PURPOSE: to conclude, on behalf of the Union,
the voluntary partnership Agreement between the European Union and
Vietnam on forest law enforcement, governance and trade.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may
adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the
act.
BACKGROUND: in May 2003, the Commission adopted
a communication to the European Parliament and to the Council
entitled ‘Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
(FLEGT): Proposal for an EU Action Plan’ which called for
measures to address illegal logging by developing voluntary
partnership Agreements with timber producing countries.
In 2005, the Council authorised the Commission
to negotiate FLEGT partnership agreements with timber-producing
countries. The Commission entered into negotiations with Vietnam in
2010.
In accordance with a Council Decision, the
voluntary partnership Agreement between the EU and Vietnam on
forest law enforcement, governance and trade was signed, subject to
its conclusion at a later date.
It is now necessary to approve the Agreement on
behalf of the European Union.
CONTENT: the present proposal calls on the
Council to adopt the decision to approve, on behalf of the
Union, the
voluntary partnership Agreement between the European Union and Viet
Nam on forest law enforcement, governance and
trade.
In particular, the voluntary partnership
Agreement between the EU and Vietnam:
- establishes the framework, institutions and systems
for the timber legality assurance system for the FLEGT licensing
scheme;
- sets out the framework for monitoring compliance and
for independent evaluation of the system;
- includes a clear commitment by Vietnam to develop
legislation to ensure that timber imported in Vietnam has been
legally harvested in compliance with the applicable legislation in
the country of harvest;
- strengthens forest governance and law enforcement and,
by means of the FLEGT licensing scheme, will reassure the EU market
that timber exported from Vietnam comes from legally harvested
timber;
- establishes a mechanism for dialogue and cooperation
between the EU and Vietnam on the FLEGT licensing scheme, via a
joint implementation committee;
- establishes principles of stakeholder participation,
social safeguards, accountability and transparency, and mechanisms
for complaints on, monitoring of and reporting on implementation of
the Agreement;
- makes provision for import controls at the
EU’s borders.