Communication from the Commission to the Council concerning the European Community's participation in the fourth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Vienna, 28-30 April 2003) {SEC(2003) 409}
Date: 2003-04-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European forestry policy, biodiversity, climate change, forest conservation, silviculture, sustainable development

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 3.4.2003
COM(2003) 166 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

concerning the European Community's participation in the fourth Ministerial
Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Vienna, 28-30 April 2003)

{SEC(2003) 409}

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

concerning the European Community's participation in the fourth Ministerial
Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Vienna, 28-30 April 2003)

The fourth Ministerial Conference on  the  Protection  of  Forests  in  Europe  will  take  place  in
Vienna  on  28,  29  and  30  April  2003.  Around  35  European  States,  among  them  all  EU
Member States, will attend that conference, which is organised jointly by Austria and Poland.

Preceding the Conference were:

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– 

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the  first  Ministerial  Conference  on  the  Protection  of  Forests  in  Europe  held  in
December  1990  in  Strasbourg  and  devoted  essentially  to  forest  monitoring  and
protection, and forest research issues;

the  second  Ministerial  Conference  on  the  Protection  of  Forests  in  Europe  held  in
June  1993  in  Helsinki  and  devoted  essentially  to  the  sustainable  management  of
forests, conservation of biological diversity in forests, the forest-climate relationship
and forests in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe;

the third Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe held in June
1998  in  Lisbon  and  devoted  essentially  to  the  socio-economic  aspects  of  Europe’s
forestry sector, criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of forests and
to the conservation of biological and landscape diversity of forests.

For  those  three  Conferences  on  the  Protection  of  Forests  in  Europe,  the  Commission  was
empowered by the Council to participate on behalf of the European Community and to sign
the final acts alongside the Member States.

As it was the case for the two preceding conferences, the fourth Ministerial Conference on the
Protection of Forests in Europe to be held in Vienna is a step towards the implementation in
Europe’s forests of the various undertakings entered into at the United Nations Conference on
Environment  and  Development  which  took  place  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  in  June  1992,  including
the Conventions on Biodiversity and the Climate Change, as well as the undertakings entered
into more recently at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg in
2002.

The  Vienna  Conference  will  address  the  sustainable  management  of  forests  in  Europe  in  a
holistic  and  integrated  manner.  In  particular,  the  Vienna  Conference  will  deal  with  the
following topics:

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– 

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enhancement  of  sustainable  forest  management  through  cross-sectoral  co-operation
and national forest programmes,

economic viability of sustainable forest management in Europe,

social and cultural dimensions of sustainable forest management in Europe,

conservation and enhancement of forest biological diversity in Europe,

climate change and sustainable forest management.

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It  is  planned  to  submit  to  the  Ministers  a  general  declaration  and  five  resolutions  relating
respectively  to  the  above-mentioned  topics.  Although  the  proposed  declaration  and
resolutions will not have the status  of a convention,  the  fairly  detailed  texts  concerned  may
nevertheless have some impact on the measures to be taken by the Conference participants.

The  relevant  Commission  services  were  actively  involved  in  the  preparatory  phase  of  this
Conference for elaborating the non-legally binding declaration and resolutions.

The  Community’s  participation  as  such  in  the  Conference  is  highly  desirable,  indeed
necessary, in view of the following:

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– 

– 

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the Conference relates to the implementation  at European level of the undertakings
entered into internationally, not only by the Member States but also by the European
Community;

as  a  signatory  to  the  Strasbourg,  Helsinki  and  Lisbon  resolutions,  the  European
Community  is  directly  involved  in  the  follow-up  and  implementation  of  those
resolutions;

with the Strasbourg, Helsinki, Lisbon resolutions and those contemplated for Vienna,
the countries of Europe will have set themselves fairly detailed guidelines on forestry
policy  laying  down  broad  objectives  and  strengthening  co-ordination  and  co-
operation  on  policies  related  to  forestry.  This  is  consistent  with  the  Council
Resolution  of  15  December  1998  on  a  Forestry  Strategy  for  the  European  Union1.
The latter Resolution identifies as a substantial element of the EU Forestry Strategy
the need to improve co-ordination and co-operation in all policy areas with relevance
to  the  forest  sector  between  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  as  well  as
between the Member States;

the  Conference  topics  relate  to  areas  partly  covered  by  Community  forestry
measures,  notably  those  related  to  the  Rural  Development  Regulation2,  the  Sixth
Environment  Action  Programme3,  the  Sixth  Framework  Programme  for  Research
and  Technological  Development4  and  the  Commission’s  Communications  on  “The
State  of  Competitiveness  of  the  EU  Forest-based  and  Related  Industries”5  and
"A Sustainable  Europe  for  a  Better  World:  A  European  Union  Strategy  for
Sustainable Development6 ".

As a consequence, the Commission calls on the Council to decide as follows:

1. 

2. 

1

2

3

4

5

6

The  Commission  shall  be  authorised  to  participate,  on  behalf  of  the  European
Community and  alongside the Member  States, in the fourth Ministerial  Conference
on the Protection of Forests in Europe to be held in Vienna on 28, 29, 30 April 2003.

The  Commission  shall  sign  the  appended  acts  stemming  from  the  Conference.  The
Commission’s signature shall not imply any commitment  for joint  measures falling
outside the scope of Community competence.

OJ C 56, 26.2.1999, p. 1.
Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80).
Decision 1600/2002/EC (OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1).
Decision 1513/2002/EC (OJ L 232, 29.8.2002, p. 1).
COM(1999) 457 final.
COM(2001) 264 final.

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ACTS OF THE FOURTH MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON THE PROTECTION
OF FORESTS IN EUROPE (SEC(2003) 409)

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Vienna Living Forest Summit  Declaration:  “European  Forests – Common Benefits,
Shared Responsibilities”;

Vienna  Resolution  1:  Strengthen  synergies  for  sustainable  forest  management  in
Europe through cross-sectoral co-operation and national forest programmes;

Vienna  Resolution  2:  Enhancing  economic  viability  of  sustainable 
management in Europe;

forest

Vienna Resolution 3: Preserving and enhancing the social and cultural dimensions of
sustainable forest management in Europe;

Vienna  Resolution  4:  Conserving  and  enhancing  forest  biological  diversity  in
Europe;

Vienna Resolution 5: Climate change and sustainable forest management in Europe.

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