EU Council reaffirmed its position on call for EUDR delay and amendment.

Today, the EU Council met to discuss and voice their opinions over the EU Parliament’s “ambitious” proposal to introduce substantial amendments that weaken the requirements of the EUDR.

Position of the Council:

In short, the Council reconfirmed its support for the Commission’s original proposal to delay the implementation of the EUDR for one year without making any substantive changes to the rules. This means that the Council did not support the amendment proposed by the EU Parliament, which would have introduced substantial changes to the Regulation.

What happens next?

The Council will now inform the EU Parliament of its position for the start of negotiations. Negotiations could start next week with the aim of reaching a final agreement and adopting the 12-month postponement proposal.

If the final agreement could not be reached among the EU Parliament, Council and Commission, there is a high risk that the EUDR will enter into force on December 30, 2024, without any delay. It is expected that the decision-makers will reach a final decision in early December, allowing sufficient time for the amendment to be formally adopted and published in the Official Journal of the European Union before the current EUDR’ s dates of entering into application.

Summaries of key events related to EUDR’s proposal for a 1-year delay in implementation:

On the 2nd of Oct 24, the European Commission (EC) presented a proposal to extend the dates of entering into application of EUDR by 12 months.

On October 16, the Council of the EU (representing EU Member States) agreed to the Commission’s proposal to extend the dates of application of the EUDR by one year.

On November 14, 2024, the EU Parliament voted and endorsed the EU Commission’s proposal to postpone the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by 12 months. However, the EU Parliament went a step further, not only approving the proposal to extend the application dates of the EUDR, but also calling for significant changes to the landmark legislation, including:

1. Create a new risk category: 4-tier risk system instead of 3-tier
2. Minimal to almost no due diligence obligations for the “no risk” category
3. Further delays if the Commission is failed to meet the deadline

=> If the Parliament decides to step back and agrees to the Commission’s original proposal for postponement, the following new dates of application of the EUDR will be binding:

• 30 December 2025, for large operators and traders
• 30 June 2026, for micro- and small enterprises

Press release from EU Council: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/11/20/eu-deforestation-law-council-reconfirms-its-agreement-to-extend-application-timeline/

Details of proposed amendments from the EU Parliament: https://complianceblueprint.eu/eu-parliament-called-for-major-changes-to-deforestation-regulation/

Proposal for 12-month delays of EU Commission: https://complianceblueprint.eu/eudr-update-one-year-extension-of-the-application-dates/