WWF strongly condemns proposals by Austria and Luxembourg to “simplify” the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which were presented to Agriculture and Fisheries ministers today – mere months after Member States had confirmed that the substance of the law should remain untouched.
Framed as efforts to ease administrative burden, these proposals amount to a deliberate attempt to dismantle one of the EU’s most important environmental laws, before it has even been implemented.
The claim that the EUDR is overly burdensome for small farmers and forest owners is at best speculative, given that the EUDR will only apply to them in a year, in June 2026. Also all EU countries are in a low risk category, with fewer obligations on companies and even less for small farmers and forest owners.
Notably, the proposal to introduce a “no risk” category obscures the regulation’s aim of ensuring that EU consumption no longer comes at the expense of the world’s forests, including those within the EU. At a time when tropical forest loss has surged by 80% between 2023 and 2024 and wildfires are accelerating globally, this is not the moment to backtrack by paying lip service to the fight against deforestation, while at the same time undermining the purpose of the EUDR.
The proposals put forward today not only ignore the EU’s role as a key importer of commodities linked to deforestation but also forget that the EUDR covers not only deforestation but also forest degradation. By advocating for a ‘no risk’ category for EU Member States, ministers turn a blind eye to the very real threats facing Europe’s own forests, notably forest degradation and also illegal logging.
“Though the Agriculture Ministers are hiding their plans behind a fairy tale of a European Garden of Eden, let us be clear: these proposals aim to dismantle one of the EU’s most important environmental laws. They gloss over the fact that forests within the EU are degrading, which makes a ‘no risk’ category non-sensical,” said Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, Senior Forest Policy Officer at WWF European Policy Office. “Just a few months ago, Member States had confirmed the substance of the law, but now some Agriculture Ministers appear determined to rewrite it based on incomplete and premature assumptions about its impacts.”
The proposal also threatens one of the core elements of the EUDR: being able to trace commodities (such as trees) back to where they were harvested. The location of the origin is the underlying basis not only for transparent supply chains but also for EU Member States to be able to enforce the law.
EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall reminded ministers of the numerous measures the Commission had already undertaken since the adoption of the law that will reduce burdens on farmers and foresters.
WWF now calls on the Commission to reject these attempts to water down the EUDR and to remain committed to implementing it in full by the end of this year. Europe’s credibility as a global environmental leader—and its responsibility to future generations—are at stake.
