Report on Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market (the EU Timber Regulation)

Summary:

This report provides an analysis of the implementation of the EU Timber Regulation during the period March 2015 - February 2017, based on reports submitted by all 28 Member States and Norway. It details how the EUTR is being implemented across the EU and in the EEA and outlines conclusions and next steps.

In addition, the report pays regard to the progress made in respect to the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements and their contribution to minimising the presence of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the internal market.

Further information:

Timber trade plays a significant role in the EU. According to Eurostat, more than 2 billion tonnes of timber and timber products (worth more than €1 trillion) were placed on the EU market in 2006-2016. More than 25% of this timber was imported from outside the EU, and some of the remaining intra-EU trade may be in timber or timber products originally imported into the EU. The EU’s wood-based industries amounted to €107 billion and employed 3.3 million people in 2014.

Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 (the EU Timber Regulation) was adopted in 2010. It sets out the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market as part of the implementation of the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). This action plan is the EU’s policy instrument to combat illegal logging in forests worldwide.

Another key element of the FLEGT action plan are the Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), legally binding trade agreements between the EU and timber producing countries outside the EU that aim to improve forest governance and law enforcement, and to ensure that only verified timber and timber products are exported to the EU.