Press release | Books and other printed products excluded from EU Deforestation Regulation

Brussels, 17 December 2025

On 17 December, the final act of the European Union Deforestation Regulation was played in the Strasbourg plenary session of the European Parliament. Members of the EP voted in favour of the provisional agreement reached with the Council, excluding books and other printed products. On 15 December, the Environment Committee of the EP approved this provisional agreement on the EUDR reached in the trilogue.

Sonia Draga, President of the Federation of European Publishers, “European publishers and all those who sell books in Europe are relieved that this Regulation excludes books. I must thank my colleagues at the Federation and all our members for the work they have done to explain the situation to MEPs and their governments. A year ago, such an exclusion was unimaginable, but it has become a reality thanks to the solid arguments and the work of all publishers on environmental sustainability. MEPs and governments must be thanked for recognising the importance of books to society”.

Even if books are excluded, paper is not, and the European Commission is carrying out a survey to gather information about the expected use of the Information System (TRACES) by companies importing EUDR commodities or derived products. FEP will reach out to its members to contribute to that survey.

FEP is an independent, non-commercial umbrella association of book publishers’ associations in Europe. FEP represents 31 national associations of publishers of books, learned journals and educational materials, in all formats, in Europe. FEP is the voice of the great majority of publishers in Europe.

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