Image source, Oliver Bonnick/Bloomberg
- author, Guy Deloney
- Role, BBC Balkans Correspondent
The European Union hailed the agreement with Serbia on lithium mining as a “historic day for Serbia, but also for Europe”, ending the race to conclude the deal.
Serbia on Tuesday re-licensed mining giant Rio Tinto to mine the mineral in the Jadar Valley in the west of the country.
By Thursday evening, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was in Belgrade, defending a deal he said would help defend Europe’s economic security.
Mr Schultz was keen to ensure that his country’s auto industry was at the top of the supply list.
Carmakers will need more lithium for batteries as the shift to zero-emission vehicles accelerates – and Rio Tinto’s Gadar project could supply up to nine-tenths of Europe’s current lithium needs.
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic arrived in Belgrade on Friday for a meeting described as a “crucial raw materials summit.”
He was joined by what he called the “elite of the elite” of European companies that had shown strong interest in a new source of lithium.
Among these companies are Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, which together account for nearly a quarter of total car sales in Europe.
Image source, Vladimir Zivojinovich / AFP
Representatives of lithium battery manufacturers also attended the signing of an agreement between Serbia and the European Union to establish a “Strategic Partnership on Sustainable Raw Materials and Production Chains for Batteries and Electric Vehicles.”
While Sefcovic described the day as historic, Olaf Scholz celebrated securing access to the continent’s largest known lithium reserves — which should reduce reliance on supplies from China.
“This decision requires courage, but it is taken at the right time,” he said, adding that the move would ensure that Europe remains “sovereign in a changing world” and “not dependent on others.”
It was a tribute to the Serbian leadership, which lifted a ban on lithium mining after a court ruled last week it was unconstitutional. The government imposed a temporary moratorium in 2022, after widespread protests across the country.
Environmentalists weren’t the only ones taking part in the demonstrations. Many of those blocking roads and bridges were new to the protests. All were upset that a foreign company had been awarded mining rights through a process they felt was not transparent.
They expressed concern about the potential impact on important food and water sources in the Jadar Valley.
But these fears have not dissipated, despite reassurances from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
“We will not hide anything from our people at any stage of the mine opening, and at any part of the procedures,” he said at the signing ceremony.
“As President, I will personally fight for the environment and for the lives of our citizens in Gadar, so that their water and air are clean.”
Mr Vucic was also keen to highlight the potential economic gains, and insisted that the lithium produced by Jadar would remain in the country.
This means that Serbia will become the first European country to have “the entire value chain from lithium to electric vehicles manufactured here in Serbia,” Maros Sefcovic said.
But opposition parties remain unconvinced by the president’s environmental assurances. They never believed the lithium mine was dead for good. Now they are demanding transparency about Rio Tinto’s revived project.
“There is a complete lack of trust in the government when it says it will be in the interest of citizens,” says Biljana Djordjevic, co-leader of the Green Left movement.
“We fear that Serbia will be sacrificed to provide lithium for electric cars, which almost no one in Serbia can afford.”
This means that despite the celebrations in Brussels, Berlin and Belgrade, protests against lithium extraction in rural areas of Serbia are likely to return in earnest.
