COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - POLAND Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results
Date: 2017-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU initiative, Poland, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental protection, pollution control measures

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.2.2017  SWD(2017) 53 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - POLAND   Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results   {COM(2017) 63 final} {SWD(2017) 33 - 52 final} {SWD(2017) 54 - 60 final}  
 
 
Poland  2 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European 
Commission. Any comments are welcome to the following e-mail address: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

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Poland  3 

Table of Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 4 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ............................................................................................................................... 6 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................... 6 

Developing a circular economy and improving resource efficiency ..................................................... 6 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 8 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL ..................................................... 10 

Nature and Biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 10 
Estimating Natural capital ................................................................................................................... 12 
Green Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 12 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 12 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 13 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE .......................................................................... 15 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 15 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 16 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 17 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 19 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ..................................................................... 20 

4.  MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT ............................................................................ 20 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 20 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 21 
Investments: the contribution of EU funds ......................................................................................... 21 

5. EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND KNOWLEDGE ........................................................................................... 24 

Effective governance within central, regional and local government ................................................. 24 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 26 
Public participation and access to justice ........................................................................................... 27 
Access to information, knowledge and evidence ................................................................................ 28 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
 
Executive summary 

Poland  4 

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

launched 

reports  describing 

the 
the  Commission 
In  May  2016, 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  two-year 
cycle  of  analysis,  dialogue  and  collaboration  to  improve 
the  implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy 
and  legislation1.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  drafted 
28 
the  main  challenges  and 
opportunities on environmental implementation for each 
Member  State.  These  reports  are  meant  to  stimulate  a 
positive debate both on shared environmental challenges 
for  the  EU,  as  well  as  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address the key implementation gaps. The reports rely on 
the detailed sectoral implementation reports collected or 
issued  by  the  Commission  under  specific  environmental 
legislation  as  well  as  the  2015  State  of  the  Environment 
Report  and  other  reports  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency.  These  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific 
instruments  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  EU  legal 
obligations.  

The  reports  will  broadly  follow  the  outline  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme2 and refer to the 2030 
related 
for  Sustainable  development  and 
Agenda 
Sustainable Development  Goals  (SDGs)3  to  the  extent  to 
which  they  reflect  the  existing  obligations  and  policy 
objectives of EU environmental law4.  

The  main  challenges  have  been  selected  by  taking  into 
account factors such as the importance or the gravity of 
the  environmental  implementation  issue  in  the  light  of 
the  impact  on  the  quality  of  life  of  the  citizens,  the 
distance to target, and financial implications. 

The  reports  accompany  the  Communication  "The  EU 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  2016:  Common 
challenges  and  how  to  combine  efforts  to  deliver  better 
results", which identifies challenges that are common to 
several Member States, provides preliminary conclusions 
on  possible  root  causes  of  implementation  gaps  and 
proposes  joint  actions  to  deliver  better  results.  It  also 
groups in its Annex the actions proposed in each country 
report to improve implementation at national level. 

General profile 

Poland  has  significantly 
its  environmental 
performance since joining the EU in 2004. In many cases, 

improved 

1 Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies 

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review" 
(COM/2016/ 316 final). 

2 Decision No. 1386/2013/EU of 20 November 2013 on a General Union 
Environmental Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the 
limits of our planet". 

3 United Nations, 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals  
4 This EIR report does not cover climate change, chemicals and energy. 

to 

(for  example 

implementation  gaps 

the  incorrect  or  delayed  full  transposition  of  directives 
the 
led 
Environmental  Impact  Assessment  Directive,  the  Urban 
Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive).  Therefore,  as  a  first 
step,  national  legislation  had  to  be  changed  to  address 
identified  transposition  deficiencies  before  the 
the 
directives could be implemented correctly. Several areas 
remain  problematic,  in  particular  implementation  of  the 
Water Framework Directive and the Air Quality Directive. 
Poland is encouraged to make better use of the EU Funds 
to  address 
its 
administrative capacity. 

challenges  and  enhance 

these 

Main Challenges 

three  main  challenges 

The 
environmental policy and law in Poland are: 

to 

implementing  EU 

 

the 

implementation  of 

Improving 
the  Water 
Framework  Directive,  in  particular  as  regards  the 
governance  and  strategic  planning  of  projects  in 
navigation,  hydropower,  flood  defence  and  of  any 
other  economic  activities  likely  to  have  significant 
negative effects on the water environment; 

  Preparing  and 

the 

investments 
implementing 
required to meet the objectives and standards of the 
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive; 
Improving  the  implementation  and  enforcement  of 
air  quality  standards,  in  particular  by  establishing 
emission standards for coal-fired individual heaters. 

 

Main Opportunities 

Poland  could  perform  better  on  topics  where  there  is 
already a good knowledge base and good practices. This 
applies in particular to: 

  Preparing  national  and  regional  waste  management 
plans  that  would  move  Poland  towards  prevention 
and  recycling  rather  than  creating 
incineration 
overcapacities; 

  Using  new  approaches  such  as  green  infrastructure 
to manage flood risk (e.g. restoration of floodplains, 
wetlands); 

  Undertaking  measures  to 

in  eco-
innovation  and  the  use  of  green  technologies  by 
SMEs. 

foster  R&D 

Points of Excellence 

Where  Poland 
leader  on  environmental 
implementation,  innovative  approaches  could  be  shared 
more widely with other countries. Good examples are: 

is 

a 

 

the 
Integrated  assessment  procedures  under 
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Habitats 
Directives  carried  out  by  the  Regional  Directorates 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
 
                                                            
for Environmental Protection;  

  The  national  network  of  environmental  and 
managing  authorities  that  works  as  a  platform  for 
sharing  experience 
integrating  environmental 
into  operational  programmes  co-financed 
issues 
under the EU Funds.  

in 

Poland  5 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 
competitive low-carbon economy

Poland  6 

Developing a circular economy and improving 
resource efficiency 

The 2015 Circular Economy Package emphasizes the need 
to  move  towards  a  lifecycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
with a cascading use of resources and residual waste that 
is  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  the 
development  of,  and  access  to,  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

SDG  8  invites  countries  to  promote  sustained,  inclusive 
and  sustainable  economic  growth,  full  and  productive 
employment  and  decent  work  for  all.  SDG  9  highlights 
the  need  to  build  resilient 
infrastructure,  promote 
inclusive  and  sustainable  industrialization  and  foster 
innovation.  SDG 12  encourages countries  to  achieve  the 
sustainable  management  and  efficient  use  of  natural 
resources by 2030. 

Measures towards a circular economy 

Transforming our economies from linear to circular offers 
an  opportunity  to  reinvent  them  and  make  them  more 
stimulate 
sustainable  and  competitive.  This  will 
investment  and  bring  both  short  and  long-term  benefits 
for the economy, environment and citizens.5  

The  Polish  economy  is  among  the  least  resource-  and 
energy-efficient  in  the  EU.  Per  capita  domestic  material 
consumption  has  grown  since  the  early  2000s  to  reach 
20.7  tonnes  per  capita,  compared  to  the  EU  average  of 
14.5 tonnes, but decreased to 17.2 tonnes in 2014. These 
trends  present  both  a  challenge  and  a  considerable 
economic  opportunity  for  the  country,  which  is  still 
undergoing  the  process  of  economic  modernisation.  In 
2015, 
for  Economic  Development 
established  a  multi-stakeholder  group  whose  task  is  to 
develop a circular economy roadmap.  

the  Minister 

Furthermore, while Poland may expect improvements in 
eco-innovation  investments  and  activities  in  the  coming 
years, the overall shift towards a more resource-efficient 
economy  will  require  long-term  systemic  innovation. 
Implementing  eco-innovation  should  be  seen  as  an 
economic opportunity rather than a cost – particularly for 
the  private  sector,  which  could  be  further  encouraged 
and supported by the public authorities. 

The Polish green technology and eco-innovation markets 
in  the  phase  of  development  and  have 
are  still 

5 European Commission, 2015. Proposed Circular Economy Package. 

growth 

potential. 

considerable 
Environmental 
technologies  represented  an  investment  of  0.38 %  of 
GDP from the public sector and 0.29 % of GDP from the 
private sector in 2011. This is mainly thanks to dedicated 
instruments 
for 
Environmental  Protection  and  Water  Management. 
Moreover,  Poland  sees  investment  in  environmental 
technologies  as  an  important  area  of  investment  of 
operational programmes for 2014-2020. 

the  National  Fund 

funded  by 

Poland  is  performing  below  the  EU  average  in  terms  of 
resource  productivity  (i.e.  how  efficiently  the  economy 
uses  material  resources  to  produce  wealth),  with 
0.64 EUR/kg in 2015 (the EU average is 1.982.0 EUR/kg).6 
As shown in Figure 1, this represents a slight but steady 
increase since 2011.  
Figure 1: Resource productivity 2003-20157 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Poland SMEs scored close to or above the EU average for 
resource efficiency. 48 % of Poland’s SMEs have invested 
up  to  5 %  of  their  annual  turnover  in  their  resource 
efficiency  actions  (EU28  average  50 %),  28 %  of  them 
currently  offer  green  products  and  services  (EU28 
average 26 %), 64 % have taken measures to save energy 
(EU28  average  59 %),  54 %  to  minimise  waste  (EU28 
average 60 %), 52 % to save water (EU28 average 44 %), 
and 64 % to save materials (EU28 average 54 %). From a 
circular economy perspective, 31 % have taken measures 
to  recycle  by  reusing  material  or  waste  within  the 
company  (EU28  average  40 %),  16 %  to  design  products 

6 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 

product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 

7 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
that are easier to maintain, repair or reuse (EU28 average 
22 %)  and  27 %  were  able  to  sell  their  scrap  material  to 
another company (EU28 average 25 %).8 

decisions. 
Figure 2: Eco-Innovation Index 2015 (EU=100)10 

Poland  7 

The  measures  taken  by  SMEs  to  improve  resource 
efficiency meant production costs were reduced in 35 % 
of Poland’s SMEs (EU28 average 45 %). 

Moreover,  34 %  of  the  SMEs  in  the  Poland  have  one  or 
more full time employee working in a green job at least 
some  of  the  time  (EU28  average  35 %).  Poland  has  an 
average  number  of  2.5  full  time  green  employees  per 
SME (EU28 average 1.7 %).9  

Poland has 70 EMAS registered organisations, which is a 
fair  share  of  the  4 034  organisations  that  hold  a 
registration.  Poland  has  30  EU  Ecolabel  licences  (total 
number of licences is 1 875), making it the tenth-highest 
achiever in terms of EU Ecolabel licences. 

Eco-innovation  

Poland  is  among  the  countries  with  persistently  low 
scores  in  the  European  Eco-innovation  Scoreboard  since 
2010.  In  the  2015  edition,  Poland  came  second  last 
among EU countries, with a score significantly below the 
EU  average  (59  out  of  100)  as  shown  in  Figure  2.  The 
overall low score in the index, especially in terms of eco-
innovation  inputs  and  activities,  reflects  Poland’s  low 
level of innovation in general.  

