Abstract

This paper examines the recently adopted 'Draft negotiating text' of a legally binding instrument on forests in Europe (as at the end of the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the so-called 'Forest Europe Initiative'). It first describes the legal framework of the future agreement as well as the road-map towards its adoption; it then analyses the main elements of the 'Draft negotiating text' and illustrates the criticisms that have been recently formulated to it by non-governmental organisations.