The European Commission (EC) has thrown its weight behind Poland in a contentious dispute with Germany over the illicit transportation of German waste into Polish territory. The climate and environment minister, Anna Moskwa, expressed her satisfaction with the EC’s stance, asserting, “Germany must remove the waste unlawfully deposited in Poland! The European Commission has acknowledged Poland’s position in the dispute.”
Moskwa made her statement via the X platform, emphasizing the urgency of the situation. She went on to demand that German authorities in Berlin take swift action to retrieve the waste left behind. If immediate action is not taken, Moskwa indicated that the next step would involve lodging a complaint with the CJEU (EU Court of Justice).
Accompanying her statement was a screenshot of the EC’s opinion on the matter, which specifically stated that Germany had “failed to comply with its obligations within the 30-day time limit to retrieve waste from one location (Tuplice) and had partially failed to retrieve waste from another location (Stary Jawor).”
The latter finding pertains to shipments organized by operators ALBA Niedersachsen-Anhalt and Altmarkische Entsorgung und Transport GmbH, who appeared to be aware that the recipient of the waste lacked the necessary waste management permit, as indicated by the EC.
This dispute dates back to late September, when Poland initiated a complaint against Germany’s refusal to rectify the presence of 35,000 tonnes of waste that had been transported into Poland and subsequently stored illegally in various locations, including Tuplice and Stary Jawor.