EU-Guyana Voluntary Partnership Agreement: forest law enforcement, governance and trade for timber products imported into the EU

The Greens support the Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) as an ambitious policy tool to combat the illegal timber trade.

We welcome the ratification of this VPA with Guyana to ensure that the wood processing industry can take place in the most sustainable way possible.Once the VPA is ratified, there will be no liberalization of the timber trade with Guyana. There is no trade effect at least until the FLEGT licenses are issued, awarded when all the commitments of the VPA have been fully implemented. This usually takes several yearsOur main priorities include: Civil society participation throughout the VPA process and implementation, transparency, strong enforcement and land tenure/human rights, including the principle of free prior and informed consent (FPIC).

I voted in favor of these recommendations.

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