BELGRADE – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič participated today in the Critical Raw Material Summit in Serbia, which concluded with the signing of an EU-Serbia Memorandum of Understanding in this area. The event is seen as a major step towards the realisation of a lithium mining project in western Serbia, which is still quite unpopular domestically.
The EU has for some time expressed interest in Serbian lithium reserves in the context of reducing dependencies on critical raw materials and transitioning towards a green economy. Germany has also shown its interest in recent years, with lithium-powered batteries being one of the essential elements of electric vehicle production.
During the press conference that followed the signing of the Memorandum, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič spoke about economic benefits Serbia would have from lithium mining and attempted to reassure the citizens of Serbia that the environmental standards would be respected.
A speedy revival of the project
The lithium mining project, expected to be carried out by the international corporation Rio Tinto, became a major national issue in Serbia in 2021, when large-scale environmental protests were held against it. The participants expressed concern that the project would be environmentally detrimental to the region of Jadar, where the mine is supposed to open.
While the Government of Serbia cancelled the spacial plan for the mine in early 2022, ahead of that year’s general election, multiple politicians and activists warned that the issue was not permanently closed.
They seemed to have been proven right weeks after the June 2024 local elections, when Vučić announced the possibility of opening a mine by 2028, in an interview for Financial Times. On 11 July, Constitutional Court of Serbia abruptly overruled the 2022 Government’s decision and the spacial plan was restored. Only days afterwards, a Summit on Critical Raw Materials with Germany and the EU was announced.
Rio Tinto, which has held exploration rights in Serbia since the early 2000s, is yet to officially receive the licence for the exploitation of large reserves of lithium it discovered two decades ago. The company has engaged in an energetic public relations campaign, claiming that the project would be environmentally safe.
Signed and sealed.
This Strategic Partnership is a result of our shared vision and our shared ambition to take the lead in the #rawmaterials, #batteries and e-vehicles industries.
With Serbia’s Minister D. Djedovic Handanovic. pic.twitter.com/CWwNs1ywFO
— Maroš Šefčovič (@MarosSefcovic) July 19, 2024
Today’s Memorandum of Understanding launches a Strategic Partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles between EU and Serbia. The document was again signed by Commissioner Šefčovič on behalf of the EU and Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović on behalf of Serbia.
Following the signature of the Memorandum, the EU and Serbia will jointly develop within six months a roadmap with concrete actions to put the Strategic Partnership into practice. The partnership focuses, among other areas, on value chains for raw materials, batteries and electric vehicles, but also application of high environmental, social and governance standards.
Vučić hails the economic benefits, says he will personally fight for environmental standards
In his remarks, Aleksandar Vučić pointed out that, in addition to the Memorandum with the EU, various other memoranda and letters of intent were signed with the representatives of businesses, including Mercedes-Benz, and financial institutions. The main goal of Serbia is to ensure that parts of electric vehicles would be manufactured in the country and that it would not only be an exporter of raw materials.
“This is crème de la crème of European economy, industry, financial organizations… This is why I am proud and this is why this day fills me with great hope for our country… This will represent a watershed moment, a big change and a quantum leap to the future, something we did not believe could happen”, Vučić said in the press conference.
He said that the project would attract 6 billion Euros of new investment, which is by far the biggest investment in the history of Serbia.
“The Chancellor said that he would do his best, just like in Chile, so that the value chain remains in the country. The full value chain is worth up to 16.4% of Serbia’s GDP in 2023”, Vučić emphasised.
The President of Serbia said that he would personally insist and fight for the environment and the life of people in Jadar and Rađevina region, where the mine would be located, adding that “all experts from the EU and Germany” would be at Serbia’s disposal.
According to Vučić, Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Action from the Green Party, who was also part of the German delegation visiting Serbia, would play a crucial role in the process.
“I don’t have to tell you what German Greens think of me, and I of them as well, but thank her for everything, and I think this is an exceptional guarantee and commitment. For us, the protection of the environment is of crucial importance”, said Vučić.
