The European Commission Thursday approved a €200 million in state aid scheme allowing Romania to pay foresters to leave trees standing.
Under the scheme, which will run until 2027, foresters will receive compensation when they’re prevented from cutting down trees for environmental reasons.
“The scheme aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, improve ecosystem services and preserve habitats and landscapes,” the Commission’s press release states, adding that it considered “the scheme was necessary and appropriate to support the development of the forestry sector.”
The announcement comes as Romania is under pressure from the EU to crack down on illegal logging, a problem it has been battling for years.
In 2020, the Commission launched an infringement procedure against the country for failing to safeguard protected Natura 2000 forests and stop illegal tree cuts.
Successive Romanian governments have put in place measures to fight illegal logging, including a mandatory track and trace system and a dedicated prosecutor’s office and police force to go after organized crime related to logging.
But environmental groups argue those measures haven’t been effective enough and say illegal felling is still happening in old, protected forests that act as valuable carbon sinks.
In May, a group of MEPs traveled to Romania on a fact-finding mission to assess the country’s progress in addressing illegal logging. Their final report is expected in the coming months.
