On October 2, the European Commission published additional guidance documents to support third countries in preparing for the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation. The Regulation aims to ensure that the EU does not contribute to global deforestation. It applies to commodities such as cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, wood, rubber, and cattle, ensuring they are not sourced from deforested land as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Key areas covered:

• Details on the Information System functionalities.
• Updates on penalties.
• Clarifications on key definitions, including ‘forest degradation,’ ‘operator,’ and ‘placing on the market’.
• Further guidance on traceability obligations.

The latest FAQ, also published today, features 40+ new answers to address questions from stakeholders worldwide.

Proposed Extension: The European Commission also proposed giving an additional 12 months to prepare for the Regulation. This extension is aimed at ensuring proper and effective implementation, following concerns raised by global partners about their readiness. For example, last month, Germany’s agriculture minister requested a 6-month postponement to give companies more time to prepare.

If approved by the European Parliament and the Council, this would make the Regulation applicable on 30 December 2025 for large companies and 30 June 2026 for micro- and small enterprises, with the extra time serving as a phasing-in period.

The Commission also announced that most countries worldwide will be classified as ‘low risk’ after the benchmarking exercise, allowing a focus on areas where deforestation challenges are more acute.

In addition, the European Commission published a stronger international cooperation framework to support stakeholders, member states, and third countries in their preparation for implementing the regulation.