Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010 (Timber Trade Regulation)

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Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010

Title: Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 20, 2010 on the obligations of market participants who place wood and wood products on the market
Designation:
(not official) 		Timber Trade Ordinance
Scope: EEA
Legal matter: Commercial law , environmental law
Basis: TFEU , in particular Art. 192 para. 1 ,
Procedure overview: European Commission
European Parliament
IPEX Wiki
To be used from: March 3, 2013
Reference: OJ L 295 of November 12, 2010, pp. 23-34
Full text Consolidated version (not official)
basic version
Regulation has entered into force and is applicable.
Please note the information on the current version of legal acts of the European Union !

The . Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 to bring the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market (colloquially timber trade regulation or Eutr - abbreviation of English European Timber Regulation is called -) a regulation of the European Union of October 20, 2010, which aims to prevent the trade in timber and timber products from illegal logging in the EU.

According to this, it is forbidden to place wood and wood products from illegal logging on the internal market. The regulation also contains the obligations of market participants. The regulation came into force on March 3, 2013 in all EU member states.

background

Illegal logging - the extraction of timber that violates the laws or regulations in the country of origin - has serious economic, environmental and social consequences for some of the world's most valuable forests and the communities that depend on them. In addition, illegal logging leads to a loss of yield and undermines the efforts of honest suppliers. Further consequences are deforestation , loss of biological diversity , the emission of greenhouse gases as well as conflicts over land rights and resources and the disempowerment of local population groups.

The EU is an important export market for countries where the illegality and careless management of the forest sector are particularly pronounced. When timber and timber products that may come from illegal sources enter the EU internal market, EU countries are practically supporting illegal logging.

To address this deficit, the EU adopted the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) Action Plan in 2003, which sets out a number of measures to keep unauthorized timber out of the markets and to improve the supply of legally felled timber and to increase the demand for wood products from responsible management. The EUTR and the partnership agreements (trade agreements with wood-exporting countries that help to keep unauthorized timber out of the European internal market) are the two core components of the action plan.

overview

In order to combat lawless logging worldwide, the EUTR prohibits the placing on the EU internal market of wood and wood products without a certificate of origin . When it comes to trading in wood and wood products, the regulation distinguishes between two categories: market participants and traders. Both are subject to different obligations. For the market participants - according to the regulation, those who place wood or wood products on the EU internal market for the first time - the due diligence regulation applies. However, traders - who sell wood or wood products that have already been placed on the market - must keep information about their suppliers and customers in order to ensure the traceability of the wood.

Due diligence

In order to control the trade in illegally felled wood or products made from it, market participants must exercise all due care when placing wood or wood products on the EU market. Accordingly, you have to set up a risk management system with three elements:

  • Access to information: the operator must have access to information on timber and timber products, the country of logging (and, if applicable, the national logging region and concession), tree species, quantities, details of suppliers and compliance with national legislation.
  • Risk assessment: The market participant has to assess the risk of wood of unclear origin entering its supply chain on the basis of the above information and taking into account the EUTR criteria.
  • Risk reduction process: If the assessment shows that the risk that such wood is in the supply chain is not insignificant, this risk can be further reduced by further measures such as requesting additional information and verifications from suppliers.

Market participants can develop their own due diligence system or use a system developed by a monitoring organization .

Affected Products

The legislation applies to wood and wood products manufactured in the EU or imported from third countries . The regulation includes solid wood products, floor coverings, plywood , pulp and paper, etc. Excluded are recycled products and printed paper such as books, magazines and newspapers. Wood and wood products with a valid FLEGT license or CITES permit are considered legally felled for the purposes of the EUTR.

The annex to the EUTR contains a comprehensive list of the products affected by the legal regulation. People who buy or sell wood or wood products for their own personal use are not affected by the EUTR.

scope

The EU Timber Regulation is binding in all EU member states. The legislature in each country establishes effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions to ensure compliance. In addition, there is a competent authority in each country that coordinates the implementation of the regulation.

Inferred legislation

On February 23, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 363/2012 to lay down procedural rules for the recognition and withdrawal of recognition of surveillance organizations. In addition, on July 6, 2012, the European Commission passed the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 607/2012, which is intended to ensure the uniform application of the regulation in the EU. The regulation provides details on risk assessment and risk mitigation measures under the due diligence regime. It also stipulates the frequency with which and how the competent authorities of the Member States control the monitoring organizations.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010
  2. ↑ FLEGT .
  3. ↑ Information on the action plan ( Memento of the original dated May 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.euflege.efi.int
  4. ↑ Definition of the partnership agreement ( memento of the original from April 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.euflege.efi.int
  5. ↑ Information on the duty of care regulation .
  6. ↑ FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) .
  7. ↑ Information on CITES .
  8. ↑ List of the responsible authorities (PDF; 70 kB).
  9. ↑ Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 363/2012 of the Commission
  10. ↑ Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 607/2012 of the Commission