Mr Falkenberg sent a letter to EU governments in April requesting details of their EUTR implementation to date. It asked about their national enacting legislation and sanctions for EUTR breaches, and whether their competent authority enforcement agencies had commenced checks on ‘operator’ companies due diligence illegality risk assessment.
Only 21 of the 28 countries sent their replies within the month demanded by Mr Falkenberg, triggering a reminder to the others.
A spokesperson for the EU environment commissioner said that three more had now replied, and the others were expected to soon.
He said most of those who had responded said that they were undertaking the required EUTR implementation, monitoring and policing measures. But he added that further steps were being taken to ensure the Regulation was imposed uniformly.
"An EUTR enforcement group has been registered and will have regular meetings," he said. "The Regulation will also be taken up by a task force, including Commission representatives, which will work with countries to increase implementation efficiency."
