EU Parliament postpones Deforestation Regulation despite corporate calls to maintain it

The EU Parliament has approved a one-year delay for the implementation of its Deforestation Law, despite repeated calls from companies to maintain the original 2025 deadline.

If approved by the EU Council in trilogue negotiations, the delay would mean that large operators and traders would have until December 30, 2025 to comply, whereas SMEs would have until June 30, 2026.

By postponing EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) implementation – which mandates companies selling products in the EU to prove that they are not linked to deforestation – the EU Parliament aims to give companies more time to prepare. But many have been saying for months that they are ready, and that the delay could negatively affect the investments they have made to prepare in time for 2025.

“The European Union process is highly democratic and involves all stakeholders at every stage of the process. The EU must not allow that its rules can be altered merely by sufficient external pressure after the fact. That’s why we support the full implementation of the EUDR by December 30 of this year as originally planned”, said Hans-Joachim Danzer, CEO of Austrian hardwood company Danzer.

EUDR delay to ‘increase uncertainty’

A few weeks ago, a group of forest-dependent cocoa companies including Tony’s Chocolonely, Ferrero, Mars Wrigley, Mondelēz International and Nestlé, also said delaying the EUDR’s implementation “would only serve to increase uncertainty and jeopardise the significant investments our member companies have made in preparing for its application”.

But several countries have been lobbying for this delay for months, arguing that the new rules are likely to impact farmers and communities dependent on forest products for their income.  

As part of Thursday’s vote, the EU Parliament also adopted other amendments to the regulation, influencing the creation of a ‘no risk’ category for countries with “stable or increasing forest area development”, who would therefore face less stringent requirements.

If approved, this amendment would have to be backed by a country benchmarking system, to be finalised by June 30, 2025.