There is widespread satisfaction (despite the necessary group relations) among those in Brussels who obtained approval for the European Council’s proposal. This decision brings the postponement of the entry into force of the anti-deforestation regulation by one year, which Salvatore De Meo (EPP) calls an “essential postponement”. The prospect that medium and large companies would have to comply with the EUDR obligations as early as December 30, 2025, when the IT system itself is not ready, effectively “threatened tanning”, adds Dario Nardella (S&D, the only member of the center-left Italian party to abstain). The European institutions must now take advantage of the revision of the text “to proceed with some specific changes”, he adds, “that safeguard tanning companies without distorting the regulation itself”.
“Essential postponement”
With the postponement to December 30, 2026 for medium and large companies and to June 30, 2027 for micro and small companies now assured, the goal is to arrive after the trilogue to have a revised version of the EUDR with a better and simplified text. “It’s essential that all businesses and operators”, said De Meo to ANSA, “have the time necessary to implement the rules correctly, avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy and strengthening the effectiveness of solutions to combat illegal deforestation”. Flavio Tosi (EPP) is on the same wavelength, commenting that he hopes companies will be able to operate within a clear and workable regulatory framework: “in particular of supply chains such as tanning, which is strategic for Italy and many local economies: the postponement and revision finally offer the space to address the critical issues that have emerged”.
A threat
No one denies the validity of the EUDR’s objectives. But many feared the repercussions of its premature and misguided application. “Some provisions of this regulation are formulated in such a way as to irreparably damage tanning companies, particularly in the Tuscan district, which is the most important in Europe”, Nardella continues. “The bureaucratic and tracking burdens imposed on small and micro-enterprises are excessive and sometimes unenforceable, especially when we consider that tanneries use waste products and not primary products”. “We welcome these first steps, but the EUDR framework remains complex and risks heavily penalizing the entire production chain”, concludes Elena Donazzan (ECR). European companies must be able to work with clear, applicable, and proportionate rules”.
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