Press Release: European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs in London to promote EU action against illegal timber export from developing countries

On 15 July 2010 European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs delivered a speech at the launch of a report prepared by an international think tank on "Illegal Logging and Related Trade".

The report documents progress made at the global level of combating illegal logging and improving forest governance in developing countries. Commissioner Piebalgs highlighted achievements made through the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Action Plan (FLEGT). Amongst these achievements are the signature of voluntary agreements with Congo and Ghana, which will ensure that all wood products entering the European Union from these countries carry a licence showing that the wood they contain is of legal origin.

Following the event, the Development Commissioner held a bilateral meeting with Andrew Mitchell, the UK Secretary of State for International Development.

European Commission: Memo/10/331: Frequently asked questions on illegal logging and the FLEGT voluntary Partnership Agreement http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/10/331&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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