The European Union entered into a Voluntary Partnership Agreement with Vietnam under the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade program on Nov. 18, according to the European Commission.
To implement the VPA, Vietnam will develop a wood legality assurance system to ensure the wood it exports to the EU is obtained from legal sources. Once the stipulations in the VPA are met, Vietnam will be granted a FLEGT license, which grants the country unfettered access to EU markets.
"Vietnam and the EU today celebrate a milestone in their cooperation in the global fight to end illegal logging," said Karmenu Vella, EU commissioner for environment, maritime affairs and fisheries, in a statement. "Now we must focus on implementation to ensure that the VPA delivers on its social, environmental and economic goals.”
Only one country has received a FLEGT license, Indonesia, which received the license on Nov. 15.