Member countries, partners and stakeholders all called for it: and now finally the Commission is also proposing a one-year postponement of EUDR. If Parliament and the European Council, as is to be expected, grant the request, the entry into force of the Anti-Deforestation Regulation will slip to December 30, 2025 for large companies and June 30, 2026 for SMEs. “The extension proposal” the Commission statement reads, “in no way puts into question the objectives or the substance of the law, as agreed by the EU co-legislators”.
The one-year postponement of the EUDR
Among the many, the last ones to raise doubts were the U.S. Congress and the World Trade Organization, as they called for the postponement of the EUDR. Before them were European governments (such as Germany and Italy), non-European governments (such as Brazil) and trade associations (such as UNIC-Italian Tanneries). The regulation poses so many operational problems, not least because of delays by the Commission itself, which is now in the process of publishing updated guidelines and FAQs, as well as implementing the IT system for due diligence.
The EUDR was impossible to implement from December 2024: it would have turned into the paralysis of international trade in blameless cowhide, from our perspective. Chairwoman Ursula von der Leyen and the EPP had taken note of this, as the last forms of resistance to the postponement hypothesis came from the Commission, but no longer. For the good of everyone, let’s be clear: to fight against illegal deforestation and of European businesses. “The extra 12 months can serve as a phasing-in period,” the statement reads, ” to ensure its proper and effective implementation”.
