Forests cover 38% of the area of the Europe Union (23.5 million km²) and wood represents one of the most important, economically valuable, renewable raw material resources. The estimated annual increment in the EU is 147.5 million m³ (EU28, European Commission 2015), however, only half of this increment (80.3 m³/year) is used. The largest volumes are harvested in the Nordic countries (Sweden 90.8, Finland 68.8, Germany 54.6, France 44.6 and Spain 34.2 million m³/year).

The annual European wood production increased by 17% between 1990 and 2015, mainly as a result of economic incentives, new industrial investments, forest management planning, and an increasing demand and price. For example, while in 1990 the increment of all EU countries was 3% higher than the removals, in 2015 it was 28% higher. This indicates a sustainable forest management regime: the actual removals are well within the potential wood production capacity of the forests.