The WWF has accused the European Commission of yielding to special-interest and far-right pressure after it pushed for another 12-month delay of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
“It is probably no coincidence that this move comes right as the Commission pursues an unprecedented deregulation agenda, throwing the EUDR under the bus,” said Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, forest policy manager at WWF’s European Policy Office. “This is unacceptable and a massive embarrassment for President von der Leyen and her Commission.”
Her criticism comes just two weeks after nearly 200,000 citizens petitioned Brussels to maintain strong nature laws—including the EUDR. “We should be able to expect more from our leaders than an excuse like ‘The dog ate my homework!’” she added. “We’re calling on the Commission to step up its efforts and investments to get this system up and running by year-end instead of proposing a further delay and caving in to political pressure.”
On Wednesday, Wood Central revealed Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall formally requested the extension in a letter to European Parliament Environment Committee chair Antonio Decaro. At the time, Roswall warned that “concerns over the functionality of the EUDR’s compliance-data platform … create uncertainty for authorities and operational difficulties for stakeholders,” and argued an extra year is essential “to resolve glitches and give businesses more time.”
Adopted in mid-2023, the EUDR dictates that all importers of palm oil, coffee, cocoa, cattle, timber and rubber into the bloc must verify at every stage that their commodities are deforestation-free. Already, Brussels has deferred the start date from December 2024 to 2025; persistent portal failures have now prompted a push to December 30, 2026, along with exploration of simplified pathways.
Christine Schneider, the lead negotiator for the largest party in the European Parliament (the centre-right European People’s Party) welcomed the extra time as “a rare opportunity to build a truly workable system” and plans to reintroduce a “zero-risk” exemption for member states with robust forestry safeguards.
