A voluntary scheme for licensing timber imports is to be created by the EU.
Agriculture ministers have endorsed plans to fight the illegal timber trade by making exporters obtain licences to prove wood does not come from endangered forests.
The EU recognises the move is not a 100% solution but said it is a step forward.
The EC will open partnership negotiations with timber suppliers so the export licensing scheme can get under way. Some schemes could be up and running by the end of 2006.
Once a country has signed up to the scheme, the EU will refuse to accept imported timber from it unless it is certified as legal.
