Website: Timber regulation

Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market – also known as the (Illegal) Timber Regulation counters the trade in illegally harvested timber and timber products through three key obligations:

It prohibits the placing on the EU market for the first time of illegally harvested timber and products derived from such timber;

It requires EU traders who place timber products on the EU market for the first time to exercise 'due diligence';

Once on the market, the timber and timber products may be sold on and/or transformed before they reach the final consumer. To facilitate the traceability of timber products economic operators in this part of the supply chain (referred to as traders in the regulation) have an obligation to

Keep records of their suppliers and customers.
The Regulation covers a wide range of timber products listed in its Annex using EU Customs code nomenclature.

The application of the Regulation will start from 3rd March 2013 to allow sufficient time for EU operators, timber producers and Member States, as well as trading partners, to prepare, During this period the Commission will adopt more detailed rules.

• Primary Source

Chatham House: Reports and Papers: Briefing Paper: Controlling Illegal Logging: Implementation of the EU Timber Regulation, June 2011 http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/papers/view/176213

---