EUDR - EU NEGOTIATORS AGREE TO ONE-YEAR DELAY OF ANTI-DEFORESTATION LAW

On 3 December 2024 the trilogue negotiators reached an agreement on the proposal to delay the EU’s new anti-deforestation rules by one year. Originally scheduled to apply from 30 December 2024 on, the regulation is now scheduled to be enforced from 30 December 2025 on, allowing companies and trading partners an extra 12 months to get ready to comply with new tracing and due diligence requirements.

• Official Press Release HERE

As expected, and as already anticipated by MEP Christine Schneider, the Parliament’s amendments to create a new “no risk” category that would carve out due diligence requirements for commodities sourced from areas at zero risk of deforestation were not accepted. However, it appears that the negotiators agreed to look into how to simplify the regulation and reduce regulatory burden, especially for smaller companies, when the legislation is reviewed in 2028.

The EU Commission is also expected to publish an updated version of the Frequently Asked Questions and guidelines aimed at helping companies prepare for implementation.

Next steps: The provisional agreement will now have to be endorsed by the Council and Parliament. It will then be formally adopted by both institutions and will be published in the Official Journal of the EU, so that it can enter into force before the application date of the current regulation (30 December 2024). The Parliament’s environment committee is now expected to formally sign off on the one-year postponement during a meeting today. If this goes through, which is highly likely, the proposal will need to be voted by the Parliament’s plenary meeting in the week of 16 December 2024 before it can be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force three days later.

Meanwhile, FEFPEB addressed CEI Bois with our concern on several aspects related to EUDR and the need for clarification, this will be taken on board by CEI Bois at a meeting of the “Multi-Stakeholder Platform on Protecting and Restoring the World’s Forests”, where the EU Commission is expected to briefly present the EUDR guidelines and the revised Q&As.