The European Commission is Watching You: The Use of New Enforcement Methods in the Białowieża Case

The European Commission in fulfilling its role of the ‘guardian of the Treaties’ relies on Member States’ loyal cooperation. Based on this fundamental principle of the EU legal system, Member States report data to the Commission and provide it with any information relevant for monitoring compliance with and enforcing Union law. What could the Commission, however, do if a Member State refuses to cooperate? In most policy areas, the Commission has no control or inspections powers. What are the mechanisms or tools it can make recourse to? In 2017, the Polish minister of environment made an unprecedented statement refusing to comply with the order of the Court of Justice of the EU to stop immediately all forest management operations in the Białowieża Forest. The Białowieża Forest is one of the last primeval forest in Europe, protected under the European Natura 2000 network. One year earlier, the minister issued a decision to start massive logging operations in the Białowieża Forest – as a measure against a bark beetle infestation. The logging was ordered against an overwhelming majority of scientists arguing that it would have a significant negative impact on the habitats and species protected in this site. Based on this evidence, the Commission started an infringement procedure against Poland. The Białowieża case shows how, with the use of modern technologies and the involvement of civil society, the Commission was able to gather the necessary evidence despite the lack of cooperation from the Member State authorities, even in the area where it lacks control or inspection powers, i.e. the environment. It also shows that compliance is not only reached by increasing the Members State’s administrative capacity (Börzel & Buzogány, 2019), but also by political will to collaborate and to comply with the decisions of the Commission and the Court. Börzel, T. A., & Buzogány, A. (2019). Compliance with EU environmental law. The iceberg is melting. Environmental Politics, 28(2), 315-341.