Two groups of researchers working in an international team have concluded that the increase in logging volumes in Europe is minor. Both groups' findings contradict the report by the EU's Joint Research Centre (Joint Research Centre (JRC)), which indicates a 69% increase in logging volumes. After the aforementioned data was published last year, the information spread rapidly and directly influenced negotiations and disputes within the European Union.

The JRC assessed logging based on satellite imagery, publishing the results of its assessment in July 2020 (Nature). In the JRC's version, logging in Europe increased by 49% from the 2011-2015 period to the 2016-2018 period, while the volume of wood harvested from forests during these respective periods increased by 69%.

The aforementioned Nature publication is contested by a group of researchers led by European Forest Institute Director Marc Palahi. It was concluded that the JRC made a methodological error by incorrectly analysing satellite data; for instance, the JRC study did not correctly analyse information regarding forests affected by drought, wind, and other natural events, classifying them all as being affected by logging.