Poland performs significantly below the EU average in all 
the scoreboard components. The country’s performance 
is  particularly weak  in  terms  of  inputs  to  eco-innovation 
activities, including R&D investments and R&D personnel 
and  early-stage 
in  green  technologies. 
Private  early-stage  green  investments  have  been  among 
the lowest in the EU – levels similar to other countries in 
central  and  eastern  Europe.  Poland  exceeds  the  EU 
average only in one indicator: revenues in eco-industries 
(as a percentage of total revenues across all companies).  

investments 

to 

The  key  drivers  of  eco-innovation  for  companies  in 
Poland  include  high  operating  costs,  the  willingness  to 
reduce  material  and  energy  costs,  and  companies’ 
increase 
willingness 
competitiveness and improve company reputation (PARP, 
CSO  2015).  The  companies  developing  environmental 
technologies also pointed to the importance of customer 
demands,  even  though  only  a  minority  of  customers 
consider  environmental  benefits  key  to  their  purchasing 

new  markets, 

access 

The  most  significant  barriers  faced  by  companies  that 
implement eco-innovation were economic: lack of funds; 
difficult access to capital; the relatively high cost of eco-
innovative  technologies;  uncertain  market  demand  and 
uncertain return on investment; the lack of economic and 
fiscal  incentives;  and  growing  competition.  Companies 
also 
indicated  that  administrative  barriers  were  a 
problem,  often  in  relation  to  Poland’s  risk-averse  public 
procurement practices. 

Suggested action 

  Raise awareness of the public and SMEs on the benefits 

of circular economy. 

8 European Commission, 2015. Flash 426 Eurobarometer ‘SMEs, 

resource efficiency and green markets’. 

9  The  Flash  426  Eurobarometer  ‘SMEs,  resource  efficiency  and  green 
markets’  defines  a  ‘green  job’  as  a  job  that  directly  deals  with 
information,  technologies,  or  materials  that  preserves  or  restores 
environmental  quality.  This  requires  specialised  skills,  knowledge, 
training, or experience (e.g. verifying compliance with environmental 
legislation,  monitoring  resource  efficiency  within  the  company, 
promoting and selling green products and services). 

10 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource requires: 
 

full  implementation  of  EU  waste  legislation,  which 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy;  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste;  and  landfill  diversion 
targets. 
reducing  per  capita  waste  generation  and  waste 
generation in absolute terms. 
limiting  energy  recovery  to non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out 
recyclable  or 
recoverable waste. 

landfilling  of 

 

 

Poland  8 

treatment in Poland in terms of kg per capita, and shows 
an increase in recycling and a reduction in landfilling.  

As shown in Figure 4, 32 % of municipal waste is recycled 
(material recycling and composting). This was below the 
EU average (44 %) in 2014. Poland must therefore invest 
strongly in recycling in the coming years in order to reach 
the 2020 recycling target.13 
Figure 4: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2007-201414 

SDG  12  invites  countries  to  substantially  reduce  waste 
generation  by  2030  through  prevention,  reduction, 
recycling and reuse. 

The EU’s approach to waste management is based on the 
‘waste  hierarchy’  which  sets  an  order  of  priority  when 
shaping  waste  policy  and  managing  waste  at  the 
operational 
for  reuse, 
level:  prevention,  preparing 
recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred  option, 
incineration 
includes 
disposal  (which 
without energy recovery). 

landfilling  and 

The  progress  towards  reaching  recycling  targets and the 
adoption  of  adequate  Waste  Management  Plans  and 
Waste  Prevention  Programmes  should  be  the  key 
indicators  when  measuring  Member 
States’ 
performance. This section focuses on the management of 
municipal  waste  for  which  EU 
law  sets  mandatory 
recycling targets. 

Figure 3: Municipal waste by treatment in Poland 2007-
201411 

In  2014,  Poland  generated  272 kg/y/inhabitant 
in 
municipal  waste;  this  is  well  below  the  EU  average  (475 
kg per capita).12 Figure 3 depicts the municipal waste by 

11 Eurostat, Municipal waste, accessed October 2016. 
12  Eurostat,  Municipal  waste  and  treatment,  by  type  of  treatment 

Although  Poland  is  taking  steps  to  improve  its  waste 
treatment, a large part of the country’s municipal waste 
is still being disposed of in landfills. Poland landfilled 53 % 
of its municipal waste in 2014, which is well above the EU 
average (28 %). However, Poland reported that in 2014 it 
had  already  met 
for  diverting 
target 
biodegradable waste from landfills (35 %). 

the  2020 

In  order  to  help  bridge  the  implementation  gap  in 
Poland,  the  Commission  has  delivered  a  roadmap  for 
compliance in which economic instruments play a crucial 
role.15  

Illegal  landfilling  and  dumping  waste  in  forests  is  a 
pressing  problem  despite  Poland’s  ongoing  efforts  to 
clean up the dumping sites. According to a recent report 
by  the  Supreme  Audit  Office,16  this  is  mainly  due  to 
insufficient  checks  on  enterprises  dealing  with  waste 

method,  accessed  October  2016.  Note:  the  reported  quantities  of 
waste generated and treated do not match exactly for the following 
reasons:  estimates  for  the  population  not  covered  by  collection 
schemes, weight losses due to dehydration, double counts of waste 
undergoing  two  or  more  treatment  steps,  exports  and  imports  of 
waste and time lags between generation and treatment (temporary 
storage). 

13 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and  track  compliance  with  the  2020  target  of  50 %  recycling  of 
municipal waste. 

14 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste, accessed October 2016. 
15 Roadmap for Poland. 
16 Raport Najwyższej Izby Kontroli 'Wdrożenie w gminach nowego 

systemu gospodarki odpadami'  

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                            
 
 
                                                                                                 
Poland  9 

management  and  disposal  of  waste,  as  well  as  set  up 
effective 
local 
authorities  to  ensure  they  put  more  effort  to  curbing 
illegal waste dumping practices. 

for  municipalities  or 

sanctions 

legislation  and  addressing 

management and a lack of sites for treating and disposing 
of  specific  waste  (e.g.  electronic  waste,  municipal  bulky 
waste).  The  municipalities  are  chiefly  responsible  for 
enforcing  waste 
these 
shortcomings, and their role requires strengthening. The 
updated  the  National  Waste  Management  Plan  and  on-
going  update  of  the  regional  waste  management  plans 
(to be completed by the end of 2016) is encouraging, as 
the  planned  waste  management  infrastructure  will  be 
reviewed  in  order  to  avoid  incineration  overcapacities 
which  could  further  compromise  recycling  of  waste. 
Moreover,  any  EU  co-financed  investment  is  set  to  be 
aligned with those plans.  

The Polish economy would benefit from a comprehensive 
waste  management  system  coherent  with  the  principles 
of the circular economy (via material and energy savings, 
reduced  outlays  on  environment  clean-up). 
jobs, 
Estimates  show  that  full  implementation  of  existing 
waste  legislation  could  create  more  than  37,000  jobs  in 
Poland  and  increase  the  annual  turnover  of  the  waste 
sector  by  over  EUR  4  billion.  Moving  towards  zero 
landfilling  could  increase  this  to  over  44,000  additional 
jobs  and  increase  the  annual  turnover  by  over  EUR  4.6 
bn.17 

Suggested action 

fees, 

introducing 

incineration 

  Pursue the review of the level of landfill gate fees and 
consider 
to  more 
effectively  divert  waste  towards  higher  ends  of  the 
waste  hierarchy  and  to  make  recycling  and  reuse 
economically  attractive  as 
in  the  new 
national Waste Management Plan. Use the revenues to 
the  separate  collection  and  alternative 
support 
infrastructure  at  the  first  steps  of  waste  hierarchy. 
Avoid  building  excessive 
the 
treatment of residual waste. 

infrastructure 

indicated 

for 

  Focus  on  implementation  of  the  separate  collection 
obligation  to  increase  recycling  rates,  in  particular  by 
introducing  mandatory 
of 
recyclable  waste  by  households  and  establishing  sites 
for  collection  of  specific  waste  (so  called  'points  for 
collection of selective waste') in each municipality. 

collection 

separate 

  Extend and improve the cost-effectiveness, monitoring 
and  transparency  of  existing  Extended  Producer 
free-riding 
Responsibility  schemes  and  eliminate 
(situations  where  some  producers  do  not  adequately 
comply with their obligations under EPR). 

  Strengthen the enforcement of the waste legislation, in 
in 
the  control  of  entities 

particular 

involved 

17 Bio Intelligence service, 2011. Implementing EU Waste legislation for 
Green Growth, study for European Commission. The breakdown per 
country on job creation was made by the consultant at the 
Commission’s request, but was not included in the published 
document. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Nature and Biodiversity  

fully met.  

Poland  10 

The  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  in  the  EU  by  2020,  restore  ecosystems  and 
their services in so far as feasible, and step up efforts to 
avert  global  biodiversity  loss.  The  EU  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  aim  at  achieving  favourable  conservation 
status of protected species and habitats. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine resources, while SDG 15 
requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  the 
sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems,  sustainably 
manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  and  halt  and 
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive are the cornerstone of the European legislation 
aimed  at  conserving  the  EU’s  wildlife.  Natura  2000,  the 
largest  coordinated  network  of  protected  areas  in  the 
world,  is  the  key  instrument  to  achieve  and  implement 
the  Directives’  objectives  of  ensuring  the  long-term 
protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe’s  most 
valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and  the 
ecosystems they underpin. 

The  adequate  designation  of  protected  sites  as  Special 
Ares  of  Conservation  (SAC)  under  the  Habitats  Directive 
and  as  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPA)  under  the  Birds 
Directive 
is  a  key  milestone  towards  meeting  the 
objectives  of  the  Directives.  The  results  of  Habitats 
Directive Article 17 and Birds Directive Article 12 reports 
and  the  progress  towards  adequate  Sites  of  Community 
Importance (SCI)-SPA and SAC designation18 both on land 
and  at  sea,  should  be  the  key  criteria  for  measuring 
Member States’ performance. 

In 2015, there were 987 Natura 2000 sites in Poland: 849 
SCIs  and  145  SPAs.    In  early  2016,  the  Natura  2000 
network  in  Poland  covered  approx.  19.6 %  of  the  land 
territory, with 15.5 % SPAs and 10.9 % SCIs.  
As  shown  in  Figure  519,  although  Poland  has  made 
substantial  progress  in  recent  years,  the  objective  of 
complete  designation  of  the  network  has  not  yet  been 

18 SCIs are designated pursuant to the Habitats Directive whereas SPAs 

are designated pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do 
not add up because some SCIs and SPAs overlap. SAC means an SCI 
designated by the Member States. 

19 The percentages in Figure 5 refer to percentages of the total number 
of assessments (one assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a 
given biographical region with the Member State); if a habitat type or 
a species occurs in more than 1 Biogeographic region within a given 
Member State, there will be as many individual assessments as there 
are Biogeographic regions with an occurrence of that species or 
habitat in this Member State. 

Figure  5:  Sufficiency  assessment  of  SCI  networks  in 
Poland  based  on  the  situation  until  December  2013 
(%)20  

There  are  still  gaps  particularly  with  regard  to  certain 
marine  species  e.g.  porpoise,  bats,  alkaline  fens  and 
certain  forest  habitats.21  Poland  has  designated  no  sites 
as SACs according to Article 4(4) of the Habitats Directive. 

According to the latest report on the conservation status 
of habitats and species covered by the Habitats Directive 
in  Poland,22  only  20 %  of  the  habitats’  biogeographic 
assessments  were  favourable  in  2013  (EU27:  16 %). 
Furthermore, 50 % were considered to be unfavourable-
inadequate23 (EU27: 47 %) and 20 % were unfavourable – 
bad  (EU27:  30 %).  As  for  the  species,  33 %  of  the 
assessments were favourable in 2013 (EU27: 23 %), 37 % 
were  unfavourable-inadequate  (EU27:  42 %)  and  13 % 

20 European Commission, internal assessment. 
21 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 

species and habitat types in Annexes I and II to the Habitats Directive 
are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to date. This is 
expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for which further 
areas need to be designated in order to complete the network in that 
country. A scientific reserve is given when further research is needed 
to identify the most appropriate sites to be added for a species or 
habitat. The current data, which were assessed in 2014-2015, reflect 
the situation up until December 2013. 

