Private sector companies, EU member state officials and representatives of the European Commission will meet together in Brussels to discuss partnership agreements under the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan.
The European Commission is holding the meeting on September 27 to discuss the EU’s guidance on legality assurance systems required for the FLEGT license schemes which will be supported through voluntary partnership agreements with timber producing countries.
FLEGT is designed to guarantee the legality of timber exports to Europe.
Malaysia is one of the producer countries currently in talks with the EU about taking part in the licensing scheme, although Malaysian Timber Council officials recently confirmed that a number of issues needed to be sorted out to finalise an agreement. This included defining legality and the input of stakeholders.
