Judgment: penalty payment against Poland for Turow opencast mine applies

Poland must accept a penalty payment in the tens of millions in the dispute over the Turow mine, according to a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The EU Commission was allowed to offset the penalty payment against Polish claims, the judges in Luxembourg ruled, confirming a decision at first instance. An agreement between Poland and the Czech Republic meant that the obligation to pay could not be waived. The amount collected in the main claim amounts to 68.5 million euros.

The background to this is a long conflict over lignite mining in the border triangle with Germany and the Czech Republic, just a few kilometers from Zittau in Saxony. Poland wanted to expand mining in the Turow open-cast mine. Critics feared a further lowering of the groundwater level and damage to buildings.

In 2021, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered a halt to lignite mining following a complaint from the Czech Republic. However, Poland did not comply. The Court therefore imposed a fine of 500,000 euros per day that Poland did not comply with the decision. The money was to flow into the common EU budget.

Poland reached an agreement with the Czech Republic

Poland reached an agreement with the Czech Republic in 2022. The country did not pay the penalty imposed. The EU Commission then decided that it would offset the money owed against the country's claims against the EU. Poland appealed against this and argued that its obligation to pay had been retroactively removed.

Poland did not succeed in the first instance before the EU Court of Justice. The Court of Justice has now also rejected the Polish position: the agreement with the Czech Republic cannot have the effect of retroactively amending or revoking a court decision, it said.