EU negotiators have reached a provisional political agreement to revise the bloc’s deforestation-free products regulation (EUDR), delaying its application and introducing targeted simplifications intended to ease implementation for companies and national authorities.
The Council presidency and European Parliament representatives backed the European Commission’s proposal to simplify due-diligence requirements and extend the application date after member states, businesses and civil-society groups raised concerns about readiness and technical issues with the new information system.
Under the agreement, all operators will now have until 30 December 2026 to comply with the rules, with micro and small operators granted an additional six months. The co-legislators decided to scrap the Commission’s previously proposed “grace period” for larger firms, opting instead for a uniform delay.
Key elements of the agreement:
- Simplified due diligence: Only the operator placing a product on the EU market for the first time will be responsible for submitting a due-diligence statement. The next operator in the chain must merely collect and retain the reference number rather than pass it through the entire supply chain.
- One-time declaration for small operators: Micro and small primary operators will submit a single simplified declaration and receive an identifier sufficient for traceability.
- Stakeholder engagement: Both institutions stressed that ongoing consultation with experts, operators and stakeholders should continue through the Commission’s existing multi-stakeholder platform on forests.
- IT system safeguards: National authorities will be required to report significant disruptions in the EU’s information system to the Commission to ensure continuity while avoiding unnecessary administrative burden.
- Reduced scope: Certain printed products — including books, newspapers and printed images — will be removed from the regulation’s scope due to their limited deforestation risk.
The Commission must also produce a simplification review by 30 April 2026, assessing administrative impacts, especially for small operators, and proposing adjustments or legislative changes if necessary.
The provisional deal must now be formally approved by both the Council and the European Parliament before it can replace the current regulation.
The EUDR entered into force in June 2023, covering commodities such as cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood. Its main requirements were originally due to apply from December 2024 but were postponed by one year after concerns over readiness. The latest amendment responds to continuing implementation challenges, including the need to ensure the EU’s information system functions effectively and that administrative burdens, particularly for smaller operators, are manageable.
