Monday 25 July 2016
The Czech Republic has been referred to the Court of Justice of the EU over a shipment of toxic waste to Poland.
According to the European Commission, the nation failed to take back 20,000 tonnes of hazardous waste, which were shipped to Katowice, Poland, by a Czech operator in late 2010 and early 2011.
Polish authorities refused to accept the shipment - a mixture of acid tar from petroleum refining, coal dust and calcium oxide - because they didn't receive any notification that it was coming to the country and hadn't given any consent for it.
The shipment is considered illegal and the Czech authorities were told to take the necessary measures to take back the shipment.
They however refused by arguing the material in question was not waste but a product registered in accordance with regulations.
The Commission stated: "Following a complaint, the Commission has stepped in to resolve the dispute between the two Member States. A reasoned opinion was sent to the Czech Republic in November 2015, rejecting the Czech arguments for classifying the shipment as a product and urging it to take it back. As the Czech authorities still refuse to take the waste back, the Commission has now referred the case to the Court of Justice of the EU."