Green groups say Romania failing to stop illegal logging

By STEPHEN McGRATH
Associated Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Environmental groups say Romania has failed to tackle illegal logging and nature destruction in areas protected by European Union law, two years after Brussels warned the country to put an end to illicit deforestation. A new report authored by nongovernmental groups Agent Green, EuroNatur, and ClientEarth alleges that widespread destruction in natural areas of special value that are meant to be protected by EU law has intensified since the EU Commission issued warnings in 2020. They will call on the bloc’s Commission this week to refer the case to the EU’s highest court. Agent Green president Gabriel Paun said that instead of curbing illegal logging in the protected natural areas, Brussels’ infringement procedures triggered what he called “panic logging.”