22 The core of the ‘Article 17’ report is the assessment of conservation 
status of the habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive. 

23 Conservation status is assessed using a standard methodology as 

being either ‘favourable’, ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ and 
‘unfavourable-bad’, based on four parameters defined in Article 1 of 
the Habitats Directive. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
  
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
had unfavourable-bad status (EU27: 18 %). This is shown 
in Figure 6.24 

Figure  7:  Short-term  population  trend  of  breeding  and 
wintering bird species in Poland in 2012 (%)26 

Figure 6: Conservation status of habitats and species in 
Poland in 2007-2013 (%)25 

Poland  11 

Conservation  objectives  and  measures  for  Natura  2000 
sites  are  established  in  the  management  plans  ("Plany 
zadań ochronnych" and “Plany ochrony”). These plans are 
adopted  for  10  years  by  the  Regional  Directors  of 
Environmental Protection both for SCIs and SPAs and are 
In  February  2016,  there  were  444 
legally  binding. 
management plans.  

the  designation  process,  adopting 

The  main  challenges  related  to  Natura 2000  include 
finalising 
the 
management plans for the remaining sites and allocating 
sufficient resources to the management of the sites (both 
for  public  bodies  and  the  landowners  managing  the 
sites).  In  this  context,  it  is  particularly  important  to 
continue  the  support  for  extensive  management  of 
grasslands  and  fish  ponds.  The  coherence  of  the 
Natura 2000  network,  on  the  other  hand,  relies  on 
ensuring that the migration corridors remain connected, 
especially those which are threatened by fast-developing 
infrastructure,  such  as  regulation  and  maintenance  of 
rivers, road transport and renewable energies.   

Since  the  majority  of  the  forest  habitat  sites  designated 
for protection are managed by the State Forests Holding 
it  is  important  that  forest  management  plans  for  the 
forest  districts  overlapping  with  the  Natura 2000  sites 
fully  take  into  account  the  conservation  objectives  and 
measures  specified  for  the  individual  sites.  The  State 
Forests  Holding  should  also  ensure  that 
forestry 
operations  are  in  line  with  strict  species  protection 
requirements.  Management  in  the  forests  which  have 
maintained  their  close-to-natural  character,  such  as  the 
Białowieża Forest or primeval forests in the Carpathians, 
should  be  adapted  to  promote  natural  processes, 
including 
leaving  trees  for  dead  wood  and  natural 
regeneration. 

Suggested action 

26 Article 12 of the Birds Directive - national summary of Poland. 

As  regards  birds,  50%  of  the  breeding  species  showed 
short-term  increasing  or  stable  population  trends  (for 
wintering  species  this  figure  was  11 %),  as  shown  in 
Figure 7.  

Intensive  agriculture  and  human-induced  modifications 
of natural conditions (e.g. of water ecosystems) together 
with  invasive  alien  species  have  been  identified  as  the 
greatest threats to biodiversity in Poland. 

24 Please note that a direct comparison between 2007 and 2013 data is 
complicated by the fact that Bulgaria and Romania were not covered 
by the 2007 reporting cycle, that the ‘unknown’ assessments have 
strongly diminished particularly for species, and that some reported 
changes are not genuine as they result from improved data / 
monitoring methods. 

25 These figures show the percentage of biogeographical assessments in 
each category of conservation status for habitats and species (one 
assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a given biographical 
region with the Member State), respectively. The information is 
based on Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, see national summary 
of Poland. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
  Complete the Natura 2000 designation process and put 
in place clearly defined conservation objectives and the 
necessary conservation measures for the sites in order 
to maintain/restore species and habitats of community 
interest  to  a  favourable  conservation  status  across 
their natural range. 

  Provide the appropriate resources for the management 
of  the  Natura  2000  sites,  including  by  promoting  and 
facilitating access of landowners to agri-environmental 
payments. 

  Continue  works  in  scope  of  raising  knowledge  and 
education  about  Natura  2000  as  to  promote  social 
acceptance and benefits from Natura 2000 network.  

Estimating Natural capital 

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member 
States  to  map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and 
their  services  in  their  national  territory  by  2014,  assess 
the  economic  value  of  such  services,  and  promote  the 
integration of these values into accounting and reporting 
systems at EU and national level by 2020. 

The work on mapping and assessing ecosystems and their 
services  at  national  level  (MAES)  is  ongoing  under  the 
National  Environmental  Monitoring  Programme.  Since 
February  2015,  Poland  has  been  part  of  ESMERALDA27 
(the  EU  Coordination  and  Support  Action  ‘Enhancing 
ecosystem  services  mapping  for  policy  and  decision-
In 
making’  within  the  Horizon  2020  programme). 
March 2015, the Ministry of the Environment launched a 
project  on  mapping  and  assessing  urban  ecosystems, 
which  deals  with  strengthening  the  use  of  ecosystem 
services28 to protect and develop green infrastructure in 
cities. 

Poland  has  a  National  Ecosystem  Services  Partnership 
Network  led  by  the  University  of  Poznań.  A  national 
symposium  on  ecosystem  services  in  transdisciplinary 
approach  (ECOSERV)  is  organised  every  two  years.  It  is 
the only nationwide cyclical forum on ecosystem services 

Poland  12 

in Poland.   

Suggested action 

  Continue  support  the  mapping  and  assessment  of 
ecosystems  and  their  services,  valuation  and  develop 
natural capital accounting systems. 

Green Infrastructure  
The  EU  strategy  on  green  infrastructure29  promotes  the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  into  related  plans 
and programmes to help overcome the fragmentation of 
habitats  and  preserve  or  restore  ecological  connectivity, 
enhance  ecosystem  resilience  and  thereby  ensure  the 
continued provision of ecosystem services. 

Green  Infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social benefits through natural solutions. It helps people 
understand the value of the benefits that nature provides 
to  human  society  and  mobilises  investments  to  sustain 
and enhance them. 

The  key  elements  of  Green  Infrastructure  in  Poland  are 
‘preserved  natural  wealth’  and  ‘ecological  corridors  and 
networks’.  However,  there  is  no  obligation  to  include 
ecological  corridors  in  local  plans,  which  are  the  legally 
binding  documents  used  when  taking  decisions  on 
investments.  The  absence  of  a  well-defined  binding 
framework  means  there  are  no  uniform  rules  to 
determine  corridors,  and  no  consistent  network  of 
corridors.  The  degree  of  implementation  of  ecological 
corridors therefore varies in local plans, and the concept 
of  green  infrastructure  is  not  fully  incorporated  in  other 
policies  such as  climate  adaptation, water management, 
management  of  floods,  recreation  and  tourism  or  food 
security.  In  particular,  Poland  has  not  fully  explored  the 
potential  of  green  infrastructure  (such  as  natural  water 
retention  measures)  to  provide  ecosystem  services  in 
water management for preventing floods and improving 
water  quality.  Water  management 
focused  on 
traditional  engineering  solutions  which  are  more 
expensive  and  often  worsen  the  status  of  waters  and 
nature.  

is 

Soil protection  

further  soil  degradation  and 

The  EU  Soil  Thematic  Strategy  highlights  the  need  to 
ensure  a  sustainable  use  of  soils.  This  requires  the 
prevention  of 
the 
preservation of its functions, as well as the restoration of 
degraded  soils.  The  2011  Road  Map  for  Resource-
Efficient  Europe,  part  of  Europe  2020  Strategy  provides 
that  by  2020,  EU  policies  take  into  account  their  direct 
and  indirect  impact  on  land  use  in  the  EU  and  globally, 

27 ESMERALDA project  
28 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature and on which 

29 European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural 

human society depends, such as food, clean water and pollination. 

Capital, COM/2013/0249. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
                                                            
                                                            
and  the  rate  of  land  take  is  on  track  with  an  aim  to 
achieve no net land take by 2050. 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  combat  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by 
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve 
a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides key ecosystem services including food, fibre and 
biomass  for  renewable  energy,  carbon  sequestration, 
water  purification  and  flood  regulation,  and  raw  and 
building  material.  Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile 
resource.  Land  taken  by  urban  development  and 
infrastructure  is  highly  unlikely  to  be  returned  to  its 
natural  state;  it  consumes  mostly  agricultural  land  and 
increases the fragmentation of habitats. Soil protection is 
not subject to a comprehensive and coherent set of rules 
in the EU. Existing EU policies in areas such as agriculture, 
water, waste, chemicals and the prevention of industrial 
pollution  do  help  protect  soils,  but  the  continuous 
degradation  of  soil  suggests  that  this  protection  is 
insufficient. 

Artificial  land  cover  means  areas  used  for  settlements, 
production  systems  and  infrastructure.  It  may  itself  be 
broken  down  into  built-up  areas  (buildings)  and  non-
built-up  areas  (such  as  linear  transport  networks  and 
associated areas).  

Figure 8 shows the different land cover types in Poland in 
2012. 

Figure 8: Land cover types in Poland 201230 

30 European Environment Agency, 2016. Land cover 2012 and changes 

country analysis [publication forthcoming] 

Poland  13 

The  annual  land  take  rate  (growth  of  artificial  areas)  as 
provided  by  CORINE  Land  Cover  was  0.49%  in  Poland 
over  the  period  2006-12,  just  above  the  EU  average 
(0.41%).  It  represented  8420  hectares  per  year  and  was 
mainly  driven  by  housing,  services  and  recreation,  but 
also by mines, quarries and dump sites31.  

The soil water erosion rate in 2010 was  0.96 tonnes per 
hectare  per  year,  well  below  the  EU28  average 
(2.46 tonnes) 32. 

The  percentage  of  built-up  land  in  2009  was  2.48 %, 
below the EU average (3.23 %).33 

There are still no EU-wide datasets making it possible to 
provide  benchmark  indicators  for  soil  organic  matter 
decline, contaminated sites, pressures on soil biology and 
diffuse pollution. The EU Expert Group on Soil Protection 
is currently making an updated inventory and assessment 
of soil protection policy instruments in Poland and other 
EU Member States. 

Marine protection 

The EU Coastal and Marine Policy and legislation require 
that by 2020 the impact of pressures on marine waters is 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status and coastal zones are managed sustainably. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use 
for 
the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
sustainable development. 
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) 34 aims 
to  achieve  good  environmental  status  (GES)  of  the  EU’s 
marine  waters  by  2020  by  providing  an  ecosystem 
approach to  the  management  of human  activities  which 
impact  on  the  marine  environment.  The  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  develop  and  implement  a 
marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and  cooperate 
with  Member  States  sharing  the  same  marine  region  or 
subregion. 

As part of their marine strategies, Member States had to 
make  an  initial  assessment  of  their  marine  waters, 
determine  GES35  and  establish  environmental  targets  by 
July 2012.  By  July 2014  they  also  had  to  establish 
monitoring  programmes  for  the  ongoing  assessment  of 
their  marine  waters.  The  next  element  of  their  marine 

31 European Environment Agency Draft results of CORINE Land Cover 

(CLC) inventory 2012; mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006 
artificial land. 

32 Eurostat, Soil water erosion rate, Figure 2, accessed November 2016 
33 European Environment Agency, 2016. Imperviousness and 

imperviousness change. 

34 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 
35 The MSFD defines Good Environmental Status (GES) in Article 3 as: 
‘The environmental status of marine waters where these provide 
ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, 
healthy and productive’. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
                                                            
                                                            
 
Poland  14 

strategy is to establish a Programme of Measures (2016). 
The  Commission  assesses  whether  the  elements  in  the 
programme  of  measures  are  sufficient  to  meet  the 
requirements of the MSFD. 

