The EC asks Court of Justice to speed up Białowieża case - Reuters

According to Reuters, the European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to speed up a case against Poland over logging in the primeval forest in Białowieża, and asked the court to inquire with Warsaw on what it has done to stop the logging and whether "in view of these developments, the court could give priority treatment to the case,” an unnamed official quoted by Reuters said. ECJ cases can take years till the verdict is announced, and a few weeks ago, the court asked Poland to immediately halt large-scale logging in the forest in fear, that the damage could be irreversible. Polish government claims that the trees need to be cut down in order to stop a bark-eating beetle infestation. Since logging started, timber harvesting has increased threefold in Białowieża, and brings PLN millions in profits to the state-owned company managing Polish forests. 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. The European Commission has warned that ignoring the court's injunction would add to concerns in the bloc that the government is violating the rule of law.