Opencast mining banned for the time being: Poland protests against the “scandalous” decision of the ECJ

A violent dispute has broken out between Poland and the Czech Republic, the outcome of which also affects Germany.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued an interim order on Friday, according to which Poland must immediately stop lignite mining in the triangle near Turów.

Prague had sued Warsaw before the ECJ because the groundwater level was falling due to the opencast mine on the Czech side of the border.

It seldom happens that EU countries sue each other in Luxembourg; For Poles as defendants, it is apparently the first case of this kind. The Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek was delighted with the “great news” on Twitter. Warsaw government politicians have since protested against the “scandalous” decision of the court, as the spokeswoman for the ruling PiS party called her.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “We will do everything to ensure the energy security of our state.

We will take action against the incorrect, unjust and unexpected decision of the ECJ. ”Next to the Turów open-cast lignite mine is the power plant of the same name, which, according to Morawiecki, ensures“ four to seven percent of Poland's electricity generation ”.

Decisions of the ECJ should not jeopardize "the fundamental security of the member states".

The judges' decision is disproportionate "and violates the basic principles of how the EU works".

Warsaw sees the interim order as a premature attempt to create facts before the main proceedings are concluded.

Lignite mining since 1904

In the region that belonged to Germany until 1945, lignite has been mined since 1904.

The Turów lignite mine and power plant are now part of the Warsaw-controlled PGE group, one of Poland's major energy suppliers.

The PGE share had to accept price losses of a good nine percent on Friday, which it was only able to make up for in part on Monday.

According to the PGE, there had been “consultations of exceptional intensity with the Czech side over the past five years on the Turów problem”.

At the weekend, the group published a 2019 protocol which, according to PGE, states that “the Czechs have accepted the means proposed by the mine to reduce the impact of mining on the Czech border areas”.

On this basis, the dismantling permit, which actually ended this year (2021), was extended to 2044. PGE is also in the process of using complex structural measures to ensure that “the groundwater at the border of the mine site is protected”. All obligations have been fulfilled, and the claim from Prague that there was no agreement was "absurd," said PGE boss Wojciech Dabrowski.

In addition to Czech politicians, German politicians have also complained that lignite mining in Poland has led to a drop in groundwater in the border region. In the decision of the ECJ it is said that the continuation of the open pit mine is likely to have a negative impact on the groundwater level in the Czech Republic. In addition, Poland did not provide sufficient reasons that a temporary stop in production would jeopardize the supply of the Turów power plant.

The case is making waves in Poland. Politicians referred to the lignite mining in Germany and to Czech hopes of being able to export more of their own coal. If Poland does not stop the dismantling, high penalties would now be threatened. The Lord Mayor of the border town of Zittau in Saxony, Thomas Zenker, spoke of many procedural errors and misinformation from the Polish side. He hopes that the ECJ ruling will also get the state and federal governments to act. The Czech government has "successfully campaigned for its citizens".