Environment: Poland fails with lawsuits against the EU's climate package

The European court rejects the Polish lawsuits. This means that the rules of the EU climate package remain in force. Poland had also argued in the lawsuits that energy prices were rising.

European Court of Justice (ECJ): Poland has insisted on its right of veto. Photo: dpa

Luxembourg. Poland has failed in its lawsuits against key parts of the EU climate package, such as the requirements to phase out combustion engines. The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in Luxembourg dismissed the seven lawsuits, which were directed against, among other things, the stricter emissions rules for cars, the CO₂ tariff, national savings targets, the expansion of the emissions trading system or greenhouse gas requirements in forestry and land use.

With the “Fit for 55” climate package, the EU passed a whole series of legal acts in 2023 to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

Above all, Poland argued that it needed unanimity for the legal acts. This would have given the country a right of veto. In addition, in his view, some rules affected the well-being of the people of the Union through rising energy prices and job losses. The lawsuits were filed during the government of the national-conservative PiS party.

The ECJ rejected this. Exceptions to the principle that decisions are made by qualified majority should be interpreted narrowly, it said in a statement. In addition to the well-being of the people, sustainable development and environmental protection are equally important goals of the EU.

An EU legal act could also have negative effects for one or another member state, it was said. This was taken into account in the package, for example through compensatory measures such as the billion-dollar climate social fund.

A weakening of climate rules is currently being prepared in the EU. The European Parliament's Environment Committee voted in favor of easing the so-called ban on combustion engines, which would allow the car industry to continue selling new combustion engines and hybrid vehicles after 2035 without having to fear fines.