Polish waters are part of the Baltic Sea marine region and 
Poland  is  a  contracting  party  to  the  Convention  on  the 
Protection  of  the  Marine  Environment  of  the  Baltic  Sea 
(HELCOM). In the Baltic Sea, the main risks to biodiversity 
are eutrophication, overfishing and bycatch, pollution by 
contaminants  and  oil  and  the  introduction  of  non-
indigenous species.36  

Poland did not comply with the deadline of October 2012 
for  reporting  on  the  initial  assessment  of  its  marine 
waters,  the  determination  of  its  good  environmental 
status  and  its  environmental  targets,  nor  did  it  comply 
with  the  deadline  of  October  2014  for  reporting  on  its 
monitoring  programme  for  marine  waters.  Poland  only 
provided this information in November 2015. 

These  delays  mean  the  Commission  has  not  yet  been 
able  to  assess  Poland’s  marine  strategy.  It  will  do  so  in 
the next assessment exercise (i.e. 2016-2017, assessment 
of other Member States’ programmes of measures). 

The  late  submission  of  Poland’s  reports  also  meant  that 
Commission did not formulate guidance for Poland like it 
did  for  other  Member  States  in  its  reports  on  the 
implementation of the MSFD.37 

36 European Environment Agency report on Baltic Sea. 
37 Report from the Commission ‘The first phase of implementation of 
the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) - The 
European Commission’s assessment and guidance’ COM(2014)097 
and Report from the Commission assessing Member States' 
monitoring programmes under the Marine Strategy Framework 
Directive (COM(2017)3). 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                            
Poland  15 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality  

The  EU  Clean  Air  Policy  and  legislation  requires  that  air 
quality  in  the  Union  is  significantly  improved,  moving 
closer  to  the  WHO  recommended  levels.  Air  pollution 
and its impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity should be 
further reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding 
critical  loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening 
efforts  to  reach  full  compliance  with  Union  air  quality 
legislation  and  defining  strategic  targets  and  actions 
beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  body  of  air 
legislation38  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 
As  part  of  this,  Member  States  are  also  required  to 
information  on  ambient 
ensure 

that  up-to-date 

emission  ceilings.40  While  total  emissions  of  volatile 
organic compounds increased with 11%, this pollutant is 
within its currently applicable national emission ceiling.  

At the same time, air quality in Poland continues to give 
serious  cause  for  concern.  The  European  Environment 
Agency  estimated  that  in  2013  about  48 270  premature 
deaths  were  attributable  to  fine  particulate  matter 
concentrations, of which 1 150 to ozone concentration41 
and over 1 610 to nitrogen dioxide concentrations.42 This 
is  due  also  to  Poland  exceeding  the  EU’s  air  quality 
standards, as shown in Figure 9.43 

In  2014,  EU  air  quality  standards  for  particulate  matter 
(PM10)44  were  breached 
for 
benzo[a]pyrene  in  all  zones.45  Often,  these  standards 
were  exceeded  by  a  very  large  margin.  Furthermore,  24 
air  quality  zones  have  indicated  excessive  levels  of  fine 

in  42  zones  and 

Figure 9: Attainment situation for PM10, NO2 and O3 in 2014 

concentrations  of  different  air  pollutants  is  routinely 
made  available  to  the  public.  In  addition,  the  National 
Emission  Ceilings  Directive  requires  that  emissions  of 
main pollutants be reduced at national level. 

Emissions  of  several  air  pollutants  have  decreased  in 
Poland.39 Reductions between 1990 and 2014 for sulphur 
oxides  (-72 %),  nitrogen  oxides  (-33 %)  as  well  as 
ammonia  (-36 %)  mean  that  air  emissions  for  these 
pollutants  are  within  the  currently  applicable  national 

38 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards. 
39 European Environment Agency, 2016. Air pollutant emissions data 

viewer (LRTAP Convention). 

40  The  current  national  emission  ceilings  apply  since  2010  (Directive 
2001/81/EC);  revised  ceilings  for  2020  and  2030  have  been  set  by 
Directive  (EU)  2016/2284  on  the  reduction  of  national  emissions  of 
certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive  2003/35/EC and 
repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

41  Low  level  ozone  is  produced  by  photochemical  action  on  pollution 

and it is also a greenhouse gas. 

42  European  Environment  Agency,  2016.  Air  Quality  in  Europe  –  2016 
Report.  (Table  10.2,  please  see  details  in  this  report  as  regards  the 
pinning methodology). 

43 Based on European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe 

– 2016 Report. (Figures 4.1, 6.1 and 7.1). 

44  Particulate  matter  (PM)  is  a  mixture  of  aerosol  particles  (solid  and 
liquid)  covering  a  wide  range  of  sizes  and  chemical  compositions. 
PM10  (PM2.5)  refers  to  particles  with  a  diameter  of  10  (2.5) 
micrometres  or  less.  PM  is  emitted  from  many  anthropogenic 
sources, including combustion. 
45 See EIONET The Air Quality Portal. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
 
long-term  objectives 

particulate matter (PM2.5), for which the limit value only 
became  binding  in  2015.  Nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)46  limits 
are  also  exceeded  (in  four  agglomerations).  The  target 
values  and 
regarding  ozone 
concentrations were not met in several air quality zones 
in 2014, including three zones in which the related target 
values were also exceeded. In addition, target values for 
annual mean concentrations of arsenic were exceeded in 
two air quality zones.  

The  European  Commission  is  launching  infringement 
procedures  covering  all  the  Member  States  concerned, 
including  Poland,  to  follow up persistent breaches  of  air 
quality  requirements  (for  PM10  and  NO2),  which  have 
severe  negative  effects  on  health  and  the  environment. 
The aim is to put in place adequate measures to bring all 
zones into compliance. 

Moreover,  Poland  does  not  take  sufficient  measures  to 
limit  the  exceedances  of  other  substances.  The  main 
source  of  PM10  and  benzo[a]pyrene  pollution  is  'low 
stack  emission'  (heating  of 
individual  houses).  NO2 
exceedances are caused by the transport sector.  

In  particular,  it  is  striking  that,  given  such  a  grave  air 
pollution  problem,  Poland  is  the  only  EU  Member  State 
with  no  standards  for  solid  fuels  sold  on  the  market. 
Additionally,  Poland  has  no  emission  standards  for  new 
boilers. The prevalence of sub-standard boilers combined 
with the availability of poor quality coal are major factors 
impacting  air  quality  in  most  zones  in  Poland.  Without 
appropriate,  tailored  measures  to  reduce  the  pollution 
coming from major contributing sectors, it is very unlikely 
that the continuous and severe breaches of EU air quality 
standards will end.  

It is estimated that the health-related external costs from 
air  pollution  in  Poland  are  above  EUR  26  –billion/year 
(income  adjusted,  2010),  which  include  not  only  the 
intrinsic  value  of  living  a  full  healthy  life  but  also  the 
direct costs to the economy. These direct economic costs 
include  the  19  million  workdays  lost  each  year  due  to 
sickness related to air pollution, with associated costs for 
employers  of  EUR 1 500  million/year  (income  adjusted, 
2010);  healthcare  costs  above  EUR 88  million/year 
(income  adjusted,  2010);  and  costs  to  agriculture  (crop 
losses) of EUR 272 million/year (2010).47 

Suggested action 

  Maintain  downward  emissions  trends  of  air  pollutants 
in order to achieve full compliance with air quality limit 
values  and  reduce  adverse  air  pollution  impacts  on 

46  NOx  is  emitted  during  fuel  combustion  e.g.  from  industrial  facilities 
and  the  road  transport  sector.  NOx  is  a  group  of  gases  comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 

47 These figures are based on the Impact Assessment for the European 

Commission Integrated Clean Air Package (2013). 

Poland  16 

In  particular, 
health,  environment  and  economy. 
facilitate and support actions at regional and local level 
that aim to improve air quality in the zones affected by 
poor air quality. 

  Reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to comply with 
currently  applicable  national  emission  ceilings[1] 
and/or  to  reduce  nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  (and  ozone 
concentrations), 
inter  alia,  by  reducing  transport 
related emissions - in particular in urban areas.  

  Reduce  PM10  emission  and  concentration,  inter  alia, 
by  reducing  emissions  related  to  energy  and  heat 
generation  using  solid  fuels,  to  transport  and  to 
agriculture.  

  Enhance 

to 

legal 

improve 

instruments 

the 
implementation  and  enforcement  of  air  quality 
standards, 
in  particular  by  establishing  emission 
standards  for  new  solid-fuel  boilers  as  well  as  quality 
standards for solid fuels placed on the market, in order 
to  effectively  tackle  low  stack  emissions  of  PM10  and 
benzo[a]pyrene.  In  addition,  promote  the  use  of 
incentives  to  accelerate  phasing  out  of 
financial 
substandard boilers.  

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  for  the  avoidance,  prevention  and 
reduction  of  harmful  effects  due  to  exposure  to 
environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  health 
issues.48  To  address  this,  the  EU  acquis  sets  out  several 
noise-reduction  requirements,  including:  assessing  the 
exposure to environmental noise through noise mapping; 
ensuring that information on environmental noise and its 
effects  is  made  available  to  the  public;  and  adopting 
action plans to prevent and reduce environmental noise 
and preserve good acoustic environment quality. 

Poland’s  implementation  of  the  Environmental  Noise 
Directive49 is significantly delayed. The noise mapping for 
the  most  recent  reporting  round  (2011) 
is  mostly 
complete.  However,  action  plans  for  noise  management 
have been adopted for only 56 % of agglomerations and 
13 % of major roads. Action plans have been adopted for 
in  Warsaw. 
major  railways  and  the  major  airport 

[1] Under the revised National Emission Ceilings Directive Member 
States may apply for emission inventory adjustments. Pending 
evaluation of any adjustment application, Member States should 
keep emissions under close control with a view to further reductions. 

48 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 

Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark. 

49 The Environmental Noise Directive requires Member States to 
prepare and publish, every five years, noise maps and noise 
management action plans for agglomerations with more than 
100 000 inhabitants, and for major roads, railways and airports. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
                                                            
                                                            
Poland  17 

Regarding  the  missing  action  plans,  the  Commission 
initiated  bilateral  contacts  with  Poland  to  clarify  the 
situation.  

Suggested action 

  Accelerate  the  completion  of  action  plans  for  noise 

management. 

Water quality and management 

(including  surface  and  ground  waters) 

The  EU  water  policy  and  legislation  require  that  the 
impact  of  pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh 
is 
waters 
significantly  reduced  to  achieve,  maintain  or  enhance 
good  status  of  water  bodies,  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive; that citizens throughout the Union 
benefit from high standards for safe drinking and bathing 
water;  and  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  encourages  countries  to  ensure  availability  and 
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 

The  main  overall  objective  of  EU  water  policy  and 
legislation  is  to  ensure  access  to  good  quality  water  in 
sufficient  quantity  for  all  Europeans.  The  EU  water 
acquis50  seeks  to  ensure  good  status  of  all  water  bodies 
across  Europe  by  addressing  pollution  sources  (e.g. 
agriculture, urban areas and industrial activities), physical 
and  hydrological  modifications  to  water  bodies  and  the 
management of risks of flooding.  

River  Basin  Management  Plans 
(RBMPs)  are  a 
requirement  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  a 
means  of  achieving  the  protection,  improvement  and 
sustainable use of the water environment across Europe. 
This includes surface freshwaters such as lakes and rivers, 
groundwater,  estuaries  and  coastal  waters  up  to  one 
nautical mile. 

Poland has provided information to the Commission from 
its second cycle of RBMPs. However, as the Commission 
has not yet been able to validate this information for all 
Member States, it is not reported on here. 

