Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala have signed an agreement to settle a legal dispute over the Turow open-pit coal mine that lies on the Polish side of the border.
Reuters reported that under the deal, the Czech Republic will withdraw a legal complaint it had filed with the European Court of Justice last year in exchange for compensation of 45 million euros (US$50.8 million) for infrastructure upgrades and other environmental safeguards and pledges.
The Czech government had argued that the Turow mine, which is owned by Poland’s state-run power company PGE, pumps underground water from the Czech side, damaging its communities and environment. It had resorted to legal action after bilateral talks faltered in late 2020 between the countries when Poland granted PGE a six-year extension to the Turow mining license.
During a joint news conference with Morawiecki, Fiala said the Czech Republic received guarantees of the construction of an underground barrier that would protect Czech water sources.
Oversight on the deal would last five years, Fiala added.
Source: Reuters