The European Commission has launched a case against 13 EU member states, including Poland, for not submitting their current climate plans (NECP). The requested countries have two months to respond or they risk having the case referred to the EU Court of Justice.
Besides Poland, the list also includes: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.
According to the EU regulation governing the Energy Union and climate action, member states must submit updated climate plans by June 30, 2024. So far 14 governments have done this. Despite pressure from the Commission, the remaining 13 countries have not yet submitted their documents. Therefore, the Central Committee decided that they did not fulfill their obligations and called on them to quickly eliminate the shortcomings and present their plans.
Poland is before the CJEU
Countries now have two months to respond. If it is not satisfactory, the committee may decide to issue a reasoned opinion, which sets a deadline within which the country must comply with EU law. If any member state disagrees, the Commission can refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU.
The Regulation on Energy Union governance obliges EU countries to submit current national climate plans to the Commission. They set out the specific actions that the country intends to take to meet the EU's climate targets. These goals include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy from renewable sources, and increasing energy efficiency.
Thanks to the plans, the European Commission will be able to assess the stage at which member states are in reaching the EU's climate and energy targets by 2030.
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