The Council of the EU, which is made up of government ministers from the bloc's member states, is to seek a "targeted revision" of the controversial EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

The aim of the EUDR, according to the European Commission, is to ensure that goods in the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation.

However, the provisions of the EUDR would also apply to products produced within the EU.

The regulation means that companies will only be allowed to sell products in the EU if the supplier provides a “due diligence” statement confirming that the product does not come from deforested land or has led to forest degradation.

The regulation was set to come into effect at the end of 2024. However, this was deferred until the end of 2025, and in September the commission announced it would seek an additional one-year deferral, meaning it would come into force at the end of 2026.

However, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament would have to sign off on that deferral.

In further developments this week, the council has said it is adopting a mandate for negotiating with the parliament on a targeted revision of the EUDR.

The council said its position aims to simplify implementation of the existing rules and to postpone their application to allow operators, traders and authorities to prepare adequately.

The move follows concerns from member states and stakeholders over the readiness of companies and administrations, as well as about technical issues related to the new information system required for the regulation.

The council has also agreed to back the commission's proposed deferral of the EUDR until December 2026, with an additional six-month period for small operators, meaning it will come into effect for those businesses in mid-2027.

The council will also seek a number of changes to the EUDR's rules, including:

The obligation and responsibility for submitting the required due diligence statement would fall exclusively on the operators who first place the product on the market;
Downstream operators and traders would no longer have to submit separate due diligence statements, and only the first downstream operators must keep and pass on the reference number of the initial statement;
Micro and small primary operators would submit only a one-off simplified declaration.

The council also tasked the European Commission with carrying out, by April 30, 2026, a simplification review assessing the EUDR’s impact and administrative burden on operators, particularly small and micro operators.

The council will start negotiations with the European Parliament in order to reach a final agreement in the coming weeks and before the current EUDR becomes applicable as of December 30.