European Union Timber Regulation

Last updated

The European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) aims to counter illegal logging and associated trade in timber and timber products in the member states of the European Union, and ultimately contribute to sustainable management of forests and reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation beyond EU borders. [1] The EUTR establishes obligations on 'operators' who place timber and timber products on the market and on 'traders' who buy or sell timber or timber products already on the internal market. [2]

Contents

The regulation is an outcome of the EU's FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) Action Plan, which aims to reduce illegal logging worldwide. The Action Plan recognised the possibility of developing new legislation to address the demand side of illegal logging. This resulted in the adoption of the EUTR in December 2010. The EUTR entered into force on 3 March 2013. It is directly applicable in all EU member states. In February 2016, the European Commission published an updated version of the Guidance Document for the EU Timber Regulation. [3]

Scope

The EUTR covers a range of timber products such as solid wood products, flooring, plywood, pulp and paper that are listed the EUTR's Annex. [4] The EUTR does not cover recycled products, as well as printed papers such as books, magazines and newspapers. The product scope can however be amended. The EUTR applies to both imported and domestically produced timber and timber products. Timber and timber products covered by valid FLEGT or CITES licences automatically meet the requirements of the EUTR.

Obligations

The EUTR prohibits the placing onto the EU market of illegally harvested timber and timber products derived from such timber. It requires operators who place timber or timber products on the market for the first time to exercise due diligence to make sure that timber and timber products are legal. To facilitate the traceability of timber and timber products, the EUTR also requires traders who buy or sell timber products on the EU market to keep records of their suppliers and customers. The due diligence system shall contain the following three elements: [5] [6]

  1. Information: Operators shall provide the following information: a description of the timber or timber products placed on the market (including trade name and type of product, common name of tree species and, if applicable, their scientific name), country of harvest, quantity, details of the supplier and information on compliance with applicable legislation.
  2. Risk assessment: Operators should analyse and evaluate the risk of illegally harvested timber or timber products placed on the market, based on the information identified above and taking into account relevant risk assessment criteria set out in the EUTR, including but not limited to, assurance of compliance with applicable legislation, prevalence of illegal harvesting of specific tree species, prevalence of illegal harvesting or practices in the sourcing country, complexity of the supply chain.
  3. Risk mitigation: When the assessment has demonstrated that there is a risk of illegally harvested timber or timber products derived from such timber, operators shall mitigate such risk by requiring additional information and/or verification by a third party. [7]

Operators can set up due diligence systems on an individual basis or with the assistance of monitoring organisations (Article 8). Monitoring organisations are legal entities recognised by the European Commission, as fulfilling the EUTR requirements, competent to assist operators in meeting the EUTR due diligence obligations. [8]

Implementation

The Regulation is legally binding on all 28 EU Member States. The EUTR requires all EU member states to implement the Regulation by designating a ‘competent authority’ responsible for its application (Article 7), lay down “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties applicable to infringements of the EUTR and take all measures necessary to guarantee that penalties are enforced (Article 19). [9]

Review

In 2015, the European Commission undertook a review of the EUTR, in compliance with a legal obligation laid down in Article 20(3) of the Regulation. [10] The purpose of the review is to assess the functioning and effectiveness of the EUTR, including in preventing illegally harvested timber or timber products derived from such timber being placed on the market. More than 240 stakeholders, NGOs and the private sector contributed to a public consultation as part of the review process.

The Commission published the review on 18 February 2016. [11] It concluded that "the EU is on track to achieve its objectives to combat illegal logging and associated trade in illegal timber, but challenges remain". [12]

According to the commission: "Some positive trends are visible, namely that EU operators are gradually taking steps to ensure the legality of their suppliers and that there is more awareness of the problem of illegal logging amongst EU consumers. The Regulation has also encouraged producer countries to develop systems assessing compliance with the requirements of the legislation. However, more effort is needed from both the Member States and the private sector to ensure its effective and efficient application". [13]

For the EU to achieve their goal, they have passed the Deforestation Regulation into law in May 2023. The Regulation entered into force on 29 June 2023. It repeals the EU’s Timber Regulation from 30 December 2024. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Due diligence</span> Standard of care before entering into a contract with another party

Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal logging</span> Harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws

Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a protected area; the cutting down of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. Illegal logging is a driving force for a number of environmental issues such as deforestation, soil erosion and biodiversity loss which can drive larger-scale environmental crises such as climate change and other forms of environmental degradation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CE marking</span> European Declaration of conformity mark

The presence of the logo on commercial products indicates that the manufacturer or importer affirms the goods' conformity with European health, safety, and environmental protection standards. It is not a quality indicator or a certification mark. The CE marking is required for goods sold in the European Economic Area (EEA); goods sold elsewhere may also carry the mark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Directive 67/548/EEC</span>

The Dangerous Substances Directive was one of the main European Union laws concerning chemical safety, until its full replacement by the new regulation CLP Regulation (2008), starting in 2016. It was made under Article 100 of the Treaty of Rome. By agreement, it is also applicable in the EEA, and compliance with the directive will ensure compliance with the relevant Swiss laws. The Directive ceased to be in force on 31 May 2015 and was repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forestry law</span> Field of law

Forestry laws govern activities in designated forest lands, most commonly with respect to forest management and timber harvesting. Forestry laws generally adopt management policies for public forest resources, such as multiple use and sustained yield. Forest management is split between private and public management, with public forests being sovereign property of the State. Forestry laws are now considered an international affair.

