EUDR revision: NGOs concerned over leather exclusion and softening of due diligence requirements

Following the EU Deforestation Regulation revision by the European Commission on 04/05/2026, WWF EU, Earthsight, Client Earth and Greenpeace EU expressed their concerns.

They include:
• further delays in the implementation of the EUDR, which has already been postponed twice ;
• exemption of specific sectors or products, including leather ;
• unclear definition of second-hand products, also excluded from the scope of the EUDR ;
• lack of consistency between products included in the EUDR and those excluded, especially in the case of cattle, where beef is included and leather is proposed for exclusion ;
• softening of the due diligence requirements ;
• and risks that illegality in the supply chain will not be self-reported by third countries in the Commission's database.

The delegated act proposed to exclude certain products from the scope published by the Commission today is a draft, which means it is open for feedback until 01/06/2026, and only after that will it be an effective decision. The updated regulation will apply from 30/12/2026 for large and medium companies, as well as for micro…