News that the European Commission (EC) is considering a further delay to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has sent shockwaves through the cocoa industry. Only last week, companies were reassured there were no such plans and that the system underpinning the law was ready.
Anthony Myers
The EC is now considering a one-year postponement — from 30 December 2025 to the end of 2026 — following a similar decision last year that pushed implementation back by 12 months.
In a letter seen by CocoaRadar, Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, warned that the EUDR’s IT platform faces risks of repeated disruptions and slowdowns.
Roswall wrote to Antonio Decaro, chair of the European Parliament’s environment committee, recommending the extension.
“The IT system is central to implementation of the regulation, enabling companies to register as operators, submit Due Diligence Statements (DDS), and provide data required by customs and national authorities. However, updated projections on the number of expected operations reveal that the platform may not be able to handle the anticipated volume of transactions
“Factors contributing to the strain include the complexity of obligations on downstream operators, the high volume of small package imports, and the time needed for internal checks by both the Commission and Member States.”
Without corrective measures, Roswall cautioned, companies could face severe difficulties complying with the regulation, potentially disrupting trade flows across covered sectors, including cocoa.
The Commission is assessing steps to better align EUDR requirements with the system’s architecture, but admits it cannot guarantee stability by the current enforcement date. To avoid uncertainty, Roswall told lawmakers and ministers that a one-year delay is under active consideration.
Industry reaction has been swift. Beatrice Moulianitaki, a Sustainability, ESG & Impact Executive, commented on LinkedIn:
“The repeated shifting of timelines is deeply damaging. Companies and service providers are making serious investments to align with sustainability regulations — but every change of stick, carrot, or deadline erodes their confidence. What we need is stability and clarity, not moving goalposts. Otherwise, the credibility of Europe’s sustainability agenda risks being undermined from within… in fact, it might already be.”
The EPP Group, the largest political group in the European Parliament, stated in a press release that it welcomes the European Commission’s plan to postpone the entry into force of the Deforestation Regulation, "demonstrating that the inherent problems with the law cannot be solved by further transition periods or non-binding guidelines".
Christine Schneider MEP, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the file, said: “This clearly shows that the problems of the Deforestation Regulation run deep. A key step in a necessary revision of the deforestation regulation is the introduction of a zero-risk category.
'Regions and products that pose no risk of deforestation must be treated in an unbureaucratic manner and without additional documentation requirements. Only in this way can the regulation have a targeted effect without burdening those who can demonstrate that they operate in a sustainable and responsible manner."
As CocoaRadar exclusively reported from the ECA Forum in Malta last week, a Commission spokesperson had insisted the regulation remained on track for 30 December 2025.
“For the moment, we have no instruction to work differently. Our focus is on finalising the tools, answering outstanding questions, and preparing for entry into application.”
The EUDR information system, launched in December 2024, is nearing completion with updates that include new features, enhanced training for companies and authorities, and expanded translation capacity.
A further data update is scheduled for October, which will trigger refinements.
At the time of writing, no official postponement had been confirmed by the European Commission. The following steps are for the EC to propose a motion for the EU member states to hold a vote in Parliament before any delay can occur.
Cocoaradar understands that a confirmation could arrive within the next three weeks, although final approval may be delayed until late Q4.
"Either way, this doesn’t impact October's buybacks, which run on revenue, not just regulation dates," an analyst said.