Deal on a stronger European single market in forestry

Securing availability of forest reproductive material suitable for future challenges

Supporting the conservation and sustainable use of diverse plant and forest genetic resources

Enabling the uptake of new scientific and technical developments and innovative production processes

On Monday, MEPs and the Council reached a provisional deal on new rules to ensure the supply of high-quality forest reproductive material.

Parliament and Council negotiators agreed on a new bill that seeks to remove obstacles to the trade within the EU internal market of reproductive material, such as seeds, for forests.

According to the informal agreement, member states may seek technical support from the Commission when drawing up voluntary contingency plans to ensure the sufficient supply of forest reproductive material to reforest areas affected by extreme weather events or disasters. Forest reproductive material will have to be traceable from collection to marketing. New scientific and technical developments such as digital traceability as well as innovative production processes will be enabled and implemented.

Closer cooperation and common modern standards

Member states will have to cooperate to ensure a supply of forest reproductive material for cross-border affected areas, reads the adopted text.

Producers of forest reproductive material will have to notify national authorities of their intention to harvest forest reproductive material prior to harvesting, to allow for the organisation of controls.

Authorities may, in exceptional cases, permit the use of specific materials to produce reproductive material that supports the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources.

Quote

European Parliament rapporteur, Herbert Dorfmann, (EPP, IT) said: “Europe needs a functioning European single market for forestry too. This is the only way we can meet the growing demand for high-quality young trees, which are needed to meet the increasing demand caused by climate change and the growing bioeconomy. This proposal ensures just that and is therefore has Parliament’s full support.

The agreement is a good compromise between Parliament and the member states. It creates the possibility to bring more high-quality reproductive material onto the market, while at the same time ensuring the burden on national administrations and control authorities is as light as possible. A win for Europe and its forests!”

Next steps

The provisional agreement now needs to be formally approved by both Council and Parliament before the new rules can enter into force.

Background

On 5 July 2023, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a regulation on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material (FRM) that would replace the current FRM Council Directive. FRM includes seeds, parts of trees (such as stem or leaf cuttings, explants, buds, layers, roots and scions) and planting stock (plants raised from seeds or parts of plants). Good quality FRM, planted in the right conditions and the right climate, can help ensure the future resilience of forests, and help the EU achieve its sustainability, biodiversity and climate goals.

EU forests cover around 160 million hectares and account for 39% of the total EU land area. Although the area under forests has been declining globally, in the EU it has been on the increase, growing by more than 5% over the past 30 years. Six member states (Sweden, Spain, Finland, France, Italy and Germany) account for more than two thirds of the total EU area covered by forests, while five member states (Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, Estonia and Latvia) have more than half of their national territory covered by forests.