Commenting on this, Anja Arndt, MEP of the ESN Group and spokeswoman for environmental and climate policy, said:
“A good day for our freedom, our forests, and our foresters! We have prevented yet another EU bureaucracy monster. The Commission wanted to take control of our forests — we stopped that. Our foresters, forest owners, and family businesses do not need remote monitoring from Brussels but trust in their centuries-old experience. Sustainable forestry is a German success story — it works because responsibility is exercised locally, not because regulations from Brussels force it.”
Arno Bausemer, spokesman for agricultural policy and also an MEP of the ESN Group, added:
“The plan from Brussels envisaged centralized recording of all forest data via remote sensing and geocoordinates — a disproportionate encroachment on national competences and a burden on both private and municipal forestry operations. Germany has shown for decades that sustainable forestry works perfectly well without control from Brussels. Our ESN Group had already pushed back against the Commission’s obsession with control in the competent specialist committees and has now defended national sovereignty in Parliament as well.
Germany in particular shows how it’s done: around 32% of the country’s area is forested, the timber stock grows by about 1% annually, and thanks to the Federal Forest Act every felled tree is replaced. The German forest is not at risk; it is a model of success for sustainability and responsibility.”
