Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has issued a landmark ruling, declaring that certain EU regulations on energy policy are incompatible with the Polish Constitution. The decision centers on the sovereign right of the Polish state to choose its own energy sources.
“Green Deal in the trash! That’s the essence of today’s ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal. A great day for Poles,” commented Michał Wójcik, MP from the Law and Justice (PiS) party.
The full reasoning behind the ruling was published on the Tribunal’s official website.
On May 20, May 27, and June 10, the Tribunal considered a motion submitted by a group of MPs (case K 10/24). The motion challenged provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in conjunction with Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 13, 2003, which established the EU emissions trading system and amended Council Directive 96/61/EC.
The Tribunal stated that the limits of the EU’s powers—and therefore those of its institutions—are defined by the principle of conferral, meaning they may act only within the competences granted to them by member states in the treaties, for the achievement of specific objectives (Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union).
According to the ruling, this principle was significantly violated in the way the relevant competences were exercised. The Tribunal found that the interpretation of Article 191(1) in connection with Article 192(2)(c) of the TFEU was applied in a manner that bypassed the constitutional procedure laid out in Article 90(1) of the Polish Constitution. As a result, the EU measures adopted on this basis fall outside the scope of lawful authority under Article 7 of the Polish Constitution. This, the Tribunal emphasized, undermines the foundations of a democratic state governed by the rule of law, particularly the principle of citizens’ trust in the state and its laws (Article 2 of the Constitution).
The Tribunal further asserted that when international organizations—such as the EU—adopt legal acts that overstep the legal basis of their own powers, this also constitutes a violation of the constitutional framework granting those powers. Consequently, it breaches the principle of constitutional supremacy enshrined in Article 8(1) of the Polish Constitution.
The ruling stressed that “EU-friendly interpretation of Polish law” cannot result in Poland losing control over the scope of powers it has delegated. There can be no areas—such as energy policy—in which Polish sovereignty is left unprotected.
Wójcik: “Green Deal in the trash!”
PiS MP Michał Wójcik reacted to the ruling on social platform X:
“Green Deal in the trash! That’s today’s ruling from the Constitutional Tribunal. Great news for Poles.”