Out of the Woods? The EUDR Postponed and Simplified

Introduction 

On 4 December 2025, European Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional political agreement on a one-year postponement of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) for all businesses, along with targeted measures to make implementation easier for companies, global stakeholders, and Member States. On 17 December 2025, the European Parliament formally adopted the political agreement, followed by the formal endorsement of the Council on 18 December 2025. The adopted text of the revised EUDR will also need to be published in the Official Journal of EU, before the current EUDR becomes applicable on 30 December 2025. This blog discusses the agreed outcome and the impact for the applicability and scope of the (revised) EUDR.

Background

The final outcome of the debate moves beyond the original proposal to allow a 6-month grace period for large companies. It not only provides for another 1-year extension for the application of the EUDR but also significantly revises (or reduces) the EUDR’s personal scope and obligations. This indicates a growing support for simplification in Brussels as is also seen in the Omnibus I developments. While it might appear that these simplifications have finally brought the EU legislator out of the woods, this is not the case. The Commission must carry out a simplification review by 30 April 2026 to evaluate the administrative burden and impact of the Regulation, particularly for micro and small operators.

The scope of the EUDR 

The EUDR applies to the following commodities: cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil, palm, rubber, soya, and wood. This also includes products that are listed as ‘relevant products’ under the Annex I EUDR, which contain or have been made with the in-scope commodities. These commodities can only be placed on the Union market or exported when they are deforestation-free. 

Based on the final agreement, ‘printed products’ (chapter 49 in the Combined Nomenclature, i.e. including books, newspapers, manuscripts and typescripts) have been removed from the scope of the revised EUDR.  

Key Changes to Operators and Traders Obligations 

The amended EUDR introduces significant changes to the categories of market participants and their obligations: 

New Category: (first) Downstream Operators

The revised EUDR introduces new concepts such as the ‘first downstream operator’ (and by extent ‘first downstream trader’) and ‘downstream operators’. 

Notably, only the ‘first downstream operator' (or ‘first downstream trader’) chain is obliged to collect and keep reference numbers of due diligence statements or declaration identifiers. 

‘Downstream operators’ encompass: “any natural or legal person who places on the market or exports relevant products made using relevant products that are already covered by a due diligence statement or simplified declaration.” 

Consequently, operators further down the supply chain are exempted from the obligation to collect and keep reference numbers and submit a due diligence statement. This represents a substantial reduction in administrative burden. However, non-SME downstream operators and non-SME traders must still register in the information system.

Simplified regime for Micro and Small Primary Operators 

The definition of "micro and small primary operators" has been clarified. These are natural persons or micro/small enterprises (i.e. companies meeting two of the following three criteria: balance sheet with less than EUR 5 million; a net turnover below EUR 10 million; not more than 50 employees) established in low-risk countries by 31 December 2024, who place on the market or export products they themselves have grown, harvested, obtained from, or raised. 

These micro/small operators benefit from major simplifications:

• They must submit only a one-off simplified declaration rather than full due diligence statements for each placement on the market;
• They receive a declaration identifier rather than individual due diligence statement reference numbers;
• They may replace geolocation information with a postal address of the plots of land or establishment where the commodities were produced, provided the postal address clearly corresponds to the geographic location;
• Where information required for the simplified declaration is already available in systems or databases established under EU or Member State legislation (such as cattle traceability databases), micro and small primary operators are exempt from submitting a simplified declaration, provided Member States make this information available in the EUDR information system.

Postponed application dates 

The application dates for the revised EUDR have been postponed by 12 months: 

• Large operators and traders: 30 December 2026
• Micro and small operators: 30 June 2027

This additional time is intended to guarantee a smooth transition and allow improvements to the IT system that operators, traders, and their representatives must use to make electronic due diligence statements and declarations.

Member States Obligations and Penalties 

National competent authorities will be required, before the EUDR enters into application, to share information about significant technical errors or disruptions arising in the information system.

Member States must ensure that annual checks cover at least:

• 3% of operators and non-SME downstream operators/traders in standard-risk countries;
• 9% in high-risk countries;
• 1% in low-risk countries.

The penalty regime remains unchanged: Member States must establish penalties for infringements, with maximum fines of at least 4% of the operator's, downstream operator's, or trader's total annual Union-wide turnover in the financial year the fining decision is taken.

Review Provisions

The review provisions have been restructured:

• Obligations related to specific impact assessments have been removed and will be covered by the general review;
• A simplification review must be carried out by 30 April 2026;
• The general review date has been moved to 30 June 2030.

Implications for Businesses

Whilst these amendments provide welcome clarification and reduce administrative burdens—particularly for downstream operators, traders, and small/micro companies – businesses should proceed with caution:

1. Early movers who have already invested in compliance systems should assess whether their systems accommodate the new categories and simplified requirements;
2. The simplification review by 30 April 2026 may result in further changes before the main application date of 30 December 2026;
3. Primary operators still bear full due diligence obligations, including geolocation requirements (subject to the postal address alternative for qualifying micro/small operators);
4. The core environmental objectives remain unchanged: products linked to deforestation cannot be placed on the EU market.

Conclusion

The amendments to the revised EUDR may significantly reduce certain administrative burdens for certain parties within a supply chain. And although the postponement may provide some breathing space for companies to further improve their EUDR compliance system, the simplification review scheduled for April 2026 may, paradoxically, result in more legal uncertainty. 

As we have discussed in our earlier blogs, ‘simplifying’ some elements of the EUDR may, in practice, equal ‘deregulation’. 

It remains to be seen whether the introduced simplifications will contribute to the EUDR’s objective or significantly dilute its original objectives. 

Particularly, as sustainability risks cannot be de-scoped and regulatory obligations from other EU ESG regulations may still impose regulatory ESG obligations. Moreover, further due diligence may still be required to avoid greenwashing or ensure compliance with local anti-deforestation rules. 

So, being a ‘first downstream operator’ is hardly a walk in the park, or forest. Instead, businesses should use this additional time to prepare compliance systems that can accommodate potential further adjustments whilst ensuring they meet the fundamental requirement: ensuring their products are deforestation-free. 

For more information or further guidance in this area, please contact Pauline Kuipers and Sander Wagemakers