Serbia: lithium mining for the EU
In Serbia, there are once again demonstrations against the resumption of a major lithium extraction project in the Jadar Valley. In July, the Vučić government and the EU signed an agreement aimed at making Europe less dependent on Chinese battery production. However, there are fears of severe environmental damage in the region.
Lithium makes Vučić likeable
Europe is once again outdoing itself with double standards, Evrensel points out:
“Vučić has long been criticised in EU capitals for his 'authoritarian regime', his 'friendship with Putin' and his 'close relations with China'. However, when it comes to lithium, these criticisms are swept under the carpet in the European press. When the interests of monopolies are at stake, issues such as human rights, democracy, authoritarian regimes, the fight against global warming and nature conservation are easily forgotten.”
Economic interests trump environmental protection
Protests against the project are unlikely to be successful, Jutarnji list comments:
“Lithium mining requires large amounts of water. It would turn a beautiful valley into a desert and have incalculable consequences for health. But ecological arguments pale in comparison to the fact that the amount of lithium from this mine would cover a large part of Europe's needs for the construction of batteries for electric cars among other things. ... This case is interesting because it illustrates well the situation in the world today, in which big business and politics are not swayed by ecological interests, even when people's survival is threatened.”
Berlin is making nationalism acceptable
The taz's Balkan correspondent Erich Rathfelder has every understanding for the protests:
“The region's inhabitants rightly fear that destroying nature will rob them of their livelihood. Resistance was so strong three years ago that it posed a serious threat to Vučić's government, leading him to drop the project for a short time. But now the deal with Rio Tinto and German-European is back on. These new interests have awakened the Serbian leadership's ambition to make its policies, which are characterised by nationalism and undemocratic approaches, acceptable in Europe. ... Berlin is accommodating the autocrat on important issues. Criticism of Serbia's pro-Putin stance has become noticeably quieter.”