MEP Nicu Stefanuta, after inspection in Romania's forests: Wood theft is significant

MEP Nicu Stefanuta, after inspection in Romania's forests: Wood theft is significant.

MEP Nicu Stefanuta (Group of the Greens) believes that the theft of wood from Romania is significant, after the visit he paid the other day to the forests of Fagaras and Suceava, alongside seven other MEPs, a press release sent to AGERPRES informs.

Nicu Stefanuta believes that "the figures communicated by the authorities are not credible."

"In Suceava we were told that only 0.15pct of the timber is harvested illegally. Or this is not possible. Even the Police say that only on the transport side 3pct of the wood is illegal. NGOs say that up to 80pct of it is harvested illegally. The Institute for Forestry Research gives a figure of 50pct. Moreover, the abuses, the violence against environmental activists would not be justified if the figures for illegal timber theft were so low," Nicu Stefanuta said.

Stefanuta also says that Romania has a new infringement procedure.

"European Commissioner for Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius already has the decision on the infringement procedure for illegal deforestation in Romania on the table. It is in our interest to stop the thefts so that we do not have infringement, meaning huge fines from the European Commission," the MEP added.

Stefanuta underscores: "If valuable wood is cut from a virgin forest, from a secular forest, it is not the same as cutting from an old forest, a few years old, a few decades old. It's much worse for the ecosystems, the soil doesn't recover, the forest doesn't have the function of capturing carbon dioxide."

The European Parliament delegation was made up of Nicu Stefanuta, Vlad Gheorghe, Cristian Terhes, Lorant Vincze, Yana Toom, Alexander Bernhuber, Maite Pagazaurtundua and Andrey Slabakov, told Agerpres.

Nicu Stefanuta also mentioned that he is the first Romanian MEP affiliated to the political group of the Greens in the European Parliament (Greens / European Free Alliance -EFA) and is currently a member of the Committee on Budgets and the Subcommittee on Public Health. Furthermore, he is also a substitute member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) and he is part of the Delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee, as well as of the Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.