Poland faces a €15m reduction in EU funds as the European Commission seeks to recover unpaid fines related to a coal mine dispute.

The European Commission has announced its decision to withhold €15 million in EU funds from Poland as a means of recovering an unpaid fine related to the Turów coal mine dispute.

This move comes after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Poland to pay €500,000 per day for defying a ruling to halt lignite mining at the controversial Turów mine. The dispute was initiated by the Czech Republic, which claimed the open-pit mine, located near the Polish-Czech-German border, violated EU environmental laws by depleting groundwater supplies and causing significant air and water pollution.

While the two countries reached a settlement last week, EU officials have emphasized that they were left with no option but to deduct the outstanding fine from Poland’s EU funds. This unprecedented action reflects the EU’s commitment to enforcing legal rulings and environmental regulations.