EXAMINING GROUND FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMON FOREST POLICY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES

摘要

The aim of the paper is to explore the implications and perspectives for the implementation of a Common Forest Policy in the European Union and to point out opportunities and barriers. A thorough literature review was conducted in the field of Forest Policy, focusing on implementation and the attempts for co-ordination in the past years. The history of Forest Policy in Europe is full of reforms, changes and different perspectives among the member states. Despite the differences in the implementation of Forest Policy among the member states of the European Union, the adoption of a Common Forest Policy seems possible in the near future. The increased concern about bioenergy and climate change in the EU, Multi-Level Governance in Forest Governance, and the rising need for a Common Framework to prevent the forest dieback in the EU stand out as the most prominent opportunities. On the other hand, the main barriers to the development of a Common Forest Policy in the EU appear to be the belated emergence of Forest Policy analysis as an autonomous scientific discipline, the different level of organisation of forestry and forest products industry among the Member States, as well as the lack of reliable data in key issues of Forestry. A Common Forest Policy is necessary in the constantly growing European Union in order to coordinate the different national policies of the member states in the forest sector.