June 9, 2017 - On the initiative of Hungary, for the first time - with the participation of the authorities of five EU Member States - an expert consultation was held on the methods used in timber trade chain control and on test experiences in Budapest.

The conference was hosted by the National Food Chain Security Office (NÉBIH). One of the results of the event is that professionals have developed details of the rapid transfer of information and the implementation of joint inspections to efficiently reduce the illegally harvested and black-marketed woods.

The purpose of EU timber trade control is to prevent illegal logging of wood from deforestation. By doing so, fraudsters, on the one hand, cause significant damage to the ecosystem and, on the other hand, harm the producers of sustainable forestry.
The meeting was attended by five Member States, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. Professionals have got acquainted with the legal, professional and procedural frameworks of the practice of each country and the problems encountered in the trade in timber products.
Based on the experience it has become apparent that the rules for verifying and tracking the origin of timber and timber products produced in that country can be solved more easily. Cross-border timber trade control and handling of imports from non-EU countries require coordinated work from the authorities.
The organizations involved in the meeting also agreed on the content and form of the documents for the authentication of the wood, which differ from country to country. Professionals have developed details of the rapid transfer of information and the implementation of joint inspections. This will effectively reduce the number of illegally harvested and black-marketed trees.
The professional group is expected to expand with experts from Romania and Croatia in the future and will also involve the competent authorities in neighboring countries exporting timber to the EU.