The European Union has taken an important step in regulating products that contribute to deforestation. The European Parliament adopted an amending regulation on 17 December, amending the original Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, known as the EUDR. Although the overall environmental ambitions and regulatory framework remain unchanged, the new regulation brings significant reduction in administrative burden and, which is key for many companies, also postponement of application deadlines.

New timetable: An extra year to prepare

The most significant change for economic operators is postponement of the application of the regulation for one year. Under the new rules, the application is shifted to December 30, 2026. Even more favourable news was received by individuals, microenterprises and small businesses that were in this position as of 31 December 2024. These entities have been granted an additional six-month extension, meaning they only have to start complying with the requirements from June 30, 2027.

The category of "subsequent operators" and reliefs in the chain

The amending regulation introduces a new legal category, the so-called. „"subsequent controllers"“. These are entities that place on the market products made from products for which a due diligence declaration has already been submitted. For these companies, the rules are fundamentally changing: the responsibility for carrying out due diligence and submitting declarations will lie solely with the first operator, who places the product on the EU market or exports it.

This will relieve other entities in the downstream chain of having to perform repeated due diligence. Their role will focus on:

• Traceability and keeping records of suppliers and customers.
• Risk communication and cooperation with authorities.
• The first downstream controller must additionally keep reference number of the original declaration.

However, it is important to note that Operators and traders who are not SMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) must register in the EUDR information system. If they discover information indicating non-compliance with the regulation, they must immediately inform the authorities and, in case of doubt, verify the state of due diligence, otherwise they must not place the products on the market.

Support for small primary producers

The regulation also has farmers and small producers in mind. A category is being introduced „"micro and small primary operators"“ operating in low-risk countries. These producers will exempt from full declarations and instead submit a single simplified customs declaration. If the necessary data is already available in national or European databases, Member States will enter it into the EUDR system for them, further automating the process.

Product list changes and future outlook

The list of monitored products has been modified, from which they were excluded books, newspapers, printed pictures and other printed products. Despite the current simplifications, the process of developing rules is not over. The European Commission has April 30, 2026 to produce a report on a targeted simplification review. Companies should therefore closely monitor further developments in 2026, but at the same time make full use of the time gained to prepare by December 2026.

An analogy for better understanding: Imagine the EUDR administrative process as relay race. In the original design, each runner on the team had to stop and fill out a detailed log of where the pin came from before passing it on. Now, the main administrative burden (filling out the detailed log) is borne by only first runner, who will start the relay. The other runners just keep track of who they took the pin from and who they handed it to, which significantly speeds up and simplifies the whole process.