18.12.2017 - The Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) congratulates Ms Köstinger on her new prominent political position as Austrian Federal Minister for Sustainability, Agriculture and Tourism.

CEPF extends its warmest gratitude for her commitment and hard work in support of European forestry in her role as Member of the European Parliament.

During her time as MEP, Elisabeth Köstinger has been one of the most prominent MEPs in support of forest ownership and sustainable forest management. One of her priorities was to safeguard the principles of multifunctional, sustainable forestry in her role as Rapporteur for the European Parliament report on the new EU Forest Strategy.
Ms Köstinger left Brussels and the European Parliament in the beginning of November to pursue her political career in Austria as President of the National Council. Since December she is Federal Minister responsible for agriculture and forestry, environment and water management and tourism. Parliamentary elections were held in Austria in mid-October, where the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) obtained over 30% of all votes and emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 62 of the 183 seats.
During her career in the European Parliament, Ms Köstinger has been awarded with the MEP Award in the category of Agriculture and Rural Development. She also chaired the working group on Sustainable Forest Management in the EP Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development. Elisabeth Köstinger was a member of the European Parliament between 2009 and 2017. Ms Köstinger represented the European People’s party (EPP) and she was member in the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) and the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).