Brussels, 17 May 2013: On invitation of its new Hungarian member Derula Kft., the European Poplar Association Pro-Populus held a two-day event (on 13 & 14 May 2013) in Szolnok, Hungary, consisting of its 5th General Assembly, 3rd European Poplar Congress and visits of the Derula plywood producer factory and poplar plantations.
In the morning session of 13 May, the General Assembly members reelected Mrs Nicoletta Azzi, Italian member of Pro-Populus and representative of the company Panguaneta, as President of the Association. All Board members were also confirmed in their functions: vice-presidents Mr Pedro Garnica (ES), Mr Bernard Mourlan (FR) and Mr Fabio Boccalari (IT) as well as Board members Mr Marc De Bock (BE), Mr André Deterck (BE) and Mr Hervé Drouin (FR).

In the afternoon, the European Poplar Congress gathered some 50 participants from Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Hungary in a mutually enriching programme, which analysed the situation on the poplar market from a global, European and national perspective. Aside from some local specificities, it soon became clear that all countries were facing similar difficulties, notably limitations in (re)planting, a drastic decrease of planted surfaces and discrepancies in national and even local policies.

Fortunately, all participants recognised that poplar is a qualitative species characterized by a fast growth, which can offer swift solutions to safeguard the future availability of wood, contribute to a more durable and greener economy and help mitigating climate change. They all agreed to work together to sensitize European policy makers about these inherent advantages, which are great assets for reaching the European targets in terms of sustainable development.

On Tuesday 14 May, Mr Enrico Bonzano, owner of Derula Kft., and his team lead the European group for visits of his production facilities and plantations. “We are really pleased to join Pro-Populus and we hope that other Hungarian associations or companies will follow. It is important that we join our voices to stress that we have a great species that offers a wide range of solutions for policy makers”, explains Enrico Bonzano.

For more information, please contact Mr François Sougnez (françois.sougnez@cei-bois.org), Secretary General of Pro-Populus.