Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-04-21-Speech-2-184"
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"en.20090421.21.2-184"2
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Mr President, deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of greenhouse gas emissions at global level. Consequently, from the point of view of climate change, addressing deforestation is an important priority. At the same time, addressing deforestation helps to achieve other important objectives, such as eradicating poverty and reversing the loss of biodiversity, which is another major environmental threat to our planet.
Based on the results of the impact assessment, the Commission submitted a policy proposal last year based on the ‘principle of due diligence’. According to the proposed regulation, operators must minimise the risk of placing illegally logged timber and related products on the market by demonstrating due diligence, when they place these products on the European Union market, in obtaining information on the provenance and legality of the products in question.
I should like to extend my especial thanks to the rapporteur, Mrs Lucas, to the shadow rapporteurs and to the draftsman of the opinion, Mr Ford, on their exceptionally diligent work. The Commission has examined the amendments to its draft regulation proposed by the European Parliament and I should like to comment briefly on them:
The amendment banning the trade in illegally logged timber and related products is very important. This ban was included in the options examined by the Commission when it drafted its proposal. However, while this approach is quite attractive at first sight, it presents important practical and political difficulties. That is precisely why we adopted a proposal based on the principle of due diligence. This proposal will achieve the best possible balance between an effective approach to illegal practices, the facility to apply these measures without encumbering operators unnecessarily and, finally, their compatibility with the rules of the World Trade Organization.
The amendments requiring all manner of operators to exercise due diligence at all stages of the supply chain do not appear to follow the principle of proportionality. If the legality of the timber is checked when it is first placed on the market, it would not appear to be necessary for checks to continue at all subsequent stages of the supply chain.
I should also like to comment on Parliament’s amendment proposing a broader definition of ‘legal timber’. This definition is the epicentre of the proposal and will doubtless be a matter for discussion with the Council. The Commission will examine carefully the consequences of adopting any such broader definition.
As regards the amendments relating to the recognition of monitoring and control authorities, we believe that, by making the Member States responsible for recognising these authorities, our initial proposal is more in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity.
The reasons why it was proposed to set up an advisory group are absolutely understandable. The Commission has always been prepared to consult the stakeholders involved, as it remarked, moreover, in its statement of reasons. However, although the Commission has the right of initiative to set up such advisory groups, it is not necessary for any such provision to be included in the regulation.
Finally, we also understand why it has been proposed to standardise the application of the law in the Member States. For our part, however, we consider that the amendments in question should, as a matter of principle, be in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity.
That brings me to the end of my statement and I shall follow the debate with interest.
Deforestation has now become a major issue at international negotiations, on both climate change and biodiversity. In order to promote a policy to address this issue, the European Commission issued a communication in October 2008, which the Council accepted in full last December. This communication refers to the question of deforestation and the deterioration in forests in developing countries and proposes, among other things, the development of a financing mechanism in the aim of providing incentives to maintain existing forests.
This proposal is already being discussed and processed at the international negotiations on climate change currently under way. In its communication, the Commission also acknowledges that various European policies, at both internal level and internationally, may have an indirect impact on global forest resources. As such, the Commission has made specific undertakings in the aim of strengthening the cohesion of European policies.
The proposed measures include the following:
an impact assessment on the consumption of imported goods in the European Union which may contribute towards deforestation;
continuing the procedure to review the cohesion of our development policy, which is needed to support developing countries in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
These undertakings will also be implemented through the European Commission’s policy on sustainable consumption and production. The aim of this policy is to stimulate growth and the demand for sustainable goods and services, including timber and timber-based products which come from forests to which sustainable management methods are applied.
Allow me now to refer to one of the main factors of deforestation: illegal logging. Illegal logging is very often the first step towards the general exploitation of natural forests. Consequently, addressing illegal logging and improving forest management in general are of fundamental importance if we want efforts to limit deforestation and the deterioration of forests to succeed. In accordance with the European Union’s 2003 Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade, the Commission proposed a series of measures to address the problem of illegal logging and the trade associated with it.
The core element of the above action plan was the conclusion of voluntary partnership agreements with third-country timber producers. We believe that the agreements in question may help to address the basic causes of illegal logging. At the same time, however, the Commission has acknowledged that these agreements alone may not suffice to address the problem and other possibilities therefore need to be investigated."@en1
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