EU Parliament Advances Plan to Ease Anti-Deforestation Rules

On Thursday, European lawmakers backed a draft bill to simplify the EU’s anti-deforestation law, supporting proposals to reduce due diligence requirements after pressure from industry groups and non-EU countries, Euronews reported (11-13-25).

The move follows an IT-system failure announced by the European Commission that has pushed implementation to the end of 2026—its second delay after the original December 2024 start date. EU governments had already postponed the law once, to December 2025, amid concerns raised by operators in the US, Brazil, and elsewhere.

The draft text supports reducing the data handled by the law’s IT platform and cutting compliance burdens for foresters, farmers, and other operators. Under the proposal, downstream companies would no longer need to file their own due diligence statements but would instead be required to retain statements provided by importers and pass them along the supply chain. Micro and small operators selling directly in the EU market would be exempt from producing due diligence statements.

The future of the law remains uncertain as EU governments continue negotiations to address legal concerns raised by some member states, one EU diplomat said. While a revision clause is one of the key sticking points dividing EU countries, there’s pressure to reach a consensus to avoid the current law entering into force on December 30.

Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the content of the legislation during the November 24–27 plenary session in Strasbourg.