Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the signing, on behalf of the Union of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Liberia on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products to the European Union
Date: 2011-06-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Liberia, forestry holding, import (EU), import licence, trade agreement (EU), wood product

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 17.6.2011 
COM(2011) 369 final 

2011/0161 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the signing, on behalf of the Union of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between 
the European Union and the Republic of Liberia on forest law enforcement, governance 
and trade in timber products to the European Union 

 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT)1, endorsed by 
the  Council  in  20032,  proposes  a  set  of  measures,  including  support  for  timber-producing 
countries, multilateral collaboration to tackle trade in illegal timber, support for private-sector 
initiatives, and measures to discourage investment in activities that encourage illegal logging. 
The cornerstone of the Action Plan is the establishment of FLEGT partnerships between the 
EU  and  timber-producing  countries  aimed  at  stopping  illegal  logging.  In  2005  the  Council 
adopted Regulation (EC) No 2173/20053 establishing a licensing scheme and a mechanism to 
verify the legality of timber imports into the EU. 

In  December  2005  the  Council  authorised  the  Commission  to  negotiate  FLEGT  partnership 
agreements  with  timber-producing  countries  in  order  to  implement  the  Action  Plan  and,  in 
particular,  to  encourage  trade  in  verified  legal  timber  imports  into  the  EU  from  partner 
countries4.  The  Agreement  with  Liberia  is  the  sixth  such  agreement  to  be  negotiated, 
following  the  agreements  with  Ghana,  Congo, Cameroon,  the  Central  African  Republic  and 
Indonesia. 

The  Commission  entered  into  negotiations  with  Liberia  in  March  2009.  Negotiations 
proceeded over two years and involved six face-to-face negotiating sessions and 14 technical 
discussions  by  video  conference,  plus  technical  working  level  meetings.  Throughout  the 
negotiations the Commission was assisted by Member States, notably the UK which, in this 
instance, provided resources to facilitate the process. The Commission has kept the Council 
updated  on  progress,  with  reports  to  the  Working  Party  on  Forests  and  to  EU  Heads  of 
Mission and representatives in Liberia. After each negotiating session, the parties held public 
meetings  to  keep  stakeholders  informed  of  progress.  In  addition,  Liberia  adopted  a  highly 
participatory  approach  by  involving  civil  society,  community  representatives,  the  private 
sector and a representative of the Liberian legislature in drafting the Agreement. 

The Agreement addresses all elements of the Council negotiating directives. In particular, it 
establishes the framework, institutions and systems for the FLEGT licensing scheme. It sets 
out  the  supply  chain  controls,  the  framework  for  monitoring  legal  compliance  and 
independent  audit  requirements  for  the  system.  These  components  are  set  out  in  annexes  to 
the  Agreement  which  provide  a  detailed  description  of  the  structures  that  will  underpin  the 
assurance of legality afforded by a FLEGT licence.  

The  Voluntary  Partnership  Agreement  (VPA)  focuses  on  governance  and  law  enforcement 
and, by means of the licensing system, provides the assurance that Liberia’s timber is legally 
produced. It exemplifies Liberia’s commitment to improving accountability and transparency. 
As  a  legacy  of  past  malpractice,  Liberian  timber  does  not  have  a  good  reputation  on 
international  markets.  The  FLEGT  licence  will  reassure  international  markets  that  Liberian 
timber products are from verified legal sources. 

The VPA will support on-going regulatory reforms that will strengthen the legal framework, 
in  order  to  promote  sustainable  management  of  forests  and  to  increase  the  involvement  of 

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COM(2003) 251. 
OJ C 268, 7.11.2003, p. 1. 
OJ L 347, 30.12.2005, p. 1. 
Restricted Council document 15102/05. 

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local  communities  in  decision-making  processes.  The  Agreement  clearly  indicates  the  areas 
where reforms are needed and sets out a time frame for these. 

Liberia  has  developed  a  comprehensive  framework  for  monitoring  legal  compliance  for  all 
types of title holdings, whether trees from community forests, large concessions or privately 
owned trees on farms, and embracing all aspects of timber production, including allocation of 
harvesting rights, application of forest management and environmental standards, sharing of 
benefits,  workers’  rights  and  taxes.  Compliance  will  be  monitored  by  the  new  legality 
assurance  system,  which  builds  on  and  expands  an  existing  chain  of  custody  system.  In 
addition,  Liberia  will  work  with  an  independent  auditor,  who  will  provide  regular,  public 
reports  on  the  effectiveness  of  the  system.  Civil  society  will  monitor  the  VPA  as  a  whole, 
sharing  findings  with  the  government,  national  stakeholders  and  the  Joint  Implementation 
Committee responsible for oversight. 

