Before the fifth round of EU sanctions against Russia came into effect, there was a grace period to allow importers to fulfill existing contracts, but a strict ban on Russian timber imports came into effect from July 2022.
However, according to the foreign ** Brussels Times, Belgium still imported at least 261 tons of timber from Russia after the imposition of formal sanctions. This act violates the fifth round of EU sanctions against Russia.
Using the forensic laboratory of the Royal Museum of Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren, Belgium's environment ministry found evidence that the country's timber merchants were importing timber from Russia, the report said. Inspectors confirmed that, despite the ban on the import of Russian timber, several shipments of timber from Russia arrived in Belgium.
And, a survey conducted in June 2023, led by de Tijd and the International Federation of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), revealed that the volume of timber exported from Turkey to Belgium has surged sixfold since 2021, with Turkish and Bulgarian timber dealers trying to evade sanctions against Russia. While it remains uncertain whether Belgian importers participate in these particular routes.
It is not easy to determine the country of origin of a particular batch of timber," said Annelies Wynant, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Forestry, "and this is the first time we have determined ** in this way."
In addition, Annelies Wynant described other problems facing the timber industry, such as importing Russian timber and illegally harvested timber from Central Africa, China, Malaysia, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Brazil and Chile.
Although Belgium** has taken a series of measures to crack down on Russian timber imports, some challenges remain. For example, it is not easy to determine the country of origin of imported timber, and, in the eyes of EU countries, Russian timber often involves complex chains and cross-border transport.