Coal news and updates

Turow coal mine: EU to withhold Poland funds over dispute

The European Commission took the unprecedented decision to withhold millions of euros in budget funds from Poland on Tuesday over unpaid fines related to a long-running coal mine dispute.

The EU funding earmarked for Warsaw that will now be held back amounts to some €15 million ($17 million). 

Upon hearing the news, Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller hit back, saying his country would deploy "all possible legal means to appeal against this," Poland's PAP news agency reported.

Czech and German complaints

The dispute is over a European Court of Justice (ECJ) case relating to the Turow mine near Poland's border with the Czech Republic and Germany. Both countries had complained of environmental damage caused by the mine.

In 2020, Prague argued that Warsaw's expansion of operations there without environmental checks went against EU law, amid fears of polluting drinking water.