While the Expanded Universe - not even called such until 1998 - has long been a way to get fans to buy paper much like Hasbro has found a way to get us to buy plastic, it hasn't been all that unusual for a bit of slate-cleaning now and again.  Today, StarWars.com confirms it's basically wiping the slate as clean as can be.

From TFA:

"In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s."