The European Union has dropped plans for another one-year delay to its anti-deforestation law, instead proposing a six-month grace period before enforcement begins. The proposal also introduces simplification measures and exemptions that favor EU nation states, the U.S., Canada, Australia and China.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), approved in 2023, sets out to ensure commodities including coffee, soy, beef, cocoa and palm oil imported to the bloc do not come from land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020. The EUDR is set to apply from Dec. 30, 2025.
Citing concerns over too much paperwork and the capacity of the EU’s IT system, the EU environment commissioner, Jessika Roswall, announced a “gradual phase in” to the law.
EU authorities will only begin checks and enforcement of the law on June 30, 2026, giving companies an additional six months to adapt.
In 2024, the EUDR’s implementation was delayed by 12 months, and last month, another postponement was discussed. With the latest proposed amendment, the date of enforcement remains unchanged.
“Having the law apply now with a grace period seems a sensible thing to do,” Nicole Polsterer, policy specialist at the environmental NGO FERN, told Mongabay by email.
For countries currently classified as “low risk” under the EUDR — all EU nations, the U.S., China, Australia and Canada — micro and small producers who sell directly to the EU would be exempt from the EUDR’s regulations under the proposal. They will only be required to submit a one-time declaration to the EU providing the postal address of production sites.
Small traders or intermediaries from these countries will also be given an extra year to comply with the EUDR.
However, all other countries will not be given any extra time for compliance or be included in exemptions, including those with smallholders that have reported struggling with access to appropriate technology and compliance costs. Companies not included in the “low risk” exemption must still submit full geolocation data and due diligence statements to export to the EU regardless of their size.
“The IT issue has never been satisfactorily explained,” Polsterer said. “In this vacuum, or under this disguise, German foresters and U.S. lobbying have successfully carved out an exemption from geolocation for themselves.”
“Germany has been banging on about needing exemptions for its foresters, as did the US for all its operations. Both are low risk according to the benchmarking,” she added.
The European Parliament and Council of the EU need to approve the Commission’s proposal before it is legally valid. Roswall said that she is open to “unlimited changes” to the proposal in the coming days and weeks.
“I am convinced that today’s proposal strikes the right balance, addressing the need to maintain strong means to fight deforestation, while reducing the administrative burden for companies,” Roswall said. “We remain fully committed to the objective of fighting deforestation and forest degradation.”
Banner image: EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall. Image courtesy of the European Union.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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