Key takeaways
- The European Commission is proposing a second delay to EUDR enforcement, citing IT system readiness is cited as the primary reason for the postponement.
- Pressure mounts to simplify the law, including adding a ‘negligible risk’ category.
- NGOs criticise the delay, calling it a setback for deforestation efforts.
- Cosmetics brands and suppliers may face stranded costs and compliance challenges.
Yesterday, the EC’s Environment Commissioner, Jessika Roswall, announced that the Commission is seeking a postponement, stating that the IT systems required for implementation are still under development.
Under the EUDR, business operators must use these systems to record that proper due diligence has been carried out, confirming that relevant products and commodities — such as palm oil — were produced without contributing to deforestation.
When the EUDR was proposed, the rules were created to force businesses to stop using commodities that have been produced on deforested land. The proposed regulation has been unpopular with many companies who have argued that it will impose complicated regulatory burdens. Several of the EU’s trading partners have also complained about the law.
Commissioner Roswall calls for 12-month EUDR delay
“We have concerns regarding the IT system, given the amount of information that we put into the system,” Roswall said in a statement.
The Environment Commissioner also repeatedly mentioned efforts to simplify the law. Pressure has been mounting on the Commission to add a fourth risk category to its country benchmarking system: negligible risk. This amendment would simplify the legislation for ‘zero risk’ countries.
She has written to co-legislators, including the European Council and Parliament, to discuss next steps, and says she hopes they will support the Commission’s call for another 12-month delay. Originally, the EUDR was set to be enforced in December 2024, but after an initial delay, it is now planned to take effect in December 2025.
“I hope that the Council and the European Parliament, the co-legislators, will help us in this – to find the necessary time to get the IT system capacity that we need,” said Commissioner Roswall.
Whether a ‘negligible risk’ category will be introduced is “too early to say,” she told reporters, but confirmed that the proposal to delay is solely due to IT system readiness — and not linked to political pressure. In a recent framework agreement between the US and EU, it appeared the US was seeking to be added to the ‘negligible risk’ category, should it be introduced.
Industry and NGOs react to postponement proposal
Some NGOs, such as the wildlife charity WWF, have expressed disappointment at the news.
“It is probably no coincidence that this move comes right as the Commission pursues an unprecedented deregulation agenda, throwing the EUDR under the bus. This is unacceptable and a massive embarrassment for President Von der Leyen and her Commission, said Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, Forest Policy Manager at the WWF European Policy Office.
“If this technical issue is real, this shows not only incompetence, but also a clear lack of political will to invest sufficiently in a timely implementation of the EUDR.”
Many have also noted that this is the second delay to the legislation. The first postponement was made due to concerns that the industry was underprepared.
If lawmakers side with the Commission, it could lead to significant stranded costs for companies that have already invested in compliance — and a loss of credibility for the Commission.