Type approval or certificate of conformity is granted to a product that meets a minimum set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements. Generally, type approval is required before a product is allowed to be sold in a particular country, so the requirements for a given product will vary around the world. Processes and certifications known as type approval in English are often called homologation, or some cognate expression, in other European languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eco-Management and Audit Scheme</span>

The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary environmental management instrument, which was developed in 1993 by the European Commission. It enables organizations to assess, manage and continuously improve their environmental performance. The scheme is globally applicable and open to all types of private and public organizations. In order to register with EMAS, organisations must meet the requirements of the EU EMAS-Regulation. Currently, more than 4,600 organisations and more than 7,900 sites are EMAS registered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental crime</span> Illegal act which directly harms the environment

Environmental crime is an illegal act which directly harms the environment. These illegal activities involve the environment, wildlife, biodiversity and natural resources. International bodies such as, G7, Interpol, European Union, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, have recognised the following environmental crimes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FERN</span>

Fern is a Dutch foundation created in 1995. It is an international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) set up to keep track of the European Union's (EU) involvement in forests and coordinate NGO activities at the European level. Fern works to protect forests and the rights of people who depend on them.

A European Authorised Representative (E.A.R.) serves as a legal entity designated by non European Union (EU) manufacturers, to represent them in the EU and ensure their compliance with the European Directives. The CE certificate and declaration of conformity can only be issued by a company located in the European Union.

A Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) is a bilateral timber-trade agreement between the European Union and a timber-exporting country outside the EU. VPAs are a key element of the EU FLEGT Action Plan, which aims to address illegal logging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications</span>

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is the body in which the regulators of the telecommunications markets in the European Union work together. Other participants are the representatives of the European Commission, as well as telecommunication regulators from the member states of the EEA and of states that are in the process of joining the EU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011</span>

Regulation No. 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union is a regulation of 9 March 2011 which lays down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and replaces Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC). This EU regulation is designed to simplify and clarify the existing framework for the placing on the market of construction products. It replaced the earlier (1989) Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC).

Market surveillance for products ensures that products on the market conform to applicable laws and regulations. This helps to foster trust among consumers buying products or financial services and protects consumers and professionals from harm from non-compliant products. It also helps companies that comply to stay in business and avoid losing market share to rogue traders.

The European Union and Indonesia have built robust commercial relations, with bilateral trade amounting to approximately €25 billion in 2012 resulting in a sizeable €5.7 billion trade surplus for Indonesia with the EU. As of 2012 EU and Indonesia has been marked by an upward trend. Whereas total trade was worth almost €16 billion in 2009, by 2011 it had already reached €23.5 billion.

The European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan is a European Union initiative to address illegal logging and the social, economic and environmental harm it causes. The EU adopted the Action Plan in 2003. The plan includes activities in the EU and in tropical countries that export timber and timber products to the EU. These measures include a regulation that prohibits EU businesses from importing or trading illegal timber, and bilateral trade agreements with timber-exporting countries. Much of the FLEGT Action Plan focuses on promoting trade in legal timber products and creating disincentives for trade in illegal products. However, the Action Plan's measures go further by addressing aspects of poor governance that enable illegal logging to persist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital Services Act</span> European Union regulation on digital services content

The Digital Services Act is a regulation in EU law to update the Electronic Commerce Directive 2000 regarding illegal content, transparent advertising, and disinformation. It was submitted along with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on 15 December 2020. The DSA was prepared by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager and by the European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, as members of the Von der Leyen Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timber Regulation 2010</span> Europe Timber ragulations laying down the obligations of the operators

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.

References

  1. ↑ 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 Text with EEA relevance
  2. ↑ For the purposes of the EUTR, the following definitions apply: An 'operator' is any natural or legal person that places timber or timber products for the first time on the internal market (Article 2(c)). 'Placing on the market' means the supply of timber or timber products for the first time on the internal market (Article 2(b)). A 'trader' is any natural or legal person who, in the course of a commercial activity, sells or buys on the internal market timber or timber products already placed on the internal market (Article 2(d)). Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010
  3. ↑ Guidance Document for the EU Timber Regulation http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/eutr_guidance.zip
  4. ↑ 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 Text with EEA relevance
  5. ↑ European Commission. EU Timber Regulation http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/timber_regulation.htm
  6. ↑ European Commission. Basic minimum description of a DDS (due diligence system) http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/Basic%20minimum%20description%20of%20a%20DDS.pdf
  7. ↑ Detailed rules concerning the due diligence system are laid down in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 607/2012 of 6 July 2012 on the detailed rules concerning the due diligence system and the frequency and nature of the checks on monitoring organisations as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 995/2010.
  8. ↑ Procedural rules on the recognition (and withdrawal) of monitoring organisations are laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 363/2012 of 23 February 2012 on the procedural rules for the recognition and withdrawal of recognition of monitoring organisations as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 995/2010.
  9. ↑ Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010
  10. ↑ "Consultation on the evaluation of the EU Timber Regulation two years after its entry into application". European Commission. 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  11. ↑ European Commission. 2016. Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Regulation EU/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 (the EU Timber Regulation). http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/eutr_implementation_report.pdf
  12. ↑ European Commission. EU Timber Regulation: First two years show progress, but more effort needed from Member States and private sector. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/eutr_report.htm
  13. ↑ European Commission. EU Timber Regulation: First two years show progress, but more effort needed from Member States and private sector. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/eutr_report.htm
  14. ↑ "EU Deforestation Regulation". Mason Hayes Curran. Mason Hayes & Curran. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.