JEAN LAMBERT MEP

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

26/8/03

Illegal timber trade (Indonesia) & the FLEGT

In May 2003, the European Commission launched an action plan to combat illegal logging and the trade in illegal timber: the "Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade" (FLEGT).

This will seek to combat illegal logging and the trade in illegally harvested timber. Measures set out in this Plan include support for improved governance in wood-producing countries, voluntary partnerships with wood-producing countries to ensure only legally harvested timber enters the EU market, and efforts to develop international collaboration to combat the trade in illegally harvested timber.

Indonesia is home to 10% of the world's remaining tropical forest and is experiencing an illegal logging crisis. More than 80% of the logging in Indonesia is carried out in breach of the law. The EU is providing funding to Indonesia and is seeking signed agreement to help tackle the problem.

Despite this, Indonesian ramin continues to be traded illegally. Indonesian ramin is being illegally laundered through Malaysia - the only other country where ramin grows - and is continuing to reach the EU market. Seizures of illegal ramin have occurred in Italy and the UK.

- why has the European Commission delayed placing Ramin on Annex B (as requested by the Indonesian Government) and will the European Commission be placing ramin on Annex B at the earliest possible opportunity which will be the European Union Cites Committee meeting?

- does the Commission support the principle that legislation should be introduced to make it illegal to import illegally logged timber into the EU?

- does the Commission plan to propose co-decision legislation to support the Action Plan and thereby seek to impose stricter penalties for those who trade illegally logged timber and timber products in to the EU?