WOOD IN ART AND THE EUROPEAN WOODWORKING SECTOR

Matti Mikkola (Chairman CEI-Bois)
Ladislaus Döry (President EPF - Vice-Chairman CEI-Bois)
Hannu Kasurinen (Chairman EOS)

We are pleased to thank Gaston Franco, MEP, chairman of the Club du Bois, for the renewed opportunity to inform the Members of the European Parliament and other European policy makers and institutions, by means of an exhibition inside the European Parliament, about the importance of the European woodworking sector and the benefits it offers to the EU as it seeks to meet its main climate and sustainability policy targets.
In fact, although six years have passed since we launched the 'Tackle climate change: use wood' slogan, such calls to action are more relevant than ever. With the effects of climate change becoming more and more visible to EU citizens, through major calamities across the globe such as the recent ravages of 'superstorm' Sandy in North America, attention needs to be constantly drawn to how an increased use of wood and wood-based products can help in mitigating the present alarming situation. In this context, we are pleased to note that the services of the European Commission and the European Parliament are working on implementing important decisions taken in Durban concerning the recognition of harvested wood products as carbon stores in greenhouse gas accounting schemes.

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A PROVIDER OF WELFARE IN EUROPE

NEARLY 2.1 MILLION JOBS AND WORTH MORE THAN 201 BILLION EUR IN 2010
employment in sector

In 2010, the woodworking industry provided jobs to nearly 2.1 million people in the 27 EU countries (EU 27). In common with all traditional industries, it plays an important part in achieving the EU goal of becoming the world's most competitive region. The woodworking industry is a major employer in many of the Member States of the European Union and features among the top three industries in Austria, Finland, Portugal and Sweden.

A DRIVING FORCE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

In 2010, the production value of the EU 27 woodworking industries totalled more than 201 000 million EUR. More than half of this was accounted for by the woodworking sector, representing 109 500 million EUR. EU manufacturing is dominated by Germany and Italy. France comes in third position at some distance from the leaders, closely followed by the United Kingdom, Spain and Poland. In 2010, the strongest growth rates of production value were recorded in Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and the United Kingdom.

A CONTRIBUTOR TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Companies are often located in remote, less industrialised or developed areas, making an important contribution to the rural economy.
A diversified industry
The industry covers a wide range of activities, from sawmilling, planing and pressure treating to the production of wood-based panels, veneer and boards; from construction products to joinery; from pallets and packaging to furniture.