Prague/Bratislava - While the Slovak government has decided to end their battle with Brussels over the greenhouse gas emission quotas, the Czech Republic still goes on with its own struggle.
The fight for the permits erupted after the EU decided last year to grant both countries less permits than they had asked for.
EU's greenhouse gas emission permits allow plants, factories and other facilities in a given country to produce a fixed amount of exhaust gases.
Being unsatisfied with the number of carbon emission quotas assigned to them, both countries have decided to sue the European Commission in order to protect the interests of their industries. They complained about the companies being forced to buy the quotas abroad.
"I am convinced that the European Commission (EC) has harmed the Czech Republic," informed the Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Říman, who first brought up the idea of a lawsuit, to which most of the MPs gave their consent.
Bratislava has won (partially)
In less than a year, Slovakia has managed to negotiate more carbon emission quotas for its industries and therefore decided to withdraw its charge. Even though the number of additional quotas was lower than it has demanded, the government seems to be satisfied.
"Due to our well-prepared lawsuit, the EC was forced to recede," said the Slovakian Minister of Justice Štefan Harabin.
In the end, the number of quotas allotted to Slovakia was raised by 5.5 per cent. According to Harabin, it will bring benefits worth of as much as hundreds million of euro.
Initially, Slovakia asked for its companies to be permitted to produce 41 million tons of carbon dioxide between 2008-2012.
However, it was granted only 32.6 million euro.
Eastern Europe complaining
Unlike Slovakia, the Czech Republic hasn't concluded its conflict with Brussels yet.
"The EC has challenged certain parts of the charge, and we are currently working on our response," assured the Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesman Martin Bartovský.
Czech and Slovak environmental organizations have sharply critized the Czech and Slovak governments for filing charges against the EC. Both countries demanded quotas for more emissions than their industrial companies had produced in past.
The Czech Republic asked for quotas of 102 million tons of emissions, in spite of Czech companies having produced only 83 million of tons in previous years.
"The Czech Republic will end up paying a lot of money for its action and it will be of no avail," said Jiří Jeřábek of the Centre for Transport and Energy.
Beside the Czech Republic and Slovakia it was also Hungary, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithunia that filed lawsuits against Brussels because of carbon emission quotas.
