Polish private miner Silesia sues state for 5 billion złoty over coal import discrimination

The court-appointed administrator of Polish private mining company Przedsiębiorstwo Górnicze Silesia filed a lawsuit against the Polish state on Sept. 30, 2026, seeking 5.01 billion złoty in damages over alleged discrimination in coal imports.
The claim, submitted to the Warsaw District Court, stems from a July 13, 2022, decision by the Prime Minister ordering state-controlled firms PGE Paliwa and Węglokoks to conduct emergency coal imports with full state financial guarantees, cost coverage, and logistical priority. According to a statement from Bumech, Silesia’s majority shareholder, the measure disrupted market competition and is the subject of an ongoing European Commission investigation initiated after a complaint by Bumech .
The lawsuit breaks down the demand into 4.7 billion złoty for actual damages and 425.3 million złoty for lost profits between 2023 and 2025. Marcin Sutkowski, Bumech’s majority shareholder, stated that Article 32 of Poland’s constitution prohibits economic discrimination, yet the 2022 decision favored state-owned entities at the expense of domestic producers .
Silesia, though majority-owned by Bumech, is currently under court administration due to financial difficulties. The 2022 import decision followed a 60% year-on-year surge in Polish coal imports, reaching a record 20 million tons amid the Russian embargo and energy crisis.
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