EU Parliament and Council to vote soon on EUDR delay
But how did we get here?
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has taken centre stage over the past weeks, following the European Commission’s proposal to delay its implementation just three months before the deadline.
The regulation was initially passed into law in June 29, 2023, with the aim to decrease the impact of European consumption on worldwide natural ecosystems, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to protect biodiversity.
Current outlook
The EUDR mandates that a certain group of products – namely palm oil, soya, coffee, cocoa, wood, rubber and cattle – cannot be placed in the EU market if their production was conducted illegally and caused deforestation or forest degradation.
After months of negotiations following the delay proposal, the EU institutions reached a provisional agreement in early December on a one-year delay for the EUDR, along with some minor amendments.
Now, with less than three weeks remaining until the deadline, the final decision is eagerly awaited. For the proposal to take effect, both the European Parliament and the Council must vote in favour.
The Parliament is expected to cast its vote in the next plenary session from December 16 to 19, with the Council vote to follow. The regulation will become biding once it is published in the EU Official Journal. Any potential hiccups on the road are yet threatening the implementation of the amendments.
A positive vote would have the following effects:
But how did we get here? Let’s make a brief review of what were the steps taken.
October 2, 2024: EU Commission proposed a one-year delay for EUDR
On October 2, 2024, the European Commission announced a proposal to delay the EUDR deadlines by one year. Although many stakeholders welcomed it positively, it came as a bit of a surprise, as there had been no prior indication or announcement of this over the past year from the institutions.
The official text of the Commission’s proposal focused on the one-year delay, as its intention was solely to postpone the implementation deadline, without promoting further amendments that could hinder EUDR’s overall effectiveness.
As quoted from the official text of the EUDR delay’s proposal (page 2):
“The Commission considers that the date of application of the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 that lay down obligations on operators, traders and competent authorities, listed in Article 38(2) of that Regulation, should be postponed by 12 months to allow Member States, exporting partner countries, operators and traders to be better prepared and for the latter, to fully establish the necessary due diligence systems covering all relevant commodities and products, as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2023/1115. The extended timeline will also allow for further engagement with third countries, where relevant, several of which have expressed concerns related to the too short implementation time.”
The Commission justified the proposal by outlining some key aspects. As a matter of fact, the EU received strong pressures and criticism from international stakeholders, being concerned that operators, traders, and especially smallholders would struggle to meet the new Regulation’s requirements due to its complexity and disruptive impact. On top of this, they the potential downsides could outweigh the environmental benefits, as higher supply chain costs might lead to increased prices for consumers globally.
Another concern was the perceived tight implementation timeframe, as the EUDR provides just over 18 months for adaptation. This was particularly challenging given the unprecedented nature of the Regulation, which is the first legislation of its kind on a global scale.
While these reasons may be valid, delaying the EUDR also has significant consequences:
On top of all this, the EU Commission’s proposal triggered a legislative procedure which took two and a half months of negotiation, voting and compromises to resolve.
October 16, 2024: EU Council accepts the Commission’s proposal
On October 16, 2024, the EU Council agreed to the EU Commission’s proposal to delay the implementation of the EU Deforestation-free Regulation by one year.
The decision speed suggested a strong alignment among the Commission and the Council on the need for the delay and a shared understanding that clear guidance must be provided swiftly at the international level. Nevertheless, the Council already foresaw that the final decision on the delay was expected only by the end of the year.
The EU Council’s proposal emphasised that the EUDR regulation remains unchanged, but still asked for a minor modification. Apart from the 12-month postponement of EUDR implementation and its interrelated provisions, the EU Council required that the European Commission classify the countries by risk level before June 30, 2025. The goal was to provide all stakeholders with clear guidance well before the implementation deadline.
In her letter to the EU Parliament, Katalin Molnar, Chair of the Permanent Representatives Committee of the EU Council, outlined the Council’s position on the matter and expressed optimism about reaching an agreement on the proposal “at first reading”. As we all know by now, unfortunately, this was not the case.
November 14, 2024: EU Parliament votes on the EUDR delay and relative amendments
In the weeks before the plenary session on November 14, 2024, where the European Parliament voted on the EUDR delay and its amendments, the EPP party introduced significant and controversial modifications to the original requirements. The amendments were a total of 15. Here’s a breakdown of what they proposed:
These amendments were not welcomed positively by environmental organisations, like Earthsight, which cautioned that they would water down the EUDR’s intent and effectiveness. In their words: “They seem reasonable until you actually think about the implications, which are disastrous.”
