EUDR country assessments – or which countries are at risk from deforestation

The risk classification was made taking into account deforestation and other environmental risks related to the production of seven commodities covered by the EUDR – cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and timber. The adoption of the regulation and the methodological document underpinning the selection was unanimously supported by all 27 Member States of the European Union.

The assessment system aims to define proportionate and uniform control obligations for Member State authorities: in the case of low risk, at least 1% of operators or products must be checked, in the case of medium risk at least 3%, and in the case of high risk at least 9%.

Based on the first country assessment list, all Member States of the European Union – including Hungary – were classified as low risk. Almost 70% of imports into the EU come from low-risk countries, including major trading partners such as the United States and China. This represents a significant step forward in terms of the practical implementation of the EUDR.

The high-risk category includes countries for which the UN Security Council or the Council of the European Union has imposed sanctions on the import or export of the goods concerned or products derived from them. These include the Russian Federation, Belarus, Myanmar and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The application of the EUDR regulations will begin on December 30, 2025 for large and medium-sized enterprises, while it will become mandatory for micro and small enterprises from June 30, 2026.