After many months of difficult negotiations and another legal battle with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Polish government announced that it had reached an agreement with the Czech Republic regarding the mine in Turów.

"We have just signed an agreement between the government of the Czech Republic and Poland regarding the Turów opencast mine. This is, in my opinion, a huge success, because we have managed to remove a huge obstacle, a certain boulder that was weighing down the relations between our countries," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced.

Poland will pay the Czechs compensation of €45 million (at the NBP exchange rate of 4.54 on February 3, this amounts to slightly over PLN 204 million). €35 million are funds directly from the state budget, and the remaining €10 million will be paid to the Liberec region (one of the thirteen Czech federal states, bordering Poland) by the PGE Foundation. This amount is very close to the original demands of the Czechs, which were €50 million.

In return for the payment of the above fee, the lignite opencast mine in Turów will be able to continue operating. The Czech government will also withdraw a complaint from the CJEU against Poland in this case. The agreement between the two countries also provides for the completion of the construction of a barrier preventing groundwater runoff, the construction of an earth embankment, environmental monitoring, and a fund for local projects. Both parties agreed that the CJEU will supervise the implementation of the agreement for five years.

The thing is, it is a solution to a problem that the government itself has caused. Now, however, it will pay over PLN 0.5 billion for its solution.

(Gazeta.pl)