Following the European Commission’s proposal from 21 October to amend the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), representatives of the EU institutions reached an agreement in trilogue negotiations on 04 December. Their informal deal was approved by the European Parliament’s plenary on 17 December (405 votes in favour, 242 against, 8 abstentions). Approval by the Council is expected in written procedure in the coming days. The agreed revisions aim at reducing the administrative burden under the EUDR for operators, such as European forest owners, while maintaining the regulation’s environmental integrity.
The institutions’ deal shall provide more time until the start of implementation of the EUDR. New starting dates shall be 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators, and 30 June 2027 for micro and small operators. However, for micro and small operators already covered by the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) the entry into application shall be 30 December 2026.
Furthermore, aiming to introduce simplification for operators, the institutions agreed on several revisions around the obligation to submit due diligence statements (DDS). First, the responsibility to submit DDSs shall fall exclusively on the operators who first place the product on the market. Only the first downstream operator in the supply chain shall be responsible for collecting reference numbers of the initial DDS, rather than passing it on further down the chain. Also, micro and small primary operators shall only be required to submit a one-time simplified declaration, instead of more complex due diligence statements.
Parliament and Council included an obligation in their deal, obliging the Commission to carry out a simplification review which shall be presented in a report by 30 April 2026. This report shall evaluate the impact and administrative burden of the EUDR, particularly for smaller operators, and indicate ways to further address the identified issues, including through guidelines and improvements to the information system. The report shall, where appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal.
CEPF welcomes this step which acknowledges challenges in the implementation of the EUDR as well as proportionality gaps. In a next step, clarification on practicalities in implementation will need to be provided over the coming months. The review in April offers a good opportunity for further improvements. CEPF remains committed to contribute constructively to this process.
