The EU forest-based industries (F-BI) comprise the woodworking, furniture, pulp and paper manufacturing and converting and printing industries. These are interlinked across a number of value chains by having a common raw material: wood. They also have in common a number of challenges, as identified in a recent communication 'A new EU forest strategy: for forests and the forest-based sector' (COM(2013) 659) and accompanying staff working document 'A blueprint for the EU forest-based industries' (SWD(2013) 343). These challenges include the impact of various EU policies and legislation on the competitiveness of the F-BI subsectors. In this context, a cumulative cost assessment of the EU legislation and policies affecting the EU F-BI value chains should provide valuable feedback for future policy-making, including 'smart regulation'.

The overall objective of the study will be to assess the cumulative cost impacts over the indicated period of years of specified EU legislation and policies, on the EU forest-based industries, notably on their profit margins and in relation to international competitors — in their own home markets — which are not fully subject to EU legislation and policies. The results would contribute to a wider analysis of impacts, including costs, benefits, and coherence of policies and legislation as well as to the implementation of the regulatory fitness and performance (REFIT) programme (COM(2013) 685) and the industrial policy (COM(2014) 14).