EU Parliament confirms Deforestation Regulation delay until late 2026

Members of the European Parliament have approved a series of amendments to the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) – including another one-year delay.

Large companies under the law’s remit will now have until December 30, 2026 to comply, while smaller operators will only be required to comply from June 30, 2027. The European Parliament is aligned with the EU Council’s position on the matter, meaning the delay should come into force by the end of 2025.

This is the second time EUDR implementation is pushed back: last year around the same time, compliance was moved from December 2024 to December 2025. In September this year, the European Commission expressed a desire to delay implementation again after facing issues with the IT system meant to facilitate compliance. 

But in its final proposal in October, the Commission struck a compromise with those pushing for implementation: a six-month grace period for operators, instead of an outright postponement.

However, both the European Council and Parliament requested several amendments to the proposal, eventually adapting another 12-month delay despite repeated warnings that this would increase uncertainty and costs for companies.

“This additional time is intended to guarantee a smooth transition and to allow the implementation of measures to strengthen the IT system that operators, traders and their representatives use to make electronic due diligence statements,” the Parliament explained in a statement.

EUDR to be revised again in 2026

Other amendments adopted seek to further simplify compliance, with MEPs requesting that the onus on submitting a due diligence statement fall on “the businesses who first introduce the relevant product onto the EU market, and not the operators and traders that subsequently commercialise it”.

Implementation was already simplified by the European Commission in April, for instance reducing the number of due diligence statements required to one a year, instead of one per shipment of forest-dependent products.

In addition to today’s postponement, MEPs have also adopted an amendment seeking another simplification review of the EUDR by May 2026 – meaning more changes could be on the horizon.

“What started as an IT issue has morphed into a chaotic and unmanageable situation. The European Commission must urgently clean up this mess and take back control,” said Anke Schulmeister - Oldenhove, Policy Manager for Forests at WWF European Policy Office. “The approach adopted today represents a complete withdrawal from responsibility towards future generations, who will bear the cost of delayed action. The Commission needs to learn from this lesson: it must stop the dismantling of the EUDR and the Environmental Omnibus. All hell will break loose with more simplification.”