Belgrade has made a strategic decision to develop Europe’s largest lithium deposit together with Germany and the European Union, rather than with China, and is pinning high hopes for the development of the Serbian economy and the acceleration of the EU accession process on this project, which has been revised to meet the environmental demands of the population, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said in an interview with the German economic newspaper Handelsblatt.
Characterising the lithium mine project, which the international mining giant Rio Tinto is going to implement, Vučić said:
We will be able to mine 58,000 tonnes of lithium annually. This is enough to produce 1.1 million electric cars. So we will be able to supply about 17 per cent of the European market.
The Serbian leader emphasised:
…We want to establish battery production here and only export part of the lithium as raw material.
When asked whether investors from all over the world will be invited to produce batteries, or whether European companies will be favoured, Vučić said that negotiations are already underway with representatives of the European car industry. But South Korea is also showing interest. Handelsblatt correspondents asked:
Did you also negotiate with manufacturers from China?
Vučić emphasised:
They have very clearly expressed their interest in gaining access to this lithium deposit. However, we have informed them that we are discussing this topic with the Europeans. We are loyal to Europe,’ There are no negotiations with the Chinese, only with the Europeans.
Noting that this project will be of utmost importance for his country, and that in the long term, lithium-related business will be able to provide up to 16 per cent of the GDP, the Serbian president said:
Believe me, membership in the EU is much more important for our citizens. Access to the common market and freedom of movement, simplified border controls mean more to us than money.
Asked how important Serbia’s integration into the EU is for him personally, Vučić said:
It is important to us. Our goal is to become part of the European Union.
To journalists’ objections that one cannot discuss joining the EU and at the same time get closer to Russia and China, that one cannot sit on two chairs, Vučić replied:
I sit on only one chair: the Serbian chair.
Earlier, Vučić complained about the increasing pressure and de facto blackmail against Serbia by the EU. “They say we will lose a lot or everything if we don’t behave properly,” the Serbian leader said, noting that Western representatives are talking about a possible halt to investments, closure of businesses and suspension of Serbia’s European integration.
Vučić also thanked Russia and China for their political support over the aggravation in Kosovo and Metohija (an autonomous region of Serbia, controlled by partially recognised Kosovo). He stressed:
The support of every non-recognising [Kosovo’s independence] country that can help us in the Security Council on this issue, including Russia and China, is precious to us.
A sharp reversal of Serbia’s political course towards the EU could destabilise the country. The majority of the population is loyal to Russia and is not in favour of accelerated European integration, social surveys show.
