The EU and Serbia sign an agreement to boost the development of lithium batteries
The European Union and Serbia signed an agreement on Friday to develop the supply of lithium batteries, seen as a crucial building block needed to boost Europe’s transition to a green economy.
The memorandum of understanding drawn up at a ‘critical raw materials summit’ in Belgrade is seen as the first step in developing Serbia’s mineral resources and potentially building supply chains, including the production of lithium batteries and components.
The deal comes just days after the Serbian government, in a court decision, reapproved a lithium mining project that had been closed for two years following mass protests.
Lithium is a strategically valuable metal needed for the assembly of batteries for electric vehicles, making it crucial in helping the German automotive sector transition to greener production.
Serbia has vast lithium deposits near the western town of Loznica, where a controversial mining project by Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has been a perennial political fault line in the Balkan country in recent years.
“There will be no project without full protection, and we know that this will happen because we are bringing the best experts from Europe to Serbia,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the summit, which was attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vice -President of the European Commission. -President Maros Sefcovic.
“Chancellor Scholz has offered Germany support to Serbia to develop a more comprehensive value chain for lithium production, which will bring us billions in investments,” Vucic added.
The government reinstated permits for the mining project earlier this week, after revoking permits granted to Rio Tinto in 2022 following a series of demonstrations over environmental concerns.
The announcement came after Serbia’s Constitutional Court ruled last week that the revocation of the permits was “not in accordance with the constitution and the law”, paving the way for the government to resume the project.
Vucic, whose party won parliamentary elections in December, has said environmental protection would be a priority after the company received new guarantees.
Rio Tinto has said Serbia’s lithium reserves in Loznica could produce an estimated 58,000 tonnes per year, enough for 1.1 million electric vehicles.
During an interview with Germany’s Handelsblatt ahead of the Belgrade summit, Vucic said talks were underway with a range of European carmakers, including Mercedes, Volkswagen and Stellantis.
Vucic also said the country’s lithium exports will only be sold to European partners for the time being, despite interest from Chinese manufacturers.
“We promised this to the EU representatives,” Vucic said on Friday when asked about the comments.
“We have excellent relations with the Chinese, and that has nothing to do with this project.”
– Membership in mind –
However, opponents remain concerned about the mine’s impact on the environment and human health.
Critics of the mine have long accused Vucic’s government of having a poor record of regulating the industrial sector.
Outside the summit, a small group of protesters surrounded by police denounced the deal.
“Leave lithium and democracy to the Serbian people,” said Savo Manojlovic, a leading organizer of the protests against the mine.
Protesters also say the country is taking the biggest environmental risks with the mine, for the sake of the EU’s transition to a green economy.
The lithium deposits at Loznica were discovered in 2004, but weeks of protests, fueled by environmental and public health fears, forced the government to abandon the project in 2022.
Vucic has hinted that Serbia could start mining lithium as early as 2028.
The president has also said the deal would include guarantees limiting the sale of raw materials from the country and ensuring that the bulk of lithium exports would come through Serbian-produced batteries or parts.
“This means the production of batteries and possibly also cars (which would be manufactured in Serbia), indicating an important technological venture involving domestic science, expertise and industry,” Aleksandar Jovovic from the University of Belgrade’s Department of Mechanical Engineering told to AFP.
Serbia has been a candidate for accession to the European Union since 2012, but prospects are considered bleak without a normalization of relations with Kosovo.
“The partnership will further strengthen political relations and promote long-term economic growth in Serbia and the EU, and contribute to Serbia’s efforts to become a member of the EU,” the Serbian government said in a statement on Thursday.
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