or soybean from third countries with equivalent land-use and deforestation standards be recognised as low ILUC-risk, excluding it from the phase-down trajectory. Additionally, it calls for retaining the phase-down of palm oil-based biofuels and corrections to the low ILUC-risk certification procedure as appropriate responses to the WTO Panel ruling.
The resolution protects an estimated EUR 36 million in losses for EU soy farmers, EUR 120 million for EU crushers, and up to EUR 1.3 billion for the EU biodiesel industry. It avoids the replacement of up to 4.8 million tonnes of domestically produced soybean meal with third-country imports, thereby preventing increased protein import dependency and higher feed costs. The resolution also preserves market incentives for domestic soybean cultivation, supporting the EU Protein Plan and strategic autonomy objectives, while maintaining the nitrogen-fixing and soil health benefits of soybean cultivation and avoiding increased dependence on imported chemical fertilisers. It ensures consistency with the Clean Industrial Deal's objectives for diversified clean fuel feedstocks and the Competitiveness Compass's goal of reducing strategic dependencies.
The resolution represents a formal parliamentary objection under the EU's delegated acts procedure. The Commission is now expected to submit a revised delegated act addressing the Parliament's concerns, which will be subject to further scrutiny.