Brussels, 15/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 15 December, EU agriculture ministers reached political agreement on a proposal establishing the requirements on operators who place timber and timber products on the market. The text calls on operators putting timber and timber products on the EU market for the first time to do all they can to reduce the risk of wood from illegal operations coming onto the Community market. The European Parliament delivered its first reading opinion on 22 April 2009 and will now give its second reading view. Discussions with the EP will take place under Spanish Presidency.
The Swedish Presidency and the Commission both felt the text was balanced and set out the reasons which prevent the imposition of a ban (as wanted by four countries, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) on marketing wood from illegal foresting (difficulty of inspecting every batch of timber imported and to pursue wrongdoers, incompatibility with WTO rules). Some countries, such as Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Poland felt that the regulation should not place too great a burden on small forestry companies.
Denmark noted that deforestation was responsible for almost 20% of CO2 emissions, and that it threatened biodiversity. France said that it shared the concerns of those who want a strong instrument to bring sanctions to bear, and felt that the idea of banning illegal timber should be explored in discussions with the EP ahead of its second reading. The UK said it was “disappointed” at the text's lack of ambition. Spain said it would have preferred a clear general ban and said that it would abstain.
The Council reached agreement on the compromise text by qualified majority, leaving aside those Articles of the regulation affected by the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty (clarifications are required, for example, on delegated acts). The text states that operators who market timber and timber products on the internal market for the first time should show “diligence” in applying a system of measures and procedures (due diligence) to reduce as far as possible the risk of timber or timber products from illegal foresting entering the internal market. The due diligence system contains three elements fundamental to risk management: access to information, risk assessment and mitigation of identified risk to prevent timber and timber products from illegal foresting entering the Community market. (L.C./transl.rt)