In  the  first  cycle  of  RBMPs  adopted  in  2009,  Poland 
lakes, 
reported  the  status  of  4 586  rivers,  1 038 
9 transitional,  10  coastal  and  161  groundwater  bodies. 
Only 3 % of natural surface water bodies achieve a good 

50 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 

Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning 
discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters; the 
Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) concerning potable water 
quality; the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) concerning 
water resources management; the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 
and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) 

or  high  ecological  status51  (while  the  status  of  83 %  is 
unknown) and 3 % of heavily modified or artificial water 
bodies52 achieve a good or high ecological potential (70 % 
unknown).  Furthermore,  good  chemical  status53 
is 
achieved  by  only  3 %  of  surface  water  bodies  (94 % 
unknown),  6 %  of  heavily  modified  and  artificial  water 
bodies (89 % unknown) and 93 % of groundwater bodies. 
Moreover,  82 %  of  groundwater  bodies  are  in  good 
quantitative status.54 

The main pressure on Polish surface water bodies is flow 
regulation and morphological alterations that affect 52 % 
of  water  bodies.  Point  sources  of  pollution  affect  33 % 
and  water  abstraction  12 %  of  water  bodies.  Diffuse 
sources of pollution only affect 3 % of water bodies. This 
pressure  distribution  is  influenced  by  the  two  biggest 
river  basin  districts  of  the  rivers  Vistula  and  Oder.  In 
other  smaller  districts  on  the  border  with  neighbour 
countries  the  distribution  of  pressures  is  significantly 
different. 

The  2009  RBMPs  have  a  number  of  deficiencies  that 
result  in  uncertainties  about  the  status,  pressures  and 
effectiveness  of  the  Programmes  of  Measures. 
In 
particular  there  are  weaknesses 
in  monitoring,  the 
methods for designating heavily modified bodies and the 
methods  for  assessing  and  classifying  their  status.  As  a 
result,  a  very  high  proportion  of  water  bodies  has 
unknown  status.  A  high  number  of  exemptions  were 
applied  without  transparent  justification.  Furthermore, 
additional measures are needed to address the impact of 
agriculture.  New  infrastructure  for  agriculture  and  for 
hydropower  needs 
fully  assessed  against 
Article 4.7.55 

to  be 

These  deficiencies  caused  the  Commission  to  launch  an 
infringement procedure regarding implementation of the 
WFD.  They  had  also  implications  for  suspending  EU 
funding 
for  2014-2020  of  projects  which  entail 
hydromorphological  modifications  to  water  bodies  and 
fall  under  exemptions  of  Article  4(7)  of  the  WFD  until 
Poland  demonstrates  compliance  with  the  WFD  in  the 
second  cycle  of  RBMPs  due  at  the  end  of  2015.56  The 

51 Good ecological status is defined in the WFD and refers to the quality 
of the biological community, the hydrological characteristics and the 
chemical characteristics. 

52 Many European river basins and waters have been altered by human 
activities such as land drainage, flood protection, and building of 
dams to create reservoirs. 

53 Good chemical status is defined in the WFD and refers to compliance 
with all the quality standards established for chemical substances at 
European level. 

54 For groundwater, a precautionary approach has been taken that 

comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and a 
requirement to monitor groundwater bodies.  

55 For more information on the implementation status and more 
specific recommendations, see the Water Framework Directive 
Implementation Reports. 

56 For more details, please refer to section 5 on the use of EU financial 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
                                                            
                                                            
 
Commission expects Poland to address these deficiencies 
in the second-cycle RBMPs.  

achieving  compliance  with  the  Directive,  reporting  and 
the use of EU funds to achieve compliance. 

Poland  18 

Almost  all  of  the  surface  water  flowing  across  Poland 
drains into the Baltic Sea, which is suffering from excess 
levels  of  nutrients.  Poland’s  contribution  to  the  overall 
nitrogen load in the Baltic Sea is significant,57 and a large 
part of it comes from agriculture. 
A CJEU ruling (C-356/13)58 highlighted that Poland is not 
complying  with  the  Nitrates  Directive.  The  Court  held 
that  the  designation  of  nitrates  vulnerable  zones  is  not 
appropriate  and  does  not  take  into  account  the  criteria 
set  out  in  the  Directive  (e.g.  the  eutrophication  of  the 
Baltic  Sea).  The  Court  also  found  that  the  action 
programmes established by Poland are insufficient.  

As  regards  drinking  water,  Poland  reaches  very  high 
compliance  rates  of  100 %  for  the  microbiological, 
chemical  and  indicator  parameters  laid  down  in  the 
Drinking Water Directive.59 
Figure 10: Bathing water quality 2012-201560 

The  final  deadline  for  Poland  to  comply  with  the 
requirements  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment 
Directive  was  31 December 2015.  Poland  did  not  report 
on  the  implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water 
Treatment Directive in the last reporting exercise for the 
reference year 2012, so the Commission was not able to 
assess compliance with earlier transitional deadlines. The 
Commission  is  now  following  up  on  the  issues  of  non-
reporting and non-compliance.   

Poland participates in the EU coordinated pilot project on 
Structured  Information  and  Implementation  Framework 
(SIIF).  From  the  unofficial  data  available  under  SIIF,  it 
appears  that  Poland  had  1 567  agglomerations  of  more 
than  2 000  population  equivalent  (p.e.)  in  2013.  These 
agglomerations generated a total load of 42 574 501 p.e., 
where  69 %  of  this  load  is  connected  to  collecting 
systems.  

At  the  Commission’s  request,  Poland  prepared  a  master 
plan  for  the  implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water 
Treatment  Directive  which  prioritised  investments  in 
agglomerations above 100 000 p.e.62 

Suggested action 

  Address 

all 

gaps 

regarding 

identified 

the 
implementation  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  in 
the second cycle of the RBMPs, in particular by carrying 
out more detailed assessment of pressures, improving 
monitoring of the status of water bodies and designing 
effective Programmes of Measures that address all the 
main pressures identified.  

As  shown  in  Figure  10,  in  2015,  60.9  %  of  Poland’s  197 
bathing waters were of excellent quality, 21.8 % were of 
good  quality  and  8.1 %  were  of  sufficient  quality.  Two 
bathing  waters  were  of  poor  quality  or  non-compliant 
while  it  was  not  possible  to  assess  the  remaining  16 
bathing waters.61 These figures are a slight improvement 
on 
regarding 
are  major 
implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment 
Directive  in  Poland.  These  centre  around  delays  in 

issues 

There 

2014. 

instruments. 

57 Website of Helcom Convention  
58 Judgment - Case C-356/13  
59 Commission’s Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in 
the Union examining Member States’ reports for 2011-2013 in 
accordance with Article 13(5) of Directive 98/83/EC; COM(2016)666. 

60 European Environment Agency, State of bathing water, 2016. 
61 European Environment Agency, 2016. European bathing water quality 

  Ensure that exemptions granted fulfil all conditions for 
applying  them  and  are  supported  by  evidence,  in 
particular  regarding  the  assessment  of  significantly 
better environmental option.  

  Align  water  management  with  the  objectives  of  the 
the  planning  of 
flood  defence  and 

in  particular  as  regards 

in  navigation, 

WFD 
investments 
hydropower sectors. 

  Increase efforts in implementation of infrastructure to 
comply  with  the  UWWTD  as  soon  as  possible  and 
improve  the  national  reporting  system  under  the 
UWWTD.  

  Extend  designation  of  nitrates  vulnerable  zones  and 

reinforce measures in the action programmes. 

Enhancing the sustainability of cities  

The  EU  Policy  on  the  urban  environment  encourages 
implement  policies  for  sustainable  urban 
cities  to 

62 For more details please refer to section 5 on use of EU financial 

in 2015, p. 26. 

instruments 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                                                                 
 
                                                            
Poland  19 

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  that  the  Union  policy  on  the 
environment promotes measures at international level to 
deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  often  a  global  scope  and  they  can  only  be 
addressed effectively through international co-operation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the Union are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its Member  States. This  requires  the  EU and  the 
Member  States  to  sign,  ratify  and  effectively  implement 
all  relevant  multilateral  environmental  agreements 
(MEAs) in a timely manner. This will also be an important 
contribution  towards  the  achievement  of  the  SDGs, 
which Member States committed to in 2015 and include 
many  commitments  contained  already  in  legally  binding 
agreements. 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  did  not  sign  and/or 
ratify  a  number  of  MEAs  compromises  environmental 
implementation,  including  within  the  Union,  as  well  as 
in  related  negotiations  and 
the  Union’s  credibility 
international  meetings  where 
the 
participation of third countries to such agreements is an 
established  EU  policy  objective.  In  agreements  where 
voting takes place it has a direct impact on the number of 
votes to be cast by the EU. 

supporting 

Currently,  Poland  has  signed  but  not  yet  ratified  three 
the  Convention  on  Long-range 
agreements  under 
Transboundary Air Pollution: the Gothenburg Protocol to 
Abate  Acidification,  Eutrophication  and  Ground-level 
Ozone, the Persistent Organic Pollutions Protocol and the 
Heavy  Metals  Protocol.  The  same  applies to  the  Nagoya 
Protocol.66  It  has  neither signed  nor  ratified the  African-
Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement. 

planning and design, including innovative approaches for 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation.  

transport  and  mobility, 

SDG11  aims  at  making  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

lives 

Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75 % of the 
in  urban  areas.63  The  urban 
EU  population 
environment  poses  particular  challenges 
the 
environment  and  human  health,  while  also  providing 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.  

for 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders have prepared a new Urban Agenda for the 
EU  (incorporating  the  Smart  Cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these  issues  in  a  comprehensive  way,  including  their 
connections with social and economic challenges. At the 
heart  of  this  Urban  Agenda  will  be  the  development  of 
twelve  partnerships  on  the  identified  urban  challenges, 
including air quality and housing64.  

The  European  Commission  will 
benchmark system in 201765. 

launch  a  new  EU 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  aimed  at 
cities  with  more  than  100 000  inhabitants  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative  aimed  at  cities  and  towns,  with 
between  20 000  and  100 000  inhabitants.  Warsaw  is 
among  seven  applicants  for  the  2018  EU  Green  Capital 
Award.  

63 European Environment Agency, Urban environment. 
64 http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/ 
65 The Commission is developing an Urban Benchmarking and 

Monitoring ('UBaM') tool to be launched in 2017. Best practices 
emerge and these will be better disseminated via the app featuring 
the UBaM tool, and increasingly via e.g. EUROCITIES, ICLEI, CEMR, 
Committee of the Regions, Covenant of Mayors and others. 

66 Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable 

Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on 
Biological Diversity. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Poland  20 

Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools

4. Market based instruments and investment  

Green taxation and environmentally harmful 
subsidies 

The Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of 
financial  incentives  and  economic  instruments,  such  as 
taxation  to  ensure  that  product  prices  better  reflect 
environmental costs. The phasing out of environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  is  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  in  national  reform  programmes 
submitted by Member States. 

Taxing pollution and resource use can generate increased 
revenue  and  brings  significant  social  and  environmental 
benefits.  

an additional 0.75 % and 0.98 % of GDP in 2018 and 2030 
respectively.  The  largest  potential  source  of  revenue 
could  come  from  vehicle  taxes  by  aligning  them  with 
emission  levels.  This  would  also  be  beneficial  for  air 
quality  and  overall  efficiency  of  the  car  fleet.  Changes 
could amount to PLN  9.4 billion in 2030 (EUR 2.24 billion) 
(real 2015 terms), equivalent to 0.31 % of GDP.  

