Political deadlock, growing pressure, a tight timeline

In November 2025, the European legislative process around the EUDR was caught between political pressure, national interests and formal procedure. Although the topic had been debated for months, the decision-making process was far from over.

Member states at odds, Coreper as the bottleneck

The biggest point of contention was not in the European Parliament but among the governments of the EU member states. In the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), which usually prepares compromises, the situation was deadlocked.

One bloc of countries, above all Sweden, Germany and Austria, pushed for more far-reaching changes than the EU Commission had originally proposed. Their demands included a one-year suspension of application and a clause that would oblige the Commission to conduct another review as early as 2025. Other states, including France and Spain, rejected this direction. As a result, Coreper was temporarily unable to act.

Denmark caught in the middle

Because Denmark held the EU Council presidency, it was responsible for formulating a compromise capable of winning a majority. The first attempt failed; the Danish presidency had to draft a new proposal able to secure a qualified majority, a demanding task given the hardened fronts.

Parliament pushes the pace

In parallel, the European Parliament accelerated the process: using the fast-track procedure, it skipped large parts of the usual committee work and brought the proposal straight to plenary. In the session of November 24 to 27, Parliament adopted its position. That settled nothing definitively: a law only comes into being once Council and Parliament agree on the same text.

The road ahead

• End of November: Parliament adopts its position.
• The weeks after: Coreper, under Danish mediation, seeks a common line among member states.
• Then: start of the trilogue negotiations between Parliament, Council and Commission.
• Mid-December: Parliament votes on the compromise text, followed by formal Council approval.

Could everything have stayed as it was?

Had no agreement been reached, the EUDR would have become applicable on December 30, 2025 in its original form. For companies that meant: preparation pays off in every scenario. How it ended is well known, in December 2025 the compromise was adopted as Regulation (EU) 2025/2650.