EU Council And Parliament Agree On Simplified Deforestation-Free Regulation
The European Council’s presidency and the European Parliament have reached a provisional political agreement on a targeted revision of the EU regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR).
The revision is designed to simplify implementation and postpone the application date, giving companies, traders and authorities additional time to prepare. The regulation will now come into force on 30 December 2026, with an extra six-month extension for micro and small operators.
The agreement addresses concerns from member states and stakeholders regarding readiness and technical issues with the new information system. Under the revised rules, the obligation to submit and retain due diligence statements falls exclusively on operators who first place products on the market.
Downstream operators will no longer be responsible for passing on reference numbers. Micro and small primary operators will submit a one-time simplified declaration, which will serve as sufficient proof for traceability purposes.
To further reduce administrative burdens, certain printed products such as books, newspapers and printed pictures have been removed from the regulation’s scope due to their limited deforestation risk. Both the Council and Parliament stressed the importance of continued consultation with experts and stakeholders through the European Commission’s multi-stakeholder platform on forest protection and restoration.
Competent authorities will also be required to report significant IT system disruptions to ensure smooth functioning.
The European Commission is tasked with conducting a simplification review by 30 April 2026 to evaluate the regulation’s impact, particularly on smaller operators. The review will assess administrative burdens and may include guidelines, system improvements or legislative proposals to address identified issues.
The provisional agreement now awaits formal endorsement and adoption by both the Council and the European Parliament before it can replace the current EUDR framework, marking a significant step toward a more practical and enforceable deforestation-free regulation in the EU.
