The European Parliament has joined the bloc's Council in backing a further delay to the introduction of the EU's anti-deforestation law. 

MEPS voted 402 to 250 in favour of pushing back the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by a year to the end of December 2026, applicable to "large operators and traders". There were eight abstentions.

Meanwhile, "micro- and small enterprises" will have to adhere to the regulations from 30 June 2027, according to the voting results announced yesterday (26 November).

The European Council adopted the same stance earlier in November and proposed simplifying the rules to make it easier for all operators to prepare and comply, in line with the recommendations of the European Commission made in October.

The EC said at the time that its recommendations, including a new implementation timetable and adjustments to obligations governed by an operator's size, would go before the Council followed by final judgement by Parliament.

Parliament said in a statement yesterday that it "is now ready to start negotiations with member states on the final shape of the law, which has to be endorsed by both Parliament and the Council and published in the EU Official Journal before the end of 2025, for the one-year delay to enter into force".

EUDR, first presented in 2021, was originally due to apply from 30 December 2024.  Under pressure from member states, third countries, traders and operators, the EC then agreed in December 2023 to delay it by a year, to 30 December 2025.   

It targets commodities such as cocoa, coffee and palm oil, as well as food products containing those ingredients, and requires companies placing goods on the EU market to prove that their supply chains are not connected to deforestation. 

Parliament said yesterday it has requested a "simplification review" by 30 April to "assess the law’s impact and administrative burden".

Explaining its decision behind the delay, it said: "This additional time is intended to guarantee a smooth transition and to allow the implementation of measures to strengthen the IT system that operators, traders and their representatives use to make electronic due diligence statements.

"MEPs find that the onus on submitting a due diligence statement should fall on the businesses who first introduce the relevant product onto the EU market, and not the operators and traders that subsequently commercialise it."

Under the changes, meanwhile, micro and small primary operators would now only have to submit a one-off simplified declaration.

The prospect of the delay now being set in stone drew criticism from environmental group the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). 

Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, policy manager for forests at WWF's European Policy Office, said: “The approach adopted today represents a complete withdrawal from responsibility towards future generations, who will bear the cost of delayed action.

"The Commission needs to learn from this lesson: it must stop the dismantling of the EUDR and the Environmental Omnibus. All hell will break loose with more simplification.”

In September, the Commission's  proposed changes pointed to problems with the IT system that would log applicable transactions.   

Schulmeister-Oldenhove said "policy-makers should have focused on fixing a technical issue to move forward".

She added: "Instead, the matter has been seized upon by the Council and Parliament as a pretext to reopen the file, weaken it and create massive uncertainty around EUDR implementation."

In its statement, Parliament said its so-called “targeted solutions” are intended to make it “easier” for companies, stakeholders and both EU and non-EU countries to implement the rules.