Greenpeace is urging people to write to EU president José Manuel Barroso ahead of a crucial July 23 meeting where the European Commission will debate the possible implementation of a new law to combat illegal logging.
The environmental group’s supporters have already sent 65,000 letters to the EU president, urging him to make the importation of illegally logged timber an offence under law.
Greenpeace said progressive timber companies had also backed the call for a new law, as they were suffering from illegal timber operators who undercut prices and made sustainable wood less competitive.
The European Commission has been looking at a range of legal “additional options” to the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade to remove the competitive advantage of illegal products entering the European market.
