EUROPE AND THE FOREST - VOLUME 3
First part - THE FIFTEEN-MEMBER EUROPEAN UNION AND THE FOREST : STAKES AND STRATEGIES
Chapter I.1 - ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION : A NEW DIMENSION IN FORESTRY
I.1.1 BESIDES ECONOMIC CONTINUITY, NEW ECOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL DATA
I.1.1.3 - A political driving force or an inertia factor?
In psychological terms: a culture shock
=> The risk of indirect economic effects
Strong regional disparities cannot easily be concealed by global macroeconomic perspectives. On the contrary, there is a risk of their being accentuated. In particular, the European Union's enlargement could make it more difficult to manage some forests profitably. This should not lead to geographical specialisation in wood processing on a European scale and purely economic profitability, which would progressively exclude less profitable regions. Such a development could ruin entire sections of this sector. In central and southern Europe, it would seriously affect activity in rural, often disadvantaged areas and, consequently, threaten the lasting management of their wooded areas. In this regard, the enlargement of the Union makes even more necessary Community-wide forest measures in order to safeguard the multiple-use of the forest, particularly in difficult regions (mountain regions, fragile environments, etc.).
=> Policy lines to be defined
Participation in the political decision-making process is a major concern for members of the Scandinavian forest industrialists who, before their countries' membership in the European Union, found it deplorable that their governments did not participate whenever possible in defining the ground rules for their main market. It is clear that these two new Scandinavian members will keep a particularly sharp eye on ensuring that their dominant position is not disturbed by inopportune measures - indeed by common forest policy - which would impose constraints. On the other hand, their dynamism could be a catalyst and encourage initiatives, today thin on the ground and poorly structured, to take formal shape.
Systematic opposition strategies that reinforce freezes, diffused stranglehold measures on information and distribution processes, cautious ultra-conservatism, an open attitude and making proposals, voluntarism efforts of a potential leader, etc. are all plausible hypotheses although no definite direction has been affirmed at present. The situation appears for the moment to be characterised by a supercilious watchfulness. The directions to be taken in the future, after this initial phase of reciprocal observation, will be a decisive factor in the evolution of the European Union's forest policy.