EU Seeks Another Year’s Delay to Landmark Anti-Deforestation Rules

Key Takeaways

• EU Proposes Delay: The European Commission is seeking to postpone the start of its anti-deforestation law by another year, moving implementation to late 2026.
• Original Timeline: The law, adopted in 2023, was first set to take effect in 2024, then pushed back to 2025, making this the second delay.
• Scope of Law: The regulation bans imports of products such as coffee, cocoa, soy, palm oil, timber, cattle, and rubber if linked to deforestation after December 2020.
• Technical Setback: The Commission cited “serious capacity concerns” with its IT system for tracking supply chains as the reason for the delay.
• Environmental Backlash: Groups like Fern and WWF criticized the move, warning of stranded costs for companies and questioning the EU’s political will.

Deep Dive

The European Union said recently it will push back by another year the entry into force of its sweeping anti-deforestation law, citing capacity problems with the IT system designed to support the rules. The law, hailed by green groups as a breakthrough but fiercely opposed by several trading partners, had already been delayed once before.

The measure, adopted in 2023, bans the import of products linked to deforestation after December 2020. It applies to a wide range of goods including coffee, cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, paper and rubber. Companies importing these products into the EU will be required to trace supply chains and prove compliance using geolocation and satellite data.

Originally set to take effect at the end of 2024, the law’s implementation was postponed last year until late 2025. Now the European Commission wants to move the date again, to late 2026.

“We have concluded that we cannot meet the original deadline without causing disruptions to our businesses and supply chains,” Commission spokesman Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels. He said the delay is needed to ensure the new IT system can handle the projected load.

The proposal still requires approval from EU member states and the European Parliament.

Divisions Deepen

The postponement comes at a politically sensitive moment. Just hours before the announcement, the Commission signed a free-trade deal with Indonesia, one of the strongest critics of the law. Environment commissioner Jessika Roswall insisted the timing was “not linked at all.”

Environmental groups, however, warned the delay risks undermining Europe’s climate commitments. “This is part of a wider battle: between those who want to protect the natural world and those intent on destroying it, often driven by narrow self-interest,” said Nicole Polsterer of the NGO Fern.

WWF added that many companies had already invested heavily in compliance and would face “massive stranded costs” if rules are delayed again. “If this technical issue is real, this shows not only incompetence, but also a clear lack of political will to invest sufficiently in a timely implementation,” said WWF’s forest policy manager Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove.

Pushback from Partners

The law has also been a source of friction with major trading partners, including Brazil and the United States, who argue that the requirements create unnecessary red tape and could damage trade. Some EU member states have voiced similar concerns, citing costs and lingering ambiguities.

For the Commission, the challenge is balancing environmental ambition with practical readiness and geopolitical realities. As trade and security have risen to the top of Brussels’ agenda, climate priorities appear increasingly squeezed.

The latest delay underscores both the promise and the fragility of Europe’s green agenda: ambitious in scope, but vulnerable to technical, political, and diplomatic headwinds.

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