EU Parliament approves one-year EUDR delay to December 2026
The EU Deforestation Regulation has been delayed to 2026 for major traders, with simplified declarations introduced for micro and small enterprises.
EU – The European Parliament has voted to extend the timeline for putting the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) into effect, shifting compliance obligations by an additional 12 months.
The rulebook, which had already faced several postponements, will now begin applying to large operators and traders on 30 December 2026, while micro and small enterprises will start meeting requirements from 30 June 2027.
The regulation was first due to take effect at the close of 2024. However, implementation challenges and readiness gaps across EU Member States, alongside technical lags in the Union’s TRACES (TRACES NT) digital platform, led to the first extension moving the deadline to 30 December 2025. The most recent vote grants companies more time to adjust while system upgrades are completed.
The EUDR was unveiled by the EU Commission in late 2021 with the objective of preventing commodities associated with forest loss from being traded on the EU market. Under the law, companies placing affected goods into circulation will be required to file due diligence statements proving that products are not tied to deforested land after the cut-off date.
An official communication from the Parliament confirmed that the additional buffer period is meant to enable reinforcement of IT architecture, allowing traders, operators, and authorised representatives to prepare and submit electronic due diligence statements without disruption.
The release also clarified a key revision to responsibility sequencing: due diligence filings will now be the role of the first business responsible for placing the regulated product on the EU market, rather than the firms involved in later commercial trade cycles.
The Parliament also approved streamlined requirements for micro and small operators, allowing them to file a single simplified declaration.
For small enterprises sourcing regulated commodities, mapping and polygon-based origin documentation would now be submitted once in a reduced-intensity format rather than at repeated transaction stages.
A mandatory simplification impact assessment has also been scheduled, with lawmakers requesting a review by 30 April 2026 to measure administrative strain and cost implications.
Prior to the vote, the Commission had reopened discussions in September 2025, evaluating whether an additional operational delays might be required to manage anticipated data volume spikes.
In October 2025, the Commission issued a proposal maintaining an end-of-year 2025 start date but introduced a six-month enforcement flexibility window, while offering small enterprises an extended adoption cycle into 2026.
Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.
