Poland sues Germany at EU court over illegal waste

The Polish government has taken Germany to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for not cleaning up waste deposited illegally on Polish territory, officials have said.

Photo:

Luxofluxo, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Poland's Climate and Environment Ministry announced the move on November 29. 

It said Poland had filed a grievance against Germany with the CJEU for "failing to fulfil its obligations under EU law."

The case concerns 35,000 tonnes of waste shipped illegally by German firms to seven different locations in western Poland from 2013 to 2018, according to officials.

Polska złożyła skargę do Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej na Niemcy - podało @MKiS_GOV_PL. Sprawa dotyczy uprzątnięcia 35 tys. ton odpadów, które z Niemiec trafiły nielegalnie do Polski. https://t.co/iMb6ljiICu

— Redakcja Polska Polskiego Radia dla Zagranicy (@RadioZagranica) November 29, 2023

In September, Poland brought the matter before the EU's executive Commission, public broadcaster Polish Radio's polskieradio.pl website reported. 

In October, Brussels issued its opinion, siding with Poland, which paved the way for Warsaw to submit a case to the CJEU, officials told reporters.

The Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment said the waste "poses a constant threat to the environment" and since Germany had "taken no action to ensure that the waste is removed," Poland decided to take Germany to the EU court.

(pm/gs)

Source: polskieradio.pl, Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment, Voice of Europe, AFP