Polish PM says Poland will not close Turów mine despite court ruling

Poland will not allow its Turów coal mine, located near the border with Czechia, to be closed and will do everything in its power to keep it operating until 2044, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on a visit to the mine, adding that no court in Brussels could tell Poland how to handle its energy security, the Czech News Agency reports, citing Polish media.

An administrative court in Warsaw ruled last week that mining in Turów near the border with Czechia's Liberec Region should stop as it harms the environment. The prime minister rejects the court's decision and the power company PGE, which owns the mine and the adjacent power plant, plans to appeal against it.

The Czech and Polish prime ministers signed an agreement last year on February 3 to assess the impact of coal mining in Turów. The Czech Republic withdrew the lawsuit it had filed against Poland with the EU's Court of Justice after Poland paid Czechia EUR 45 million as compensation for the damage caused.

However, in February of this year, the Polish environment ministry approved mining in Turów until 2044. Environmental organizations then appealed against the decision to the Warsaw Administrative Court. According to them, mining threatens the environment primarily by destroying the groundwater in the vicinity of the mine.