Brussels - The European Parliament waved through new rules to combat illicit logging on Wednesday, putting Europe one step away from a 2012 ban on illegally harvested timber.
As much as a fifth of the 27-country European Union's imports could be illegal, the parliament says.
"We are sending a signal to the world that the EU will no longer serve as a market for illegally harvested timber," European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said.
"The impacts of illegal logging go beyond environmental protection, with potentially negative effects on the rule of law and the livelihoods of local people who depend on forests."
To ensure traceability, each operator along the timber supply chain will need to declare where they bought it and to whom they sold it.
EU governments have been given guidelines for fining timber companies that break the rules - taking account of environmental damage, the value of the timber and the lost tax revenues. Unscrupulous dealers also face criminal sanctions.
The rules now just need the backing of EU countries, which will vote on the issue after the summer break.
Sweden, Portugal and the Czech Republic have criticised the initiative in the past, saying it creates a costly burden for the industry, which could hand a competitive advantage to less green materials such as plastic and aluminium.
But Britain was among those countries pushing for action.
"We will see it through to its conclusion with tough penalties for those who flout the rules," said British Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman.
Greenpeace welcomed parliament's vote, but said it was only a first step in protecting forests.
"More needs to be done to tackle the EU's destructive impact on the world's forests," Greenpeace campaigner Sebastien Risso said. "Agriculture is the major cause of deforestation. The goldrush into biofuels threatens to exacerbate this." - Reuters