Various strategies and documents of the European Union make reference to forests and matters connected to the forest sector are dealt with in several Directorates-General of the European Commission. The Treaty on European Union does not include a common forest policy of the EU, but various kinds of provisions concerning forests are issued under, for example, the trade, environmental and agricultural policies. Some of these may be mutually conflicting, because they are founded on perspectives of different Directorates-General. Now efforts have been made to compile the matters relating to the sustainable management and use of forests and preserving the viability of the rural areas into the EU Forest Action Plan 2007-2011.

Finland is an active and anticipatory actor that is ready to take the initiative in making decisions on forests in the EU. The objective of Finland is that the preparation and decision-making with impacts on forests would be well coordinated, with due account for the special national characteristics of the forest sector in different countries. The preparatory sub-committee on forest policy under the EU sub-committee on agriculture and food assists in the national preparation of initiatives which may impact on forests.

The topics for 2009 include, besides the mid-term evaluation of the Forest Action Plan, the processing of the Commission proposal of October 2008 for a regulation concerning additional measures (obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market) under the FLEGT process (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade). The guidelines for public procurement of timber products and impacts of climate change on forest and forestry will be reviewed. The Member States are preparing common EU positions for the meetings of international environmental conventions and processes.