Following the approval of the Council in the urgent procedure, on 14 November 2024 the EU Parliament also approved the postponement of the date of application of the EUDR for large market participants and traders to 30 December 2025, and for SMEs to 30 June 2026, and also decided on substantive changes. However, the changes still have to be formally adopted before they enter into force.
The background to this was the criticism of EU member states and addressed economic actors that the transition period was too short for companies to implement the new requirements internally. Due to the bureaucratic effort involved in collecting information, in particular, the geodata of the properties and the preparation of due diligence declarations, extensive and costly internal restructuring is necessary for the most part.
In addition, on 14 November 2024, the EU Parliament also adopted substantive changes to the text of the regulation, which are based on amendments by the EPP. A total of 15 amendments were tabled, which also provided, for example, for an extension of the transitional period to 24 months, certain exemptions from dealer obligations and a zero-risk category for countries that do not need to comply with increased due diligence obligations. Six of these motions were withdrawn before the vote, one was rejected and eight were accepted.
For example, a narrow agreement was reached on the introduction of a zero-risk country category, so that the core obligations of the regulation do not apply to these countries/regions and thus do not impose any new bureaucratic obligations on economic operators. For countries that have no or only a negligible risk of deforestation, no increased due diligence obligations would have to be fulfilled, but only documentation obligations. This category would include countries whose forest area has remained stable or increased compared to 1990, which have signed the Paris Climate Agreement and international conventions on human rights and the prevention of deforestation, and where regulations to prevent deforestation and protect forests are strictly implemented and monitored at the national level. Due to the substantive changes, renegotiations between the EU Parliament, Commission and Council are now necessary, as only an extension of the transition period had originally been agreed.
The amendments adopted by the EU Parliament have now been referred back to the responsible committee for inter-institutional negotiations with the Council. The amendments must then be formally approved by the Council and also by the Parliament and published in the Official Journal. However, this must be done before the planned start of validity on 30 December 2024. Trilogue negotiations are currently under way, but no agreement has thus far been reached on substantive changes. The final vote in the Council is currently planned for 2 December 2024 – the procedure must be completed by mid-December at the latest.
Conclusion
It remains exciting: Acceptance of the amendments would significantly weaken the goal of the regulation and its enforcement, but would also be accompanied by strong bureaucratic simplifications for companies. First of all, an extension of the transition period is to be welcomed from a business point of view. We will continue to report.
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