On Tuesday evening, negotiators from the Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement to delay implementing new EU rules to prevent deforestation. Large companies will now have until December 30, 2025, to comply, while micro and small enterprises have until June 30, 2026. This extension allows companies worldwide to adjust without compromising the law’s goals.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 420 million hectares of forest—more extensive than the EU—were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020. EU consumption is responsible for about 10% of this loss, mainly due to palm oil and soya. The EU adopted a deforestation regulation on April 19, 2023, which took effect on June 29, 2023, and originally required full compliance by December 30, 2024.
The Commission proposed the delay due to concerns from various stakeholders about meeting the original deadline. Changes made by Parliament introduced a category for countries deemed “no risk” for deforestation, and an assessment of simplified requirements for those countries was promised. An “emergency brake” was also included to allow for further postponement if necessary.
After the deal, Parliament’s rapporteur Christine Schneider (EPP, DE) said: “We promised and delivered: The one year postponement is agreed, so that businesses, foresters, farmers and authorities will have an additional year to prepare. In addition, we ensured that the Commission will complete the online platform and the risk categorisation in due time giving more predictability for all in the supply chain. Last but not least, an impact assessment and further simplification is to follow in the review stage for the low risk countries or regions giving countries an incentive to improve their forest conservation practices.
We would have preferred to see these improvements directly enshrined in the law, but Council refused disappointingly. It is now up to the Commission to deliver on its commitments. As Parliament, we will closely monitor this process, as reducing bureaucracy is urgently needed.”
The vote on this agreement will take place during Parliament’s next plenary session, which will be held from December 16-19. For the postponement to take effect, the text must be endorsed and published before the end of the year.
