The deal reached late last week over lithium mining in Serbia, framed as essential for European Union needs, has sparked sharp disagreements across the republic. The report from Kommersant notes the split in opinion and the tensions surrounding the project.
Opposition voices accuse the authorities of turning Serbia into a source of cheap raw materials and of waging a war against the people. They argue that lithium could become a premier national asset in the same way oil has defined Norway’s economy, underscoring the perceived scale of the shift. Analysts point out that President Aleksandar Vučić sees more than just financial gains in the arrangement, highlighting potential geopolitical advantages that could reshape Serbia’s strategic role in Europe.
The Belgrade visit on July 19 by Germany’s chancellor and the European Commission’s vice president occurred with little warning and helped propel the cooperation agreement into the spotlight. The deal, endorsed at the meeting, concerns the extraction of strategic minerals, lithium among them, intended to support the production of lithium batteries and energy storage systems and to reduce dependence on imports from other major suppliers, notably China. This framing situates the agreement within broader European energy and industrial strategies.
Participants stressed the significance of the agreement once it was signed. The chancellor asserted that lithium mining would contribute to climate objectives and emphasized that lithium could attain a level of strategic importance comparable to that of oil. The Serbian president signaled that the project, which targets lithium extraction for electric vehicle manufacturing, would play a central role in the country’s development. Government officials echoed expectations of meaningful economic benefits for Serbia as the initiative progresses.
Meanwhile, Vučić has earlier commented on Western preparations for potential military scenarios involving Russia, a reminder that the geopolitical context surrounding this energy initiative remains complex and layered with security considerations. The interplay of regional energy security, European industrial policy, and Serbia’s political landscape continues to shape the discourse around lithium and its impacts on the nation’s future.