Brussels, in first, to deduct Poland fine from EU funding

The European Commission said Tuesday it will take the unprecedented step of cutting EU money earmarked for Poland to collect a near 15-million-euro fine Warsaw racked up for refusing to close a coal mine. The EU executive has informed Poland of the move, which will happen next week, a commission spokesman, Balazs Ujvari, told AFP.

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) hit Poland with the 500,000-euro ($570,000) a day fine last September for refusing to comply an order to close its Turow mine producing lignite, or brown coal. Poland’s neighbours, the Czech Republic and Germany, complained of environmental damage the mine caused, affecting groundwater levels and creating dust and noise.

Poland last week signed a deal with the Czech Republic to end the dispute over the mine, but that did not erase the CJEU fine, which Warsaw had steadfastly said it would not pay.