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Court imposes penalty on Poland for non-compliance with resolution to suspend mining at Turów

 

In its resolution on an interim measure of 21 May 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union ordered Poland to immediately suspend lignite mining at the Turów mine pending the judgment terminating the Czech Republic's action against Poland. However, Poland repeatedly made it clear through officials that it did not intend to comply with the provision in question, and mining continues to this day. The Czech Republic therefore petitioned the Court of Justice on 7 June 2021 to impose a penalty on Poland for failing to comply with the interim measure.

The Court of Justice accepted the arguments of the Czech Republic and ruled on the imposition of a penalty of EUR 500,000 for each day of non-compliance with the obligations imposed in the interim measure starting today. The amount in question will go to the budget of the European Union. At the same time, the Court of Justice rejected Poland's application for annulment of the May resolution on an interim measure and emphasised that, contrary to Poland's contention, there had been no change in circumstances. The main legal proceedings concerning the Czech Republic's lawsuit continue.

The Czech Republic clearly welcomes today's ruling of the Court of Justice. Nevertheless, we still hope that the dispute with Poland can be settled amicably. For this reason, bilateral negotiations on an international Czech-Polish agreement will continue, which would address the current and future negative impacts of the Turów mine on Czech territory.

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