The challenge is to reconcile established instruments for assessing and measuring the development of forest biodiversity in order to produce balanced, politically relevant, scientifically sound and practically feasible information. The pan-European FOREST EUROPE criteria and indicators, based on the concept of Sustainable Forest Management encompasses a broader concept of sustainability, including ecological, economic and social aspects. The Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators (SEBI) informs about progress towards the EU 2010 targets of halting biodiversity loss for major European habitat types, including forests. Feedbacks to policy makers by assessing the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation policies by using a DPSIR conceptual framework. The Finnish example shows how a change in forest management policy has influenced the state of biodiversity, as assessed through repeated monitoring of Red-listed species (FOREST EUROPE indicator on Threatened forest species). The France case study illustrates the remaining difficulties of criteria and indicators to reach their goals, and provide solutions to improve biodiversity monitoring and forest policy assessment. As a monitoring tool, the set of national biodiversity indicators could be used to assess the efficiency of forest biodiversity conservation policies. Current forest biodiversity indicators sets have allowed to share common figures by a given criterion, but the linkage of common policy goals to the biodiversity indicators are still lacking in several countries. The next step should include a more structured approach in order to use indicators to monitor the effects of policies and forest management on biodiversity and assess the efficiency of biodiversity orientated measures.