The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Thursday ruled against Poland in a case concerning violations of EU animal settlement and afforestation laws.

The charges against Poland were filed by the EC, which said Poland had violated the EU’s animal and bird settlement directive by introducing into its national legislation a clause stating that forest planning carried out in keeping with best practices did not violate the directive.

The Commission’s second charge concerned the impossibility of questioning afforestation plans in court by environmental organisations.

Regarding the first charge, the CJEU ruled against the questioned clause on grounds that it practically enables a departure from the EU directive. In the second case, the court ruled that environmental organisations should be able to ask the court for a judicial review of the legality of afforestation plans.