A civil society counter-brief on the Congo-EU VPA

On 9 May 2009 the government of the Republic of Congo and the European Union (EU) concluded a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) that aims to solve the country’s problem of illegal logging and associated poor forest governance. The agreement aims to develop measures to ensure the timber sector in the Congo is both legal and sustainable.

This briefing provides the views of Congolese and European civil society on the concluded agreement and its implementation. It concludes that finalising the VPA is just the first step and that success can only be achieved through implementation that keeps the FLEGT objectives in mind.

Category: Briefing Notes