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In 2003, the EU approved an Action Plan to counter illegal logging by strengthening international cooperation and national authorities in developing countries. At first glance, this EU intervention appears to profoundly challenge the global governance of forestry, which has been progressively privatized. However, I argue that a recentralization of power in the regulation of the sector has led to a contentious relationship between public and private policy-making. Here I demonstrate how the EU FLEGT regulation emerged as part of a change in the complex governance of forests. Consequently, I analyze the collective nature of European intervention and its effects on the complex governance of forestry and wood industry trade practices.