In particular, Earthsight warned how these changes could create loopholes, encouraging businesses to invest in initiatives that seem compliant but ultimately do little to prevent deforestation, diverting resources from genuine sustainability efforts.
For instance, introducing the no-risk countries might create opportunities for companies to launder high-risks products through them. Also, the exemption of the entire category of traders could lead to the creation of shell companies that will bear all the risk. All considered, these amendments would have made the EUDR an administrative burden with no real impact.
On November 14, 2024, the European Parliament voted on the Commission’s proposal to postpone the EU Deforestation Regulation by one year and on some of the amendments proposed by the EPP party, as amendments 1, 2, 8, 13, 14 and 15 were withdrawn last minute and not discussed in the voting session. The withdrawn amendments were related to the exclusion of traders from EUDR requirements and the two-year delay.
A few fundamental changes were voted in favour by the Parliament during a quite chaotic session that saw many voting machines not working properly. Because of this, several representatives asked to revote on EUDR amendments, especially given that a small handful of votes could have changed the outcome, but the request was not granted.
You can see the numbers in the table. The amendment proposing a one-year delay, highlighted in the table’s last row, recorded the largest difference in votes, indicating that the postponement gathered the strongest support.
All in all, the voting outcome was:
- The postponement of EUDR by one year: PASSED. This meant that EUDR would apply from Dec 30, 2025, for large and medium companies and from Jun 30, 2026, for small and micro enterprises.
- The introduction of “no-risk” countries with simplified due diligence: PASSED. There would be four different categories of countries: high, standard, low and no risk. Checks by competent authorities in member states on “no-risk” countries shall be carried out on only 0.1% of the total number of operators.
- The involvement of WTO to facilitate the application of EUDR: REJECTED. However, the Commission is still expected to undertake international discussions with other entities such as CBD, FAO, UN Convention to Combat Desertification, UN Environment Assembly, UN Forum on Forests, UNFCCC, WTO, G7 and G20.
November 20, 2024: the EU Council rejects the amendments passed by EU Parliament
On November 20, 2024, the EU Council rejected the few amendments to EUDR’s initial text passed by the EU Parliament. In the official press release, the EU Council reiterated the need to postpone the Regulation by one year to allow stakeholders subject to the Regulation to better prepare.
However, the Council was firmly against the Parliament-approved amendment to introduce the concept of no-risk countries. The reasons are attributed to the Council’s intention to “ensure legal certainty for all stakeholders” and to keep the EU Deforestation Regulation “objective”, to use its words.
In response to the Council’s official stance, the EPP abandoned the “no-risk” category in favour of an additional amendment. This change proposed differentiated requirements for countries that can demonstrate “effective and sustainable forestry practices.” As this amendment was included under Article 34 (“Review”), it appears that it acted more as a placeholder for future discussions. These discussions, scheduled to occur before June 30, 2028, according to the original official text, will assess and refine the EUDR’s impacts for future improvements.
The other two amendments on which the EPP party kept a firm position were related to the IT platform readiness and the deadline for the benchmarking system classification.
December 3, 2024: Negotiations between the EU Commission, Parliament, and Council
At the beginning of the month, on December 3, 2024, following the rejection of the EU Council to the Parliament’s amendments, it seems that the EU institutions reached an agreement over the final amendments.
They now need to formalise the vote in the next plenary session, planned between December 16 and 19. The final amendments that got the green light from the three EU bodies are the following:
Next steps
The EU Parliament is expected to vote in the next plenary session taking place from December 16 to December 19. Both Parliament and Council must approve the amendments for them to take effect. Finally, the amendments must be published in the EU Official Journal before the end of the year.
We stand with Earthsight declaration: “After the rollercoaster of the past few weeks, the European Council, Parliament, and Commission must now draw a firm line: there must be no more attacks on the EUDR.” Europe’s credibility is now at stake.
Time is running out. If even a single amendment is rejected, there may not be enough time to implement the regulatory changes, potentially leading to severe repercussions for Europe’s integrity and global supply chains.
