1. EU “Timber” Regulation
“Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010
laying down the obligations of operators who place
timber and timber products on the market”
Directorate General “Environment”
European Commission
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2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Main features of the EU Timber
Regulation
Timeline and future steps
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3. KEY FEATURES
1. Prohibition on the first placing of illegal
timber and timber products on the EU
market
Applies both to EU and imported timber
Not a border measure (unlike FLEGT
Regulation)
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4. KEY FEATURES
2. Obligation of “due diligence” for the
operators i.e. first placing timber and
timber products on the EU market – to
take measures to verify the legality of
timber or timber products traded
3. Basic traceability for internal traders i.e.
other than “operators” – to keep records
on suppliers and customers
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5. DEFINITION OF LEGALITY
Definition of legality - legislation applicable in
country of harvest:
Legal rights to harvest
Taxes and fees linked to harvesting
Compliance with timber harvesting laws, including
directly related environmental and forest legislation
Respect for third parties tenure/use rights
Relevant trade and customs rules
Note: FLEGT & CITES timber is considered in
compliance with the EU Timber Regulation - has a
“green lane”
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6. PRODUCT SCOPE
Timber and a wide range of timber
products, listed using Customs codes in
the Annex
recycled products are exempted
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7. NEXT STEPS
TIMELINE

8. ENTRY INTO FORCE
AND APPLICATION
The Regulation was published in the Official
Journal of the EU and entered into force on 2nd
December 2010
It will become applicable as from 3 March 2013
Implementing legislation to be adopted in this
period. Member States have to designate
competent authorities, lay down penalties etc.
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9. FURTHER STEPS
Delegated Acts
procedural rules for recognition of monitoring
organisations - by 3 March 2012
amendment of product scope, further risk criteria
(no deadline - will be considered later)
Implementing Measures by 3 June 2012
risk assessment & risk mitigation measures;
frequency and nature of checks on monitoring
organisations

10. MONITORING ORGANIZATIONS
Delegated Act
Procedural rules for recognition by the European
Commission and for withdrawal of recognition
MO maintain and evaluate a due diligence system and
grant operators the right to use it
MO should ensure that operators correctly apply the due
diligence system and take appropriate action if they
don’t
MO should have appropriate expertise and capacity for
the above
MO should be legally established within the EU
MO should ensure absence of conflict of interest
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11. DUE DILIGENCE
Implementing Measures
Elements:
Information: having access to information on e.g.
country/region of harvest, species, quantity, documents or
other information indicating legal compliance
Risk assessment: on the basis of risk assessment
criteria, e.g. assurance of legal compliance, prevalence of
illegal harvesting of a species or practices in a country,
complexity of the supply chain, sanctions by the UN
Security Council or Council of EU on timber trade
Risk mitigation: adequate and proportionate
measures and procedures to minimise the risk, e.g.
additional documents, third-party verification
Will apply to EU and imported timber and to timber supply
chains ranging from simple to very complex

12. + CHECKS ON MOs
Rules for Member States (MS) to check on
MOs
Note that rules for MS to check operators
are for MS to decide
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13. CONSULTATION PROCESS
External study (EFI) - best practice
Stakeholder meetings
Expert meetings to consult the delegated
act
FLEGT Committee will assist the
Commission in adopting detailed rules
Inputs from all interested parties welcome.

14. Thank you!
European Commission
DG ENV.E.2 - Environmental Agreements & Trade
E-mail: john.bazill@ec.europa.eu;
svetla.atanasova@ec.europa.eu
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/illegal_logging.htm
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