EU Parliament approves Deforestation Regulation delay and revision

The European Parliament has formally adopted a further delay and revision to its EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), meaning large companies and operators will have until December 30, 2026, to comply, and small and micro-enterprises until June 30, 2027. This latest delay represents a one-year postponement of the law’s enforcement.

The European Commission will review the regulation by April 30, 2026, as part of the agreement, which could help simplify the law before it takes full effect. However, companies also face uncertainty as to whether to invest in compliance systems for rules that may change again.

The postponement stems from numerous factors, including concerns that smaller companies may lack the infrastructure for early compliance and that IT systems were not prepared for due diligence compliance.

Industry responses have been divided. Green groups have criticized the delay and revision for weakening deforestation protections and yielding to lobbying pressure, while some organizations like the World Resources Institute see the agreement as a pragmatic compromise preserving the regulation’s core goals.

The Rainforest Alliance said in a statement: “This new postponement seriously harms the credibility of the EU and its capacity to secure stability and legal certainty for the many businesses which had been anticipating the regulation.”

“Especially, the review clause adds to the uncertainty only a few months after the amending regulation is adopted. Many of our certified coffee and cocoa producers and supply chain partners have already dedicated significant resources to support EUDR compliance. Producing countries’ governments have also invested considerable effort in setting up national systems to support producers to remain included in EU supply chains.”The EUDR impacts coffee and numerous other F&B supply chains.

“Today’s agreement discredits all these efforts and offers a reward to the laggards — again – while tropical forests continue to be destroyed.”

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

The revised timeline is not legally binding until the amended regulation is published in the EU Official Journal.

The EU’s flagship law to stop imported products from contributing to deforestation affects various F&B supply chains, including palm oil, cocoa, soy, coffee, tea, and beef.

The EU Parliament voted to exempt printed products, like books, magazines, and newspapers, from the EUDR’s scope — a change supported in a recent plenary vote.