Review of the Year. 2025: an intense year for the USSE in Brussels (and for forest owners in southern Europe)

07 / 01 / 2026

2025 was a particularly demanding year, both politically and technically, for the Union of Foresters of Southern Europe (USSE), in a context in which the European debate on forests continues to oscillate between ambitious climate and biodiversity goals and the often-overlooked need to support active forest management and the economic viability of rural areas. From Portugal, Galicia, Navarre, the Basque Country and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the USSE continued to defend a fundamental reality: without private forest owners there is no management, and without management there is no resilience to fires, droughts, pests or land abandonment.

EUDR: greater clarity on the timetable, but with a requirement for practicality

One of the most important files of the year was the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR). After months of uncertainty, 2025 ends with a political agreement, reached on 4 December, in favour of a “surgical” revision aimed at simplifying its content and, above all, postponing its application until 30 December 2026 for operators in general, with an additional grace period for micro and small enterprises. In parallel, Parliament approved the postponement, also setting the deadline at 30 December 2026 for large and medium-sized enterprises and 30 June 2027 for micro and small enterprises.

For the USSE, this debate provided an opportunity to stress that traceability and due diligence must go hand in hand with operational systems and affordable costs for the most fragile links in the chain, particularly in the context of highly fragmented and predominantly private forest ownership in our regions.

Forest monitoring law: a “brake” that calls for a rethink of the approach

In October, the European Parliament rejected the proposal for a “forest monitoring law” at first reading on 21 October, following a prior rejection in committee, citing the risks of duplication and excessive administrative burden. The Parliament’s own legislative train also indicates that the Commission announced in its 2026 work programme its intention to withdraw the proposal in the coming months.

Throughout the file, the USSE defended the view that improving knowledge of forest conditions is positive, but that it must build on existing systems, with clear governance and without turning data collection into an end in itself—especially in territories where management is already complex due to topography, climate risks and low profitability.

Carbon removals certification framework: from the standard to the “how”

2025 also marked the launch of the CRCF (voluntary certification framework for carbon removals and agricultural and forest carbon), with concrete measures introduced through secondary legislation. On 1 December, the Commission announced the adoption of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2358, the first operational building block for the recognition and functioning of certification schemes, and set out the framework for the deployment of delegated acts related to methodologies.

For the USSE, the message is clear: if Europe wants to mobilise investment in carbon capture and storage, the mechanisms must recognise the realities of the south (disturbance risks, management costs, long rotations, small holdings) and generate net incentives, rather than obligations that shift the burden of other sectors onto forests.

Nature restoration: the implementation phase begins

With the European Nature Restoration Regulation (2024/1991), already in force since 18 August 2024, 2025 was marked by the transition to the implementation phase. The Commission, for example, made progress in developing tools and a common format for national restoration plans, the draft of which is to be presented in September 2026.

The USSE informed and urged its national associations to seek involvement in the preparation of national restoration plans, as provided for in the regulation itself, in order to ensure that they are designed on the basis of sound technical criteria, with sufficient funding and an approach that strengthens—rather than penalises—active sustainable forest management.

A more intense and higher-quality political dialogue

Beyond legislative texts, 2025 was a year of strengthened communication channels: bringing Members of the European Parliament and technical teams closer to the reality of southern forests (demanding ecosystems, a high proportion of private ownership, fragmentation and the need for continuous investment). At a time when the environmental debate is polarised, the USSE, in cooperation with other organisations it works with in Brussels, focused its efforts on highlighting forest owners as an indispensable part of the European solution—on climate, biodiversity, the bioeconomy and managed territories.

In short, 2025 leaves room for progress, pauses and course corrections. But it also confirms something essential: when Brussels legislates on forests, the voice of those who manage them on a daily basis is not that of a “mere stakeholder”; it is the condition that allows any European objective to be realised on the ground.

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