Poland's Turów open-pit lignite mine and power plant will continue to operate despite Europe's top court ordering the government to pay a daily fine for operating, Poland's prime minister said on Tuesday.
The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordered Poland to pay a daily penalty of 500,000 euros ($586,700) to the European Commission for not halting operations at Turow, in violation of an earlier court ruling.
The Czech government launched a lawsuit against Poland saying the mine's expansion was damaging communities on its side of their border.
The Polish government argues the mine and nearby power plant, both operated by PGE, are crucial for energy security with the plant responsible for as much as 7% of Poland's energy output.
"This decision (of the EU's top court) is totally wrong... We do not plan to stop operations of the Turów mine and energy power plant," Morawiecki told a news conference.
"No one in Europe, especially someone who doesn't have a social mandate, should make decisions which put energy security of a country at risk, and may leave millions of people without access to electricity," Morawiecki argued.
"A body issuing rulings impossible to carry out strips itself of gravity," he said adding that "the decision was made by one person, who soon will cease to be a judge".
"We will use all legal and any other possibilities to prove non-proportionality (of the decision)," he added without elaborating.
He also stressed the facility had a crucial significance for energy security of the country, and thereby for Poland's citizens and tens of thousands of jobs.
According to Morawiecki, the issue would further strain Polish-Czech relations. In his view, the Czech side acted "absolutely without any good will".
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters