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Poland defies €500,000-a-day Brussels fine to keep coal mine open

The Turow coal-fired power plant in Poland
The Turow coal-fired power plant in Poland

The Polish government will defy Brussels by continuing to operate a mine near the Czech border despite facing fines of €500,000 a day.

The European Court of Justice ordered Poland to pay the hefty fine on Monday after operations continued at the Turow open-pit lignite mine in the country’s south-west despite an injunction.

The court said the fine was needed to force Warsaw to comply with a temporary ruling issued in May ordering the immediate closure of the mine following demands by the Czech Republic.

Its intervention was welcomed by the Czech government, which has said the mine harmed the environment and drained water from nearby Czech villages. Authorities in Prague had sought a €5m daily fine.

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The German city of Zittau has also taken Poland to court over similar claims.

Watch: How lavender farms can help restore land that's been ruined by years of coal mining

Poland has refused to comply, attempting instead to settle the dispute via back-channels with Prague. Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has previously claimed talks were being overshadowed by looming Czech elections.

Its government said the mine was essential to the operations of a nearby power station that produces about 7pc of Poland’s energy and pointed to continued operation of German and Czech lignite mines near where the three countries’ borders meet.

Lignite, or "brown coal", provides about 17pc of Poland’s energy but is more polluting than more dominant hard black coal.

The court ruling said it was “unequivocally clear” that Poland had failed to comply, meaning it is “necessary to strengthen the effectiveness of the interim measures”.

The Polish government said the fine was "disproportionate to the situation and is not justified by facts. It undermines the ongoing process of reaching an amicable settlement.”

Warsaw has stated a commitment to coal mining, with its climate ministry saying in April that Turow would remain operational until 2044.

The decision means the region near the mine will not be eligible for a slice of the EU’s €17.5bn fund to support areas that ditch coal.