Eu parliament deals another blow to anti-deforestation law, pushing implementation back to 2026

The European Union has hit the brakes on landmark environmental legislation once again, voting to delay its groundbreaking anti-deforestation law for the second consecutive year. On November 26, the European Parliament approved an amendment by a vote of 402 to 250 that postpones the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) until December 30, 2026, with small businesses getting an additional six-month grace period.

The EUDR represents one of the world’s most ambitious attempts to combat global deforestation by targeting consumer demand. When finally implemented, the law will prohibit EU countries from importing key commodities—including soy, beef, cocoa, and palm oil—that originate from areas deforested after 2020. Originally scheduled to take effect at the end of 2024, the regulation was first pushed to December 2025, and now faces another year-long delay.

European lawmakers justified the postponement by citing technical concerns, but also introduced several controversial changes that critics say will significantly weaken the law’s impact. The amended version removes printed books and newspapers from regulation—a move widely seen as benefiting the forestry industry—and creates new exemptions for small operators in countries deemed “low risk.”

Environmental advocates are sounding the alarm about what they see as systematic efforts to undermine the legislation. “EU lawmakers are subjecting the EUDR to death by a thousand cuts,” said Nicole Polsterer from the Netherlands-based nonprofit Fern. She described the ongoing attempts to revise the democratically approved law as “a farce” that threatens to destroy legislation that passed with strong support just two years ago.