The European People’s Party (EPP) has proposed amendments to weaken the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), including pushing back the application of the rules by a further year to December 2026. Last month, the EU Council agreed to postpone the application of the EUDR by 12 months, meaning it will apply to large operators and traders from 30 December 2025 and micro and small enterprises from 30 June 2026. The delay was welcomed by some but lambasted by others. In September, the EPP branded the EUDR as a “bureaucratic monster” with “many problems” that needed to be delayed which it followed with the proposed changes to the EUDR the following month. The EPP argued the extended delay to 30 December 2026 would allow for supply chains – particularly in emerging markets – to prepare for the rules, enable the EU to “build adequate enforcement infrastructure”, and avoid “unintended risks”, such as market exclusion. The World Wide Fund for Nature’s European Policy Officer (WWF EU) criticised the EPP’s proposal, arguing the suggested amendments risk having “serious potential consequences” on forests worldwide. “With this move, the EPP betrays trust in EU policy, and starts to deregulate key environmental legislation – a massive embarrassment just ahead of the COP!” said Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, Manager of Forests at WWF EU. “The proposed changes make a mockery of the EUDR’s objectives, removing critical elements such as traceability for many products, and allowing products to be placed on the EU market without proper checks. [It] also betrays all those companies that have already invested to prepare for the EUDR and are now faced with far reaching changes and loss of their investments.”
