“At the moment, it all comes down to the fact that three environmental organizations in Poland would have a tool that would allow them to challenge all decisions in court with one click. This would entail the suspension of all forestry operations across the country. This means a complete paralysis of the economy, Edward Siarka, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, told the wPolityce.pl portal.
Judgment of the CJEU
In a ruling on Thursday, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that conservation organizations should have the right to challenge forest management plans in court. The case concerned a complaint against Poland by the European Commission.
“A very strong blow to the interests of the state”
We asked Edward Siarka, deputy head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, for comment.
It is striking that the publications about this judgment appeared before we as Poles had access to them
says the politician.
This verdict is another very serious blow to the interests of our state, sovereignty and its economic foundations. An attempt to implement the provisions of this judgment could completely paralyze forestry and the entire timber industry in Poland, which is after all the flagship product of the Polish state.
– indicates.
Half a million jobs are affected, 3% of GDP, and the value of exports is 10 percent. So imagine how large the scale is and how major interests are settled at the CJEU
he adds.
For example, the Germans or Austrians have no forest management plans and their forests function and run a normal economy. When it comes to the issue of protection, which is often raised by NGOs, Poland today is a country that, in many places, more than the EU requires us to respect all these requirements related to protection
– emphasizes the deputy minister.
case from 2018
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage points out that the case started in 2018.
In 2018, the EC accused us of not complying with the Birds and Habitats Directives. In September of the same year, Poland responded to the EC’s appeal and we did not proceed in this dispute. We have decided that since the EC recognizes that the provision of art. 14b Forest Act cannot be included in the Forest Act, but in the Nature Conservation Act. In 2021, as the government of the United Right, we processed this draft law in consultation with the EC, as well as the so-called regulation on good forestry practice, which, among other things, describes the activities of the forester in the area where the tree is felled.
– indicates.
Today, following changes in the law in this area, this judgment deals with historical issues, so to speak, because Poland has fulfilled all its obligations in this area
says our interlocutor.
Public access to the courts
In the latter area, ie forest management plans, we were accused of not complying with the requirements of public access to the courts. I want to emphasize that today when society approves forest management plans in all forest districts in Poland, it participates in every phase of their adoption. Everything is done in a transparent way, and 90% of different types of comments are taken into account
notes Siarka.
The European Commission, on the other hand, expects us to approve forest management plans by board decision. This is bizarre, all the more so because later in the judgment it is said that the judge will investigate the substantive plans of forest management. Meanwhile, administrative courts in Poland do not examine the merits of an administrative decision, but only whether it is in accordance with the law, regulations and whether the procedure has been carried out correctly
he adds.
At the moment, it all comes down to the fact that three environmental organizations in Poland would have a tool that would allow them to challenge all decisions in court with one click. This would entail the suspension of all care work, planting, logging and all forestry work across the country. This means a complete paralysis of the economy. I hope we can defend ourselves against such ideas. All the more so because organizations can already complain to us about plans today and we have three cases of that
– emphasizes the deputy minister.
The whole accusation that there is no possibility to appeal against decisions in Poland is inaccurate, is it not, because this is what is happening in Poland today. However, I cannot imagine shutting down the entire economy just because, even if we have made all the arrangements, someone will simply stop forestry in Poland in the interest of some organisation. It would be an economic and ecological catastrophe, something that is completely incomprehensible on a national or European scale. I think we are well aware of this, especially since we know the tendencies of these organizations, which are often influenced by various Western lobbies. It is very easy to paralyze the Polish economy in this way. We will of course read this judgment and provide further information
he concludes.
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Source: wPolityce