EU Moves to Ease EUDR Reporting Burdens While Keeping Core Safeguards Intact

Key Takeaways

• Simplified Compliance: The proposal removes the need for traders and downstream operators to submit individual due-diligence statements while preserving full traceability requirements.
• Support for Small Producers: Micro and small primary operators in low-risk countries would file a one-time simplified declaration instead of repeated due-diligence reports.
• Risk-Based Oversight: National authorities must inspect at least 9% of firms tied to high-risk countries annually, ensuring proportionate enforcement.
• Extended Timelines: Core rules apply from 30 December 2025, with an extra year for small operators and enforcement beginning 30 June 2026.
• Digital Modernization: A customs interface linking the EUDR system with the EU Single Window is set for completion by 2029, improving verification and data flow.

Deep Dive

The European Commission is moving to fine-tune the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), aiming to lighten the reporting load on smaller players and stabilize the IT backbone that underpins one of the world’s most ambitious supply-chain laws.

The proposal would amend Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 to simplify obligations for operators and traders, particularly small producers and downstream actors without touching the Regulation’s core goal, which is keeping products tied to deforestation and illegal land use out of the European market.

Since the EUDR entered into force in 2023, thousands of companies across Europe have been racing to prepare for its full application. The Regulation requires firms trading in commodities such as cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood to prove their products are deforestation-free and legally produced.

That proof hinges on a central information system managed by the European Commission, a digital platform built on TRACES, the EU’s long-standing animal and plant health certification tool. But as pilot testing unfolded in 2024 and early 2025, it became clear that many large firms were submitting millions of highly granular, batch-by-batch due diligence statements. The resulting data surge far exceeded initial projections, raising concerns about system overload and compliance fatigue.

The Commission’s new proposal is a pragmatic response to that problem. It introduces a “downstream operator” category aligned with traders, clarifies who must file due diligence statements, and offers relief to micro and small producers in low-risk countries.

What Changes Under the Proposal

Under the new framework, large downstream operators and traders would no longer have to file individual due diligence statements for products already covered further up the chain. They’d still need to register in the system and ensure full traceability by passing along the digital reference numbers that tie each product back to its origin.

For micro and small primary operators, think farmers or cooperatives producing their own goods in countries the EU classifies as low risk, the burden would be even lighter. Instead of submitting full due diligence statements, they’d make a one-time simplified declaration, confirming key details like the location of their land and receiving a permanent identifier to accompany all their products.

These changes, according to the Commission, are meant to “simplify, not soften.” Full traceability stays intact, but the reporting process becomes less punishing for small producers and more scalable for large companies.

Strengthening Oversight While Lowering the Load

At the same time, the amendments bolster how national authorities will monitor compliance. Regulators will use a risk-based approach to select firms for checks—covering at least 9% of companies and quantities from high-risk countries each year—and will gain better access to shared data through the EU’s central information system.

Penalties also remain robust: fines of up to 4% of annual turnover for serious breaches, confiscation of products or profits, and mandatory corrective actions.

The Commission’s digital infrastructure will continue evolving, too. A customs interface based on the EU Single Window for Customs is due by 2029, designed to connect import and export declarations directly with the EUDR database, enabling real-time verification of compliance.

Recognizing that smaller businesses also need more time to adapt, the proposal pushes back several compliance deadlines. Core obligations would take effect on 30 December 2025, but micro and small operators would have until 30 December 2026. National authorities would begin formal enforcement from June 2026, with a grace period allowing for warnings rather than immediate penalties.

The revised review clause moves the first full evaluation to June 2030, allowing the EU to assess the Regulation’s real-world impact (on forests, on trade flows, and on SMEs) before expanding its scope.

Balancing Sustainability with Practicality

The move reflects a broader shift in Brussels toward “better regulation”, a drive to cut administrative costs by up to 25% overall and 35% for SMEs, without undermining green or social goals. Former ECB President Mario Draghi’s 2024 report on competitiveness echoed that sentiment, warning that Europe’s growing web of rules could strangle innovation if not applied smartly.

For companies already navigating the EUDR, the changes won’t rewrite the playbook, but they will make the game more playable. Traceability, legality, and deforestation-free standards remain the foundation. What changes is the way compliance happens—simpler, fairer, and better equipped to handle the realities of digital trade at scale.

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