Serbia and the Enigma of Restrained Economic Policy
The two most important aspects of the transition to clean energy are establishing the necessary foundation and structure for the industries producing these energies, and on the other hand, expanding the consumption of clean energies in various aspects of life.
It is in both areas that strategic metals have found special significance. They are a group of precious minerals that play a key role in the production of clean energy, and another group is used in the production of electric vehicles, particularly batteries. Copper is the gold of the clean energy market, and lithium might be even more valuable.
Europe, which has prioritized the development of clean energy consumption more than the United States, views Serbia as a land of opportunity.
This country possesses vast lithium resources that could meet up to ninety percent of the union’s needs. However, there is always a problem. The British-Australian company Rio Tinto has long obtained the rights to explore and extract lithium resources in Serbia, but protests by opponents of the plan, who are deeply concerned about severe pollution in mining areas and serious environmental degradation, have once halted the project.
In recent months, the project has been re-implemented, and the German Chancellor and the head of the European Green Plan, along with managers from well-known companies like Mercedes-Benz, participated in its official ceremony just a month ago.
The civil protests by environmental activists and critics of the plan continue, yet their voices are not reaching anywhere.
Aleksandar Vučić, the right-wing president of Serbia, who is a friend and follower of Putin, has largely pursued domestic policy based on the Putin model, and democratic politics have gradually eroded.
This is where protesters have turned to more extreme measures and created larger disruptions to convey their message and have their voices heard. The European Union now more than ever has to engage with Serbia’s right-wing leader, and the need for this country’s lithium is not something they can overlook.
Vučić’s sympathy with Russia and especially his new collaborations with China and hosting Xi Jinping have doubled the sensitivity of the situation.
If there is a slip in cooperation between the union and Serbia, China might easily take control of the lithium resources as well. Companies from this country are already active in Serbia’s copper industries, and social activists are facing severe constraints in these conditions.
Vučić has already changed the political and social landscape in such a way that he associates every protest and opposition with the color revolutions, which is a delusion born of Kremlin propaganda.