Poland to continue logging in Białowieża despite EU demands to halt it

Poland said that it would continue with logging in the primeval Białowieża forest despite the European Court of Justice order to stop such actions immediately. “We are acting in line with the EU laws,” Environment Minister Jan Szyszko said, arguing that without logging, bark-eating beetles could destroy the forest. He claimed that without cutting down the trees, the damage to nature would cost PLN 2 billion, without explaining his calculations. Since logging started, timber harvesting has increased threefold in Białowieża, and brings PLN millions in profits to the state-owned company managing Polish forests. The European Court of Justice ordered Poland to immediately halt large-scale logging in the oldest parts of the primeval forest in Białowieża. According to the court, the logging should stop immediately as it could cause “serious and irreversible damage” to the forest, while both sides will argue their case in court, which could take years. Should Poland lose the case, it could be fined a lump sum of more than €4 million and possible daily penalties of up to €300,000 for every day in which Warsaw fails to adhere to the court's decision. “According to our knowledge, this is a precedent. No EU state has ignored an interim measure before," Katarzyna Kościesza from ClientEarth told Reuters.