The European Parliament has voted to delay and simplify the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), Reuters reported.
The move – the final legal hurdle for the delay to pass into law – followed pressure from industry and concerns the digital system to enforce it was not ready, the 18 December report said.
Voted through on 17 December, the decision followed a provisional agreement reached by the Parliament and the European Council (EC) on 4 December to delay implementation of the regulation by a year as part of a ‘targeted revision’ of the legislation.
After the vote, German politician and EU parliament rapporteur, Christine Schneider, said: “The heart of the EU deforestation regulation remains intact. We are protecting forests that face a real risk of deforestation, while avoiding unnecessary obligations in areas where no such risk exists. This agreement takes the concerns of farmers, foresters and businesses seriously and ensures that the regulation can be implemented in a practical and workable way.”
The aim is to simplify the existing rules and postpone their application to allow operators, traders and authorities time to prepare adequately, according to a 4 December statement on the European Commission (EC)’s official website.
Originally due to take effect on 30 December 2024 and delayed for a year, the EUDR covers seven commodities linked to deforestation – palm oil, soyabean, timber, rubber, coffee, cocoa and cattle.
Traders and operators who would like to use or sell these products in the EU must prove that they are deforestation-free, legally produced and traceable to their source by submitting due diligence statements (DDSs) on the IT system supporting the law.
However, industry and trading partners including Brazil, Indonesia and the USA, had raised concerns that compliance with the rules would be costly and impact their exports to Europe, Reuters wrote.
Under the amended EU law, large companies would now have to comply from 30 December 2026, followed by smaller firms with a turnover of less than €10M (US$11.7M) in the products affected, from 30 June 2027, the report said.
Under the agreed changes, downstream operators and traders will no longer be required to submit a DDS for products that were already covered by a statement.
Products will only require one statement submission in the EUDR IT system, at the point it first entered the EU market, by the EU operator placing it on the market.
Micro and small primary operators will only be required to submit a simplified due diligence declaration.
A simplification review of the EUDR must be carried out by the EC by 30 April 2026 to assess the law’s impact, particularly on micro and small operators.
Food majors such as Swiss food and drink giant Nestlé, Italian chocolate and confectionery company Ferrero and global food and agribusiness conglomerate Olam Agri had warned that further delays to the law would endanger forests worldwide, Reuters wrote.
The EUDR, adopted in 2023, seeks to fight climate change and biodiversity loss by ensuring products sold in the EU are not sourced from deforested land.
