11/14/2024
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), aimed at tackling deforestation and forest degradation, was initially set to come into force on December 30, 2024, requiring businesses to align with its provisions. For micro and small enterprises, the deadline was set six months later, on June 25, 2025.
However, on October 2, 2024, the European Commission officially proposed postponing the regulation’s enforcement by one year: to December 30, 2025, for larger companies and June 30, 2026, for SMEs, without altering its objectives or core content.
On November 14, 2024, the European Parliament voted to approve this postponement. It also adopted amendments to the regulation, which must now be negotiated with the Commission and the Council of the EU. The postponement is therefore subject to these negotiations. If no agreement is reached among the three institutions, businesses will need to comply with the EUDR’s original requirements from January 1, 2025.
Non-EU countries have highlighted a need for additional time to prepare for the regulation's impact, and certain EU member states are not yet fully prepared. The European Parliament and Council are expected to make a decision by the end of 2024 via an accelerated procedure, where the proposal will be discussed directly in a plenary session without review by a specialist committee.
The RDUE’s path began in April 2023, when the European Parliament passed the regulation by a wide majority (552 votes in favour, 44 against, and 43 abstentions). Published in the Official Journal of the European Union in June 2023, this regulation has become essential for businesses.
For further information, refer to:
This regulation serves three core objectives:
The specific aims of the RDUE include:
The EUDR targets seven key commodities and their derivative products:
A comprehensive list of these derived products is available on page 38 of the regulation, downloadable in all EU languages.
Companies will need to demonstrate that these products are legally produced in the country of origin and have not contributed to deforestation or forest degradation since December 31, 2020 (the "cut-off date"), aligning with existing international commitments, including:
As EUDR is a regulation, it must be uniformly adopted by all EU member states, unlike a directive, which requires transposition into national law.
The regulation is set to undergo periodic reviews – likely after 1, 2, and 5 years – to potentially broaden its scope to other biodiverse areas such as peatlands, and possibly to include the financial sector, maize, and palm oil biofuels.
Once in force, only products meeting the following criteria can be imported into or exported from the EU:
Every two months until December 30, 2024, around 60 stakeholders, including EU member states, gather in a dedicated deforestation platform, representing all sectors.
Under the presidency of the European Commission, they assess progress in the implementation of the text and respond to questions. Applications for all sectors could be submitted before September 2023.
If your organization is concerned with the implementation of ERDFD, you can contact your sector representative, who will relay your questions and suggestions to the Commission. Also note that the European Commission has published a detailed FAQ, last updated in Octobre 2024.
In addition to this platform, an informal working group brings together representatives from EU member states. Their work contributes to the previously mentioned FAQ and future guidance documents.
Two expert-led working groups have also been formed, bringing together experts selected by the Commission from among the members of the platform:
Outcomes from these groups will be shared on the platform.
Support tools and resources:
Various resources are available to support compliance with the RDUE:
Training on the Declaration Submission Interface: Training sessions on using the declaration registration interface are scheduled. Application instructions for these training sessions are expected to be posted on the dedicated web page in October 2024.
Finally, anyone can subscribe to the European Commission’s EUDR newsletter, an ideal way to stay up-to-date with the latest EUDR developments. Simply click the “Sign up for our Newsletter” link at the bottom of the Commission’s dedicated EUDR page.
As part of the aforementioned preparatory work, a European Forest Observatory is being created in compliance with EUDR. This observatory includes several components, including:
The first maps from the European Forest Observatory are available since December 2023.
Initial assessments of high-risk countries and regions are expected by the end of 2024. In France, a competent authority was designated in late 2023 to align with relevant state services.
The first inspections are set to begin in 2025, although any delay in implementation may adjust this timeline.
For tailored guidance, EVEA’s Social Footprint team is available to support companies in analysing supply chains, identifying deforestation risks, and ensuring compliance with national environmental and social laws through social life-cycle analysis or other methods.
Key Resources:
Additional Resources:
Pauline Roignant, Watch Manager at EVEA
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(1) The production date corresponds to the harvest date. For animals, it corresponds to the animal's lifespan, including slaughter (this information must be known and transparent for all breeding locations).
(2) Data must be kept for 5 years.
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