EU ban on illegal timber trade under way
According to several media, the EU countries have agreed to ban trade in illegal timber products in the EU.
Several EU countries have changed their position from opposing to supporting an EU-wide ban on such trade, and the majority are now in favour of an outright prohibition.
This development is probably the result of sustained pressure from member states that are strong advocates of a ban, including Belgium, Denmark, Spain and the UK, combined with pressures from the EU Parliament. Other stakeholder group have also been pushing for a ban, including NGOs and parts of the wood industry and trade. Most recently, several leading European retailers formed the Timber Retail Coalition, with the explicit purpose of pushing for strong regulations.
The details of the ban are not official yet, and the legislation is not formally in place.
However, media and unofficial statements confirm that the EU Parliament, the EU Commission and Council of Ministers have negotiated and on Tuesday this week they agreed on a compromise text for the EU Due Diligence legislation. The text is said to put the main focus on those operators placing wood products on the EU market for the first time (so-called 'first placers'). Printed matter will initially be exempt from the regulation.
This proposal will go into voting by the EU Parliament on the 6th of July. This will be the last step before formally adopting the legislation by the member states.
