The Czech government said Monday it would ask the European Union's top court to fine Poland for its failure to suspend mining at the Turow coal mine near the border. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Poland to suspend brown coal mining at the open-cast mine in May, following a Czech complaint over its environmental impact. Warsaw however said it would keep the mine open as a closure could hamper the country's energy security. The mine provides around seven percent of the country's electricity. Czech Environment Minister Richard Brabec said Monday they would ask the ECJ to fine Poland EUR 5 million ($6 million) for each day the mine is open despite the court verdict. "This complaint should be filed in the coming days, and in the meantime we will naturally lead talks with the Polish government on an agreement," Brabec told reporters. The mine is located in the southwestern corner of Poland near borders with both the Czech Republic and Germany. Both countries have complained about the mine and its planned expansion, saying it caused water losses and increased noise and dust levels in the region. Operating since 1904, the mine supplies coal mainly to a local power station. Poland's largest energy group PGE, which owns both the mine and the plant, is planning to extract coal at Turow until 2044. The court ruling said that Polish legislation allowing an open-cast mining project to be extended without an environmental impact assessment could break EU law. And it deemed it "sufficiently likely" that continuing to exploit Turow would "have negative effects on the level of groundwater in Czech territory". The court also said Poland had failed to prove its claim that shutting the mine would force the closure of the power station and lead to local power outages. Poland relies on coal to meet up to 80 percent of its energy needs, but has vowed to develop green energy sources and to shut its last mine by 2049, in line with targets for emissions cuts set by the EU. frj/jj