The European Commission has missed its 30 April deadline to deliver the simplification review of the EU Deforestation Regulation, with formal adoption now pushed back a few days to Monday, May 4th. That is according to EU officials with an understanding of the process, who confirmed that the package would be finalised four days past the cut-off agreed by member states.
The delay comes after Wood Central yesterday revealed that Brussels will “hold the line on EUDR text” and ruled out a third rewrite, with Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall confirming the Commission would not reopen the regulation’s primary legal text. Instead, Wood Central understands the review is now being delivered through a five-part package of secondary legislation rather than legislative amendments.
When pressed on the timeline at a Brussels briefing on Tuesday, the Commission spokesperson declined to give clarification on publication plans for the review package. “I do not have any timeline… it is coming soon,” the spokesperson said.
Despite sustained lobbying by industry representatives and the US government, the Commission confirmed earlier this week that the final package will not include a proposal to reopen the primary legislation. Officials have clarified that the package will include a delegated act updating the scope of products covered by EUDR, as well as an implementing act establishing new IT system functions to allow simplified due diligence declarations by small primary operators.
Wood Central understands that small-operator simplifications were folded into amendments adopted in a rushed process late last year, after the Commission claimed IT issues would hinder the timely implementation of EUDR. Internal Commission documents have since shown that those IT problems were caused by “simplifications” the Commission itself implemented at industry request, with TRACES platform overload triggered by automated submissions features added despite EUDR only requiring an electronic interface from 2028.
Nicole Polsterer, sustainable consumption and production campaigner for Fern, welcomed the Commission’s plan to keep EUDR intact. “For two years, the EUDR’s political and industry opponents have waged a relentless campaign to derail the legislation,” Polsterer said. “By opting not to re-open it, the Commission is recognising that the merry-go-round must end, and that companies who have diligently prepared for the law need to be certain it will be implemented.”
The deadline slip comes after Wood Central reported the European Union struck its eleventh-hour deal to delay the regulation by 12 months last December, with start dates now set for 30 December 2026 for medium and large operators and 30 June 2027 for small and micro operators.
UPDATE: Since the package landed on 4 May, the response from German sawmillers has been blunt, with DeSH branding the EUDR a “bureaucratic behemoth” and calling the simplification effort inadequate.
