Eu parliament delays landmark anti-deforestation law for second consecutive year, pushing implementation to 2026

The European Parliament voted 405 to 242 on December 17 to postpone a groundbreaking anti-deforestation regulation for the second year running, further delaying efforts to combat global forest destruction. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), originally scheduled to take effect in late 2024, has now been pushed back to December 2026, with small operators receiving until June 2027 to comply.

The delayed regulation targets seven commodities responsible for driving tropical deforestation: beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and timber. Under the EUDR, companies importing these products into the EU must provide geolocalized data proving their goods weren’t sourced from land deforested after December 31, 2020. The European Commission justified the latest delay by citing concerns that its IT systems aren’t ready to handle the complex data requirements.

Environmental advocates have harshly criticized the repeated postponements. “This is the latest chapter in a farce that’s lasted more than two years,” said Nicole Polsterer of the nonprofit Fern, arguing that the decision “puts forests on the chopping block and rule-abiding European businesses at a competitive disadvantage.” The Parliament’s decision also opens the door for potential amendments to the law until April 2026, allowing lawmakers to “assess the law’s impact and administrative burden” before full implementation—a move critics argue undermines legislation that already passed with strong democratic support.