Figure  11:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  a  share  of 
total  revenues  from  taxes  and  social  contributions 
(excluding imputed social contributions) in 201469 

regional  and 

for  Poland’s  national, 

In  2014,  Poland's  revenue  from  environmental  taxes 
accounted  for  2.51 %  of  GDP  (against  an  EU  average  of 
2.46 %).  This  is  a  significant  increase  from  2000,  when 
they  only  made  up  2.15 %  of  GDP.  Energy  taxes 
amounted to 2.13 % of GDP, much above the EU average 
of  1.88 %.  Taxes  on  pollution  and  resources  (all  ring-
fenced 
local 
environmental  funds)  raised  the  equivalent  of  0.10%  of 
GDP,  a  sharp  drop  from  0.19 %  the  previous  year,  while 
taxes  on  transport  (excluding  transport  fuels)  accounted 
for 0.19 % of GDP. Car registration taxes are not based on 
emission  levels  but  on  engine  capacity  and  on  the  car’s 
value, which generally equals the cost of acquisition/sale 
of the car. As shown in Figure 11, in 2014 environmental 
tax revenues accounted for 7.8 % (up from 7.5 %) of total 
revenues  from  taxes  and  social-security  contributions 
(EU-28 average: 6.35 %).  
A  2016  study67  suggests  that  there  is  considerable 
potential for shifting from labour taxes to environmental 
taxes  in  Poland.  Under  a  good  practice  scenario68,  the 
amount  could  be  as  much  as  PLN  15.26  billion  in  2018 
(EUR 3.64 billion), rising to PLN 29.77 billion in 2030 (EUR 
7.1 billion) (both in real 2015 terms). This is equivalent to 

67  Eunomia  Research  and  Consulting,  IEEP,  Aarhus  University,  ENT, 
2016.  Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential 
for the EU28  N.B. National governments are responsible for setting 
tax  rates  within  the  EU  Single  Market  rules  and  this  report  is  not 
suggesting  concrete  changes  as  to  the  level  of  environmental 
taxation.  It  merely  presents  the  findings  of  the  2016  study  by 
Eunomia et al on the potential benefits various environmental taxes 
could bring. It is then for the national authorities to assess this study 
and their concrete impacts in the national context. A first step in this 
respect,  already  done  by  a  number  of  Member  States,  is  to  set  up 
expert groups to assess these and make specific proposals. 

68 The good practice scenario means benchmarking to a successful 

taxation practice in another Member State. 

69 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Green Public Procurement  

Investments: the contribution of EU funds  

Poland  21 

EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member States to take further steps to reach the target 
of applying green procurement criteria to at least 50 % of 
public tenders. 
Green  public  procurement  (GPP)  is  a  process  whereby 
public  authorities  seek  to  procure  goods,  services  and 
works  that  have  a  reduced  environmental 
impact 
throughout  their  life  cycle  when  compared  to  goods, 
services  and  works  with  the  same  primary  function  that 
would otherwise be procured.  

is 
The  purchasing  power  of  public  procurement 
equivalent to approximately 14 % of GDP.70 A substantial 
part  of  this  money 
is  spent  on  sectors  with  high 
environmental impact such as construction or transport, 
so  GPP  can  help  significantly  lower  the  impact  of  public 
spending  and  foster  sustainable  innovative  businesses. 
The Commission has proposed EU GPP criteria71. 

Poland has in place a national action plan on sustainable 
procurement procedure for the period 2013-2016.72  

Green  procurement  procedure  criteria  have  not  been 
level.  However,  the  Public 
drawn  up  at  national 
Procurement  Office 
their  overall 
voluntary application on the basis of EU GPP criteria.73  

(PPO)  promotes 

The current target is to reach 20 % of GPP by the end of 
2016  (measured  by  the  PPO  as  the  inclusion  of  all 
environmental  aspects  in  contract  award  procedures). 
Some additional targets include:  

- 

- 

- 

- 

increasing  awareness  of  GPP  measured  by  the 
number  of  newly  trained  procurement  officials 
(600  beneficiaries  of  dedicated  training  and 
conferences);  
increasing  the  number  of  entities  that  have  a 
verified environmental management system;  
increasing  the  number  of  EU  Ecolabel  certified 
products  and  national  eco-labels,  Type  I  ISO 
standards;  
increasing  by  20 %  the  number  of  users  of  the 
section  on  ‘Green  public  procurement’  on  the 
website of the PPO.74 

70 European Commission, 2015. Public procurement 
71 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better environment” 
(COM /2008/400) the Commission recommended the creation of a 
process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic concept of GPP 
relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and ambitious 
environmental criteria for products and services, based on a life-cycle 
approach and scientific evidence base. 

72 National Action Plan on Sustainable Procurement Procedure  
73 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

Plans 

74 PwC, 2015. Final report. Strategic use of public procurement in 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds    Regulations 
provide  that  Member  States  promote  environment  and 
climate  objectives 
funding  strategies  and 
territorial 
programmes 
cohesion,  rural  development  and  maritime  policy,  and 
reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver 
cost-effective and sustainable in these areas. 

in  their 
for  economic, 

social  and 

Making good use of the ESIF75 is essential to achieve the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas.  Other  programmes  and  funds  such  as  Horizon 
2020,  the  LIFE  programme  and  the  EFSI76  may  also 
support implementation and the spread of best practice. 

Poland  stands  to  be  the  biggest  beneficiary  of  Cohesion 
Policy funds in the period 2014-2020,  with the allocation 
of EUR 77 billion. In addition to significant investments in 
climate  change  mitigation  and  adaptation,  the  planned 
spending for the specific environment-related categories 
is 7.9 % (EUR 6.08 billion, see Figure 12). Out of this, the 
largest  allocation  of  EUR 2.5 billion  is  intended  for  the 
water and wastewater sector, followed by EUR 1.3 billion 
for  waste  management,  EUR 434 million  for  nature  & 
biodiversity and EUR 428 million for air quality measures. 
The  mentioned  environmental  priorities  are  supported 
under 
for 
Infrastructure  &  Environment  and  under  16  Regional 
Operational  Programmes. 
is  too  early  to  draw 
It 
conclusions on the use and results of ESIF for the period 
2014-2020,  as  the  relevant  programmes  are  still  in  an 
early stage of implementation.  

the  national  Operational  Programme 

On  waste  management,  the  following  results  can  be 
expected by the end of this budgetary period: 

 

 
 

 

support  for  526  sorted  municipal  waste  collection 
points;  
support for 85 waste management plants;  
at  least  3.4 million  people  offered  sorted  waste 
collection; 
at least 643.5 thousand tonnes per year of additional 
waste recycling capacity. 

For  wastewater  management  and  water  supply,  the 
following results are expected to be achieved: 

  building  of  10 583 km  of  sanitary  sewage  systems 
and  supporting  at  least  247  municipal  waste  water 
plants; 

75 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Funds (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund 
(ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The 
ERDF, the CF and the ESF together form the Cohesion Policy funds. 

76 European Investment Bank, 2016 European Fund for Strategic 

promoting green, social and innovative policies 

Investments 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
 

the 
connection  of  additional  population 
wastewater  collecting  system  and  improvement  of 
wastewater  treatment  for  existing  users  –  in  total 
2 586 115 users. 

to 

Current data suggest that the EU funds for the 2007-2013 
period were almost fully spent.77 

Figure  12:  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds 
2014-2020: Budget Poland by theme, EUR billion78 

The  ex  ante  conditionalities  under  Thematic  Objective  6 
on  water  and  waste  have  been  partially  fulfilled. 
Therefore  relevant  action  plans  for  each  sector  have 
been  prepared.  Most  notably  for  the  waste  sector, 
national  and  16  voivedeship  waste  management  plans 
are to be reviewed, in particular regarding legislative and 
financial  measures  and  on  the  infrastructure  needed  to 
implement  the  Waste  Directives.  For  the  ex  ante 
conditionality  on  water,  Poland  committed  itself  to  two 
main actions:  

i. 

ii. 

amending  the  Water  Act  so  that  strategic 
infrastructure planning complies  with the Water 
Framework Directive (WFD);  
basin 
second-cycle 
of 
adoption 
management plans that address the deficiencies 

river 

77 Final data for the period 2007-2013 will only be available at the end 

of 2017.   

78 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 

Data By Country 

Poland  22 

in the first RBMPs and which are compliant with 
the WFD.  

of 

the  WFD, 

Moreover,  in  addition  to  the  ex  ante  conditionality 
mentioned  above,  due  to  shortcomings  with  the 
special 
implementation 
conditionality clause was imposed for the EU co-financing 
of  projects  which  trigger  use  of  the  Article  4(7) 
exemption  under  the  WFD.  The  EU  co-financing  of  such 
projects is suspended until the Commission confirms the 
compliance of the second RBMPs for the Vistula and the 
Oder with the WFD.  

another 

Despite significant amounts of EU funds being devoted to 
the  Urban  Wastewater  Treatment 
implementing 
Directive 
in  2000-2013  (approx.  EUR 10 billion),  the 
objective  of  full  compliance  is  far  from  being  reached. 
Therefore,  for  the  2014–2020  programming  period,  the 
Commission  asked  Poland  to  assess  how  far  it  had 
implemented  the  Directive  and  to  prioritise  specific 
agglomerations  and  investments  in  order  to  direct  EU 
funding  to  the  projects  which  bring  the  biggest 
contribution to narrowing the implementation gap.  

Since  2010  Poland  has  in  place  a  national  network  of 
managing  and  environmental  authorities  entitled 
'Partnership:  Environment  for  Development',  co-funded 
by  EU  Cohesion  Policy.  The  network  brings  together 
national and regional authorities and provides them with 
a  platform  for  exchanging  knowledge  and  building 
capacity  on  environmental  matters  related  to  the 
implementation  of  Cohesion  Policy.  The  working  groups 
established  within  the  network  address 
issues  on 
implementing  the  EU  environmental  acquis  which  are 
causing particular difficulties in the preparation of project 
pipelines.  The  contributions  from  the  working  groups 
often  supported  the  initiation  of  important  legislative 
proposals  such  as  the  Anti-Smog  Act  in  2015  and  the 
national waste prevention programme.  

On  the  integration  of  environmental  concerns  into  the 
common  agricultural policy (CAP),  the  two key  areas  for 
Poland are:  

i. 

ii. 

using  rural  development  funds  to  pay  for 
land  management  and  other 
environmental 
environmental  measures,  while 
avoiding 
financing  measures  which  could  damage  the 
environment;  
ensuring  effective  implementation  of  the  first 
pillar  of  the  CAP  on  cross  compliance  and  first 
pillar 'greening'.  

