SUMMARY

The European Commission has formally announced its Decision to only postpone the entry into applicability of EUDR ONLY for SMEs (as opposed to for both large companies and SMEs as originally announced) and published a proposal to simplify its implementation for certain operators.

This means that large companies would still be required to comply with the regulation FROM 30 December 2025.

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MORE DETAILS

The news comes following the recent announcement of a delay in the application of the EU Deforestation Regulation by Commissioner Roswall—citing that the EUDR IT system is not yet equipped to handle the expected volume of due diligence statements. In addition to the postponement, SMEs are expected to also benefit from a simplified due diligence declaration.

If the proposal is adopted by co-legislators, EUDR will enter into application on 30 December 2026 for micro- and small enterprises (SMEs). For large and medium companies, the applicability date remains 30 December 2025 but to ensure a gradual phase-in of the rules, they would benefit from a grace period of six months for checks and enforcement.

The Commission also proposes the following changes:

1. ‍Downstream operators and traders would no longer be obliged to submit due diligence statements. With this streamlining, only one submission in the EUDR IT system at the entry point in the market will be required for the entire supply chain. The reporting obligations and the responsibility would be focused on the operators placing first the products on the market.

2. Micro and small primary operators from low-risk countries worldwide who sell their goods directly on the European market would only need submit a one-off declaration in the EUDR IT system. When the information is already available (e.g. in a Member State database) the operators do not have to take any action in the IT System. This simplification replaces the previous need for regular submissions of due diligence statements.

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NEXT STEPS

The European Parliament and the Council will now need to discuss and adopt the Commission's proposal before it can come into effect. The Commission is calling on the European Parliament and the Council to swiftly adopt the proposal by the end of 2025.

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