Poland moves to block coal imports from Russia

Poland’s government has decided to block imports of coal from Russia

WARSAW, Poland -- Poland's government decided Tuesday to block imports of coal from Russia, part of an overarching strategy to reduce energy dependence on Russia that gained new urgency after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Poland will impose financial penalties on any private entities importing Russian coal into Poland, with Polish customs officials carrying out checks, government spokesman Piotr Mueller said as he announced the new policy. He added that Poland could no longer wait for the whole 27-nation European Union to embrace the policy.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU, the United States and some other powers imposed a range of economic sanctions on Russia. But Europe has historically been dependent on Russian energy sources — primarily oil and gas but also coal to some extent — and has had trouble weaning itself off.

Poland, which was under Moscow's influence during the communist era, has worked in recent years to reduce its use of Russian energy sources, and will soon no longer have to rely on Russian gas.