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Prague (dpa) - The Czech Republic wants to move to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) because of the Polish expansion plans for the Turow open-cast lignite mine in the border triangle with Saxony.
The government gave the go-ahead for a lawsuit against Warsaw on Monday, said the Foreign Ministry in Prague.
Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek emphasized that he had tried in vain for a long time to find a solution without litigation.
But for tens of thousands of Czechs in the border area, lignite mining has negative consequences for their quality of life.
The operator of the open pit close to the border with the Czech Republic and Saxony is the Polish energy group PGE, which is majority-owned by the state.
The Czech Republic accuses Poland of violating the EU directive on cross-border testing of environmental compatibility.
In addition, the public was denied access to information.
According to earlier statements, the Saxon state government also fears environmental damage on the German and Czech side.
It is particularly about the effects on the water balance and the groundwater level in the region.
The government in Prague intends to file the lawsuit and an application for an injunction by early March at the latest.
The social democrat Petricek considers the Polish dismantling plans to be out of date.
"The whole of Europe is trying to gradually reduce coal mining because of climate change - and in Turow, on the contrary, they want to expand it," criticized the 39-year-old.
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Communication, in Czech
Earlier communication from the Saxon state government, in German