Scholz: The project will increase Europe’s resiliency and help it achieve climate goals
In the press conference, the German Chancellor described the lithium mining project as “an important European project and contribution to Europe’s sovereignty”.
“We need to reduce our dependencies, we need to have a resilient structure in our value chains, and that means that we need to discover new raw material sources around the world”, Scholz said.
He said that this decision of Serbia required courage, but it was made at the right moment.
“We are making an important step, by mining lithium here in Serbia we increase our resiliency and we can achieve our climate goals this way”, he said.
Scholz also stressed that mining needs to be carried out with respect for the highest standards of environmental protection and biodiversity.
He also emphasised that other parts of the value chain will be available in Serbia.
“I wish to add that this is a real European project and we need a European spirit. Therefore, I want to connect my visit here with clear support for European integration of the Western Balkan countries. My ambition is to help with that… It is a merit-based process, but we want to help you succeed”, Scholz said.
Šefčovič: The EU guarantees the standards with its regulatory framework
Maroš Šefčovič reiterated that the agreements reached today would open the doors to the largest foreign direct investment in the history of Serbia and congratulated Vučić.
“I think this is clear evidence of how Serbia can progressively integrate into the EU’s economy, how we want Serbia to advance and prosper and how we want Serbia to join the EU as soon as possible”, the Commissioner said.
Asked by a journalist how the EU would guarantee the environmental standards of this project in Serbia, Šefčovič pointed out that the EU had adopted the most comprehensive regulatory framework on batteries and critical raw materials last year.
“To give you an example. Each battery which enters the EU market will have a digital passport, it will probably be a QR code, where the public will be able to access the information on due diligence – what is the carbon footprint of the battery, whether the highest environmental and social standards were respected, whether social standards were respected”, he said.
Šefčovič also said that the representatives of the European Reconstruction and Development Bank, and the European Investment Bank participated in the meeting and that they have the highest environmental criteria for financing any loans, which is another layer of guarantees.
Opposition to the project persists, crosses ideological divides
On 28 June, a protest was held in the city of Loznica in western Serbia, near the place where the mine is supposed to open. Another smaller protest was held in front of the Constitutional Court the day it overruled the decision of the Government to scrap the site for the mine.
One of the most prominent organisations opposing lithium mining is activist group “Go-Change” (“Kreni-promeni”) which rose to national attention in 2021 after organising the environmental protests which forced the Government to postpone the project. The group’s leader Savo Manojlović stated today that the signing of the Memorandum between EU and Serbia is a “defeat of European values in Serbia”.
“What was signed by EU representatives, Olaf Scholz and Aleksandar Vučić is a vision of Serbia as an African colony”, Manojlović said.
He stood by his assessment that the decision would be environmentally detrimental and said that the Constitutional Court made the decision under the influence of the executive branch.
Go-Change, as well as other opposition organisations such as Environmental Uprising, protested today in front of the Palace of Serbia, where the summit on Critical Raw Materials was held.
Pokret Kreni-Promeni danas ispred Palate Srbije : “Olafe ostavi litijum i demokratiju nama, nosi sa sobom Vučića i stabilokratiju.”
Litijum se kopati neće, jer Srbija nije na prodaju! pic.twitter.com/moNNZ5L4dG
— Kreni-Promeni (@KPromeni) July 19, 2024
Many prominent anti-Western and anti-EU organisations and individuals have participated in the protests against lithium mining. This includes the right-wing opposition currently represented in the Serbian parliament.
However, pro-European opposition has taken a stance against lithium mining as well. This includes the centre-left Freedom and Justice Party, whose vice president Marinika Tepić called for snap elections today so that the citizens can voice their opinion on the issue.
Representatives of the pro-EU opposition parties Green-Left Front, Democratic Party and Free Citizens Movement held a press conference in the parliament today, also expressing their opposition to the project.
“There are no new concrete guarantees coming from Germany that environmental standards will be respected in the Rio Tinto project. There are no guarantees, and there cannot be any, because how will Germany guarantee that the laws are respected in Serbia?”, asked Radomir Lazović, co-president of the Green-Left Front.