The Directors-General of the ministries responsible for EU forestry measures will meet in Gmunden in Austria on 28 and 29 June 2006. The meeting, to be held at the end of Austria’s EU Presidency, will be chaired by both Finland and Austria. Aarne Reunala, Director-General of the Department of Forestry, will be the second chairman.

The main theme of the meeting will be the EU Forest Action Plan. The Commission’s Communication on an EU Forest Action Plan was presented to the Agriculture Council the week before Midsummer. The chief foresters will hold preliminary discussions on how the Action Plan can be carried out starting from the beginning of 2007.
The Commission’s Communication on the Forest Action Plan comprises 18 key actions. For instance, the Communication recommends additional efforts aimed at promoting the use of forest biomass for energy generation, the development of a European Forest Monitoring System, and improving forest-related information exchange. The most important initiatives from Finland’s point of view are connected to strengthening coordination between policy areas in forest-related matters, e.g. in the Commission. Instead of a common forest policy, Finland stresses voluntary cooperation, which produces surplus value.
Forestry meetings organized in Member States during Presidencies have a long tradition. The meetings have proven to be extremely important for the Member States’ top forestry officials for networking and making contacts. These meetings are important occasions for exchanging ideas about topical subjects of far-reaching importance. Additionally, one of the aims of the meetings is to present an in-depth overview of the possibilities and conditions of organizing state’s forest sector. There are great differences among the 25 Member States with respect to their forests and forest economy. During Finland’s previous presidency in 1999 the chief foresters met in Hämeenlinna.
During Austria’s and Finland’s Presidencies the new custom arose of dividing the organization of civil servant meetings among the states. Of the civil servant meetings of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s administration two are organized in Austria and two in Finland. Organizing the chief foresters’ meeting in Austria then means that there will not be a corresponding forestry meeting in Finland in the autumn. A joint meeting, however, means that Finland and Austria will chair the meeting together.