During the final day of the European Economic Congress in Katowice, discussions focused, among other things, on the future of mining. We asked Deputy Energy Minister Marian Zmarzły whether Donald Tusk’s government intends to save Poland’s mining sector. He replied that everyone wants this to happen. “We will judge them by their actions. There is a lot of talk that our stance toward the European Union will be ‘tough’ on this issue. ‘Let’s not be suckers’—those are Donald Tusk’s famous words. We are waiting for concrete moves,” Marek Wesoły, former Deputy Minister of State Assets, commented for us.
According to Prof. Alicja Krzemień, President of the European Association for Coal and Lignite “Euracoal,” there will be no development of the Old Continent without mining. China extracted 4.8 billion tons of coal last year and is also a leader in photovoltaics. Another panelist, Bogusław Oleksy, acting President of JSW—which employs nearly 30,000 people across its capital group—reminded that it is the only producer of coking coal in the European Union.
Despite coking coal being on the EU’s list of critical raw materials, there are still no instruments in place that could support the sector. Why doesn’t the European Union ensure the protection of European resources? The market is shrinking due to changes in metallurgy and the emergence of new technologies. “The customer dictates how long we will be able to survive. It is not Poland that should pay for the transformation—this should be borne by all of Europe, because it is a matter of survival for the continent,” Oleksy emphasized.
Deputy Minister Marian Zmarzły stated that coal is and will remain necessary for a long time. When asked directly whether Donald Tusk’s government wants to save Polish mining, he responded:
“I believe that everyone wants to do so. Major groups such as JSW, Polska Grupa Górnicza, Południowy Koncern Węglowy, and in the future Bogdanka, employ thousands of workers, so I think there is no other path but to save them,” Zmarzły told Niezalezna.pl.
“We will judge them by their actions. There is constant talk about a ‘tough’ stance toward the EU. ‘Let’s not be suckers’—those are Donald Tusk’s famous words. We are waiting to see what actually happens. If mining truly gets new opportunities, that will be good news for us. When we return to power, it will be easier for us. Otherwise, in two years there will be nothing left to salvage. It will be a tragedy. I support anyone who genuinely does something to ensure the survival of mining. Today is a time of closing mines. We certainly cannot move toward building gas power plants in place of coal-fired ones, yet that is what is happening. Words are not followed by actions. As long as that continues, I do not believe in promises,” said Marek Wesoły, former Minister of State Assets.
“We are talking about new technologies, but the opportunity for them will only come when we give mining a clear declaration that it will continue for another 20 or 30 years. Today, no mine has such certainty. The entire sector lacks it. ‘Jastrzębska’ is barely surviving. I ask—who will want to talk about new technologies in such conditions? They will prove effective if we know mining has another 50 years ahead of it. Coal is a fuel that provides stability, and that opens the path to modernizing the sector. We failed to do this 30 years ago. Now we must send a clear message that we are keeping mining, and then new technologies can help reduce costs. For Polish energy, we should reach a cross-party agreement that the greatest curse of coal and the entire energy sector is ETS. We must leave this system, because it hits Poland the hardest—not any other European country. This law is unjust; it is destroying us as the only country in Europe. It is not in our interest. ETS improves nothing—if it does not work, we have grounds to exit it. The most important thing here should be a ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal declaring ETS incompatible with Polish law,” he added.