Some changes to the EUDR, along with the news of its postponement until 2027, were already made in December. Further news is expected in April, when the European institutions will present the results of the revision of the text. To stay up to date on the prospects of the Anti–Deforestation Regulation, UNIC – Italian Tanneries organized a conference on February 12 in Milan as part of Lineapelle (in photo).
The December changes
EU Regulation No. 2650/2025 (officially published on December 19), as we mentioned, already introduces some changes to the EUDR. For example, there has been a significant simplification for intra-European movements, while the procedural architecture for imports from non-EU countries remains in place. The creation of a dual track is bittersweet news. It certainly removes certain burdens in the case of trade between EU members. However, it doesn’t solve the problems of a supply chain, that of European cowhide, which imports around 40% of its raw materials from outside the EU market.
Similarly, the December amendments formalize the distinction between primary operators (i.e., the first to place a product subject to the EUDR on the EU market and required to perform due diligence), micro or small primary operators (subject to simplified due diligence), and downstream operators. When purchasing products from the primary operator, the downstream operator receives the due diligence number from the seller but is no longer required to perform a due diligence itself or to pass it on further downstream: it must only keep track of it and archive it.
Awaiting further developments
Work is continuing on the preparation of Hides Eco Track, the due diligence management platform that UNIC has developed in collaboration with the Conlegno and Terrasystem consortium. It’s worth noting that this is the only platform designed specifically for the needs of operators in the leather supply chain. The Italian leather employers’ association has reassured us that the testing phase has begun and that it will be ready by June. The April review is in between, and Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, secretary general of Cotance (the acronym representing tanning associations in Brussels), still hopes that bovine leather can be excluded from Annex I. “Not because we no longer want to invest in traceability”, he says, “but because leather is not a driver of deforestation and the EUDR is a regulatory nightmare”.
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