On 3 December 2024, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement to amend the EU Deforestation Regulation (which you can read more about in our previous briefing here) postponing its enforcement by 12 months. Ahead of being formalised, this agreement will now need to be formally approved by the Council and during a plenary session in the Parliament on 17 December 2024.
This delay does not alter the core objectives of the regulation, which aims to minimize the EU's contribution to global deforestation and forest degradation by ensuring that only deforestation-free products are placed on the EU market or exported from the EU.
Although the EU deforestation regulation has been in force since 2023, its provisions were initially set to be applied from 30 December 2024. When this recent agreement is formally endorsed by the Council and Parliament, large operators and traders must comply with this regulation from 30 December 2025, while micro- and small enterprises will have until 30 June 2026 to comply.
The European Commission proposed this postponement to give third countries, member states, and other stakeholders sufficient time to prepare for the regulation's implementation. This extension is expected to provide greater predictability and certainty for all parties involved, facilitating a smoother implementation process.
Proposals to include in the amendment a fourth category of "zero risk" countries (alongside "high", "standard" and "low" risk countries) were parked for now, but the European Commission agreed to revisit this in June 2028 as part of a pre-scheduled general review of the legislation.
Key contacts
Disclaimer
The articles published on this website, current at the dates of publication set out above, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action.