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On the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and timber products to the European Union (FLEGT)

Full title

On the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and timber products to the European Union (FLEGT)

Document DEVE-AD-756017 · 0000/2023 – C90000/2023 – 2023/0222(NLE))

Kind
Opinion parliamentary committee DEVE-AD-756017
Date
7 December 2023
Committee
Committee on Development
Rapporteur
Carlos Zorrinho
Dossier
2023-0222
More facts (3)
Formats
Official page PDF Word
Subject matter
ACIN, EXT, SILV
Reference
0000/2023 – C90000/2023 – 2023/0222(NLE))
More
Cite this page Official page (opens the official site)
Link to this page

In short

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AI: In short Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-flash · 26 Sept 2026

The Committee on Development gives its opinion on the proposed Council decision to conclude the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and Côte d'Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber. It calls on the Committee on International Trade to recommend approval. The opinion sets out the background: Côte d'Ivoire's high deforestation, its 2019 Forestry Code, the role of the forest industry and the inclusive VPA negotiations. It says EU assistance should be strengthened to support implementation.

Position. The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on International Trade, as the committee responsible, to recommend approval of the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the VPA between the EU and Côte d'Ivoire.

Key points

  1. The Commission negotiated the VPA with Côte d'Ivoire from 2013 and concluded negotiations in October 2022.
  2. Côte d'Ivoire has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world; in 2020 only 8.9 % (2.8 million hectares) of its land was forest, down from 24.7% in 1990.
  3. Causes of forest loss include extensive agriculture, cocoa trade, poorly controlled exploitation for timber and wood energy, and weak legal enforcement.
  4. The Ivorian government aims to increase forest coverage to 20% by 2030 and launched the National Programme for the Environment and Forests in 2014.
  5. The 2019 Forestry Code added agro-forests, community forests and sacred forests to the classified list and requires local communities to be involved in forest management and protection.
  6. The forest industry contributes to the economy and livelihoods, but is largely foreign owned; only a few of 40 species processed and exported are known, leading to overexploitation, and around 50% of timber exports go to the EU.
  7. Government, civil society, private sector and indigenous peoples took part in the VPA negotiations, including designing a roadmap, supporting inclusive forest policy and a new forest ownership regime.
  8. The Agreement aims to ensure legality across the timber-forestry sector and trade with the EU, help Côte d'Ivoire manage natural resources better, give women a prominent role, and fight illegal logging.
  9. Successful implementation depends on Côte d'Ivoire's sustained commitment and political will, and EU assistance should be strengthened as part of the 2025-2027 bilateral programme review.
  10. The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on International Trade to recommend approval of the proposal for a Council decision concluding the VPA.

Who is affected

  • Côte d'Ivoire: the agreement supports better management of its natural resources and the fight against illegal logging.
  • The Ivorian timber-forestry sector: the agreement aims to ensure legality throughout the sector and in trade with the EU.
  • Local communities and indigenous peoples in Côte d'Ivoire: the 2019 Forestry Code requires their involvement in forest management and protection.
  • Women in Côte d'Ivoire: they now play a prominent role in forest resource management.

Figures and deadlines

  • 8.9 % (2.8 million hectares) of Côte d'Ivoire land area covered by forests as of 2020
  • 24.7% forest cover in 1990
  • target of 20% forest coverage by 2030
  • 40 exotic and local forest species processed and exported as timber
  • around 50% of Ivorian timber exports destined to the EU
  • EU bilateral programme period 2025-2027

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Short justification

The Commission entered into negotiations with the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in 2013 and concluded the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) negotiations in October 2022.

Côte d’Ivoire has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. According to the World Bank, as of 2020 only 8.9 % (2.8 million hectares) of Côte d’Ivoire land area was covered by forests, compared to 24.7% in 1990. The causes of this decline include extensive agriculture, cocoa trade, poorly controlled exploitation of forests to meet the demands for timber and wood energy and weak legal enforcement capacity of public authorities in forest governance.

