Noerr | EUDR only to be postponed for small enterprises, but simplifications planned for traders

EUDR only to be postponed for small enterprises, but simplifications planned for traders

The European Commission was recently publicly considering postponing the application of European Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products (Deforestation Regulation – “EUDR”) once again until the end of 2026. This idea with the proposed amendments put forward on 21 October 2025 is no longer on the table. The regulation is only to be postponed for small enterprises. Instead, traders can expect significant simplifications.

This means that the legal uncertainty around the EUDR is to continue for the economic operators in Europe who are affected, including manufacturers, importers and traders from almost all sectors. They are faced by the challenge of making extensive data across supply chains available for an immense number of products that can be used to prove that the products sold are deforestation-free – this by the end of the year. The EUDR formally came into force a long time ago. Under the regulation, traders who are now to be given privileged treatment are obliged to collect extensive data and submit due diligence statements electronically from 30 December 2025. If simplifications are to apply for these economic operators in the future, this is of course to be welcomed. Nevertheless, economic operators need legal certainty to avoid falling victim to the steep sanctions for non-compliance in the medium term when the EUDR is enforced in a fragmented way by the authorities in Member States. Considering rule of law precepts, it is therefore necessary to amend the EUDR before the current scheduled date of application, which is 30 December 2025. Whether this can be realised in the short time available remains to be seen.

Background

In the EUDR, the European legislature wants to ensure that the distribution of products in Europe containing certain commodities such as soya, rubber, wood or cattle does not contribute to further global deforestation. The complex legal act formally came into force in 2023 as part of the “Green Deal” and is intended to be binding for industry and trade at the end of 2024 (see our news article from 2023). An unparalleled wave of protest by the European economic operators has, however, led to the entry into application at the end of 2024 being postponed just in time for another year. The source of resistance was not a lack of will to make a European contribution to combating global deforestation, but because it was simply impossible to meet the regulation’s requirements in time by the end of 2024. The reason for this was that neither the benchmarking system to be provided by the European Commission nor the TRACES system for the required transmission of due diligence statements was available in a form that would have enabled compliance with the legal requirements.

Due to the ongoing technical difficulties with the EU’s information system, which is reportedly not ready to process the expected numbers of due diligence statements, the European Commission already suggested to the EU Parliament in September that the date for entry into application of the EUDR be postponed for another year.

Less than a month later, in its proposal for an amendment of the EUDR (COM(2025) 652 final) of 21 October 2025, the European Commission wants to refrain from postponing its date of application yet again. Instead, the proposed amendment for large and medium-sized enterprises only provides for a temporary suspension of the enforcement of market measures and fines. However, the intention is that the regulation will in principle still officially apply from 30 December 2025.

Main contents of the new proposal for amending the EUDR:

• Simplified reporting obligations
Small and micro-sized undertakings from countries classified as “low risk” will only have to submit a “simplified declaration” in the TRACES system in future, rather than regular due diligence statements.
• Relief for traders and downstream supply chains
Companies that process or sell relevant products sourced in the EU will no longer have to submit their own due diligence statements. Instead, a single report by the party placing the product on the market will be sufficient for the entire supply chain (known as the “first-touch principle”).
• Strengthening the IT system
Finally, due to the unexpectedly high load on the EU’s information system, the European Commission suggests the following graduated transitional periods.
• For large and medium-sized enterprises, the EUDR is to apply from 30 December 2025 as scheduled, but with no checks taking place during the transitional period of six months.
• For micro and small enterprises, in contrast, the date of application is to be postponed to 30 December 2026.

The European Parliament and the Council now have to review and formally adopt the Commission’s proposals. The Commission has called on both institutions to resolve the amendments quickly by the end of 2025. Yet if the proposal for amending the Deforestation Regulation is not accepted by the Parliament and Council in time, the date of application will still be 30 December 2025. Despite this, the Commission is apparently already working on “contingency plans” for this eventuality.

Compliments of Noerr – a Platinum Member of the EACCNY