The  approved  national  rural  development  programme 
(under  the  EAFRD)  amounts  overall  to  EUR 8.598 billion. 
The  allocation  for  the  ecosystem  priority  (priority  4)  is 
EUR 2.647 billion,  which  represents  30.8 %  of  the  total 
budget.  However  only  EUR 1.198 billion,  representing 
8.8 %  of  the  total  budget, 
is  dedicated  to  agri-
environment/climate  measures.  The  current  budget  will 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                            
Poland  23 

to 

the 

cover 

insufficient 

increasing  Polish 
be 
environmental  needs.  A  strong  concern  remains  for  the 
funds  allocated  to  priority  4,  as  all  funds  dedicated  to 
Natural Constraint are counted as funds contributing for 
the  environment,  whereas  in  fact  there  will  not  be  any 
environmental  enhancement.  This 
an 
overestimation  of  the  funds  allocated  to  environmental 
protection.  Improvements  to  the  rural  development 
programme  are  needed  to  target  the  areas  identified 
under  the  programme  of  measures  under  the  second-
cycle  River  Basin  Management  Plans  due  at  the  end  of 
2015 and to reflect the priorities of the Prioritized Action 
Framework for Natura 2000.  

leads 

to 

The  direct  payment  envelope  of  Poland  for  the  period 
is  EUR 17.067 billion,  30 %  of  which 
2015-2020 
(EUR 5.12 billion) 
is  allocated  to  greening  practices 
beneficial  for  the  environment.  An  environmentally 
ambitious  implementation  of  first  pillar  greening  would 
clearly  help  to  improve  the  environmental  situation  in 
areas  not  covered  by  rural  development, 
including 
intensive area, and if appropriate Poland could review its 
implementation of this. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Effective governance and knowledge  

Poland  24 

SDG  16  aims  at  providing  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels. SDG 17 aims at better implementation, improving 
policy  coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulating 
science, 
innovation,  establishing 
partnerships and developing measurements of progress. 

technology 

and 

Effective governance of EU environmental legislation and 
policies  requires  having  an  appropriate 
institutional 
framework,  policy  coherence  and  coordination,  applying 
legal  and  non-legal  instruments,  engaging  with  non-
governmental  stakeholders,  and  having  adequate  levels 
of  knowledge  and  skills79.  Successful  implementation 
depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local 
government  fulfilling  key  legislative  and  administrative 
tasks,  notably  adoption  of 
implementing 
legislation,  co-ordinated  action  to  meet  environmental 
objectives  and  correct  decision-making  on  matters  such 
as  industrial  permits.  Beyond  fulfilment  of  these  tasks, 
government  must 
to  ensure  day-to-day 
compliance  by  economic  operators,  utilities  and 
individuals("  ("compliance  assurance").  Civil  society  also 
has  a  role  to  play,  including  through  legal  action.  To 
underpin the roles of all actors, it is crucial to collect and 
share  knowledge  and  evidence  on  the  state  of  the 
environment  and  on  environmental  pressures,  drivers 
and impacts. 

intervene 

sound 

Equally,  effective  governance  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  and  policies  benefits  from  a  dialogue  within 
Member  States  and  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  on  whether  the  current  EU  environmental 
legislation  is  fit  for  purpose.  Legislation  can  only  be 
properly 
into  account 
experiences  at  Member  State  level  with  putting  EU 
commitments  into  effect.  The  Make  it  Work  initiative,  a 
Member  State  driven  project,  established 
in  2014, 
organizes a discussion on how the clarity, coherence and 
structure  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  can  be 
improved without lowering existing protection standards. 

implemented  when 

it  takes 

Effective governance within central, regional 
and local government 

in 

involved 

implementing 

environmental 
Those 
legislation  at  Union,  national,  regional  and  local  levels 
need  to  be  equipped  with  the  knowledge,  tools  and 
capacity  to  improve  the  delivery  of  benefits  from  that 
legislation,  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process. 

Capacity to implement rules 

is 

that 

crucial 

regional  and 

It 
local 
central, 
administrations  have  the  necessary  capacities  and  skills 
and  training  to  carry  out  their  own  tasks  and  cooperate 
and  coordinate  effectively  with  each  other,  within  a 
system of multi-level governance. 

are 

impact 

assessments 

Poland uses regulatory instruments such as laws, orders, 
etc.  to  address  policy  areas  (including  projects  of  public 
interest)  issued  by  all  level  of  government.  However, 
regulatory 
used 
systematically 
for  all  regulatory  proposals  or  are 
completed  late  in  the  decision-making  process,  often 
after the  proposal  has  been prepared.  Therefore  Poland 
could  improve  its  decision-making  process  to  make 
better use of regulatory impact assessment and to make 
better use of evidence in the choice of options in order to 
ensure  that  only  the  right  solutions  to  address  the 
problem are selected.  

not 

the 

is  often 

implementation  challenge 

Environmental policy developments in Poland are mainly 
driven  by  EU  regulations  and  directives.  An  important 
is 
part  of 
timely 
transposition  of  EU  environmental 
law  by  national 
authorities  into  national  legislation.  Poland  sometimes 
transposes  environmental  directives  belatedly  and 
legislation 
incorrectly  transposed.  However, 
when instances of non-conformity occur, the country has 
cooperated  and  amended  its  legislation  accordingly. 
Most of the current transposition problems relate to the 
Water Protection Directives, but also to access to justice 
(e.g. on the possibility for the public concerned to ask  a 
court  to  order  interim  measures,  or  on  the  failure  to 
provide for an effective review procedure before a court 
for  certain  projects  falling  under  the  scope  of  the  EIA 
Directive). 

79  The  Commission  has  work  ongoing  to  improve  country-specific 
knowledge  of  the  quality  and  functioning  of  Member  States’ 
administrative systems. 

Implementation remains, however, the real challenge, as 
indicated by the fact that Poland is among the countries 
with the highest number of environmental infringements 
and  complaints,  mainly  in  the  areas  of  water  (e.g. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                            
 
(e.g. 
implementation  of 
exceedances of PM10 limit values) and nature protection.  

the  WFD),  air  pollution 

Coordination and integration 

Poland  does  not  have  a  sustainable  development 
strategy.  The  existing  planning  documents  on  the 
environment (such as the Air Protection Programme) are 
declarative and have a non-binding character.  

The  Minister  of  the  Environment  is  responsible  for 
environmental  and  climate  change  policies,  in  particular 
on air, waste, geology and geological concessions, water 
management,  forest  management  and  environmental 
education. The Minister supervises the state forests, the 
General  Inspectorate  for  Environmental  Protection,  the 
General  Director  for  Environmental  Protection,  the 
President  of  the  Water  Management  Board  and  the 
President of the State Nuclear Agency.  

The  Minister  of  the  Environment  also  has  powers  to 
initiate  legislative  procedure:  the  Minister  can  adopt 
executive  acts  and  submit  proposals  to  Parliament, 
including  laws  transposing  EU  directives.  The  Minister 
also  oversees  the  implementation  of  legislation,  either 
directly 
for  areas  within  his/her  portfolio  or  by 
supervising  the  General  Director  for  Environmental 
Protection and the President of the Water Management 
Board.  

Environmental  competences  are  often  shared  between 
different levels of Poland’s territorial administration (i.e. 
voivedeship, poviat and municipalities). 

Some  weaknesses  have  been  observed  over 
the 
management  of  water  bodies.  Control  over  water  uses 
and activities which may affect the status of water bodies 
is dispersed among authorities at central, regional, poviat 
and  municipal 
level  without  sufficient  coordination. 
Moreover, the Regional Water Management Boards have 
conflicting  roles  as  both  investors  in  projects  and  as 
this 
authorities 
situation 
effective 
implementation  of  certain  provisions  of  the  Water 
Framework Directive.  

for  protecting  water: 
undermine 

responsible 
to 
seems 

the 

Similarly,  the  objective  of  biodiversity  conservation 
should  be  fully  integrated  with  the  responsibilities  on 
State  Forests  set  out  in  the  Act  on  Forests.  More  than 
half of the area designated as Natura 2000 sites in Poland 
is  state-owned  forest.  This  requires  transparent  and 
participative  forest  governance  that  can  accommodate 
specific conservation requirements for each Natura 2000 
site, which may consist in minimising human intervention 
and facilitating natural processes. 

The 'Partnership: Environment for Development' national 
network of managing and environmental authorities is a 
good example of the integration of environmental policy 
into  the  programming  cycle  of  EU  funds.  Under  the 
steering  of  the  General  Directorate  for  Environmental 

Poland  25 

Protection,  the  Regional  Directorates  for  Environmental 
Protection cooperate on environmental matters with the 
managing  authorities  of  operational  programmes  co-
financed from EU funds.80  

Impact  assessments  are 
environmental integration in all government policies.81  

important  tools  to  ensure 

require 

environmental 

16  Regional  directors  for  environmental  protection 
supervised  by  the  General  Director  for  Environmental 
Protection  are  responsible  for  nature  protection  and 
in  development  consent  procedures  for 
participate 
projects  which 
impact 
assessments.  In  some  cases,  such  as  for  motorways  and 
express  roads,  the  regional  director  conducts  the  EIA 
procedure  and  issues  the  environmental  decision.  For 
others,  the  regional  directors  are  consulted  before 
granting  the  environmental  decision  and  construction 
in  2008,  the  regional 
permits.  Since  their  creation 
directorates  have  significantly  improved  the  quality  of 
the EIA procedure, and Poland now has one of the most 
comprehensive  procedures  in  the  EU-28.  Polish  law 
streamlines  and  integrates  requirements  under  other 
environmental  directives,  in  particular  the  Habitats  and 
Birds  Directives,  into  one  EIA  procedure.  The  regional 
directorates  have  the  necessary  capacity  to  ensure  high 
quality in the integrated EIA procedures.  

The  Commission  has  issued  a  guidance  document  in 
201682  on  the  setting  up  of  coordinated  and/or  joint 
to 
procedures 
assessments  under  the  EIA  Directive,  Habitats  Directive, 
Water  Framework  Directive  and  the  Industrial Emissions 
Directive. 

simultaneously 

that  are 

subject 

Suggested action 

  Use EU Funds to build necessary capacities and know-
in 

levels  of  administration 

involved 

how  at  all 
implementation and enforcement.  

  Strengthen governance of EU environmental legislation 
and  policies,  in  particular  in  nature  conservation  and 
water management (e.g. adapt the structure and tasks 
of  the  water  authorities  to  better  perform  the  tasks 
related to the implementation of the Water Framework 
Directive and involve them in the permitting process). 
  Improve enforcement in case of failures to implement 
mitigation  and  compensatory  measures  imposed  on 

80 For more information please see section 5 on the use of EU financial 

instruments 

81 Article 11 of the TFEU provides that ‘Environmental protection 

requirements must be integrated into the definition and 
implementation of the Union's policies and activities, in particular 
with a view to promoting sustainable development.’ 

82  European Commission, 2016. Commission notice — Commission 
guidance document on streamlining environmental assessments 
conducted under Article 2(3) of the Environmental Impact 
Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU). 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
                                                            
project  developers  in  environmental  decisions  and 
construction permits.  

Compliance assurance 

EU  law  generally  and  specific  provisions  on  inspections, 
other  checks,  penalties  and  environmental  liability  help 
lay  the  basis  for  the  systems  Member  States  need  to 
secure  compliance  with  EU 
to 
have 
environmental rules. 

in  place 

Public  authorities  help  ensure  accountability  of  duty-
holders by monitoring and promoting compliance and by 
taking credible follow-up action (i.e. enforcement) when 
breaches occur or liabilities arise. Compliance monitoring 
can  be  done  both  on  the 
initiative  of  authorities 
themselves  and  in  response to  citizen complaints. It  can 
including 
involve  using  various  kinds  of  checks, 
inspections  for  permitted  activities,  surveillance  for 
possible  illegal  activities,  investigations  for  crimes  and 
audits for systemic weaknesses. Similarly, there is a range 
of  means  to  promote  compliance,  including  awareness-
raising  campaigns  and  use  of  guidance  documents  and 
online  information  tools.  Follow-up  to  breaches  and 
liabilities  can 
(e.g. 
withdrawal of a permit), use of criminal law83 and action 
law  (e.g.  required  remediation  after 
under 
damage  from  an  accident  using 
liability  rules)  and 
contractual  law  (e.g.  measures  to  require  compliance 
with  nature  conservation  contracts).  Taken  together,  all 
of these interventions represent "compliance assurance" 
as shown in Figure 13. 

include  administrative  action 

liability 

Figure 13: Environmental compliance assurance 

Poland  26 

avoid  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  administrative 
burden. Active participation in established Pan-European 
networks  of  inspectors,  police,  prosecutors  and  judges, 
such as IMPEL84, EUFJE85, ENPE86 and EnviCrimeNet87, is a 
valuable tool for sharing experience and good practices. 

