A year after the first FLEGT licences from Indonesia entered the EU market (15 November 2016), it is expected that Ghana will soon become the second country to export FLEGT-licensed timber to the EU (see the Ghana update below), and the first in Africa. While this represents significant and highly symbolic progress, the greatest advance in the last six months has, however, been with the second plank of the FLEGT Action Plan: the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it a criminal offence to put illegally sourced timber on the EU market.
In October 2017, the Dutch firm Boogaerdt Hout was found in breach of the EUTR for placing illegally sourced Burmese teak on the EU market. Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a UK NGO, submitted this case to Dutch authorities in October 2016. A further two cases submitted by EIA – concerning World Wood and Gold Teak Holdings – are still being
investigated by Dutch authorities. Boogaerdt Hout now has a two-month grace period to put its house in order, after which it will be fined €20,000 per cubic metre for any further non-compliant Burmese teak it places on EU markets.
With this decision, The Netherlands joins Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and the UK in ruling that teak imports from Myanmar do not comply with the EUTR. Cases submitted by EIA are still pending in both Italy and Spain. These actions are pushing the Burmese forestry sector to reform. As EIA’s Faith Doherty states, “To support those who champion reform within the forestry sector in Myanmar, EIA is focused on EU-based operators who are aware of legal compliance within Europe, but clearly think themselves above the law. They should know better.”
The Myanmar example illustrates that the EUTR can work effectively: the Myanmar Forest Department has already announced its intention to reform, including the adoption of new laws, in an effort to curb forest crime in the timber sector. The Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) has also announced changes to its current system. Importantly, Myanmar
is in negotiation with the EU to adopt a VPA.
Another positive development is the pro-active attitude of the European Commission to spur reluctant Member States into action. Following complaints from ClientEarth in March 2017 regarding the number of checks, and from Greenpeace in May concerning qualitative issues
, in October the European Commission launched its first infringement
proceedings against an EU Member State for failing to sufficiently enforce the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Belgium for not adequately verifying wood placed on the Belgian market, in violation of the EUTR, which requires those placing timber on the EU market to identify risks of illegal harvesting and take measures to mitigate those risks. Indeed, between the EUTR’s entry into force in 2013 and March 2017, Belgium carried out only 26 timber regulation checks.
Belgium now has two months in which to respond. If the Commission deems their response inadequate, it may refer the case to the European Court of Justice where financial penalties could be imposed. ClientEarth lawyer Diane de Rouvre said, “The Commission is sending a strong signal to all Member States that it is not enough to just have the EUTR on paper.”
Other Member States, notably Spain and Italy, should take note.