The European Commission has announced that it is proposing a 12-month delay to the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
In an announcement published on the Commission’s website, it said that it was publishing ‘additional guidance documents and a stronger international cooperation framework’ to assist businesses and countries in preparing for the EUDR.
It added that it was recommending that the date for implementation of the law be pushed to 30 December 2025 for large companies and 30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises.
‘Since all the implementation tools are technically ready, the extra 12 months can serve as a phasing-in period to ensure proper and effective implementation,’ it noted.
The postponed date will need to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council before it is agreed upon.
‘State of preparedness’
The Commission added that it recognises that ‘ three months ahead of the intended implementation date, several global partners have repeatedly expressed concerns about deforestation and their state of preparedness, most recently during the United Nations General Assembly week in New York. Moreover, the state of preparations amongst stakeholders in Europe is also uneven. While many expect to be ready in time, thanks to intensive preparations, others have expressed concerns.’
With this in mind, the granting of an additional 12 months to ‘phase in’ the legislation would help to secure a ‘smooth implementation’ from the start, it noted.
The guidance documents published by the Commission include details about the details on the functionalities of the Information System, updates on penalties, and clarifications on critical definitions such as ‘forest degradation’, ‘operator’ in the scope of the law, and ‘placing on the market’. There is also further guidance on traceability obligations. They are divided into 11 chapters, covering areas such as legality requirements, timeframe of application, agricultural use, and clarifications on the product scope.
‘More clarity needed’
Commenting on the Commission’s proposals, EuroCommerce, which represents the retail and wholesale trade in Europe, noted that it was ‘grateful’ for the planned postponement.
‘More clarity is especially important for the retail and wholesale sector at the end of the supply chain, daily trading hundreds of thousands of products in scope, and working with hundreds of suppliers at company level,’ it said.
Read the full announcement here.
