Based on an agreement concluded with the Czech government by Prime Minister Petr Fiala in early February, Poland sent the Czech Republic an agreed amount of 45 million euros (approximately 1.08 billion crowns) as an agreed compensation for the impact of mining activities. The Czechia subsequently withdrew its lawsuit before the Court of Justice of the European Union. According to activists, the government “sold Poland the right of border residents to a quality of life and a preserved environment.”

The Polish Turów mine supplies coal to a nearby power plant. According to the Polish side, this is necessary to ensure the country’s energy security. Residents of border municipalities on the Czech side of the border point out that groundwater is declining in the area due to mining, and they also complain about noise and dust pollution.

People started meeting at a demonstration on Prague’s Wenceslas Square around 3 p.m. They had banners with them, for example with the inscriptions “Water over the zloty”, “Together – we will sell water to the Poles for profit” or “You will dry, the seed, holala, Fiala is to blame.”

Dust, noise and deepening climate crisis

Speakers pointed out, among other things, the effects of mining. “Mining has great negative effects on the environment, noise, water runoff from the Czech territory, but it also brings climate dust, and deepens the climate crisis, because coal is burned in the adjacent coal-fired power plant,” said Greenpeace coal campaign coordinator Nikol Krejčová.

She pointed out that the problem did not only concern the Czech but also the German territory. She also criticized the agreement for approval in secret. “It shouldn’t be like this, the government should not trample on the right to information,” Krejčová added. According to activists, the solution that would be a win for both parties would be the transformation of the mine.

According to the agreement, Poland will not expand the scope of mining in Turów to the Czech border. The mining pit will not be deepened more than 30 meters below sea level unless an underground barrier preventing groundwater runoff from border towns is completed and its functionality is demonstrated, a ground wall is built and monitoring requirements are not met and monitoring wells are established.

Poland must also inform the Czechia about related proceedings or their changes with mining, especially about the procedure for permitting mining activities. The agreement can be withdrawn by notification to the other party at the earliest after five years, withdrawal six months after the notification.

According to Greenpeace, the conditions for further extraction contained in the contract are not enough to protect water supplies on the Czech side of the border. According to activists, the agreement is primarily a concession to Poland. The activists plan to file a complaint with the European Commission over the agreement. People were also able to sign a letter to the commission at the demonstration on Sunday. People can also sign it on the internet.