EU-Kommission zur Kohlemine Turow in Polen

VIRGINIJUS SINKEVIČIUS Commissioner for Environment Oceans and Fisheries

Ref. Ares(2021) 4520422

Ms Anna Cavazzini MEP
Parlement européen Bât. ALTIERO SPINELLI 10G302 60, rue Wiertz / Wiertzstraat 60 B-1047 Bruxelles/Brussel

Dear Ms Cavazzini,

Thank you for your letter of 29 April 2021, also addressed to Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, which was co-signed by another 37 Members of Parliament and in which you draw our attention to the case of the Polish lignite mine in Turów, on the border with Czech Republic and Germany. You ask the European Commission to initiate an infringement procedure against Poland that takes into account the complaints of the Liberec region and from Saxony, as well as to ask Poland to resume the environmental impact assessment, to find a workable, lasting solution between the three neighbouring countries.

As you know, I have been following the Turów case very closely from the beginning, and as we have also discussed during our last meeting on this case, on 16 June, I am well aware of the grievances raised by the Czech and German regional authorities against the Turów lignite mine. Citizens and environmental NGOs in several countries have raised similar concerns.
I would like to recall that on 26 February 2021 the Czech Republic brought an action against the Republic of Poland to the Court of Justice of the EU. The notice about the Czech application initiating the proceeding (Case C-121/21) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 19 April 20211.

1 Action brought on 26 February 2021 — Czech Republic v Republic of Poland, Case C-121/21, ref. 2021/C 138/30, OJ C 138, 19.4.2021, p. 23, see: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62021CN0121&qid=1618901859028.
2
I would also like to confirm that on 9 June 2021 the Commission submitted to the Court
of Justice of the EU a request to intervene in the Case C-121/21, as regards the main
case, based on Article 130 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of the EU2.
Proceedings in case C-121/21 Czech Republic v Republic of Poland are currently
pending before the Court of Justice of the EU.
Once the litigation launched on the basis of Article 259 TFEU is concluded, the
Commission will decide on the need to take further steps in this case.

Yours sincerely,
Virginijus Sinkevičius