The Eurotrip is an outreach activity of the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Deforestation-Free Value Chains, which aims to support partner countries in their commitment to sustainable, deforestation-free and legal value chains, in compliance with the European Union Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR). The Team Europe Initiative, supported by EU, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain and Sweden, is part of the Global Gateway strategy and pursues the overarching goal of building inclusive partnerships to reduce global commodity-driven deforestation and support the transition to sustainable, regenerative and climate-smart agriculture.
From 20 – 23 April 2026, 14 delegates from 11 countries gathered in Brussels to gain first-hand technical insights on how the operationalisation of the EU Deforestation Regulation will be handled by European actors. Both government and public sector representatives from relevant sectors of Cambodia, Laos, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands and Vietnam exchanged with key European public, private and civil society actors involved in the operationalisation of the regulation.
The programme of the 4-day trip included a visit to the Port of Antwerp as well as technical and multi-stakeholder exchanges with the European Commission (DG INTPA, DG ENV, DG TRADE, JRC), the External Action Service of the EU (EEAS), and the National Competent Authorities of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. On the private sector and civil society side, delegates met with Wilmar Europe Holdings B.V., Corrie MacColl, the European Coffee Federation, Tyres Europe and Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, third party verification and certification organisations such as RSPO, and civil society organisations such as FERN, Solidaridad, SNV and Earthsight.
