The European Union has reached a political agreement to delay and amend its flagship Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), thereby also confirming that books, newspapers and other printed materials will no longer fall under the law’s requirements. After intensive trilogue negotiations on December 4, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission agreed on a package of changes that both postpones implementation and narrows the scope of the regulation.
Printed Materials Excluded
According to the European Commission, the agreement includes four key elements: an additional year for economic operators to prepare before the EUDR takes effect, simplified obligations for downstream actors, a one-time registration procedure for micro and small businesses from low-risk countries, and—most notably—the removal of books, newspapers and printed matter from the regulation.
Industry groups welcomed the adjustment. Peter Kraus vom Cleff, CEO of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, described the decision as “appropriate,” noting that printed materials were not originally assessed during the regulation’s drafting. Excluding these products, he said, does not weaken environmental protections, as wood and paper themselves remain fully regulated. Industry representatives argue that the change also safeguards access to international publications and supports the cultural and informational role of the European book sector.
The agreement goes beyond printed materials. Negotiators also endorsed a broader delay to EUDR requirements, marking the second postponement since the regulation was first approved under the EU’s previous legislative term. Originally due to be implemented in 2023, the rules were pushed to 2024 and will now be deferred another year for large companies and until mid-2027 for smaller firms.
The famous Parisian bookshop Shakespeare & Co. was among those lobbying Brussels for an exemption to an EU anti-deforestation law this week.
Read my colleague @sofiamazzanaro's great piece for Euractiv https://t.co/JONHTeaho1
— Eddy Wax ✍️ (@EddyWax) December 5, 2025
Double standards for South East Asia
The prolonged debate over the EUDR has also strained the EU’s trade relationships, particularly with key Southeast Asian partners such as Malaysia and Indonesia. Both countries, major exporters of palm oil, have criticised the regulation as discriminatory and excessively burdensome. Tensions intensified after the United States secured a partial exemption for certain American products, prompting Malaysia and Indonesia to request similar treatment.
Malaysian officials argue that the EU’s classification of the country as “standard risk” is unfair, especially in light of recent improvements in its forest protection record. NGOs have noted a marked reduction in deforestation last year, with Global Forest Watch reporting that Malaysia lost just 0.56 percent of its remaining primary forest in 2024 — a smaller share than Sweden’s 0.87 percent loss over the same period.
In an effort to ease diplomatic friction, the EU has recently agreed to recognize the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification as a valid mechanism for demonstrating compliance with the EUDR. The MSPO scheme, mandatory since 2020 and based on independent third-party audits, is widely used across Malaysia’s palm oil sector. Nonetheless, both Malaysian government representatives and industry groups maintain that the regulation still creates significant administrative hurdles — particularly now that U.S. producers enjoy a more favourable arrangement.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has responded to the regulatory developments, stating that it wants the European Commission to defer EUDR implementation pending a comprehensive and independent audit of the EU’s country classification methodology to ensure consistency and fairness. It also wants the Commission to reclassify Malaysia as a “low-risk” country. To achieve a fair application of the EUDR rules, it is calling on the Commission to give Malaysian smallholders the same compliance pathways available to EU producers. Specifically, it is requesting access to one-time declarations rather than per-shipment documentation. In addition, it wants the Commission to “engage in a credible dialogue” with Malaysia and other global producers to develop and design proportionate and science-based compliance regimes. “If the EU wants to lead the world on sustainability, then it must start by applying its own principles fairly. True progress depends on partnership, not protectionism,” it thereby added.
The MPOC is furthermore disappointed with the EUDR’s framework, specifying its “uneven two-tier regulatory architecture”, as the MPOC criticised that the EU has classified all single EU member states as low risk. As a result, it notes: “While EU and other ‘low-risk’ suppliers can submit a single simplified declaration, Malaysian exporters must continue to compile exhaustive due diligence statements for every single export consignment.”
Imagine an oil palm farm that feels more like an ecosystem.
Walk through Yusof’s farm and you will see more than oil palm trees, biodiversity thrives here. With rotational grazing and fertile soils, the farm produces food, income, and sustainability in balance.
This final sni pic.twitter.com/QXrbLTVdAz
— Malaysian Palm Oil Council (@mpocHQ) December 10, 2025
Environmental Concerns and Next Steps
EU Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall emphasised that the revised timeline will give the EU’s IT systems time to handle the expected data load more effectively. She argued that the adjustments will help ensure the regulation is enforceable once it enters into force, supporting the EU’s broader goal of reducing global deforestation—a driver of roughly 10 percent of worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions.
The agreement must now be formally adopted by both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in mid-December. If approved, the revised regulation will provide companies with a longer preparation period and introduce a more targeted set of requirements, while maintaining core protections on deforestation-linked commodities.