The 27 EU member states have decided to postpone the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by one year until the end of 2025. But the ministers and ambassadors rejected the proposal of the (centre)-right majority of the European Parliament to also relax the rules in terms of content.
The delay was proposed by the European Commission to give companies and countries more time to meet the complex new requirements. Critics, including parliamentarians and NGOs, have accused the European Commission of being slow to act.
It has taken months for key controls and guidelines to be put in place, creating uncertainty about how businesses could comply. Micro and small businesses have even been given until mid-2026 to comply.
Led by the Christian Democratic EPP group, the right-wing majority of the European Parliament had tried last month to include all kinds of exceptions. This has now been rejected by the ministers and ambassadors of the EU countries.
Environmental groups such as the World Wildlife Fund say it is vital that the law maintains its integrity to halt global biodiversity loss and achieve the EU climate goals.
The aim of the regulation now remains unchanged: to combat global deforestation by ensuring that products such as coffee, soy, cocoa, timber and palm oil entering the EU do not come from recently deforested areasieden (after December 2020).
The law remains controversial, however. While countries that rely on EU exports are concerned about the economic implications, some variants argue that the delay merely provides more time to improve implementation without investing in environmental efforts.