Log exports to Asia
19.2.2014
Question for written answer E-001894-14
to the Commission
Rule 117
Gaston Franco (PPE)
According to the French National Wood Federation (FNB), between 370 000 and 400 000 m3 of timber from conifers and 350 000 to 370 000 m3 from broad-leaved species was exported from France to China in 2013. The export of logs in such large volumes means a loss of value-added for sawmills in France, depresses employment in the sector and deprives the European Union of part of the yield of its forest resources.
1. Given that all the major players in the forestry sector at global level regulate their resources, does the Commission intend to push for the regulation of log exports from the EU?
2. Would it consider a policy of quotas by country and by species, similar to systems already in place at EU level in other sectors, to be a sound basis in principle for such regulation?
OJ C 312, 12/09/2014