Investigation alleges lobbying effort over EU deforestation law
The story at a glance
Mighty Earth’s October 2026 investigation says US companies, trade associations and industry organisations lobbied over the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) between July 2024 and July 2026. The Guardian reports the investigation’s meeting figures; they have not been independently audited in the sources available here.1
The regulation’s timetable and requirements have changed. The investigation characterises lobbying as an effort to weaken or delay the law, while EU institutions cite preparedness, technical issues and administrative burdens. The available sources do not establish that lobbying caused the revisions.123
The story in brief
What you need to know
- Mighty Earth says it identified 24 US companies, trade associations and industry organisations lobbying EU institutions and/or the US federal government. It reports 173 meetings with MEPs and 178 with senior European Commission officials during the period examined. These are findings reported by the investigation, not independently verified totals in this source set.1
- The EUDR covers specified commodities and derived products linked to cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood. It requires due diligence intended to ensure covered products are not associated with deforestation or forest degradation.2
- EU institutions revised the regulation in 2024 and 2025. In December 2025, the Council and Parliament agreed a further postponement and simplification. The Council said the changes responded to concerns about preparedness and technical issues with the information system.23
- The Council presented the changes as a way to reduce administrative burdens while preserving the regulation’s objectives. The Commission’s May 2026 review assessed implementation and burden, and said further amendments to the basic legal text were not appropriate at that time.23
- Mighty Earth describes the activity as a coordinated campaign to weaken or delay the law. The Guardian reports that US organisations disputed the suggestion of a concerted effort to derail it, saying their engagement concerned legitimate implementation issues. The sources therefore offer different interpretations, not evidence that the revisions themselves did not occur.123
Conservation context
Why this matters
The EUDR sets due-diligence requirements for products linked to commodities including wood, soy and palm oil. How its requirements are implemented and timed is therefore relevant to the regulation’s stated aim of addressing deforestation and forest degradation in covered supply chains.2
The developing story
What happens next
The Commission’s review says the regulation is intended to apply from the end of 2026. The sources do not report a later change to that timetable; the Commission said in May 2026 that further amendments to the basic legal text were not appropriate at that time.3
Established evidence
What we know
- The investigation examines activity from July 2024 to July 2026 and attributes its findings to documentary research.1
- Official EU sources confirm that the regulation was revised in 2024 and 2025 and that its implementation timetable was delayed.23
- The Council cites stakeholder concerns about readiness and technical issues with the information system; it says the changes were intended to ease administration while retaining the regulation’s objectives.2
Open questions
What we don't know
- The available sources do not include an independent audit of Mighty Earth’s meeting dataset or the way it classified the meetings.1
- They do not establish how much, if at all, lobbying influenced the timing or substance of the revisions, as distinct from implementation concerns cited by EU institutions and stakeholders.123
- The reporting does not quantify how the revisions will affect compliance in practice or the regulation’s eventual effect on deforestation and forest degradation.23
Source coverage
