Poland defends France in the European Justice Tribunal

France faces substantial financial penalties for violating EU regulations concerning the size of holes in fishing nets. The European Commission claims that they are too small and threaten the hake population. As a result the French government changed its regulations to meet the EC's request but, "The Commission believes that these new regulations were not really implemented," said The Tribunal's spokeswoman Sophie Mosca-Bischoff. France might face a double penalty, but Poland does not agree to such reasoning. "You cannot be punished for the same thing twice," claims Tomasz Nowakowski from European Integration Committee (UKIE) who will be representing Poland in Brussels. Poland fears that it might soon face the Tribunal, as according to the latest EC report, the government has not adapted its regulations to over 250 directives and no doubt perhaps hopes that its support for France will translate into later reciprocal support. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A4) M.M.