Greenpeace activists stormed EU buildings in Brussels yesterday, claiming that illegal timber from Indonesian rainforests had been used in their construction.
The environmental action group maintains that Indonesian rainforest plywood has been used for walls and flooring in the home of the EU, the Berlaymont, and the new Economic and Social Committee building.
Greenpeace says the plywood was supplied by companies including Korindo and Asia Forestama Raya, both of which have been accused of buying illegal timber.
The 50 activists included 15 from the UK. One group scaled the building and dropped a banner reading “EU: Stop Illegal Timber”, another attempted to replace the allegedly illegal timber with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) timber and others tried to block the entrance to the building with FSC timber.
EU spokesperson Eric Mamer said he met with Greenpeace representatives and told them he would contact the company doing the work on the Berlaymont buildings to check whether the allegations were true, adding: “Our policy is only to accept wood from sustainable sources.”