Currently, there exist a number of sectoral obligations on 
inspections  and  the  EU  directive  on  environmental 
liability  (ELD)88  provides  a  means  of  ensuring  that  the 
is  applied  when  there  are 
"polluter-pays  principle" 
accidents  and  incidents  that  harm  the  environment. 
There 
information  giving 
insights  into  existing  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  each 
Member State.  

is  also  publically  available 

For  each  Member  State,  the  following  were  therefore 
reviewed:  use  of  risk-based  compliance  assurance; 
coordination  and  co-operation  between  authorities  and 
participation in pan-European networks; and key aspects 
of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's 
recently  published  implementation  report  and  REFIT 
evaluation89.  

improve 

inspections 

investment- 

comprehensive 
problem- 

Over the last decade, Poland has made significant efforts 
to 
the  effectiveness  of  environmental 
inspections.  Depending  on  the  types  of  risks  to  be 
addressed,  different  kinds  of  inspection  are  foreseen,  in 
(audit)  and 
particular 
campaign-, 
related 
and 
inspections.  In  addition,  different  types  of  checklists  are 
being used to support inspection processes.90 As Chapter 
1  shows,  Poland’s  Supreme  Audit  Office  has  played  a 
valuable role in analysing systemic compliance problems. 
Poland  has  established  bilateral  cooperation  with  the 
Norwegian Government, which has led to introduction of 
a  new  set  of  procedures  on  planning,  performance, 
inspections91  and 
documentation  and  follow-up  to 
greater  use  of  electronic  tools  to  improve  the  efficiency 
of  inspection  work.  While  a  risk-based  approach  to 
organising industrial installations is now in place, there is 
room for further refinement and improvement92. 

Best  practice  has  moved  towards  a  risk-based  approach 
at strategic and operational levels in which the best mix 
of compliance monitoring, promotion and enforcement is 
directed at the most serious problems. Best practice also 
recognises  the  need  for  coordination  and  cooperation 
between  different  authorities  to  ensure  consistency, 

83 European Union, Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC 

84 European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of 

Environmental Law 

85 European Union Forum of judges for the environment  
86 The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment  
87 European Union, Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC 
88 European Union, Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/CE 
89 COM(2016)204 final and COM(2016)121 final of 14.4.2016. This 

highlighted the need for:  
- better evidence on how the Directive is used in practice;  
- tools to support its implementation, such as guidance, training and 
ELD registers;  
- financial security to be available in case events or incidents 
generate remediation costs. 

90 For details see IMPEL IRI Poland, p. 35-37.  
91 Detailed information about the relevant projects is available here. 
92 IMPEL IRI Poland, p. 28-31. The current system is insufficiently flexible 
to allow differentiation within activity types and the risk criteria are 
not always aligned with environmental objectives to be achieved and 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
 
individual 

reports  of 

inspection 
Annual  activities 
authorities  are  published  online.  Some  performance 
monitoring  is  undertaken,  using  some  basic  input  and 
output indicators, but outcome indicators are not in use, 
which  hampers  the  assessment  of  the  effectiveness  of 
inspection work.  

Although 
the  added  value  of  cooperation  and 
coordination  between  Polish  authorities  with  relevant 
there  are  no  structured 
functions 
mechanisms  established  and exchange  of personnel and 
joint  inspections  are  rare93.  Poland  is  active  within  the 
EUFJE94 and some of the IMPEL Expert Teams95.  

is  recognized, 

Up-to-date  information  would  be  valuable  in  relation  to 
the following: 

 

  data-collection  arrangements  to  track  the  use  and 
effectiveness  of  different  compliance  assurance 
interventions; 
the extent to which risk-based methods are used to 
direct  compliance  assurance  at  the  strategic  level 
and in relation to specific problem-areas highlighted 
elsewhere  in  this  Country  Report,  i.e.  illegal  waste 
disposal,  the  threats  to  protected  habitat  types and 
species, air quality breaches, the pressures on water 
quality from diffuse pollution and the serious deficit 
in urban wastewater treatment infrastructure.  
Poland  makes  impressive  use  of  the  Environmental 
Liability  Directive  to  address  environmental  incidents, 
recording 506 cases between 2007 and 2013. As regards 
financial  security  (to  cover  remediation  costs  where 
operators  cannot),  evidence  indicates  that  there  is  an 
active  engagement  of  the 
in  the 
implementation of the Directive. 

insurance  sector 

Suggested action 

  Improve 

  Step  up  efforts 

transparency  on 

the  organisation  and 
functioning  of  compliance  assurance  and  on  how 
significant risks are addressed, as outlined above. 
in  the 

implementation  of  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  with  proactive 
initiatives, in particular by drafting national guidance. It 
should  moreover  take  further  steps  to  ensure  an 
effective system of financial security for environmental 
liabilities  (so  that  operators  not  only  have  insurance 
cover available to them but actually take it up).  

Poland  27 

Public participation and access to justice 

The  Aarhus  Convention,  related  EU  legislation  on  public 
participation and environmental impact assessment, and 
the case-law of the Court of Justice require that citizens 
and  their  associations  should  be  able  to  participate  in 
decision-making  on  projects  and  plans  and  should  enjoy 
effective environmental access to justice. 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they can rely on the three "pillars" of the Convention on 
Access  to  Information,  Public  Participation  in  Decision-
making  and  Access  to  Justice  in  Environmental  Matters 
("the  Aarhus  Convention").  Public  participation  in  the 
administrative  decision  making  process  is  an  important 
element to ensure that the authority takes its decision on 
the  best  possible  basis.  The  Commission  intends  to 
examine compliance with mandatory public participation 
requirements more systematically at a later stage. 

Access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  is  a  set  of 
guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their  associations  to 
challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  the  public  administration 
before  a  court. 
for  decentralised 
It 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

For  each  Member  State,  two  crucial  elements  for 
effective  access  to  justice  have  been  systematically 
reviewed:  the  legal  standing  for  the  public,  including 
NGOs and the extent to which prohibitive costs represent 
a barrier. 

in 

review 

judicial 

in  a  number  of  substantive 

Poland has a well-established system of access to justice 
in  administrative  matters.  However,  the  system  of 
administrative  appeal  and 
the 
environmental  area  is  not  based  on  a  clear  set  of  rules 
that  ensures  legal  certainty  for  all  potential  litigants. 
Furthermore, 
laws  the 
possibility  to  challenge  individual  decisions  generally 
granted  to  persons  having  legal  interests  is  limited  in 
relation  to  environmentally  important  decisions.  The 
members  of  the  public  concerned  are  not  parties  to 
certain  administrative  procedures, 
including  water 
permit  and  building  permit  procedures.  As  a  result,  in 
those cases they cannot ask the national courts to order 
interim  measures.  Also  there  is  no  effective  review 
procedure  for  what  are  called  'special  acts'  in  Poland, 
which  apply  for  example  to  road  investment  projects, 
airport projects or rail transport projects. Polish law also 
does  not  provide  the  possibility  to  challenge  some 
administrative  decisions  which  may  have  a  negative 
impact on nature protection (e.g. the forest management 
issues  are  the  subject  of  a  pending 
plan).  These 
infringement procedure.  

do not cover all relevant environmental policy subject areas. 

93 IMPEL IRI Poland, p. 40 and 49.  
94 Poland hosted the 2011 EUFJE Annual Conference 
95  In  particular  the  'Industry  and  Air'  and  the  'Waste  and  TFS'  expert 

teams. Poland hosted in 2013 an IMPEL IRI project.  

The  public  is  also  not  granted  the  legal  standing  to 
challenge  plans  and  programmes  based  on  EU 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland 

 
 
                                                                                                 
environmental law.96  

Suggested action 

  Take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  standing  of 
environmental NGOs to challenge acts or omissions of 
a public authority in all sectoral EU environmental laws, 
law  as  well  as  the 
in  full  compliance  with  EU 
Convention  on  Access 
Information,  Public 
to 
Participation  in  Decision-making  and  Access  to  Justice 
in environmental matters (Aarhus Convention). 

Access to information, knowledge and 
evidence 

The  Aarhus  Convention  and  related  EU  legislation  on 
access  to  information  and  the  sharing  of  spatial  data 
require that the public has access to clear information on 
the environment, including on how Union environmental 
law is being implemented. 

authorities 

public 
the  public, 

and 
increasingly 

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and business that environmental information is shared in 
an  efficient  and  effective  way.  This  covers  reporting  by 
active 
and 
businesses 
dissemination 
through 
to 
electronic means. 
The  Aarhus  Convention97,  the  Access  to  Environmental 
Information  Directive98  and  the 
INSPIRE  Directive99 
together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and with the public. They also represent the green part of 
the  ongoing  EU  e-Government  Action  Plan100.  The  first 
to  provide 
two 
information  to  the  public,  both  on  request  and  actively. 
The  INSPIRE  Directive  is  a  pioneering  instrument  for 
electronic  data-sharing  between  public  authorities  who 
can  vary  in  their  data-sharing  policies,  e.g.  on  whether 
access to data is for free. The INSPIRE Directive sets up a 
geoportal which indicates the level of shared spatial data 
in  each  Member  State  –  i.e.  data  related  to  specific 
locations,  such  as  air  quality  monitoring  data.  Amongst 
it  facilitates  the  public  authorities' 
other  benefits 
reporting obligations.  

create  obligations 

instruments 

Poland  28 

have been systematically reviewed.101  

Poland's  performance  on  the  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive  as  enabling  framework  to  actively 
disseminate  environmental  information  to  the  public  is 
good, but leaves room for improvement.  

indicated 

the  3-yearly 

Poland  has 
INSPIRE 
in 
implementation report102 that the necessary data-sharing 
policies  allowing  access  and  use  of  spatial  data  by 
national 
States' 
administrations,  other  Member 
administrations  and  EU  institutions  without  procedural 
obstacles are available and implemented. Poland has no 
common  licensing  model  for  data  sharing  and  is  not 
planning  to  introduce  such  a  model.  Existing  regulations 
define  who  are  entitled  to  receive  data  free  of  charge 
and  to  what  extent.  Poland  does  not  foresee  to  collect 
fees for access to INSPIRE spatial data sets via discovery 
and view services. 
Assessments  of  monitoring  reports103  issued  by  Poland 
and the spatial information that Poland has published on 
the  INSPIRE  geoportal104  indicate  that  not  all  spatial 
information 
and 
for 
implementation of EU environmental law has been made 
available  or  is  accessible.  While  it  is  true  that  the  larger 
the 
part  of 
environmental data required to be made available under 
the  existing  reporting  and  monitoring  regulations  of  EU 
environmental  law,  Poland  has  taken  steps  to  centralise 
information about the data (metadata) using the national 
geoportal  (geoportal.gov.pl)  and  reforming  the  public 
environmental  data  policy,  aiming  for  a  higher  level  of 
transparency. 

this  missing  spatial 

information 

evaluation 

needed 

the 

is 

Suggested action 

  Identify and document all spatial data sets required for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law,  and  make 
the  data  and  documentation  at  least  accessible  'as  is' 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through  the 
digital services foreseen in the INSPIRE Directive. 

For  each  Member 
accessibility  of 
State, 
environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive 
envisages)  as  well  as  data-sharing  policies  ('open  data') 

the 

96Study on access to justice in environmental matters 2012/2013  
97 UNECE, 1998. Convention on Access to Information, Public 
Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in 
Environmental Matters 

98 European Union, Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to 

environmental information 

99 European Union, INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC  
100 European Union, EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 - 

Accelerating the digital transformation of government COM(2016) 
179 final. 

101 At the Commission’s request, most Member States provided an 

INSPIRE Action Plan addressing implementation issues. These plans 
are currently being assessed by the Commission.  

102 European Commission, INSPIRE reports 
103Inspire indicator trends 
104 Inspire Resources Summary Report 

Environmental Implementation Report – Poland