No support in EU Parliament for proposed forest monitoring law
A vote in the European Parliament earlier today has resulted in a proposed 'forest monitoring framework' being shot down by MEPs.
The parliament voted today (Tuesday, October 21) to reject a proposal on the monitoring framework for "resilient" European forests.
370 MEPs voted to reject the commission's proposal, with 264 voting against the motion of rejection and nine abstaining.
"With this vote, parliament has effectively rejected the commission proposal and closed its first reading," a statement from the European Parliament said.
The European Commission proposed a Forest Monitoring Law in November 2023 to "close knowledge gaps" around the state of forests in the EU.
The aim of the law is to create a "comprehensive forest knowledge base", to offer better data and easier access to information "promoting the sustainable management and the multiple function of forests".
Under this framework, the European Commission, in cooperation with EU member states, would set up and operate a monitoring system to ensure "harmonised" forest data, building on the existing measurement systems of the member states.
The proposal is seen as the main legislative initiative stemming from the EU Forest Strategy for 2030.
However, the proposed monitoring framework has never enjoyed widespread popularity, due to the view that it increased the regulatory burden on landowners and member states.
When a European Parliament committee voted to reject the law last month, Copa Cogeca, which represents farm organisations and agricultural co-operatives in the EU, welcomed the result, saying at the time that the law is "disconnected from field realities".
"This decision addresses the long-standing concerns of European forest owners who have consistently emphasised the risks of introducing unnecessary administrative burdens," Copa had said.
The rejection of the law in today's vote was spearheaded by the European People's Party (EPP) the largest political grouping in the European Parliament.
After the vote today, the EPP (of which Fine Gael is a member) said: "Forest can't be protected by drowning them in bureaucracy.
"While forest protection is essential, excessive red tape and bureaucracy can undermine the very goals of conservation," the group added.
EPP MEP Alexander Bernhuber commented: "We rejected this forest monitoring law because we want an effective and efficient environmental policy, not ideology.
"The law...would have significantly increased bureaucracy in the forest sector. Foresters, member states and farmers must be able to focus on preserving our forests, but would have been buried under excessive paperwork."
Stefan Kohler, another EPP MEP, said: "We do not need a policy monitoring tool for the commission to tell our forest owners how to do their jobs."
Kohler said that the forest monitoring law was a "legacy" of the EU's 'Green Deal' commissioner in the last commission, Franz Timmermans, and that the law "is now history".
It is understood that the parliament's rejection of the law equates to a formal request to the European Commission to withdraw the proposal. Sources have indicated to Agriland that the commission is expected to do so.
