In its report Partners in Crime: A Greenpeace Investigation into Finland’s Illegal Timber Trade with Russia, Greenpeace claims there is widespread illegal logging in Karelia.

It says undercover researchers saw illegally harvested timber being transported across the Finnish border to be processed by companies including UPM and Stora Enso.

And it said that, as president of the EU, the Finnish government has a duty to support EU legislation to stop the import of illegal timber into Europe.

However, UPM countered that it carries out regular audits and field checks of its Russian suppliers, and if any breaches of contract are found it ceases to trade with those concerned.

It said it has had an origin of wood tracing system in place for Russian wood since 1996, based on a statement of origin, GIS mapping system, and database and supplier audits that include logging site checks.

And the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) said the origins of timber imported by Finnish forest industry companies are verified according to certified quality and environment systems such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and EMAS. It is establishing a working group with WWF to further develop wood tracking systems.

In a statement the FFIF said: “Although forest industry companies do much to ensure the legality of imported timber, their operating environments also need to be developed.”

To help this, it said, the EU should concentrate strongly on promoting good corporate governance in countries that are still developing.