EU forest policy the focus of upcoming CEPF Members Day

13 November 2014 News

Who is steering the EU forest policy and where are we actually heading? What kind of policies and/or actions are needed at EU and Member States level to maintain a strong and independent forest sector fulfilling different demands? 

These are some of the key questions to be discussed at next month’s CEPF Members Day, taking place on 10 December in Brussels, Belgium.

Sponsored by PEFC, the CEPF Members Day will see high-level speakers from various EU institutions, governments and stakeholders meet with forest owners’ representatives from more than 20 national forest owners’ organizations to discuss the development, challenges and opportunities of the current and future EU forest policy.

This meeting comes against the backdrop of significant societal and political changes influencing the way EU society looks at forests and forestry, alongside other sectorial policies, such as from the energy, climate, environmental, agriculture, economy and trade sector, which are also increasingly influencing forest policy and management. This creates risks and uncertainties not only for private forest owners but for the entire forest sector.

While CEPF welcomes the new EU Forest Strategy as well as the efforts made towards an envisaged Legally Binding Agreement on Forests at pan-European level, a number of questions remain.

CEPF, the Confederation of European Forest Owners, is a non-profit-making organization representing the interests of European forest owners. It promotes and protects the concept of family forestry through enhanced collaboration by its members, cooperation with the European institutions as well as extensive networking and lobbying activities.

With European forest owners the founders of PEFC, CEPF is one of our key partners, becoming an International Stakeholder member in 2010 following several years as an Extraordinary member.