EU27 Environment Ministers meeting in Luxembourg on 6 October stressed the importance of healthy and resilient forests for achieving the EU’s climate objectives and emphasised the horizontal and multifunctional role of forests, during a debate on the new EU forest strategy for 2030, presented by the Commission in July as part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package (see EUROPE 12804/14).
They welcomed the strategy as a good reflection of the conclusions adopted by the Environment Council on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and as a way for the EU to play a leading role on the international scene. The Ministers also expressed their wish to be involved in this dossier, which is to be the subject of conclusions by the Agriculture Council before the end of the year.
However, several delegations (Greece, the Scandinavian countries, Hungary) insisted on the need to respect subsidiarity and national specificities and (Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden) considered that the economic and social aspects of sustainability were not sufficiently taken into account. Some felt that the definition of old and primary forests needed to be clarified.
Summing up the exchange at the end of the Environment Council he chaired, Slovenian Minister for the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak noted the following points: - Ministers are generally supportive of the strategy; - a good balance must be found between environmental aspects and development of the bioeconomy; - sustainable management of forests is important to improve their resilience; - primary and old growth forests play a vital role; - data collection and monitoring are important, but should use existing instruments; - more efforts are needed to protect forests at international level.
Commissioner for Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius assured that the debate will also continue at national level, and expressed his confidence that the Agriculture Council’s conclusions will reflect this exchange of views. He invited the Ministers to discuss with their colleagues in Agriculture.
The Commission’s Executive Vice-President in charge of the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, speaking earlier, had indicated that the involvement of the Environment Ministers seemed legitimate to him. “It is not just about trees. It’s about the threat of ecocide. It’s also about the health of our forests. Our forests are in bad shape”, he said, citing the recent report of the EU Court of Auditors (see EUROPE 12804/15).
He added: “You have a huge role to play. If we take the issue of carbon sink, the issue of Lulucf seriously, if you really want healthy forests to be part of the solution, you need to consider the issue from an environmental angle and not just from an angle of forestry and agriculture”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)