Illegal logging and associated trade is a global issue of major concern. It threatens forests and biodiversity, and undermines sustainable forest management and development.

The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which came into force in 2013, aims to reduce the devastating effects of illegal timber trade. It prohibits illegally harvested timber, or products derived from such timber, from being placed on the market in the EU.

Traders that place timber or timber products on the EU market for the first time have to implement the EUTR by exercising due diligence; this means they must minimise the risk that timber was illegally harvested or that timber products contain such timber.

Member States' authorities are tasked with enforcing the implementation of the EUTR nationally, and with assisting the Commission to achieve uniform implementation across the EU.

To achieve this, authorities need access to relevant and accurate information, such as on timber source countries, national legal frameworks and EUTR enforcement or trade patterns. However, this information can be difficult to access and national capacity to carry out assessments is often insufficient.

We work closely with the European Commission and EU Member States' Competent Authorities to support the assessment of the implementation and enforcement of the EUTR. This platform provides patterns in the trade of timber and timber products into and within the EU Member States (2006-2020), using data downloaded from the EuroState ComExt database.