Timber Regulation 2010

Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010, laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market.

Contents
Article 1 states the purpose of this regulation is to lay down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market in the EU for the first time, and the obligations of traders in those same timber products.

Article 2 outlines definitions for the use of the regulation.

Article 3 outlines what constitutes the legal harvesting of timber.

Article 4 goes into the obligations of operators. Firstly, that placing illegally harvested timber on the market is prohibited. Secondly, that operators should exercise due diligence when placing timber on the market. Thirdly, that each operator must maintain and regularly evaluate their due diligence systems.

Article 5 goes into the obligation of traceability, which outlines that each trader must be able to identify which operators or traders have supplied the timber and to whom they have supplied said timber. Traders are also required to keep this information for at least five years.

Article 6 further explains due diligence systems for the timber market and the elements each system must contain. This includes, but is not limited to, the species of tree, the country of harvest, the volume of timber, and legal documentation surrounding the compliance of harvesting those specific tree species in those countries.

Article 7 explores the competent authorities responsible for the application of this regulation. It further discusses that the Commission will make all of the competent authorities publicly available online, with regular updates to ensure accuracy.

Article 8 goes into the monitoring organizations that will be used to evaluate the due diligence systems from Article 6. This includes the requirements for a company to apply for recognition as a monitoring organization, and the requirements of the competent authorities from Article 7 in regularly evaluating these organizations and their ability to perform their duties.

Article 9 emphasizes that the Commission will maintain an accurate list of monitoring organizations on its website.

Article 10 goes into the checks on operators that the competent authorities from Article 7 are required to perform. This includes examination of due diligence systems, from risk assessments to risk mitigation procedures, and examination of documentation and records. Competent authorities can also perform spot checks and field audits, during which all operators are required to assist. If any immediate action must be taken, the competent authorities are able to seize timber products and prohibit the marketing of timber products from a particular operator.

Article 11 outlines the requirements of competent authorities in maintaining records of all their checks on operators.

Article 12 details how competent authorities must cooperate with each other and additional administrative authorities to maintain the smooth exchange of information.

Article 13 goes into the technical assistance, guidance and exchange of information for all parties.

Article 14 provides amendments to the regulation that ties it to other legal documentation and procedures.

Article 15 states that the power to adopt the acts throughout this regulation have been conferred on the Commission for seven years from 2 December 2010. Every three years, the Commission must make a report in relation to these powers. The delegation of powers will also be automatically extended in seven year increments, unless the European Parliament or the Council revokes it.

Article 16 outlines that the powers referred to throughout this regulation can be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or the Council, and what the process entails.

Articles 17-21 go further into details around the logistics and administration of the Commission and the delegation of tasks from this regulation.