Poland wants EU top court judge excluded from logging hearing: report
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
29.09.2017 15:02
Warsaw wants a European Court of Justice judge excluded from hearing a case against Poland's logging in the Białowieża forest, the IAR news agency has said, citing an unnamed European Commission official.
Effects of logging in the Białowieża forest. Photo:Wikimedia Commons/Juan de Vojníkov.
According to IAR, Poland does not want Italian judge Antonio Tizzano to hear the commission's case against Warsaw in the top court.
Tizzano recently suggested that the European Union's executive arm should apply for fines against Poland for breaking a “preliminary” ban on logging in the primaeval forest in Poland's northeast, IAR said.
Polish officials have said that trees are only being cut down in areas where they pose a threat to public safety, a move allowed under European Union laws.
Polski rząd... podkreślił, że prace w Puszczy prowadzone są tylko w tych miejscach, gdzie konieczne jest zapewnienie bezpieczeństwa dla porządku publicznego, a na to unijne przepisy pozwalają.
The Polish environment ministry previously claimed logging in Białowieża was necessary to fight against a plague of the European spruce bark beetle, which feeds on the trees in the old-growth forest.
The European Commission has said the logging was in violation of birds and habitats directives.
The European Commission has also said that logging in the forest could be included in Brussels’ rule-of-law case against Warsaw.
(vb/pk)