The European Council has approved a targeted amendment to the EU deforestation regulation, extending its application date by 12 months to provide stakeholders with additional time for compliance. The revised timeline, which must be adopted and published in the EU’s Official Journal by 30 December 2024, aims to ensure legal clarity and facilitate a smoother implementation of the regulation’s due diligence requirements.
The EU deforestation regulation, in force since 29 June 2023, mandates that products made from cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and their derivatives must be deforestation-free to be sold in or exported from the EU. The amendment will push the application of these provisions from 30 December 2024 to the end of 2025, granting member states, third countries, operators, and traders more time to establish robust compliance systems.
This extension is intended to provide stakeholders with predictability and adequate time to implement due diligence measures. These measures include identifying deforestation risks in supply chains and ensuring adherence to EU standards. Despite the postponement, the core objective of the regulation remains unchanged: to minimise the EU’s contribution to global deforestation and forest degradation. Products will still need to comply with strict requirements, ensuring they are sourced from land not subjected to deforestation or forest degradation after 31 December 2020.
The Council emphasised that this amendment does not compromise core principles of the regulation. Instead, it addresses logistical and operational concerns raised by stakeholders who indicated that the original timeline might not allow sufficient time for compliance due to the complexity of required systems.
The Council will now inform the European Parliament of its position to initiate negotiations. The aim is to formally adopt and publish the amended regulation by the end of 2024, ensuring it comes into effect within the new timeline.
