Poland, Czechia fail to mend divisions over Turow coal mine

Tensions have mounted at the Polish, Czech and German border over a coal mine in Poland that Prague says is contaminating its water supplies and has been operating illegally for over a year.

The controversial Turów coal mine in Poland has been negatively impacting the people who live around it for decades. The European Commission now needs to step in and enforce common EU rules to enable a just transition to take place, writes Mikuláš Peksa.

The Turów coal mine and power plant complex is “strategic for ensuring the energy security of Poland,” says PGE, the state-owned enterprise at the centre of a dispute with the Czech Republic over the extension of mining operations there.

For decades, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have been at the heart of Europe’s so-called “lignite triangle” which produces most of the continent’s coal-based electricity. But with climate change now a top political priority, the priority is shifting to renewables.

The European Commission needs to be more engaged in environmental disputes between EU countries, like the escalating tensions between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic over the disputed open-pit mine in Turów, Poland, writes Martin Hojsík.