EUDR Legal Analysis: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 Breakdown

Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 — Legal analysis

Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation is the principal legislative act of the EUDR framework.

Legal basis

The regulation is based on Article 192(1) TFEU (environmental policy). As a regulation, it is directly applicable in all EU Member States without the need for transposition into national law.

Structure of the regulation

The regulation contains 38 articles organised in 8 chapters and 4 annexes:

• Chapter 1 (Art. 1-2) — Subject matter, scope, and definitions
• Chapter 2 (Art. 3-7) — Obligations of operators and traders
• Chapter 3 (Art. 8-13) — The due diligence system
• Chapter 4 (Art. 14-19) — Competent authorities and checks
• Chapter 5 (Art. 20-24) — The benchmarking system
• Chapter 6 (Art. 25-27) — Penalties
• Chapter 7 (Art. 28-33) — International cooperation and monitoring systems
• Chapter 8 (Art. 34-38) — Final provisions

Key articles

Article 3 — Main prohibition: It is prohibited to place on the market or export from the EU the relevant products, unless they are deforestation-free, have been produced in accordance with the legislation of the country of production, and are covered by a due diligence statement.

Article 4 — Obligations of operators: Operators must exercise due diligence, submit a due diligence statement in the information system, and must not place products on the market until the due diligence process is completed with negligible risk.

Articles 8-10 — The due diligence system: The process involves three steps: (1) information collection, including geolocation coordinates, (2) risk assessment, and (3) risk mitigation. If the risk cannot be reduced to a negligible level, the product cannot be placed on the market.

Article 29 — Country classification (benchmarking): The Commission classifies countries or regions into three risk categories — low, standard, or high — based on the criteria set out in Article 29(3).

Penalties (Articles 25-26)

Member States shall lay down the applicable penalties, which must be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive. The regulation sets a minimum level:

• Fines of at least 4% of the annual turnover of the operator or trader in the EU
• Confiscation of the products and revenue obtained
• Exclusion from public procurement procedures
• Prohibition from placing products on the market for a determined period
• Prohibition from using the simplified due diligence procedure

Relationship with other legislation

EUDR interacts with several other EU legislative acts, including the Taxonomy Regulation (EU) 2020/852, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

The full text of the regulation is available on EUR-Lex. For practical implementation guides, visit eudr.solutions.