On 12th July 2018, Thai – EU FLEGT Secretariat Office (TEFSO) had facilitated the second Thai National FLEGT Committee at the 17th-floor meeting room, Ministry of National Resources and Environment, leading by Mr Vijarn Simachaya, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Resources and Environment.

This meeting aimed to provide updates on Thai forest policy development and update on results of the Third Joint Expert Meeting which was held on 20-22 March 2018. Also, it was aimed to prepare for the Fourth Joint Expert Meeting (JEM4) and the Second Negotiation (NEG2) between Thailand and the European Union.

During the meeting, the negotiating direction regarding legality definition revision and verification of timber on private land was initially precisely developed. As for the legality definition (LD) and product scope, it was focused and made clear on removing chainsaw out of the LD while tending to include bamboo into Thai product scope. Also, the negotiating directions regarding import controls, supply chain controls (SCC), Thai legality assurance system (TLAS), as well as VPA legal text were also provided.

After that, the meeting discussed over the agenda of the Fourth Joint Expert Meeting (JEM4) and the Second Negotiation (NEG2) between Thailand and the European Union together with its further document and presentation preparation.