Strasbourg (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Parliament delays Anti-Deforestation law by one year, giving businesses more time to comply with regulations.
The European Parliament greenlights its final approval to postpone the implementation of a landmark EU Anti-Deforestation law by one year. The EU Commission proposed delaying the application date of the deforestation law by one year in response to situations raised by EU member states, non-EU nations, traders and operators that they would not be able to fully concede with the laws if applied from the end of 2024.
EU Parliament approved the provisional political deal with the EU Council to postpone the application of the new regulations with 546 votes.
Now businesses will have one more year to comply with new EU rules to stop deforestation that will prohibit the sale in the European Union of products sourced from deforested land. However, big operators and traders will now have to admire the commitments of this regulation as of 30 December 2025, and micro- and small businesses from 30 June 2026. This extra time is intended to support companies around the world in enforcing the rules more smoothly from the date of application, without damaging the objectives of the law.
Following the vote, MEP Christine Schneider (EPP, DE) stated:
EU Parliament will closely observe the process to decrease bureaucracy and ensure that the Commission’s words are followed by activities. Our objective remains clear: stakeholders and consumers must not be negatively affected by the implementation of this regulation.
