During a working visit to Slovenia, Minister for Agriculture Armands Krauze signed the guidelines of the “For Forest Group+” alliance, providing for Latvia's accession to the alliance. “For Forest Group+” is an informal strategic alliance of forest-rich EU Member States that work together to promote sustainable forestry, common positions in EU policy and better forest management in their own countries.

Minister for Agriculture Armands Krauze: “The aim of the alliance's member states is to think about and care for forests and their sustainable management in the interests of the public good. It should be borne in mind that the public good encompasses enjoyment of the forest, recreation and mushroom picking, as well as the funds that forest managers pay into the state budget, and nature conservation. Latvia's admission to this group shows that, although we often hear phrases in the public domain that malign Latvia's forest sector, Latvia's forest policy is in line with common European forest policy and Latvia does think about and care for sustainable forests.”

The alliance's objectives are to defend national competence in the field of forestry, rejecting a “one solution fits all” approach, to balance climate and economic goals, and to improve forest monitoring and data quality. Until now, the member states of “For Forest Group+” were Austria, Finland, Slovenia, Sweden and France, while last week Latvia and Italy also joined the alliance.