Protest against lithium mining in Serbia to be held in Berlin

“German industry champions sustainable production at home while backing lithium exploitation abroad, specifically in Serbia,” one of the organizers, Krunislav Stojakovic, told N1.

He explained that the protest will be held outside the Futurium building near Berlin’s main train station.

“The German Industrialists Association is holding a conference on Ecological Industrial Development there. This is an opportunity for us to spotlight the contradiction in the attitudes of German industry, which advocates for environmentally sustainable production domestically, while at the same time it supports lithium exploitation, with all its consequences, abroad, in this case in Serbia,” Stojakovic told N1.

He added that the protesters will mostly include Serbian expatriates and others from former Yugoslav countries now living in Berlin, “people who understand the environmental and water supply risks posed by potential lithium mining in Serbia.”

German environmental activists, particularly those based in Berlin, will also join, said Stojakovic, adding that “they may not be from the region of former Yugoslavia, but they are following this issue.”

The Serbian Parliament is currently debating potential lithium mining. It is expected that the draft law on banning lithium and boron exploration and mining, proposed by the opposition, will be rejected, because the head of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) MP caucus has said that the ruling majority will not back the draft law.