EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) update: Commission proposals for new transitional periods and simplification of due diligence statement filing obligations

In December 2024, the EU granted an additional one-year phasing-in period for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) (EUDR), making it applicable on 30 December 2025 for large and medium companies and 30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises. Last month, the European Commission indicated it may propose a further one-year delay, citing operability concerns with the information system to be used by companies submitting due diligence statements (DDS). This prompted some large companies that had been actively preparing and investing in compliance with the EUDR to publicly disagree with a further delay.

Yesterday the Commission clarified its position and put forward the following proposals: 

Timing of application and enforcement

• For micro and small enterprises, the date of application of EUDR to be delayed by a further 6 months to 30 December 2026.
• For all other in-scope companies, no change to the application date (30 December 2025), but a new 6-month transition or ‘grace period’ – to 30 June 2026 – during which time Member States’ competent authorities will not be required to carry out checks and other measures related to enforcement. If, during the grace period, a competent authority is made aware of non-compliance, it may issue warnings and recommendations to achieve compliance.

Simplified measures

• As currently drafted, the EUDR requires an upstream Operator – the actor that first imports a regulated commodity or relevant derived product into the EU market – to carry out due diligence to ensure compliance with the requirements of EUDR and to file a DDS. Downstream Operators (i.e. actors that process a regulated commodity or relevant derived product that is already on the EU market into a new relevant product and place that product on the EU market for the first time) and Traders (actors in the supply chain other than Operators that supply relevant products in the EU market for distribution, consumption or use) are also currently subject to due diligence and filing obligations – albeit that where a relevant DDS has already been filed by an upstream actor, those obligations are limited to ascertaining that proper due diligence has been carried out and filing a DDS that references the previously submitted DDS.
• The Commission proposes significantly to reduce the compliance burden on these downstream actors – doing away with the obligation to ascertain that proper due diligence has been carried out and to file a DDS. In effect therefore (and subject to the exception explained below), one DDS would be submitted – by the upstream Operator – for the entire supply chain.
• In order further to reduce reporting requirements, the Commission also proposes to create a new sub-category of Operator – ‘micro and small primary’ Operators – for whom the obligation to submit a DDS would not apply at all. Micro and small primary Operators are natural persons or micro/small undertakings from low-risk countries that place relevant products on the EU market that they themselves produce (i.e. they grow, harvest obtain from or raise the relevant commodities in the relevant products themselves). Actors in this category would only be required to submit a simple, one-off declaration containing specified information in the EUDR information system. If the specified information is already available in an EU or Member State system or database, micro and small primary Operators would not be required to submit this simplified declaration.

The European Parliament and the Council will now discuss the proposal, following which any amendments would need to be formally adopted.

For further information or tailored advice, please contact kerry.stares@crsblaw.com or your usual Charles Russell Speechlys contact.