In an order issued on Monday 20 September, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordered Poland to pay a daily penalty of €500,000 to the European Commission for refusing to cease lignite extraction activities in the Turów coal mine on the border with the Czech Republic.
Fearing that the continued operation of the mine would have negative effects on the level of groundwater on its territory, the Czech Republic took its case against Poland to the CJEU at the end of February 2021, claiming that Warsaw had violated EU law by allowing lignite extraction at the Turów mine until 2026 (Case C-121/21).
Pending the Court’s ruling, the country had also obtained an order from the Court for Poland to immediately cease lignite extraction activities at the mine (see EUROPE 12724/24).
Noting Poland’s refusal to comply with the order issued on 21 May, the Czech Republic then initially asked the Court to impose a daily penalty payment of €5 million on Poland (see EUROPE 12726/29).
In response, Poland applied to have the Court’s order set aside due to changed circumstances (see EUROPE 12742/28).
For Warsaw, the cessation of lignite extraction activities in the Turów mine could lead to a disruption in the supply of heating and drinking water in the territories of Bogatynia and Zgorzelec.
On Monday, the Vice-President of the Court, Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, finally rejected the Polish application. According to her, the country “does not sufficiently demonstrate that such a cessation of extraction poses a real risk of disruption of heating and drinking water supplies in these territories”.
She therefore ordered Poland to pay the Commission a penalty payment of €500,000 per day from the date of notification of this order until the country complies with the May order.
The Polish government, for its part, reacted to the CJEU order by stating that the mine will continue to operate, according to information from the Reuters news agency.
The Court will give its final judgment on the merits of Case C-121/21 at a later date.
See the Court's decision: https://bit.ly/2VW8H5r (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)