The European Parliament has approved the amendments to the EU Deforestation Regulation with 402 votes in favour. The one-year postponement has been confirmed, along with a revision of the due-diligence obligations, which will now focus on the “first placing on the market”.
Alessandro Chelli, CEO of Trusty, shares his analysis of the new roadmap and the future of technological compliance.
The European Parliament has officially adopted its position on the amendments to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). In the vote held on Wednesday, 26 November, the assembly approved the postponement of the regulation’s application and a set of amendments aimed at simplifying administrative burdens. A decision that will directly reshape the compliance strategies of thousands of companies, opening the final negotiation phase with EU governments.
Alessandro Chelli, CEO of Trusty, an Italian Benefit Corporation specialised in blockchain-based traceability for agri-food and industrial supply chains, analyses the post-vote scenario, outlining the new deadlines and the opportunities unlocked by data-flow simplification.
New Deadlines and Obligations for First Placing on the Market
The approved text introduces a one-year postponement for all operators. The new compliance deadlines are set for 30 December 2026 for medium and large companies and traders, and 30 June 2027 for micro and small enterprises. A key change concerns due-diligence obligations: Parliament established that the responsibility for submitting declarations should fall primarily on the companies that first place the product on the EU market, significantly reducing the burden on subsequent actors in the supply chain and easing requirements for small primary operators.
“The Parliament’s vote confirms the intention to make the EUDR more workable without compromising its core objectives,” says Alessandro Chelli. “Focusing declaration duties on first placing is a decisive step toward streamlining processes. It avoids unnecessary duplication across the supply chain and gives downstream operators greater clarity. The postponement to 2026 and 2027 should not be seen as a reason to pause—it is the technical time needed to test IT systems and ensure that, once the regulation goes live, there are no disruptions in critical supply chains.”
Operational Impact: Technology Ready for Change
The approved amendments—expected to be aligned with the EU Council by year-end—push toward a more centralised data-management model at the point of entry into the single market. Trusty’s platform is already fully aligned with this scenario, having long supported workflows based on the “First Placer”, the operator responsible for first placing on the market.
“For companies, these changes mean the opportunity to build more stable, less fragmented integrations,” Chelli explains. “If the legislative process confirms this framework, downstream companies will no longer need to produce large volumes of complex declarations and will instead be able to focus on essential data transparency. We’re ready: our systems are already configured to manage guided procedures for small operators and to support major importers who will become the core of regulatory compliance.”
Looking Beyond the Regulation
Despite the additional postponement, market signals remain clear. Parliament has also requested a review of the regulation by April 2026 to assess its impact, but the direction toward sustainability is already set.
“To give credibility to Europe’s commitment, it’s essential that this extra time is used wisely. Many of our client companies have chosen not to slow down their compliance projects, understanding that traceability is a competitive asset demanded by the market today—regardless of this new delay,” Chelli concludes. “In this context, Trusty will continue supporting businesses throughout the transition, ensuring the platform remains a flexible ally that can quickly adapt to regulatory developments. And for those that have already invested in data collection, we are introducing features that will help them capitalise on their work immediately: the transparency they’ve achieved can already become a differentiating factor in the market, even before the legal obligation comes into force.”
