As of: 09/20/2021 8:35 p.m.
The European Court of Justice has sentenced Poland to a fine of 500,000 euros a day for mining lignite in the Turow open-cast mine. In May, the ECJ asked Poland to stop mining on the border with Saxony.
In the dispute over the Polish Turow lignite mining on the border with Saxony and the Czech Republic, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has sentenced Poland to pay a fine. Despite an interim ECJ order from May, Warsaw did not stop lignite mining, according to an order from ECJ Vice-President Rosario Silva de Lapuerta. It was “clear that Poland has not complied with the interim order,” it said. Therefore, from now on, Poland will have to pay a fine of 500,000 euros to the EU budget for every day it does not comply with the order.
However, the Polish government immediately made it clear that it would not close the mine. Turow is an important employer in the region and important for electricity production. The deputy minister of justice, Marcin Romanowski, tweeted: “You won’t get a cent.”
Decision on application from the Czech Republic
The decision is based on an application by the neighboring country of the Czech Republic, which had previously sued Poland before the ECJ. The country complains that the license for the open pit has been extended without the required environmental impact assessment. The Polish Ministry of the Environment extended the operating permit for the open pit mine by six years in March 2020. The EU Commission criticized in December that Poland had underestimated the environmental impact and misinformed its neighbors.
The government in Prague also fears that the water table will drop. Residents of the neighboring Czech border region also complained about annoyance from noise and dust.
The Czech Republic applied for a fine of five million euros
The interim order of the ECJ in May followed these arguments. However, the Polish government stuck to coal mining. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki justified this by saying that the country’s energy security must be guaranteed. In June, the Czech Republic therefore applied to the EU budget for a daily fine of five million euros. Poland, in turn, applied for the May interim order to be lifted.
The ECJ Vice-President has now rejected the Polish application. At the same time, she imposed a fine of 500,000 euros until Poland followed the interim order. A final judgment in the case will be made by the ECJ at a later date.
Poland does not want to close the opencast mine
According to the Polish news agency PAP, the spokesman for the Polish government, Piotr Müller, said the government would not close the Turow opencast mine. The fine is disproportionate to the situation and is not justified.
The Polish Minister for Climate and Environment, Michal Kurtyka, referred to very intensive discussions about a solution with the Czech Republic. Observers in Prague no longer expect an agreement before the parliamentary elections in early October and the formation of a new government. The Czech Environment Minister Richard Brabec praised the imposition of the fine as a motivation for Poland to stop coal mining in Turow.
Open pit mine is to be expanded
In Germany, too, the opencast mine is causing criticism. Saxony fears environmental damage from an expansion. In March it was discussed whether the Federal Government would therefore join the Czech action as a so-called intervener.
Coal has been mined in Turow since 1904. The Polish energy company PGE, majority-owned by the state, wants to extend the dismantling until 2044. To this end, the opencast mine is to be expanded by five square kilometers and deepened to up to 330 meters.
ECJ: Poland has to pay heavy fines for lignite mining in Turow
Klaus Hempel, SWR, September 20, 2021 7:47 p.m.