Forestry Code passes Romanian Parliament

The Chamber of Deputies in Romania’s Parliament adopted on May 20 the initial version of the draft law amending the Forestry Code, with 218 votes for, 95 against and 11 abstentions. It thus rejected President Klaus Iohannis’ request to change the amendment law, reports local Mediafax. The law provides that a company can acquire maximum 30% of the volume for each type of timber, calculated as the average of the last three years. At the end of March, Klaus Iohannis sent back to the Parliament the draft law amending the Forestry Code, saying the new version of the bill would have negatively affected competition. Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on May 19 that the Government will include the temporary ban on timber exports in a draft law rather than through an Emergency Ordinance, to be less prone to critics. Ponta announced last week that the Government plans to prohibit timber exports for a limited period, until August 31. editor@romania-insider.com