At a meeting of the UEA's [Union Européenne de l’Ameublement] general council, the 27 member states said European authorities should formulate legislation requiring all panels used in furniture production for the EU market to have the lowest possible emission levels, ultimately with the same emission levels as natural wood.
“We know from our discussions with the European Panel Federation (EPF) that panel producers are not against European legislation, and we hope they will support our efforts to make their premium product the legal standard in Europe,” said UEA President Calixto Valenti.
The UEA is co-ordinating efforts with the BEUC, the European Consumers’ Organisation and with FENA, the European Furniture Retailers Organisation, which both support such moves. Discussions for support for this measure are also ongoing with the EFBWW, the European organisation representing furniture industry workers.
Alun Watkins, FIRA Environmental Consultant, said: "This would mean extra costs on the board price, which is not something that would be looked on favourably at the moment. We will discuss it at the next FIEC [Fédération de l`Industrie Européenne de la Construction, the European Construction Industry Federation]meeting on 16 July, especially as the Wood Panel Industries Federation is attending, and I know WPIF is also discussing the issue".
Following