In June 2025 the European Council approved its position on a new European Union (EU)-wide forest monitoring system that will make it possible to track progress towards EU goals and policies, targets and instruments that have a direct or indirect bearing on forests.

The aim of the system is to improve sustainable forest management and resilience across Europe. By establishing a comprehensive forest knowledge base, it will provide more accurate data and easier access to information, supporting sustainable forest management and the many functions forests perform.

“Forests are the green lungs of our planet – they are essential to our climate, biodiversity, sustainable growth and future. With the new forest monitoring system we are giving forest managers and owners the tools they need to protect and manage this precious natural resource responsibly, balancing conservation and production objectives while avoiding unnecessary red tape,” stressed Czesław Siekierski (Czesław Siekierski), Poland's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development

The main elements of the Commission's proposal

The Commission's proposal is the key legislative initiative arising from the European Union (EU) Forest Strategy for 2030. The Commission, working together with the EU member states, would set up and operate a high-quality monitoring system to provide harmonised forest data, building on the measurement systems the member states already have in place. The proposal also introduces a forest data-sharing system that allows data to be exchanged between member states and at EU level.

The main changes introduced by the Council

While supporting the need for harmonised and comparable forest data in order to improve resilience and biodiversity, the Council takes the view that the proposal should be considerably simplified in order to reduce the administrative burden and costs for both forest managers and national authorities. It has therefore introduced a series of changes in its general approach.

A dedicated approach to forest monitoring

The Council's position introduces a dedicated approach under which national monitoring would be the starting point for policymaking at EU level. The system would be based on harmonising data already collected in national forest inventories and on indicators that the member states currently use to report under other EU legislation and international reporting systems. Only indicators with clear, proven value will be used, but member states may introduce new indicators on a voluntary basis.

Remote sensing and mapping

The Council expressed concern about the accuracy and reliability of data obtained through remote sensing (the collection of information about forests from satellites or unmanned aircraft). The Council therefore agreed that mapping should remain the responsibility of individual member states, since they are best placed to develop cost-effective and tailored solutions that best match their own particular circumstances and environment. The information on forests collected by member states will be made publicly available.

The European Council considers that this approach strikes the right balance between harmonising data and allowing for flexibility.

Integrated long-term national forest plans

The view until now has been that the purpose of the proposed voluntary integrated long-term national forest plans is unclear and that such plans should remain within the competence of the member states. The Council therefore decided to delete this provision.

Forest units

The European Council considers that defining the concept of a forest unit as proposed by the Commission is complicated and could give rise to data protection problems, as well as uncertainty about how these units might change over time. Moreover, only a few member states use it, and mainly for administrative purposes, which makes it difficult to rely on in a bottom-up approach. The Council has therefore decided to delete the provisions on forest units.

Next steps

The European Council is ready to begin negotiations with the European Parliament as soon as it has adopted its position. Forests are an essential ally in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, and they are vital to dynamic rural areas and to the bioeconomy. Although forest area is steadily increasing, forests are under growing pressure from natural disasters, including fires, storms and insect infestations, which are likely to intensify as a result of climate change. Information on the state of Europe's forests is fragmented, and the data currently available contains gaps and overlaps. Better data quality and access to information would improve forest governance and the ability of member states, foresters and forest managers to take informed decisions, and would strengthen the resilience of Europe's forests.