STRASBOURG, France—Members of the European Parliament (MEP) voted to approve the postponement of the European Union Deforestation Regulation's (EUDR) implementation by one year.
The move—which passed 371 votes to 240 Nov. 14—means large operators and traders will need to be EUDR-compliant by Dec. 30, 2025, and micro- and small enterprises now will need to comply by June 30, 2026.
EUDR, originally slated to come into effect Dec. 30, 2024, is intended to reduce the EU's impact on global deforestation and forest degradation by banning the import of certain commodities and their derived products into the EU market that contribute to deforestation. The commodities include natural rubber, along with cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil and coffee.
Following mounting concerns from global partners about the success of implementing the regulation, the European Commission proposed postponing the effective date of the law early in October.
"This additional time would help operators around the world to implement the rules smoothly from the start without undermining the objectives of the law," MEP said in a Nov. 14 press release following the vote.
The governing body also adopted several amendments to EUDR, which raised concerns in the tire and rubber industry.
These amendments include the creation of a new category of countries posing as "no risk" on deforestation in addition to the three already existing categories: low, standard and high.
"Countries classified as 'no risk,' defined as countries with stable or increasing forest area development, would face significantly less stringent requirements as there is a negligible or non-existent risk of deforestation," MEP said.
The commission, it added, will need to finalize a country benchmarking system by June 30, 2025. Parliament, therefore, will "refer this file back to committee for inter-institutional negotiations."
To go into force, the changes must be approved by both council and parliament and published in the EU Official Journal.
