"If we don't reach an agreement, the current EUDR will enter into application on 30/12/2025" (J. Roswall)
On 05/11/2025, during the Environment Council in Brussels, Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water, Resilience and a Competitive Circular, refused to simplify and to postpone the date of entry into force of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), as it had been requested by Austria on 31/10/2025.
"Economic operators expect urgent clarity and predictability, both on the content and on the timing of the law. It is time that we make and take the decisions and provide real simplification here and now. When it comes to substance of simplification, you ask for concrete simplification measures. Our proposal goes quite a long way in exactly that direction", answered Jessika Roswall to Norbert Totschnig, Austrian Federal Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management on 05/11/2025 in Brussels.
The Commission’s proposal on EUDR aims to reduce the data load for ensuring that IT systems will have a stable functioning. It is due to enter into force on 30/12/2026 for small and micro-enterprises (SMEs). Controls and checks by Member States on large and medium companies will be postponed until June 2026. The Council and the Parliament need to formally adopt the targeted amendment of the EU Deforestation Regulation before it can come into effect. Therefore, Jessika Roswall called on the Austrian support to reach an agreement quickly inside the Council.
“This would send a strong signal of support to the Parliament and would also help for the timely conclusion of the legislative proposal. Do not forget what is the alternative: if we do not reach an agreement on time, the current text will enter into full application on 30/12/2025 for all farmers, foresters and companies involved in the value chain, putting the stability of the IT system at risk”, Jessika Roswall highlighted.
Member State’s position on EUDR
During the Council, Austria, supported by 16 Member States (Sweden, the Czech Republic, Greece, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia , Portugal, Finland, Ireland, Hungary , Italy, Poland, Slovenia), has requested adjusments on the current proposition, as followed :
• an immediate “Stop-the-Clock” for one year on EUDR implementation for all operators ;
• revision of the EUDR, including, among other things, a risk-based country/region categorisation with exemptions for « insignificant-risk areas »;
« In a joint effort across the EU, the area covered by forests in Europe increased by 160 000 square kilometres between 1990 and 2025. This shows the reduced risk of deforestation in EU Member States », emphasised Austria on its request, sent on 31/10/2025.
• simplification measures, including de minimis thresholds, recognition of existing systems, and minimal reporting requirements along the value chain;
• A slow down of the implementation to provide more time for technical examination.
Furthermore, Norbert Totschnig had expressed concerns on EUDR’s national economy impact during the ENVI Council, on 05/11/2025.
« In Austria, we have a lot of forests and woods, we use our forestry resources a lot, EUDR as currently proposed will impact us. Right now, as it would be implemented, it will have an economic impact in the long term on our economies, as well we therefore believe that enough time to be around nationally for proper implementation because now there's a lot of pressure », said Norbert Totschnig during the ENVI Council, on 05/11/2025.
Of the eighteen Member States that expressed their views during the Council, only Spain declared its support to the European Commission’s proposal.
"Spain regrets that we have not been able to sort out the IT problems without having to tamper with the legislative proposal. However, our objective is to stabilise the situation of uncertainty that has been generated. Therefore, we support the Commission's proposal. In addition to providing the certainty that we need, it allows us to reduce the administrative burden and then makes life easier for primary producers in areas with low risk of deforestation. That’s why we want EUDR to be approved in full, without having to reopen the whole thing and renegotiate it », said Sara Agülesen Muñoz, Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
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