Forests cannot be protected by burdening forest managers with bureaucratic requirements. Today, 21 October, following an initiative by the European People's Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament, the European Parliament rejected the so-called Forest Monitoring Law. The European People's Party group in the European Parliament stood up for foresters, forest rangers, farmers and the environment, shielding them from unnecessary bureaucracy. It is clear that protecting forests is important, but excessive bureaucracy can jeopardise nature conservation objectives.

"We rejected the Forest Monitoring Law because we want effective and workable environmental policy, not ideology. The law proposed by the European Commission would have significantly increased bureaucracy in the forestry sector. Foresters, Member States and farmers must be able to focus on conserving forests, and an excessive bureaucratic burden would hamper and hinder that. We will continue working towards a more realistic and achievable approach to environmental protection," stressed Member of the European Parliament Alexander Bernhuber, the EPP group's lead negotiator on the Forest Monitoring Law in the European Parliament's Environment Committee.

"We are all responsible for the health of our forests, but how they are managed remains a decision for each Member State, not for the European Commission. We do not need a policy monitoring instrument that lets the EC tell forest owners how to do their work. Europe's forests are diverse; uniform rules simply do not work. This was an unnecessary bureaucratic burden. Our voters expect bureaucracy to be cut, and we have done that. The rejected Forest Monitoring Law, a legacy of Commissioner Timmermans, is now history," said Member of the European Parliament Stefan Köhler, the EPP group's lead negotiator on the Forest Monitoring Law in Parliament's Agriculture Committee.

The EPP group remains fully committed to protecting Europe's forests through practical, results-oriented measures. The EPP stresses: "Our goal is clear – to make the Green Deal achievable by empowering national governments and giving foresters the freedom to do what they do best – protect and preserve Europe's forests."

Ahead of today's vote, MEPs A. Bernhuber and S. Köhler set out the European People's Party group's objections to the law in more detail at a press conference. See here.