Prague, 4 February 2022 (TDI): On Thursday, Poland and the Czech Republic reached an agreement over the dispute on the Turow coal mine.
The dispute that reached the European Court of Justice.
The Agreement was signed by Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki. putting an end to a legal battle between the two countries.
The dispute over the Turow coal mine had damaged the diplomatic relations between the two countries and also caused serious concerns over the environmental costs of coal.
According to the agreement, the Czech Republic will be compensated for 45 million euros for infrastructure upgrades in exchange for the withdrawal of the legal complaint by the Czech Republic.
Earlier in May 2021, the European Court of Justice had ordered Poland to halt mining as an outcome of Czech difficulties. European Court of Justice had also imposed daily fines on Poland for failing to do so.
The Czech Republic had complained that the mine was draining water from the villages along the border between the two countries and it also sparked a conflict between Belgium and Poland.
During the Joint Press Conference with the Polish Prime Minister, Czech Leader Petr Fiala said that ‘‘This deal undoubtedly brings advantages and benefits and results to communities affected (by Turow).”
Diplomatic Negotiations over the coal mine broke down in November last year. These talks were later resumed in December when Petr Fiala’s Government took over last December.
Due to the economic and energy importance of the mine, Poland has sought to run it for another two decades as it is also feeding an adjacent power plant.
Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki said, “The Turow mine and power plant will continue their operations without any obstacles and will provide electricity to several million.”
Poland Government is considering legal ways to address the amount of fine that was imposed as a result of this dispute. Earlier European Court of Justice had ordered Poland to pay 68 million euros for not halting the Turow.
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