The European Commission has published an updated list of country risk classifications under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Ukraine has been designated as a low-risk country, a significant recognition by the EU that reflects confidence in Ukraine’s forestry reforms and opens new opportunities for sustainable development in the forestry sector and integration into the European market.
What does “low-risk” status mean?
This status offers new prospects for Ukrainian exporters of timber, furniture, and other forest-based products. It reduces regulatory burdens, simplifies access to the EU market, and enhances trust in Ukraine’s forest resource management system.
Why has Ukraine received this status?
Ukraine’s designation as a low-risk country is the result of comprehensive reforms aimed at increasing transparency and digital transformation in the forestry sector:
- Alignment of legislation with the EU standards in forestry, including enhanced transparency and control measures.
- Digitalisation of key processes, notably the electronic issuance of felling tickets and certificates of timber origin, ensuring maximum traceability of all types of logging.
- 100% of forest users now issue felling tickets and certificates exclusively in electronic form.
These changes have enabled full traceability of all logging activities and improved the quality of forest resource management.
What is the role of BRDO?
Since 2016, the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) has systematically supported forestry sector reforms in collaboration with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources and the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine:
- With the support of the USAID/UK aid Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) Activity , the electronic procedure for issuing logging tickets and certificates of origin for timber intended for export was introduced.
- The development of digital solutions was also supported by the Digital Transformation Activity (DTA) project, funded by USAID and UK Dev.
Legal support for the digital transformation of the forestry sector is provided through the “Digitalisation for Growth, Integrity and Transparency” (UK DIGIT) project, implemented by the Eurasia Foundation and funded by UK Dev. The project partner is the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO).