The European Union and the Serbian government are nearing completion of talks to move ahead with the controversial Jadar project, which will be the largest lithium mine in Europe and would cost $4 billion to commission.
The project operated by Rio Tinto was previously stalled due to protests from eco-activists and locals. However, last September, EU and Serbia have signed a letter of intent to strengthen and expand cooperation on critical raw materials and electric vehicles value chains, signaling the continuation of the lithium mine’s implementation.
European Commissioner Maroš Šefčović, who is in charge of the green agenda, told Euronews on the sidelines of the recent summit on critical raw materials in Brussels that Serbia is “unique position” to provide raw resources mentioned in the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), such as high-quality lithium, which he referred to as “one of the best in the world”.
Šefčović did not mention Rio Tinto and the Jadar project specifically, but said that the European Union is in close contact with the government of Serbia and is helping it to ensure that all environmental impact assessments are carried out according to the highest European standards.
“All I can say at this stage is that there is a positive development. There were some legal issues in the past, which are now being discussed between the company and the government,” Šefčovič told Euronews, adding that current discussions with the Serbian government are focused on extraction, processing, refining and use of lithium.
Still, the proposed controversial lithium project is sparking protests across Serbia led by both public activists and locals. The most recent protest organized by the non-governmental organization "Kreni-promeni" was held in Belgrade in April under the slogan "Serbia is not for sale".
"If we let them mine lithium, they will not respect the decisions of the Government of Serbia and environmental standards. We will not let them mine," said "Kreni-promeni" representative Savo Manojlović.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
