Brussels, 01/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - The EU has taken a further step in the fight against illegal logging in the forests of the world, for the benefit of the developing countries, biodiversity and the fight against climate change. The proposed European regulation laying down the obligations on operators selling wood and derivative products on the European market- one of the main outlets for exporting third countries- was the subject of the formal agreement at the Council, on Thursday 28 January, without debate and by qualified majority (the Netherlands voted against, whilst Denmark, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom abstained). This paves the way for a common position to be adopted, which will be put to the Parliament for second reading.
In order to reduce as much as possible the risk of wood and derivative products from illegal logging activities being sold on the European market, the draft regulation is based on the system of "reasonable diligence", which allows operators from the supply chain to trace wood and derivative products, to access information on the observation of applicable legislation in the country of origin and to manage the risk of illegal logging products entering the market.
As things stand, this system would force operators to obtain basic information on sources of supply and suppliers of wood, in order to carry out a risk assessment. In the event that any risks are identified, it will be up to the operators to attenuate this risk. (A.N./trans.fl)