The Polish Finance Ministry confirmed on Thursday that the European Commission (EC) has paid Poland EUR 30 million less in EU funding over the country’s failure to pay European Court of Justice (ECJ) fines, in an unprecedented move.
The ECJ has so far levied EUR 200 million in penalties against Poland in connection with two rulings: one for refusing to close its coal mine in Turow and another for establishing a disciplinary chamber for judges, Polish media reported on Wednesday.
Penalties for the chamber currently total EUR 150 million, with a further EUR 1 million being levied daily, while the EC is also withholding billions in COVID-19 recovery funds. The Polish Finance Ministry said the state budget will make up for the shortfall in funding.
Poland ignored the court’s imposition of a daily fine of EUR 500,000 for not closing Turow, which is close to Poland’s border with Czechia.
When Poland and Czechia agreed in February that Turow could stay open, after which Prague withdrew the complaint it had filed with Europe’s top court, the EC announced that it would withhold at least EUR 15 million due to Poland.
Source: Notes from Poland
No candidate received a majority of votes in the first round of the Presidential elections…
Hungary will focus on key issues for central Europe during its upcoming EU presidency, Hungarian…
US nuclear firm Westinghouse Electric Company has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 17 Bulgarian…
By 2030 Artificial Intelligence could be contributing as much as 11.5%, or USD 700bn (EUR…
Lithuania had the lowest annual inflation rate of 0.4% in the EU in March 2024,…
Lithuania will hold a constitutional referendum on whether its citizens can hold dual and multiple…