EU Nations Approve One-Year Delay To Deforestation Law & Add New Compliance Cuts

EU countries have voted to delay the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by another year and introduce new measures aimed at reducing compliance demands on companies.

The European Council said the updated position will guide its negotiations with the EU Parliament on changes to the law, which seeks to ensure that products entering or leaving EU markets do not contribute to deforestation. If approved, this would be the second year-long postponement, coming shortly before the regulation’s current start date. The Council’s stance extends the implementation timeline to the end of 2026 for large companies and mid-2027 for small and micro operators. It also proposes fewer reporting steps across supply chains and allows simplified traceability for smaller operators. The Council has asked the European Commission to conduct a simplification review in April 2026, ahead of the new proposed enforcement date.