During the visit, the Board of LRF Forest Owners – Swedish member of CEPF – had a meeting with a Swedish MEP Fredrick Federley who emphasized the importance of the LULUCF regulation and listened to the concerns over the proposal raised by the delegation. The main concern regards the establishment of the forest reference level and its consequences on the development of the Swedish bioeconomy. It was noted that the forest reference level should be based on recent policy projections and on the latest available data, in order to better reflect the ongoing situation in Member States.

The CEPF Secretary General, Emma Berglund, presented the latest forest-related policy news from Brussels and underlined the important link between LULUCF and the upcoming sustainability policy for solid biomass. Berglund also confirmed that these two policies will have an impact on the development of the forest-based bioeconomy.

Regarding the bioenergy sustainability policy, the delegation highlighted that the policy makers must remember that the bioenergy is only a small part of the forest sector and the big picture should be kept in mind when developing policies in Brussels.

The delegation met with different policy makers from the European Parliament, Commission and Council. The delegation consisted of Sven Erik Hammar, Vice-President of LRF and CEPF Board Member, Lena Ek, Chair of Södra Family Forest Association, Karin Perers, Chair of Mellanskog Family Forest Association, Gunnar Heibring, Vice-President of the Federation of Swedish Forest Owners and Chair of Norrskog Family Forest Association, Torgny Hardselius, Chair of Norra Family Forest Association and Ulf Johansson, Board member of Södra Family Forest Association. The visit was organized by Lennart Ackzell, International Coordinator at LRF.