13th floor of EU 'Berlaymont' building in Brussels where suspected rainforest timber was used during renovation
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Commission Vice-President Kallas has now confirmed to Greenpeace that uncertified plywood was used to renovate the 13th floor, where Commission President Barroso's own office and the Commissioners' meeting room are located (1).
In May 2004, Greenpeace exposed that Indonesian rainforest plywood being used in the renovation of the Berlaymont and Committee of the Regions/Economic and Social Committee buildings in Brussels had been supplied by companies known to be involved in illegal and destructive logging in Indonesia (2).
"The plywood was used despite the fact that the Commission required the contractor to use only certified timber," said Sebastien Risso of Greenpeace European Unit. "This story illustrates the extent to which the European market is saturated with illegal and unsustainable timber."
The forests of Indonesia, home of the orang-utan, are under threat from illegal and destructive logging, and land clearance. At the time of the Berlaymont works, up to 80% of logging in Indonesia was estimated to be illegal. Huge volumes of timber were being smuggled into Malaysia and China, where they were processed into wood products for export to consumer markets including Europe. Law enforcement by the Indonesian government has clamped down on illegal logging since 2005, but the situation remains fragile, and illegal and destructive activities are far from eradicated.
As part of its own programme to tackle illegal logging and its related trade, the European Commission has said that it will launch a public consultation on legislative options to combat the problem. This was promised in 2004 and has been repeatedly delayed since. So far, the Commission has limited its plans to setting up voluntary partnership agreements with timber-producing countries. Greenpeace, together with over 160 NGOs and over 80 companies, has called for additional legislation to tackle illegal timber (3).
"It is appalling to think that Commissioners are walking on the debris of one of the most precious forests on Earth while leading a prominent public relations campaign on the need to halt biodiversity loss," said Sebastien Risso (4). "If the European Commission wants to show that it is serious about preventing forest ecosystem breakdown, it must put forward legislation to ensure that all timber products on the European market come from legal sources and responsibly managed forests."
Other contacts:
Sebastien Risso, Greenpeace European Unit, forests policy adviser, tel +32 (0)2 274 1901/+32 (0)496 127 009, 
Katharine Mill, Greenpeace European Unit, media officer, tel +32 (0)2 274 1903/+32 (0)496 156 229, 
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Photos and video footage available
Notes:
(1) See http://www.greenpeace.eu/downloads/forests/BerlComLet061106.pdf
(2) See press release of 11 May 2004, http://www.greenpeace.eu/downloads/forests/PRonForestCrimeActionEUBuildings-Eng.pdf
Also, European Parliament correspondence with the Commission, http://www.greenpeace.eu/downloads/forests/BerlaymontEPQ&A.pdf
(3) Greenpeace factsheet on EU FLEGT, "Lawless Europe", http://www.greenpeace.eu/downloads/forests/LawlessNov06.pdf
Statements on EU FLEGT from industry (http://www.greenpeace.org/forests/finn-russia-industry) and NGOs (http://www.greenpeace.org/forests/finn-russia-ngo)
(4) Biodiversity protection was the theme of the European Commission's Green Week 2006, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/greenweek/home.html