Effective March 3rd, 2013 the entry of forest products into any member Country of the European Union will need to meet the new requirements of the European Timber Regulation. The primary intent is to stop the flow of illegally harvested timber products.
The European Union importers (called Operators who are first to place products on the market) are required to fulfill a Due Diligence process by ensuring that what they are purchasing are in fact products from legally harvested stands of timber.
For more information go to:
http://canadawooduk.org/european-timber-regulation-summary.php