In the dispute over the Turow opencast lignite mine, Poland has conceded defeat before the EU court. The EU Commission was allowed to offset the penalty payment imposed on Warsaw against Polish claims, the judges ruled in Luxembourg on Wednesday.
The background to this is a long conflict over lignite mining in the border triangle with Germany and the Czech Republic. The controversial open-cast mine is located just a few kilometers from Zittau in Saxony and Hradek nad Nisou in the Czech Republic. Critics of the open-cast mine on the German and Czech side of the border fear 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 lawsuit by the Czech Republic. However, Poland did not comply. The Court therefore imposed a fine of 500,000 euros for every day that Poland did not comply with the decision. The money was to flow into the common EU budget.
