Latest state-of-play EU Timber Regulation. Harmonizing and improving the implementation of the EUTR in the EUTR countries

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1 Latest state-of-play EU Timber Regulation Harmonizing and improving the implementation of the EUTR in the EUTR countries EU Forest Directors meeting, Sofia 12 April 2018

2 EU Timber Regulation - Key obligations Prohibition The placing on the market of illegally harvested timber or timber products derived from such timber shall be prohibited Due diligence EU operators shall exercise due diligence when placing timber or timber products on the market by implementing procedures so as to minimise the risk of illegal timber in their supply chain Traceability EU traders (after first placing on the EU market) shall be able to identify from whom they bought the timber products and, where applicable, to whom they have supplied the timber products

3 EUTR EU MS obligations for application and enforcement Member States responsibility: - Competent authorities designation; - Penalties definition and application; - Checks on operators (risk-based approach). EUTR covers all timber and timber products (in the annex) both domestic and imported

4 EUTR - Commission facilitates and monitors The Commission supports the Member States in their implementation efforts through a number of measures to promote compliance: - FLEGT/EUTR Expert Group meetings (5 meetings/year); - Communication platform; Bi-monthly briefing notes; - Developing guidance; Country Overviews; - Encouraging sharing of experience and best practice between Member States (incl. joint inspections); - Promoting cooperation with third countries (e.g. USA, AUS, Japan, Korea, China).

5 Support to EUTR implementation and enforcement Country overviews: Overviews for China, Brazil, Myanmar, Russia, Ukraine are near final, more to follow. Tailored for Competent Authorities but they will also be available to operators and other stakeholders. Country overviews include: Key statistics (e.g. forest area, species in trade, risk indices) Overview of legal trade, main areas of risk (relating to EUTR) Information on legislation, sample documents, key reports Peer reviewed by Competent Authorities, in-country EU Delegations and national experts. 5

6 Example country overview 6

7 EUTR review in 2015-main elements The EUTR has the potential to achieve its objectives to combat illegal logging and associated trade. Further efforts are needed from Member States and the private sector to achieve its effective and efficient application. EU operators are gradually taking steps to ensure the legality of their suppliers. Although the evaluation did not identify a clear need for changes in the core elements of the legislation, the Commission may consider expanding its product scope, subject to an impact assessment of options. The results of this evaluation will be used to further improve the implementation and application of the EUTR.

8 EUTR implementation and enforcement report Significant progress in application: all EUTR Competent Authorities are performing checks and taking action when faced with EUTR breaches Checks are carried out by Member States according to plans that are based on risk criteria both for domestic and imported timber Increased number of penalties for violations and first court cases setting jurisprudence However: significant challenges, such as the quantity and quality of checks, resources allocated (human and financial)

9 Operators How many are there? * Not an estimate, represents the actual number of registered operators; **Due to limited levels of detail provided, this information was inferred; ***Includes re-checks; ****Combines checks on operators trading in domestic and/or imported timber Country Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Type of timber Estimated number of operators Total checks planned Total checks performed domestic imported domestic unknown imported unknown 19 domestic imported unknown domestic 50 imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic unknown imported unknown 358** 358** domestic not specified imported not specified domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic unknown imported domestic 100 imported *** domestic imported domestic imported domestic 2525* **** imported 853* 166 domestic imported domestic imported unknown domestic imported domestic imported domestic imported domestic unknown imported

10 EUTR implementation and enforcement Sources of information used to identify operators for checks Customs data is generally analysed to identify operators for checks However: still a challenge for some EUTR competent authorities to obtain information from their own customs authorities on individual shipment Other includes: NGO reports, logging permits issued, internet, Central Statistics Office 10

11 EUTR implementation and enforcement Number of countries Competent Authorities prepare risk based check plans, which take into consideration a range of different elements 0 Country of harvest of timber/timber products Concerns provided by third parties Type of business Type of products Information provided by other CAs Species of timber and timber products Type of suppliers Volume of imports Value of imports Trade chain Market/operator research/ intelligence Results of previous checks Issues with customs declaration Knowledge of domestic production Obligations on fitossanitary issues (domestic) Newly established export bans Random checks Remote sensing Forest protection status 11 Size of forest property (domestic)

12 EUTR implementation and enforcement March 2015 to February checks on imported timber resulting in: 525 notices of remedial action (~19% of checks) 139 penalties (~5% of checks) 286 other measures (~10% of checks) 5 court cases concluded (more ongoing) 91% related to Due Diligence 6% related to Prohibition 4% related to Traceability checks on domestic timber resulting in: 916 notices of remedial action (~5% of checks) 992 penalties (~6% of checks) 370 other measures (~2% of checks) 21 court cases concluded 44% related to Due Diligence 45% related to Prohibition 11% related to Traceability 12

13 EUTR implementation and enforcement Total number of penalties issued (for those countries that reported issuing penalties) 13

14 Penalties applicable to infringements of the EUTR 14

15 EUTR implementation and enforcement Substantiated concerns received 15

16 Conclusions (I) continuous efforts are needed to ensure a uniform and effective application of the EUTR in several Member States, the number of checks remained small compared to the number of operators several Member States do not provide the number of operators (nor estimates), which is necessary to make sound plans for checks Need for a more consistent approach on the quality of checks, across the EU In many countries, the current level of technical capacity and resources allocated to the competent authorities does not always correspond to the needs

17 Conclusions (II) Very wide range of provisions of penalties Based on the information available, it cannot be concluded with certainty if the penalties applied are effective, proportionate and dissuasive The majority of penalties applied is related to domestic timber Enforcement continues to be largely based on notices of remedial action - fines or seizures are still scarcely used

18 Next steps (I) The Commission will: Ø strengthen cooperation with the Member States to: ü achieve uniform application of the EUTR ü facilitate its implementation by the operators ü supplement the EUTR Guidance, where necessary Ø Enhance synergies of FLEGT VPAs with the EUTR Ø Continue to facilitate communication and assist approximating of enforcement approaches between Competent authorities: ü at FLEGT/EUTR Expert Group meetings ü the capacity4dev platform q The new tool TAIEX Environmental Implementation Review Peer 2 Peer: additional opportunity to support Member States in sharing expertise, good practices and lessons learnt q Range of activities under the support contract with UNEP-WCMC: trade analysis, analysis of the Member States legislation of the EUTR and FLEGT Regulation, application of the EUTR obligations by operators

19 Next steps (II) q Follow up to the first review of the EUTR: Impact assessment on the EUTR product scope Ø Public consultation open until 24 April 2018: q The Commission Report on the implementation of the EUTR for the period March 2015-February 2017 is expected to become publicly available before the summer 2018 q Proposal for a Reporting Alignment (to be published in the next couple of months): amending reporting obligations under a range of environmental legal acts, including the EUTR and FLEGT regulation Ø Simplification of reporting/electronic reporting Ø Reduction of administrative burden Ø Targeted reporting of information that is useful for the implementation and assessment of the Regulations

20 Thank you! Jorge Rodríguez Romero