Illegal timber will be banned from sale in the European Union as early as 2012, after the European Parliament and Council of Ministers reached  agreement on a new law on Tuesday (15 June).

The regulation will also require timber traders to take part in a traceability scheme to ensure they know who supplied their timber and timber products.

“This is an important step in the fight against illegal logging in Europe and around the world,” said Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, a Dutch Liberal MEP who was part of the Parliament’s negotiating team.

The Parliament is expected to endorse the regulation in July, following the conclusion of negotiations between the Parliament, Council and European Commission if the regulation comes into force later this year, the ban will start in 2012 or 2013.

The outcome is a surprise victory for the Parliament, which had pressed the EU’s agriculture ministers for a much tougher line on companies than the “due diligence” obligation that ministers had originally preferred.

Lack of sanctions

Sebastien Risso at Greenpeace said it could “shut down the black economy in the forest industry in Europe and help companies invest in sustainable practices”.

But he regretted the lack of sanctions. The Council refused to support EU-wide penalties, recommending nothing more than “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” sanctions. Risso said he feared that “the regulation will not have a deterrent effect and that some countries may become the weak link in the chain”.