Recently, the Ivorian government has committed to improving forest governance jointly with international and local actors, so as to increase forest coverage to 20% by 2030. In 2014, it launched the National Programme for the Environment and Forests, which aims to reduce deforestation and promote sustainable land use practices. Furthermore, the new Forestry Code adopted in 2019 largely improved the Ivorian forestry legislation. It added agro-forests, community forests, sacred forests to the classified list and made the legal framework more participatory, requiring the involvement of local communities in forest management and protection initiatives.

The forest industry still largely contributes to the Ivorian economy and local livelihoods. However, a large part is foreign owned and only a few out of a total of 40 exotic and local forest species processed and exported as timber are known, leading to overexploiting certain forest areas. Around 50% of Ivorian timber exports are destined to the EU.

Representatives of the government, civil society, the private sector and indigenous peoples as members of the Technical Negotiating Committee played a critical and active role in the negotiation process of the VPA with the EU, including in the design of a roadmap. The process provided a more favourable context for an inclusive implementation of forest policy and the creation of a new forest ownership regime. The Agreement aims to ensure legality in the entire timber-forestry sector and trade with the EU, while supporting the Ivorian government in a better management of its natural resources, where women now play a prominent role, and fight against illegal logging.

The VPA’s successful implementation will depend on Côte d’Ivoire’s sustained commitment and political will. EU assistance should be strengthened to support the VPA implementation as part of the programming review process of the EU bilateral programme for the period 2025- 2027.

******

The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on International Trade, as the committee responsible, to recommend approval of the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and timber products to the European Union (FLEGT).

Back matter, 1

Parts that accompany the text rather than belong to it: explanatory statement, annexes, opinions appended by other committees. Collapsed.

Annex: entities or persons from whom the rapporteur for the opinion has received input 1 block

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

Procedure pages and committee votes

How the committees handled the text and how their members voted on it. Collapsed.

Procedure – committee asked for opinion 1 block
Table from the text: Title
TitleVoluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and timber products to the European Union (FLEGT)
References2023/0222(NLE)
Committee responsibleINTA
Rapporteur for the opinion Date appointedCarlos Zorrinho 9.10.2023
Date adopted7.12.2023
Result of final vote+: –: 0:16 1 3
Members present for the final voteBarry Andrews, Hildegard Bentele, Stéphane Bijoux, Mercedes Bresso, Udo Bullmann, Catherine Chabaud, Christophe Clergeau, Charles Goerens, Mónica Silvana González, Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, György Hölvényi, Erik Marquardt, Eleni Stavrou, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Bernhard Zimniok
Substitutes present for the final voteCaroline Roose, Carlos Zorrinho
Substitutes under Rule 209(7) present for the final voteMarie Dauchy, Jarosław Duda, Aušra Maldeikienė
Final vote by roll call in committee asked for opinion 3 blocks

16 · For

ID
Marie Dauchy
EPP
Hildegard Bentele, Jarosław Duda, György Hölvényi, Aušra Maldeikienė, Eleni Stavrou
Renew
Barry Andrews, Stéphane Bijoux, Catherine Chabaud, Charles Goerens
S&D
Mercedes Bresso, Udo Bullmann, Christophe Clergeau, Mónica Silvana González, Carlos Zorrinho
The Left
Miguel Urbán Crespo

1 · Against

ID
Bernhard Zimniok

3 · Abstained

Greens
Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Erik Marquardt, Caroline Roose

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Permalink
https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/DEVE-AD-756017
Data source
Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Retrieved
26 September 2026

Cite as

European Parliament (2023). “OPINION on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and timber products to the European Union (FLEGT)”. Text, 7 December 2023. docId DEVE-AD-756017. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/DEVE-AD-756017 (retrieved 26 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/DEVE-AD-756017 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX 
@misc{epw-text-deve-ad-756017,
  author = {{European Parliament}},
  title = {{OPINION on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and timber products to the European Union (FLEGT)}},
  year = {2023},
  date = {2023-12-07},
  howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/DEVE-AD-756017}},
  url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/DEVE-AD-756017},
  urldate = {2026-09-26},
  publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
  note = {Text. docId DEVE-AD-756017. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}