Press Release: Fight against illegal timber exports: the European Union and the Democratic Republic of Congo launch negotiations

European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, José Bononge Endundo -Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism- of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation Charles Michel, on behalf of the EU Belgian Presidency, signed a declaration to launch the negotiations for a voluntary partnership agreement on the export of legal timber to the EU, named Forest Law Enforcement, Government and Trade agreement (FLEGT). This is the first step in the negotiation process, which is expected to be finalised by mid-2013. The objective of this agreement is to ensure that wood products from the DRC will carry a license showing that they contain timber and wood products from a legal origin.

European Commission: Memo/10/511: FAQs on illegal logging http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/10/511&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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