WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland and the Czech Republic need until Monday to conclude talks on the Turow open-pit lignite mine, Polish climate minister Anna Moskwa said on Friday as the two countries try to resolve their most serious spat in decades.
The European Union’s top court told Poland to halt operations at the Turow lignite mine and power plant on the border with the Czech Republic after Prague complained of environmental damage in nearby Czech villages.
Poland, which has not complied with the court’s order, has been trying to reach an agreement with its neighbour to keep the mine open, and brought an offer to Prague in late September to end the dispute.
“We are in good dialogue, but we have to agree on the details and then we will come back…with the final message,” Moskwa said.
Talks have resumed after being suspended at the start of October, before a Czech parliamentary election, with the main sticking point being the length of the agreement, according to Czech authorities.
The talks have also sought to clarify financial compensation and technical improvements to safeguard the environment around the mine.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Anna Koper; Editing by Alison Williams, Kirsten Donovan)
