Analysts in Myanmar are not clear on the current status of the VPA/FLEGT negotiations between Myanmar and the EU as the UK Department for International Development (DFID) suspended its financial support for the negotiations about one year ago.

Some commentators have said that Myanmar is no longer considered a VPA country but the EU VPA website says “Currently, Myanmar is in a preparation phase. The purpose of this phase is to prepare and establish strong foundations for a successful negotiation should Myanmar and the EU decide to negotiate a VPA.” While the Myanmar Multi Stakeholder Group (MSG) is still active there is no apparent engagement with the EU.

It has been learnt that recently an assessor from NepCon, a non-profit organisation that builds commitment and capacity for mainstreaming sustainability, recently visited Myanmar to assess the timber legality framework in the country and spent time with the MSG, the Forest Department, the Myanma Timber Enterprise and the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee (MFCC).

Barber Cho, Secretary of the MFCC, confirmed the visit explaining this was planned with Palladium, DiFID and the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF) before DiFID suspended support for Myanmar’s VPA negotiation process.

Palladium is an international advisory and management business and was the fourth-largest private sector partner for the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID).

The NepCon assessor focused on Myanmar’s ‘CoC Dossier’ and the Myanmar Timber legality Assessment System (MTLAS) and Cho said the authorities in Myanmar were completely frank and transparent with the assessor.