FLEGT and VPA countries

In 2003, the EU adopted the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan to address illegal logging and associated trade on the basis of cooperation between producers and consumers and a combination of demand- and supply-side measures.

The EU FLEGT Action Plan’s demand-side measures include the EU Timber Regulation, which prohibits operators from placing illegally harvested timber and timber products on the EU market. Its supply-side measures include Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), which are legally binding trade agreements between the EU and timber-exporting countries outside the EU.