Poland earns EU's ire

Poland is facing a wave of EU court cases unless it gets its telecom, energy and environmental houses in order.

The EU is threatening a number of court cases against Poland, as part of a wider regulatory crackdown across Europe.

Energy is one of the most pressing issues. The European Commission last week threatened 16 countries, including Poland, with court action for failing to implement EU energy rules that are designed to open the market to greater competition.

Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia and the UK were sent final warnings, known as "reasoned opinions," the EU executive said.

If a member state fails to comply with a reasoned opinion by the required deadline - typically two months - the Commission may bring the case before the European Court of Justice, the EU's top court.

The EC also criticized Poland's telecom regulator for a lack of partiality. "Independence of national regulatory authorities is crucial to ensure that the EU's regulatory framework for electronic communications is correctly and efficiently applied at a national level," the Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding, said in a statement.

The Commission was particularly critical of a law that gives the government unlimited discretion to dismiss the head of the regulatory authority. The EC said it would also take Poland to court for incorrectly introducing EU rules on access to the network. Poland also received a warning for not making available caller-location information for mobile calls to the pan-European emergency number 112.

Poland has also failed to provide reports to the EU on its progress in limiting or cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Source:za.today.reuters.com