On 4 December, member states and MEPs reached an agreement on the revision of the EUDR. The agreement removed the ‘grace period’ initially proposed by the Commission for large and medium companies, opting instead for a clear extension of the application date for all operators until 30 December 2026, with an extra six-month cushion for micro and small operators. It simplifies obligations for operators and requires that only the business that first places a product on the EU market will be responsible for submitting the necessary due diligence statement. Read more

The Commission is also tasked with presenting a report assessing the burden of the regulation, particularly for micro and small operators, by April 30 2026 and, if necessary, it may then propose further simplification measures.

The agreement still needed to be officially signed off by the whole European Parliament and the member states (Council) later in December. The Parliament voted on 17 December and it was passed with 405 in favour, 242 against and 8 abstentions. The Council approved it by written procedure on 18 December with the majority of member states voting in favour, Spain and Belgium voting against and The Netherlands abstaining.  The final paperwork was published in the EU Official Journal on 26 December and the new deadlines and simplifications will now come into force. FEFAC and others will continue to work over the coming months on measures that they would like included in the Commission’s EUDR simplification review due at the end of April 2026.