42% of the European Union’s surface is covered in forests, accounting for about 180 million hectares. The largest forest-covered areas, hosting different kinds of trees, can be found in Sweden (31 million hectares or 75% of the country’s surface), Spain (28 million hectares, 57%) and Finland (23 million, 77%). These three countries, plus France, Germany and Italy, account for two thirds of the European forests. These figures have been provided by Eurostat on the occasion of the opening of European Forest Week (20-24 October), which includes meetings, legal workshops, ecological events in Brussels and in other member states. The Week is organised by the EU Commission, FAO and the United Nations in cooperation with the current French Presidency and some bodies and associations dealing with wildlife protection. "The Week explain the promoters intends to emphasise the role played by forests in the mitigation of climate change and in the supply of timber and renewable energy". The Eurostat survey also showed that timber production has increased by over 20% over the last 7 years (400 million cube metres a year).
