Brussels – It was only a matter of time. The European Commission has now given its official backing to lithium extraction at Serbia’s Jadar mine, despite widespread local and national protests against what many see as the prioritisation of economic interests – those of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the European Union – over the will of the people.
On 4 June, the project led by multinational mining giant Rio Tinto through its subsidiary Rio Sava Exploration doo was included in the list of 13 strategic raw materials projects located outside EU territory, within the framework of the Critical Raw Materials Act. These initiatives, together with 47 projects within the EU, are intended to strengthen the competitiveness of European industry in key sectors such as electromobility, renewable energy, defence, and aerospace.
The EU’s stake in the Jadar mine
The Jadar mining project “aims to contribute to the supply of lithium (battery grade) and boron (metallurgy grade),” according to the European Commission’s decision. On 19 July 2024, the Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Belgrade’s government, establishing a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, with a view to the potential development of the Jadar mine. The project is expected to cover a substantial share of the EU’s demand for critical raw materials needed for electric vehicles, batteries, and energy storage systems.
All 13 selected strategic projects will receive coordinated support from the European Commission, EU Member States, and financial institutions, including help with access to financing. The estimated total capital investment required to bring them into operation is estimated at €5.5 billion. The Commission has also pledged to “reinforce cooperation” with the non-EU countries involved – including Vučić’s Serbia – to ensure the projects are successfully developed.
Located near Loznica in western Serbia, the Jadar deposit contains around 136 million tonnes of jadarite, a mineral rich in lithium and boron. It is the largest known high-quality, long-life lithium deposit in Europe, with the potential to meet up to 10% of global demand. Lithium is essential for the transition to a low-carbon economy, as a critical component in the production of batteries for electric vehicles.
All the concerns on this “strategic project”
Although the Commission reassured that all the projects have been evaluated for their “environmental, social and governance standards as well as technical feasibility,” a wave of popular protests in Serbia has mounted over the past year against the Jadar mine, intersecting with students’ calls for respect for the principles of the rule of law in the last six months.
Environmental concerns include groundwater contamination, agricultural soil pollution, the displacement of local communities, and the daily consumption of 8,000 cubic metres of water. More significantly, the stance of the European Commission and EU member states has been strongly criticised by Serbian protesters – “we see that the EU prioritises its interests over its core values, especially when it comes to our land, quality of life, democracy, and people,” they say – as well as by some politicians in Brussels.
The President of the European Left Party, Walter Baier, described the EU-Serbia Memorandum as “a clear case of prioritising corporate greed and company profits over the rule of law, democracy, and ecological sustainability,” and he warned that “if resistance from local communities can be overturned in one part of Europe, then it can happen anywhere.”
Speaking to The New Union Post about the “deeply worrying” decision to include the Jadar project in the list of strategic raw materials projects, Slovenian MEP Vladimir Prebilič (The Greens/EFA) urged the European Commission to “listen to the voices of Serbian citizens and civil society,” ensuring that “any cooperation on raw materials prioritises human rights, environmental sustainability, and democratic integrity over short-term economic gains.”
While acknowledging that the green and digital transitions depend on access to critical minerals, MEP Prebilič stressed that “this cannot come at the cost of environmental degradation or the erosion of democratic values.” He criticised the “lack of transparency” surrounding Rio Tinto’s involvement, which “threatens to further undermine democratic processes.”
In a country where the collapse of a railway station canopy – in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024 – resulted in 16 deaths, “we cannot imagine what can happen if the mining of lithium goes under the current regime,” he added. Expressing support for Serbian students’ demands, the Slovenian MEP warned that the Commission’s latest decision “sends a troubling message”—namely, that “economic and geopolitical interests outweigh the rights of citizens and the need for environmental stewardship.”
