- The EU Parliament voted on November 14, 2024, to delay the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by one year.
- The new deadlines for compliance are December 30, 2025, for large companies and June 1, 2026, for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
- The delay is attributed to difficulties in application, allowing companies more time to prepare for compliance.
- The Parliament also amended the EUDR, changing the scope of products covered and introducing a benchmarking system to categorize countries based on deforestation risk (no risk, low risk, medium risk, high risk).
- The European Commission has until June 30, 2025, to finalize the country-specific benchmarking system.
- Companies are encouraged to use the extended transition period to establish documentation systems and prepare for the new requirements.
- The Commission published guidelines on November 13, 2024, to clarify terms used in the EUDR, aiming to reduce uncertainties and simplify regulation application.
- These guidelines are non-binding and serve as reference material for compliance, providing clarity on specific aspects of the EUDR without altering the legal obligations.
Source: awb-international.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.