What it is, what happened, who decided, what is being done, where to act. · updated 2026-09-02 · Ask about this act →
Subject matter and scope 1. This Regulation lays down rules regarding the placing and making available on the Union market as well as the export from the Union of relevant products, as listed in Annex I, that contain, have been fed with or have been made using relevant commodities, namely cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood, with a view to: (a) minimising the Union’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide, and thereby contributing to a reduction in global deforestation; (b) reducing the Union’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and global biodiversity loss. 2. […]
From 30 December 2026 nobody may place cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil-palm, rubber, soya or wood products on the EU market without proving they were produced without deforestation and in line with the law of the country of production. The proof is a due-diligence statement per consignment and the geolocation of every plot of land where the commodity was grown. The duty sits on the EU operator, but the data exists only at the farm, so the work and the cost land on growers and exporters outside the EU. EU micro and small undertakings established by the end of 2024 have until 30 June 2027.
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Can this act be fixed at all?
This act is a rare case where the answer is documented: it was amended twice before it fully applied. The first amendment postponed application by a year — proposed by the Commission on 2024-10-02, adopted 2024-12-19, 78 days. The second cut the obligations of operators and traders — proposed 2025-10-21, adopted 2025-12-19, 59 days. For comparison, the equivalent fix to the packaging regulation was proposed on 2025-12-10 and is still not law. So the speed depends not on the procedure but on whether the member states want the change.
Why does the burden land on farmers outside the EU if the duty is on an EU company?
Because the duty and the evidence sit in different places. The obligation to file a due-diligence statement is on the EU operator (Article 4), but Article 9 requires the geolocation of the plots — and that exists only where the commodity grows. So the EU buyer demands it from the supplier, the supplier from the trader, and the trader from the farmer. The act does not say who pays for collecting that data.
Did Lithuania take a position on this proposal?
We hold no public record. The Seimas series of specialised-committee conclusions on EU proposals ends in July 2016, and this proposal was tabled in November 2021. That is a document-request question rather than a search question: it can be asked of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs or the Foreign Ministry.
Amendments that became law, and how long each took from the Commission's proposal to adoption. This is the answer to "can this be changed at all" — from the EU's own register.
| What changed | Proposed | Became law | Took |
|---|---|---|---|
| as regards provisions relating to the date of application 32024R3234 | 2024-10-02 | 2024-12-19 | 78 days |
| as regards certain obligations of operators and traders 32025R2650 | 2025-10-21 | 2025-12-19 | 59 days |
| Member | Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Vytenis Povilas ANDRIUKAITIS | S&D | EP profile ↗ |
| Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS | Renew | EP profile ↗ |
| Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ | S&D | EP profile ↗ |
| Petras GRAŽULIS | ESN | EP profile ↗ |
| Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖ | PPE | EP profile ↗ |
| Liudas MAŽYLIS | PPE | EP profile ↗ |
| Paulius SAUDARGAS | PPE | EP profile ↗ |
| Virginijus SINKEVIČIUS | Verts/ALE | EP profile ↗ |
| Waldemar TOMASZEWSKI | ECR | EP profile ↗ |
| Aurelijus VERYGA | ECR | EP profile ↗ |
| Dainius ŽALIMAS | Renew | EP profile ↗ |