Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on forest law enforcement, governance and trade.

The aim of the agreement is to stop illegal logging and, through the FLEGT licensing scheme, to guarantee that timber imported into the EU from Vietnam is legally harvested. In order to issue FLEGT licences as required by the VPA, Vietnam will build on existing national initiatives in forest governance to develop a robust timber legality assurance system (VNTLAS). Vietnam will begin issuing FLEGT licences when the timber legality assurance system has been successfully tested, and when Vietnam and the EU are satisfied that it functions as described in the VPA.