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Open-cast lignite mining in the Polish municipality of Bogatynia on the border with the Czech Republic
Photo: Omar Marques / Getty Images
It is well known that the Polish government has a coal-friendly policy.
But in the dispute over a controversial lignite opencast mine, it is now openly opposing the orders of the Supreme Court of the European Union (ECJ) for the first time.
On Friday, the ECJ ordered the immediate stop of the lignite mine in Turow on the border with Germany and the Czech Republic.
The reason is a feared water shortage in the neighboring country of the Czech Republic.
That is why the Czech government filed a complaint against Poland at European level.
It criticizes the fact that the license for the Turow opencast mine was extended without the required environmental impact assessment.
The government in Prague fears that the water table will drop.
Residents of the neighboring Czech border region also complained about annoyance from noise and dust.
The ECJ ruling on Friday states that the arguments of the Czech side appeared to be well founded.
The continuation of the opencast mine could very likely have a negative impact on the groundwater level in the Czech Republic.
Poland also did not sufficiently substantiate its claim that a temporary halt would endanger the supply of raw materials to the neighboring power plant in Turow.
The operators would have options to compensate for the failure.
Poland wants to hold on to Turow
The Polish authorities would have to adhere to the ECJ decision until a final judgment, the EU authority confirmed on Saturday: "The Commission will monitor the implementation of the decision already issued." Decisions and judgments of the ECJ are binding on the countries.
However, the Polish government opposed the injunction on Monday.
Government sources said that stopping the mine would jeopardize the country's energy supply and result in the layoff of thousands of workers.
Polish Development Minister Jaroslaw Gowin described the court's decision as "scandalously inappropriate".
According to this, the power supply of millions of households could allegedly be interrupted by stopping the open pit mine.
The power plant in Turow is responsible for seven percent of the Polish energy supply.
Gowin said Poland would not shut down the Turow lignite mine on the border with Germany and the Czech Republic.
Instead, he wants to continue negotiating with the EU "to ensure the undisturbed operation of the opencast mine and the power plant".
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki met with the managers of PGE (Polska Grupa Energetyczna) on Monday;
the state energy company operates the opencast mine and the power plant.
He wants to start negotiations with Prague and to present his position to the EU court again.
After all, both the Czech Republic and Germany operate lignite opencast mines and power plants near the Polish border.
A PGE representative put the cost of the failure of the open pit at around three billion euros.
The share of coal in Poland's energy production is still extremely high: it is currently around 65 percent, including 17 percent from lignite.
sug / dpa-AFX / AP
