Lithium Trade Belgrade

On Friday, a number of agreements were sealed by European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 

These agreements gave the EU and European automakers the only right to use Serbian lithium and opened the door for the establishment of one of the biggest lithium mines on the continent.

This is a significant European project that helps Europe stay independent and sovereign in the global raw material supply chain.

Lithium is frequently referred to as "white gold" because of its unique white hue and high demand in the green energy transition for use in the batteries that power electric vehicles.

Although the deal is extremely controversial in the nation, automakers like Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis would profit from it.

The project is especially unwanted because it is believed that the lithium it is used to make electric cars will only benefit citizens of the EU

It will leave Serbia—a candidate nation with serious pollution issues and no guarantee of full membership—without any benefits and with to bear the brunt of the environmental fallout.

At the moment, Serbia does not have the required laws and regulations in place to comply with these strict standards.

Despite being presented to the Serbian parliament in October 2023, the Draft Law on Environmental Impact Assessment is still unadopted.

It also has several flaws, such as not forbidding the issue of building licenses prior to the completion of the EIA.

Thousands of protestors and nationwide blockages were part of the project's fierce opposition, which is why agreements with Rio Tinto were signed in 2020.

In the end, the government made the decision to shelve plans to begin construction of the mine in January 2022.

However, the Serbian administration chose to resurrect the concept and give it legitimacy by handing the initiative over to the Constitutional Court later.

 However, the decision to accept such a policy should be of citizens rather than the ruling party. 

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