BERLIN – Franziska Brantner, State Secretary at the German Ministry of the Economy stated that a possible project regarding lithium mining in Serbia would not affect the European integration process of the country, in which the central points are the rule of law and democracy.
“There will be no discount for lithium when it comes to the rule of law, nor in relation to Kosovo or Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Brantner, a member of the ruling Greens, told the Berlin daily TAZ.
She added that the Greens had always supported the civil society in Serbia and pointed out that “we managed to achieve that (mining company) Rio Tinto will form a permanent advisory body composed of representatives of civil society”.
Franziska Brantner accompanied German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited Belgrade on 19 July, when the Memorandum between the EU and Serbia on sustainable raw materials was signed. On this occasion, she also met with representatives of the opposition parties and civil society who are against the lithium mining project in the valley of the Jadar River in the west of Serbia.
About 30,000 people took to the streets of Belgrade on 10 August to protest against the re-announcement of the opening of the lithium mine of the international company Rio Tinto in Serbia. The protest was organised by the Association of Environmental Organisations of Serbia, and speakers said that they would not allow the opening of the mine, due to the concerns that it would pollute water sources and seriously endanger public health. The protest in Belgrade was preceded by mass protests in dozens of Serbian cities.
Brantner also stressed for TAZ that the local population and the opposition rightly demanded that state institutions apply ecological standards.
“At the same time, it is good that European reserves are exploited and processed in a European way. In this way, China’s increased influence on important European resources is prevented. I doubt that democracy, the environment and the local population will fare better with a Serbian-Chinese partnership”, Franziska Brantner remarked.
She assessed that this was also an opportunity to show the whole world that German and European companies could make a difference and that the exploitation and processing of raw materials could be much more environmentally friendly than it had been so far.
“Rio Tinto has committed itself to respect the EU’s environmental legislation, even though it is only partially applied in Serbia. The state control is the responsibility of Serbia. The EU and us will be able to provide expert advise”, she said.
Some of Brantner’s assessments echoed the recent comments of our portal’s interlocutors. They stated for the EWB that the European Union would not stop insisting on improving the rule of law as a key condition for Serbia’s membership.
Florian Bieber, a Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, and a coordinator of BiEPAG group, told European Western Balkans that he did not think that the EU would turn a blind eye on the rule of law per se, but rather that it would speak with two voices.
“Hopefully, the next Commissioner for Enlargement will be less compromised than the incumbent and might strengthen the credibility of the Commission in this regard. On the other hand, the lithium-mining deal suggests that the EU has strategic interests that might trump rule of law issues. The signing itself is a testament to it. The project was re-started despite not having any independent institutions evaluating it or any public consultations. In the EU, such a controversial project which was stopped due to citizens’ protests could not just restart with so little regard to broader consultation. The fact that the EU supports it, suggests that when it comes to strategic interests, it might look the other way”, Florian Bieber said.
In the similar vein, Đorđe Dimitrov, a researcher at the European Policy Centre (CEP) in Belgrade, stated the European Western Balkans that the Memorandum would not speed up Serbia’s EU path, but would lead to stronger cooperation on critical raw materials and at one point would certainly result in a strategic partnership between Serbia and the EU.
“However, the key problems concerning Serbia’s EU path remain, which are issues regarding the state of democracy, the rule of law and media freedom. It is difficult to expect that the EU member states which do not have an industry that needs lithium will be willing to turn a blind eye to these problems, as officials from Brussels and Germany do”, Đorđe Dimitrov stressed.