On 2 October 2024, the Commission published additional guidance documents and a stronger international cooperation framework to support global stakeholders, Member States and third countries in their preparations for the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation.
Given feedback received from international partners about their state of preparations, the Commission also proposes to give concerned parties additional time to prepare. If approved by the European Parliament and the Council, it would make the law applicable on 30 December 2025 for large companies and 30 June 2026 for micro- and small enterprises. Since all the implementation tools are technically ready, the extra 12 months can serve as a phasing-in period to ensure proper and effective implementation.
The guidance documents presented make good on the Commission's commitment to provide a reference of the recent collaborative efforts, involving stakeholders and competent authorities, to help ensure uniform interpretation of the law.
Key areas covered include details on the functionalities of the Information System, updates on penalties, and clarifications on critical definitions such as ‘forest degradation', ‘operator' in the scope of the law, and ‘placing on the market'. There is also further guidance on traceability obligations.
The guidance is divided into 11 chapters covering a diverse range of issues such as legality requirements, timeframe of application, agricultural use, and clarifications on the product scope. All of these are supported by tangible scenarios. In addition, the latest FAQ, also published, features over 40 new additional answers to address questions raised by a diverse range of stakeholders from around the world.
Micro- and small companies benefit from a lighter regime, which is also detailed on a new dedicated webpage.
The guidance of the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation can be found here.