Poland vows to keep logging ancient forest despite EU court ruling
>The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Poland last week to immediately stop large-scale logging in the ancient forest, one of many cases that has pitted the nationalist, eurosceptic government in Warsaw against the bloc.
>Poland said it would keep logging in the forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site which straddles the border between Poland and Belarus and is home to European bison as well as rare birds.
>Should Poland eventually lose the main case at the court, it could be fined more than 4 million euros ($4.71 million) and risk penalties of up to 300,000 euros for every day it defies the ruling.
>It was unclear if Poland could face penalties for non-compliance with the injunction.
>"According to our knowledge, this is a precedent. No EU state has ignored an interim measure before," Katarzyna Kosciesza from non-governmental organization ClientEarth said.
>Szyszko said he is not worried about possible EU fines for non-compliance. He estimated that a halt to the protective measures could cost 2 billion zlotys ($552.03 million) in damage to nature, without elaborating.
reuters.com
