OPEN LETTER – Ending the destruction of Romanian forests
September 11, 2023
Dear Commissioner Sinkevičius,
With less than a year before you leave office, we ask that you make a difference for Romanian
primary and old-growth forests.
The 10th of September 2023 marks four years since the environmental NGOs, EuroNatur, Agent Green,
and ClientEarth, alerted you to the destruction of protected forests in Romania (complaint registered
under reference number CHAP(2019)02656). Over the last four years, we have spent countless hours
demonstrating the lack of effort the Romanian government has placed in solving this issue through
life-threatening on-the-ground investigations, detailed data analysis, and legislative scrutiny. We have
sent you numerous letters and reports detailing our findings. In the last two years, only looking at
0.01% of logging permits, already showed that more than 60,000 cubic meters of trees were removed
within 5 Natura 2000 protected areas – equivalent to 420 football fields.
Regrettably, even today, primary and old-growth forests, are still being cut without regard to their
ecological, conservation and climate change relevance, without assessing the impact of the logging,
and without full disclosure of these activities or their legality.
Over the last four years, you have moved through with a letter of formal notice (INFR(2020)2033) and
a reasoned opinion (INFR(2020)2033), but Romania has yet to be referred to the Court of Justice of the
European Union for its ongoing destruction of protected forests. Given the systemic problem, the issue
will not be resolved by only conversing with Romanian authorities or trusting that they will make the
needed changes; they must be held legally accountable.
We continue to implore you to impose a moratorium on ongoing logging in protected areasin Romania
until all legal requirements are met. We also urge you to take this case to the Court of Justice of the
European Union as soon as possible. Your term as Commissioner for the Environment will come to an
end in less than a year. It is still not too late for you to make a difference, and to end the destruction
of Romanian forests.
Kind regards,
Gabriel Schwaderer, Executive Director, EuroNatur
Gabi Paun, President, Agent Green
Anais Berthier, Head of Client Earth