Serbia is expected to gain billions of euros in revenue, while the European Union hopes to reduce its dependence on China. The EU and Serbia will cooperate on the exploitation of one of the largest lithium deposits in Europe.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, alongside Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, signed a cooperation agreement in Belgrade for the extraction of raw materials and the production of batteries, particularly for electric vehicles.
Austrian expert Florian Bieber has reacted to this agreement, stating that Germany and the European Union have exchanged democracy, the rule of law, and the EU’s perspective for the Balkans for lithium.
He further noted that “there are no institutions or media with national reach, and there is no space for a critical civil society in Serbia.”
According to the Balkan expert, the expansion of the European Union has died with such an approach by Europeans themselves.
“There is no guarantee that the mining project will meet Serbian (let alone EU) standards. Mass protests halted the first attempt in 2021. Now the EU and Germany are openly supporting the project after electoral fraud and deterioration of the rule of law. The message will be heard throughout the Western Balkans. An agreement that benefits the EU is more important than values. With such an approach, EU expansion is dead,” declared Bieber.
Otherwise, this agreement will enable the extraction of lithium, a rare and highly sought-after metal, from a mine in the Jadar Valley in Western Serbia.
China also attempted to exploit the reserves in Serbia, with President Xi Jinping visiting Belgrade in May. The fact that the opportunity to exploit the lithium reserves was given to the Europeans is seen by the German side as a major success, as this project could potentially serve as a model for other raw materials projects.
