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Polish, Czech local authorities appeal for consensus regarding Turów

An appeal to conclude a Polish-Czech intergovernmental agreement guaranteeing the end of the dispute over the Turów mine was addressed to the governments of both countries by Polish and Czech local government officials. “The agreement should be reached by consensus, in the spirit of good neighbourly relations, bearing in mind the good of the inhabitants,” the letter reads.

In a letter addressed to Poland’s Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart Andrei Babiš, it was announced that on Monday, Cezary Przybylski, Marshal of the Lower Silesia Province, Martin Puta, Hetman of the Liberec Region, and representatives of Polish-Czech border towns and vicinities , met with the Polish Minister of Climate and Environment, Michał Kurtyka.

“The purpose of the talks was to get acquainted with the current picture of the situation in the region, developed in connection with the negotiations on solving the problem of the Polish Lignite Mine in Turów,” they wrote.

As indicated, during the meeting its participants – Polish and Czech local government officials – expressed their “will to continue long-term friendly relations and cooperation” between the two countries.

On Monday, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) decided that Poland is to pay the European Commission a daily penalty of EUR 500,000 for not implementing the interim measures announced in May and continuing to extract lignite at the Turów mine.

In May, the CJEU ordered Poland to immediately suspend mining from the Turów mine, owned by PGE Mining and Conventional Energy, until the Czech Republic’s complaint was substantively resolved.

The decision of the CJEU was the result of a complaint that the Czech Republic brought to the Court against Poland in February. The Czechs claim that the Turów mine has a negative impact on border regions where the groundwater level has decreased.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that “The Polish government will not shut down the Turów complex, and the decision to impose a penalty is not adequate and proportionate.” He added that it was not certain whether Poland would have to pay fines.

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