The Court of Justice of the EU on Thursday, 12 November, dismissed seven Polish challenges to legal acts from the Fit for 55 package. They concerned, among other things, the ban on registering new combustion-engine cars from 2035 and charges for emissions from heating and transport.
Seven cases, seven dismissals
The rulings concern cases C-442/23, C-444/23, C-445/23, C-451/23, C-505/23, C-512/23 and C-771/23. In all of them Poland sought the annulment of acts adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU as part of the Fit for 55 package, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% compared with 1990 by 2030 and reach climate neutrality by 2050.
The contested provisions include, among others, Regulation 2023/839 on targets for the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector, and Regulation 2023/851 tightening CO2 standards for new passenger cars and vans. The challenges also covered the emissions trading system for heating of buildings and road transport (ETS2), the CBAM mechanism, known as the EU carbon border tax, rules on energy efficiency, and national emission reduction targets.
Poland’s main argument: unanimity was required
Poland argued that the provisions were mainly fiscal in nature or significantly affected the country’s energy mix, and therefore required unanimity in the Council, which would have given Warsaw a veto. The Court held that the acts could be adopted by qualified majority. It recalled that exceptions to the ordinary legislative procedure must be interpreted strictly.
The rulings are final and cannot be appealed.
Challenges from the PiS era, maintained by Tusk’s government
Six challenges were filed in July and August 2023, under the government of Law and Justice (PiS). The seventh reached the Court on 14 December 2023, the day after Donald Tusk’s government took office, and that government did not withdraw any of the cases.
The ruling does not change the ongoing debate in Brussels: Poland is among the countries seeking to soften some EU climate regulations, including delaying the introduction of ETS2. The 2035 ban on sales of new combustion-engine cars is under review by EU institutions.
As of publication, we have not found an official position of the Polish government on the rulings.
