Leather industry leaders have welcomed formal calls in recent days from the governments of Germany and of Italy to postpone the application of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

Formally adopted by the European Parliament and by leaders of the 27 EU member states in June 2023, the regulation is due to come into application for large companies in December 2024 and for smaller companies in June 2025.

As things stand, it will affect all leather manufacturers in Europe, many of their suppliers and even, potentially, some of their customers.

At a major seminar on the subject at Lineapelle in Milan on September 18, the secretary general of tanning industry body COTANCE, Gustavo González-Quijano, said: “The European Commission is not ready for the application of EUDR.”

He explained that delays in clarifying exactly how the regulation will work and in making available to companies affected the systems they will need to use to upload relevant information on cattle hides and the other products that fall within EUDR’s scope meant that businesses would now have, at best, two months to prepare.

“Criticism is mounting because this situation is not sustainable,” he said. “Twenty of the EU member states, led by Austria, have complained, as has the World Trade Organisation and the governments of the US and Brazil. Two weeks ago, Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Sholz, also said the European Commission should delay.”

At the same seminar, the vice-director of Italy’s national tanning industry body UNIC, Luca Boltri, said the Italian government had also sent a formal request asking the European Commission to postpone the implementation of EUDR.

“The fact is, though, that we cannot rely on this pressure paying off and we have to continue to prepare as best we can for EUDR,” Gustavo González-Quijano said.

The organisers of the seminar had to move the venue to a larger room because hundreds of people asked to attend.