Before sunset on July 29, Serbia witnessed extreme heat as thousands took to the streets in several cities to oppose the lithium extraction project in the Jadar valley, located in the west of the country, entrusted to the international company Rio Tinto.
One of the largest demonstrations against the Jadar project occurred on Monday in Sabac, a city of 50,000 residents near the extraction site. More than 7,000 people joined the protest. In parallel, citizens protested in Kraljevo, Arandjelovac, and Barajevo.
According to the Public Meetings Archive, an organization that monitors protests, this was one of the most massive demonstrations of the year, all directed against lithium extraction. The protests, which have been ongoing for weeks and are expected to continue, convey clear messages: no to lithium, no to Rio Tinto, emphasizing that air and soil are more valuable than the promised economic gains.
Protesters fear that lithium extraction could permanently alter their lives, not only in their region but across the country. They also believe the environment could suffer to the point that they might be forced to abandon their lands. Among the demonstrators are farmers, university professors, activists, lawyers, actors, athletes, and members of various opposition parties.
Judicial Process
The energy of Serbia’s population rising against lithium extraction stems from the government’s latest moves to press ahead with the project despite widespread opposition.
The Constitutional Court’s recent decision reopened the path for moving forward with the project, reversing the government’s prior decision to suspend the plan in 2022 in response to mass protests and the blockade of the country’s main highway.
The ruling arrived at a moment when senior officials, including President Aleksandar Vucic and former Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, now Speaker of the Parliament, were actively promoting the project, assisted by pro-government media and by Rio Tinto itself.
“Death Penalty”
The pivotal moment came with a visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic to Belgrade on July 19. Together with Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović and President Aleksandar Vučić, they signed an agreement concerning critical raw materials, such as lithium. Aleksandar Jovanović Cuta, a deputy and head of the Ecological Uprising parliamentary group, described the contract as the “death penalty” in a press conference on the same day.
The Serbian president announced the possibility of holding a referendum on lithium extraction in 2025. A popular initiative collected 38,000 signatures opposing the project and delivered them to Parliament, albeit without effect.