Deforestation law: Parliament confirms changes to postpone and simplify measures

By 405 votes to 242 and with 8 abstentions, Parliament has adopted targeted changes to the EU Deforestation Regulation already informally agreed with EU member states on 4 December 2025.

Key Outcomes

  1. New Compliance Deadlines – 12 months delay 
  • 30 December 2026 – Large operators and traders | 30 June 2027 – Small operators and private individuals

Authorities must also report any major technical issues affecting the functioning of the IT systems.

  1. Simplified Due-Diligence Requirements
  • The first operator placing a product on the EU market becomes responsible for the due-diligence statement.
  • Subsequent traders are relieved from submitting additional statements.
  • Micro and small operators may file a single, simplified one-off declaration.
  1. Scope Adjustment
  • Printed products are excluded from the Regulation.
  1. Commission Review

The Commission will present a report by 30 April 2026 on administrative impacts, particularly for small operators.

Timeline

The text must be endorsed Council and published in the EU’s Official Journal before the end of 2025 for the changes to enter into force.

Published 17/12/2025

Ms. Amila Meškin

Senior Policy Advisor (Deforestation, Biodiversity, Soils, Environment, Climate)

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