With a majority vote in the plenary session on November 26, the European Parliament approved the Council’s proposal to postpone the entry into force of the EUDR by one year. After the autumn dance, we finally know when EU companies will have to comply with the Anti-Deforestation Regulation. This will be December 30, 2026, for medium and large companies, and June 30, 2027, for micro and small companies. The further simplifications promised by the EU institutions are expected by April.
The European Parliament approves the postponement of the EUDR
“We welcome the clear position of the plenary, which is broadly in line with the compromise reached by the Member States”, said German MEP Christine Schneider in her immediate reaction. “We want to protect forests threatened by deforestation, but the key elements for its implementation have not even been finalized, such as the IT system. It was obvious that the new rules had to be postponed for all companies”. The need for postponement was anticipated on September 23 by European Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall. But on October 22, throwing the supply chains involved into turmoil, the Commission unexpectedly proposed that medium and large companies start with the EUDR as early as December 30, 2025. In other words, immediately.
It’s now the Trilogue’s turn
It has been a turbulent autumn for European tanneries, which see bovine leather at every stage of processing included in the regulation. We know the dates, but we don’t yet know all the details. To bring order to the flurry of amendments approved and rejected, the floor now passes to the Trilogue, i.e., the discussion between Parliament, Council, and Commission. We will know more by April 2026.
Read also:
- With the EUDR, the Commission has already played the Halloween prank on us
- Deforestation, Commission prepares to postpone EUDR to 2027
- EUDR, Nuti (UNIC): “Yet another let-down from the Commission”
