(Brussels) – The  European Commission ’s announcement that it would not initiate a process to further amend the text of its milestone anti-deforestation regulation paves the way for it to be implemented by the end of 2026, Human Rights Watch said today. However, at the same time, the Commission has proposed to exclude leather from the list of products covered by the regulation, which would create a major loophole. “It is hard to overstate the transformative effect that the prospect of the regulation has had in hotspots for deforestation and rights abuses,” said  Luciana Téllez Chávez , senior environment researcher at Human Rights Watch. “For this momentum to continue, we need to see robust implementation, and no unjustifiable exclusions.” In May 2023, the EU  adopted the Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR), which requires EU-based companies to ensure that their imports and exports are deforestation-free and are not tainted by being linked to human rights abuses.…