Experts: Lithium is the price Serbia has to pay to join the EU

According to transport engineer Zeljko Marusic from Croatia, the exploitation of lithium is not only about energy but also about politics. He believes that it is the price Serbia will have to pay to join the EU.
Geography professor Vedran Zubic from Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that we are witnessing the first global energy war happening because of energy resources, in this case, lithium.

Professor Branimir Jovancicevic from the Faculty of Chemistry in Belgrade argued that Serbia has a natural resource, jadarite, but that it is questionable whether citizens can benefit from it in such a weak state.

Jovancicevic emphasizes that the academic community has not been sufficiently involved in political events in the last 12 years, which has resulted in an autocracy and a weak state.

He added that many countries have reserves of oil and gas, like Libya, Iran, and Iraq, but have not profited as much as they could, while on the other hand, countries like Norway are doing great when it comes to using their natural resources.

"The circumstances are such that, despite having such a natural resource as jadarite, we are not in a position to derive any particular benefit from it," Jovancicevic said.
Speaking about lithium exploitation, Zubic said that this should be a regional issue because "the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and pedosphere really have nothing to do with political boundaries."

He argues that the Memorandum signed in Belgrade should be called “the Memorandum on the Mining Exploitation of Serbia”, and that this seems to be happening in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well, “for the benefit of EU companies, predominantly those in Germany”.

Marusic agrees and states that "this whole paradigm of green transition has less to do with global ecology and more with global interests."

"We should ask why Germany insists on mining lithium in Serbia when it evidently has more lithium in Germany. So, this is about relocating pollution and introducing new technology that leads to greater prosperity for rich countries while relocating dirty technologies to other locations," Marusic says, adding that it is strange that the whole lithium issue, which has already been seen in Rio Tinto’s mines worldwide, is now repeating.

According to him, lithium mining will lead to environmental pollution and negatively affect Serbia's vital interests, primarily in agriculture, which will also have consequences for the countries in the region.