Representatives of the European Parliament and the Danish presidency of the EU have agreed to a delay and "targeted revision" of the EU Deforestation Regulation.

The provisional aim of the agreement is to simplify the rules under the EUDR, and postpone the applications of those rules to allow operators, traders and authorities to prepare adequately.

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.

These rules will apply to products produced within the EU as well as outside the bloc.

The delay and revision follows concerns from member states and stakeholders about the readiness of companies and administrations for the onset of the regulation.

Concerns have also been raised over technical issues related to new information systems needed to enforce it.

The representatives of the parliament and the Council of the EU (council of ministers) 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 December 30, 2026, with an extra six-month "cushion" for micro and small operators.

Under the agreed position of the two EU institutions, the obligation and responsibility to submit the required due diligence statement will fall exclusively on the operators who first place the product on the market.

Furthermore, only the first downstream operator in the supply chain will be responsible for collecting and retaining the reference number of the initial due diligence statement.

A simplified declaration for micro and small primary operators has also been clarified. These operators will only be required to submit a one-time simplified declaration.

The agreement also removes certain printed products (such as books, newspapers, printed pictures) from the scope of the regulation, reflecting the limited deforestation risk associated with these items.

The European Commission has also been tasked with conducting a simplification review and presenting a report by April 30, 2026.

That report will evaluate the impact and administrative burden of the EUDR, particularly for smaller operators, and indicate ways to address the identified issues, including through guidelines and improvements to the information system.

The provisional agreement will now have to be endorsed and formally adopted by the full European Parliament and the Council of the EU before entering into force, at which point it will replace the current EUDR.