Eight years after the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) came into force, its effectiveness is still unsatisfactory due to deficient and uneven implementation among member states. In addition, some Western Balkan countries have poor legality monitoring systems, increasing the risk of trade in illegally harvested timber. Regardless of this, no recent work has analyzed the adaptation of national forest policies to the EUTR obligations. Our study aims to contribute to the understanding of EUTR implementation by analyzing the adaptation of policies of the Western Balkan countries (Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia) to the EUTR. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on 22 policy documents from Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. Documents were coded using coding categories derived from EUTR. Our results point out that none of the analyzed countries have a policy to directly address illegal logging or prevention of illegal activities. As EU members, Slovenia and Croatia has implemented EUTR through laws. The Slovenian Forest Act addresses all EUTR obligations, while Croatian Law on EUTR Implementation does not directly address the obligation of legality. This obligation is addressed by the Law on Forests. As Serbia is not an EU member, it did not implement EUTR. Nevertheless, Serbian Law on Forests addresses all EUTR obligations, but has some discrepancies regarding Traceability obligation. With ongoing discourses on Green Deal policies and the increasing focus on “deforestation-free” commodities, stricter implementation might be expected of EUTR at EU level. Most countries would probably have to build capacities for EUTR implementation and become more transparent and responsible concerning information availability. To successfully implement EUTR, an increased number of checks as well as stricter fines will be needed.

The Western Balkans represent a priority area for improving forest legality monitoring systems in line with the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). However, research on EUTR implementation in Western Balkan countries is still sporadic with a limited geographical scope; therefore, the preparedness of forestry sector actors for the EUTR in the region is largely unknown. The main objective of this study is to determine to what extent the forest policy frameworks of Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) are aligned with the EUTR requirements. To achieve this aim, we applied a qualitative content analysis of policy documents identified via an expert-based approach. Our results show that both countries have well-developed policy frameworks addressing illegal logging and preventing illegal activities in forestry, especially through dedicated action plans. Key actors in both countries are public, including the ministries responsible for forestry, public forest enterprises, and forestry inspectorates. The forestry sector in Montenegro is facing significant changes due to the termination of forest concessions and the reorganization of the management of state forests, including forest certification. The Republic of Srpska has relatively well-established institutional bodies for EUTR implementation but, in some cases, insufficient exchange of information and cooperation among them. Our findings indicate that the forestry sectors in Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska (as well as in Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia, as per previous research) are dynamic, undergoing various changes, so there is room for improvement in terms of capacities (e.g., human, technological, infrastructural), legal responsibilities, and information access and availability. With an increasing focus on “deforestation-free” commodities within the EU and global policy arena, a new, more demanding, and broader regulation is expected at the EU level, replacing the EUTR. The incoming regulation will expand existing EUTR requirements, likely posing severe challenges to many EU member countries. This could be even more challenging for countries with less developed or advanced systems to enforce legality requirements, including Western Balkan countries.

Šumarstvo u Republici Srpskoj ima strateški značaj u kontekstu održivog razvoja, očuvanja prirodnih resursa i ekonomskog napretka. U radu je izvršena analiza uspješnosti poslovanja JPŠ „Šume Republike Srpske“ a.d. Sokolac u periodu od 2013. do 2022. godine. Cilj istraživanja bio je da se ocijeni finansijska stabilnost, efikasnost i profitabilnost preduzeća, te da se identifikuju ključni faktori koji utiču na poslovne rezultate. Istraživanje je zasnovano na analizi zvaničnih Proizvodno-finansijskih planova i Izvještaja o njihovoj realizaciji, uz primjenu kombinovanog metodološkog pristupa koji integriše deskriptivnu, komparativnu i analitičku metodu.Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju na stabilan rast prihoda i rashoda tokom posmatranog perioda, uz činjenicu da je poslovanje u većini godina bilo na granici ekonomičnosti. Uočeni su visoki troškovi radne snage, ograničena diversifikacija izvora prihoda i nedovoljno iskorišćeni potencijali bioloških investicija. Unapređenje poslovanja zahtijeva racionalizaciju troškova, jačanje operativne efikasnosti, modernizaciju poslovnih procesa i povećanje ulaganja u razvojne i inovativne aktivnosti, čime bi se osigurala dugoročna održivost i konkurentnost preduzeća u šumarskom sektoru Republike Srpske.