The  Agreement  goes  beyond  the  limited  product  coverage  proposed  in  Annex  II  to 
Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 on the FLEGT scheme: it covers all exported timber products, 
including wood chips, a common by-product of commercial agriculture concessions. Liberia 
is  committed  to  establishing  a  system  that  will  provide  assurance  to  the  EU  that  all  timber 
products from Liberia are legally produced and so contribute positively to Liberia’s growth. 

The Agreement makes provision for import controls at the EU’s borders, as provided for in 
Regulation  (EC)  No 2173/2005  on  the  FLEGT  scheme  and  Regulation  (EC)  No 1024/2008 
laying down detailed measures for implementing it. The Agreement includes a description of 
Liberia’s  FLEGT  licence,  which  uses  the  format  prescribed  in  the  above-mentioned 
Implementing Regulation. FLEGT licences will also be issued for timber exports destined to 
other  international  markets  and  an  EU-specific  numbering  system  will  be  introduced  to 
distinguish readily timber exports bound for the EU. 

The  Agreement  establishes  a  mechanism  for  dialogue  and  cooperation  with  the  EU  on  the 
FLEGT  scheme,  via  the  Joint  Implementation  Committee.  It  also  establishes  principles  of 
stakeholder participation, social safeguards, accountability and transparency, and monitoring 
of and reporting on implementation of the Agreement. 

The Agreement sets out a time frame and the procedures for entry into force of the Agreement 
and  for  applying  the  licensing  scheme.  Since  Liberia  will  further  revise  and  complete  its 
regulations  governing  the  sector,  strengthen  its  regulatory  and  information  management 
system, upgrade supply chain controls to cover processing facilities and establish independent 
verification of legal compliance, it will take several years to develop and test the new systems 
and to build capacity on the part of the government, civil society and the private sector for the 
tasks  envisaged.  The  FLEGT  licensing  scheme  is  expected  to  be  fully  operational  by  2014. 
The licensing scheme will be assessed against the criteria laid down in the Agreement before 
the EU begins accepting FLEGT licences.  

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2011/0161 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the signing, on behalf of the Union of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between 
the European Union and the Republic of Liberia on forest law enforcement, governance 
and trade in timber products to the European Union 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the European Union, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the 
first subparagraph of Article 207(3), in conjunction with Article 218(5), thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

In  May  2003  the  European  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  to  the  European 
Parliament  and  to  the  Council  entitled  ‘Forest  Law  Enforcement,  Governance  and 
Trade  (FLEGT):  Proposal  for  an  EU  Action  Plan’5  which  called  for  measures  to 
address  illegal  logging  by  developing  voluntary  partnership  agreements  with  timber-
producing countries. Council conclusions on that Action Plan were adopted in October 
20036 and Parliament adopted a resolution on the subject on 11 July 20057.  

On 5 December 2005, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations on 
partnership agreements to implement the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, 
Governance and Trade. 

On  20 December 2005,  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EC)  No 2173/20058  which 
established  a  FLEGT  licensing  scheme  for  imports  of  timber  into  the  Union  from 
countries with which the Union has concluded voluntary partnership agreements. 

The negotiations with the Republic of Liberia have been completed and the voluntary 
partnership  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  Liberia  on 
forest  law  enforcement,  governance  and  trade  in  timber  products  to  the  European 
Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agreement’) was initialled on 9 May 2011. 

(5) 

The Agreement should be signed subject to its conclusion, 

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COM(2003) 251. 
OJ C 268, 7.11.2003, p. 1. 
OJ C 157E, 6.7.2006, p. 482. 
OJ L 347, 30.12.2005, p. 1. 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The  signing,  on  behalf  of  the  European  Union,  of  the  Voluntary  Partnership  Agreement 
between  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  Liberia  on  forest  law  enforcement, 
governance and trade in timber products to the European Union is hereby authorised, subject 
to conclusion of the said Agreement9.  

The  President  of  the  Council  is  hereby  authorised  to  designate  the  person(s)  empowered  to 
sign the Agreement on behalf of the Union.. 

Article 2 

Article 3 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.  

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the Council 
The President 
[…] 

9 

The text of the Agreement will be published together with the Decision on its conclusion. 

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