The Vice-President of the European Commission and the German Chancellor also participated in the event, along with the Serbian President, and a package of agreements covering five areas of cooperation was signed, the Commission revealed. From her announcement.
Great words
Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission, stressed this. Serbia could be the first European country that can cover the entire supply chain, i.e. it can guarantee the production of electric cars from lithium mining to production. He said: This could be an excellent project for Serbia, which would create more opportunities, as more foreign investments can be expected after that.
The agreement increases Europe's energy independence and represents huge opportunities for the production of electric cars, but also in terms of achieving environmental protection goals. – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who also took part in the Belgrade Summit on Strategic Raw Materials, said after the signing. As he said, the agreement gives the EU access to raw materials extracted in Serbia, including lithium. According to Olaf Scholz, lithium mining represents many opportunities for Serbia, allows mobility and creates many jobs.
We need lithium. Batteries are key when it comes to electric mobility. Lithium plays an important role in this, just as petroleum has played an important role up until now. However, we are not burning this raw material, we are using it to build a long-term future.
The advisor confirmed.
The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, pointed out that Belgrade cannot miss such an opportunity, because it has missed many opportunities before. He stressed that in the meantime, the highest environmental protection requirements must be met, and Serbia must remain a reliable partner for Germany and the EU. In his opinion, this project could represent a “paradigm shift” for Serbia’s future, although many people will certainly oppose it at first, but according to him, when people see what kind of partners they are working with, they will accept it more and more.
How did we get here?
In January 2022, the Belgrade government revoked Rio Tinto’s permits that would have allowed the giant to open a lithium mine in Serbia due to protests from environmentalists. The project was then valued at $2.4 billion (871.5 billion forints). Belgrade’s leadership justified the decision by citing its negative impact on the environment and citizen protests.
Last Thursday, the Serbian Constitutional Court declared the decision taken by the Belgrade government to halt the project two years ago unconstitutional, after finding that it was inconsistent with the laws and the constitution.
The Serbian government on Tuesday approved a decision that would allow the resumption of British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto's lithium mining project, which was halted two years ago, in the western Balkan country.
The Jeddar mining project will cover 90 percent of Europe's lithium needs at full capacity.
Lithium is mainly used in batteries for electric cars and mobile devices. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced days ago that the mine could start operating in 2028.
Cover image credit: Oliver Bonnick/Bloomberg via Getty Images
