On 15 April 2025, the European Commission issued a series of documents with a view to simplifying and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products (‘EUDR’).
In line with the broader simplification trend that marks the beginning of the second Von der Leyen Commission, the documents bring about an easing in reporting requirements as well as clarification. They are expected to bring about together a 30% reduction of administrative costs, and considerably reduce the number of due diligence statements that companies need to file.
The initiative follows a period of high uncertainty in the end of 2024, during which discussions on the postponement of the EUDR’s application by one year were associated with a strong push for a reopening of discussions on the substance of the EUDR obligations. To avoid lengthy discussions, the Council and the European Parliament had at the time decided to only amend EUDR provisions setting out delays.
The updated EUDR Guidance and FAQ seem to aim to remedy certain concerns raised since, notably by the conservative majority at the Parliament (EPP), by introducing the following simplification elements:
- Companies can reuse existing due diligence statements when goods, that had been previously placed on the market are reimported;
- An authorised representative can now submit a due diligence statement on behalf of members of company groups;
- Companies may submit their due diligence statements annually instead of a batch-specific declaration;
- Non-SME operators and traders can now fulfill their duty to ‘ascertain upstream due diligence’ by collecting and referencing their direct suppliers’ DDS numbers, without systematically checking every single statement or being required to collect information included under Article 9
They are accompanied by a Draft delegated Act submitted for consultation until 13 May 2025, providing further precisions to the list of products included under Annex I of the EUDR (e.g. that are subject to the due diligence requirements), notably considering the exemption of certain packaging elements from the EUDR requirements.
While the above simplifications appear to remedy certain concerns of the industry, the choice of non-binding guidance ensures an efficient decision-making process but leaves some uncertainties in the implementation of the EUDR requirements. Ultimately, clarification by way of an amendment to the text of the EUDR itself could be required to bring about further clarity.
Nayelly Landeros Rivera contributed to this article