,On 18 December 2025, the Council of the European Union formally adopted a targeted revision to the EU regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), aimed at simplifying implementation and postponing its application to allow operators, traders and authorities more time to prepare. The revision streamlines due diligence requirements and postpones the date by which all operators must comply until 30 December 2026, with an additional six‑month extension available for micro and small operators. This decision responds to concerns raised by EU member states and stakeholders about administrative burdens and the readiness of the information technology system needed for the effective functioning of the EUDR, while preserving the regulation’s core objective of preventing deforestation and forest degradation linked to products placed on the EU market. In an effort to reduce administrative requirements further, certain printed products such as books, newspapers and printed pictures were removed from the regulation’s scope, reflecting the limited deforestation risk associated with these items. The revision also introduces an obligation for the European Commission to conduct a simplification review of the regulation and present a report by 30 April 2026 assessing its impact and administrative burden, especially on smaller operators, and, where appropriate, accompany it with a legislative proposal. Following its adoption by the Council, the revised regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force three days after publication. The original EUDR was adopted in June 2023 and is designed to ensure that commodities such as cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood, and their derivatives placed on or exported from the EU market have not caused deforestation or forest degradation.
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