EU and Indonesia sign historic deal to curb illegal timber
EU News 418/2013
IP/13/887
Brussels, 30 September 2013
Today the European Union and Indonesia signed a historic trade agreement which will contribute to halting the trade in illegal timber. Under the agreement, only verified legal timber and timber products will be exported to the EU. Indonesia is the first Asian country to enter into such an agreement, and by far the largest Asian timber exporter to the EU.
(...)
Once fully implemented, the bilateral agreement – technically a Voluntary Partnership Agreement – will see Indonesian timber and timber products systematically checked under an independently monitored traceability system to ensure they are produced in compliance with relevant Indonesian legislation. The EU is providing support to establish and improve the control systems that will be used. This will reinforce other measures already in force in the EU, such as the Timber Regulation, which stop it serving as a market for illegally harvested timber.
Source and additional information:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-887_en.htm?locale=en