The European Council has formally adopted a targeted revision of the EU’s regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), introducing measures to simplify implementation and give operators, traders and authorities more time to prepare for its application.
The revision streamlines due diligence requirements and delays the regulation’s application for all operators until 30 December 2026, with a further six-month extension granted to micro and small operators. The changes respond to concerns raised by member states and stakeholders over administrative burdens and the readiness of the EU’s IT systems, while maintaining the regulation’s core objective of preventing deforestation and forest degradation linked to products placed on the EU market.
As part of the simplification effort, certain printed products — including books, newspapers and printed images — have been removed from the scope of the regulation, reflecting their limited deforestation risk.
The amended regulation also requires the European Commission to carry out a simplification review and publish a report by 30 April 2026. The review will assess the regulation’s impacts and administrative burden, particularly on smaller operators, and may be accompanied by a legislative proposal where appropriate.
Following its formal adoption by the Council, the revised regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force three days after publication.
The EU regulation on deforestation-free products entered into force in June 2023, covering commodities such as cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood, as well as their derived products, to ensure they are not linked to deforestation or forest degradation. While the rules were initially due to apply from 30 December 2024, an initial one-year postponement was agreed in December 2024 amid concerns over preparedness, pushing application to 30 December 2025.
The latest amendment, proposed by the European Commission in October 2025, seeks to address ongoing implementation challenges, particularly the effective functioning of the EU information system and the need to ease administrative pressures on smaller operators.
