RERI: Around 70% of Serbia’s biggest polluters operate without integrated permits

In its analysis of the implementation of the Law on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), which compared the current situation against the draft of a new law published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in February this year, RERI found that the 20-year-old law has been a failure in practice.

“Of the roughly 220 operators that were legally required to obtain an integrated permit by December 31, 2024, only 60–70 have actually done so. The remaining 150 continue to operate without any hindrance and in clear violation of the law,” the RERI analysis said.

Key problems identified include inadequate identification of issues, insufficient administrative capacity, chronic inaction by inspection services, an inadequate penalty policy, and inconsistent action by public prosecutors.

RERI Program Director Mirko Popovic explained that the whole point of the IPPC law is to embed the principles of precaution and prevention into environmental protection. However, he said that, from the very beginning, the state administration has approached it with the mindset of “how can we help industry cope with this burden?”

“Right from the start, the authorities have prioritized rescuing businesses at the citizens’ expense - making sure the state-owned Serbian power company (EPS) can operate for 20 years without an integrated permit, polluting the air, destroying property, and endangering people’s health and rights,” Popovic said, adding that for two decades the law has been applied “in a way that allows polluters to dodge the standards.”

When it comes to the application of best available techniques that refer to the environmental protection standards that are technically feasible, practically applicable, and economically viable, Popovic pointed out that the state considers them too great a financial burden for industry, so permits are routinely issued that allow companies to avoid implementing them.

He stressed that some of Serbia’s biggest polluters are also among the country’s richest companies, yet they are effectively exempt from the law while polluting air, water, and soil at the public’s expense.

“EPS and Zijin are among the five wealthiest companies in Serbia, yet both operate without integrated permits. How is it possible that they can’t afford top experts to secure those permits and implement the best available techniques? Ordinary citizens have to pay taxes and follow the law, but these polluters don’t,” Popovic said.

He also rejected the common narrative that household stoves are the biggest source of pollution, saying it unfairly paints citizens as irresponsible.

Popovic stressed that the Ministry of Environmental Protection, including the minister, state secretaries, and assistants, bears direct responsibility for the law’s non-enforcement, along with the experts who prepare analyses, issue permits, and monitor compliance.

RERI’s legal advisor Hristina Vojvodic described oversight and inspection as the weakest link in the entire environmental protection system. She noted that inspectors already have extremely limited powers, and the draft of the new law would further restrict those powers.