EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)

EUDR seeks to regulate seven relevant commodities that impact deforestation: cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood. Under the Regulation, any operator or trader who places these commodities or derived products on the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation.

The Deforestation Regulation repeals the EU Timber Regulation, and currently operators and traders will require to implement the new rules of the Regulation by 30^th December 2025 for large and medium companies (30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises), for all listed products of the relevant commodities entering the EU or exported from the EU.

The new rules aim to:

• avoid that the listed products Europeans buy, use and consume contribute to deforestation and forest degradation in the EU and globally
• reduce carbon emissions caused by EU consumption and production of the relevant commodities by at least 32 million metric tonnes a year
• address all deforestation driven by agricultural expansion to produce the commodities in the scope of the regulation, as well as forest degradation

The regulation affects those importing into or exporting from the EU (including Northern Ireland). Anyone placing a product listed in the Regulation onto the EU market (or exports from it), must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation. This is carried out through due diligence statements, recorded on The Information System of the Deforestation Regulation (Traces).

While the regulation does not directly affect those operating solely in Great Britain, economic operators involved in a supply chain that does export from or import into the EU (or Northern Ireland), will be required to comply with the regulation.

The EU Parliament officially announced a 1-year delay to EUDR, as well as several new revisions to the regulation with the desired outcome to simplify the implementation of the regulation.

1. New Compliance Deadlines – 12 months delay

• 30 December 2026 – Large operators and traders | 30 June 2027 – Small operators and private individuals

2. Simplified Due-Diligence Requirements

• The first operator placing a product on the EU market becomes responsible for the due-diligence statement.
• Subsequent traders are relieved from submitting additional statements.
• Micro and small operators may file a single, simplified one-off declaration.

3. Scope Adjustment

• Printed products are excluded from the Regulation.

4. Commission Review

• The Commission will present a report by 30 April 2026 on administrative impacts, particularly for small operators.

Under the updated regulation, the obligation for MEDITE SMARTPLY to comply with the EU Deforestation Regulation will be applicable from 30 December 2026.

MEDITE SMARTPLY will be required to collect due diligent statement (DDS) information from the first operator. The first operator is the natural or legal person who first places a relevant product on the European Union (EU) market or exports it from the EU market in the course of a commercial activity.

MEDITE SMARTPLY, as a downstream operator, are no longer required to submit separate due diligent statements (DDS) or pass on reference numbers further down the supply chain. MEDITE SMARTPLY also are no longer required to exercise due diligence.

MEDITE SMARTPLY are obliged to register into the EUDR IT system to ensure traceability, allowing competent authorities to factor them into inspection quotas.

As an active member of the European Panel Federation, who attend stakeholder meetings with the EU about EUDR, we are engaging regularly at a committee level to contribute to the latest developments. We endeavour to update this page and communicate with customers regularly. If you need any support in the meantime, contact details can be found at the bottom of this page.