18. EMPHASISES that priority must be given to the improvement of public and consumer opinion about forestry and forest products, assuring them that forests are managed sustainably; NOTING that forest certification schemes are market-based instruments which aim to seek to improve consumer awareness of the environmental qualities of sustainable forest management and to promote the use of wood and forest products as environmentally friendly and renewable raw materials, and that forest certificatio
n schemes should be comparable and the performance indicators should be compatible with internationally agreed principles of sustainable forest m
...[+++]anagement and furthermore should comply with conditions regarding their voluntary nature, credibility, transparency, cost efficiency, open access and non-discriminatory character with respect to forest types and owners; one essential point in ensuring credibility should be the independent audit of forest management; INVITES the Commission to consider the possibility for further action at EU level; 
