PARIS – The President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, stated that Serbia’s European partners are very interested in Serbian lithium and added that they see Serbia as a credible and reliable partner in this regard. Brnabić, who participated in a panel on critical raw materials at the Paris Peace Forum, which are necessary for the energy transition and for combating climate change, said it is interesting to see how much interest there is in Serbian lithium. “Due to all the other events in Serbia, this has somehow ceased to be a topic, but it is interesting to see how much our partners from Europe, as well as from the wider world, are following this project and how interested they are in lithium, but ultimately also in what could be a whole production chain that would be opened in Serbia with more than 15,000 directly newly created jobs,” said Brnabić.
She added that the panel was very dedicated. “People who wanted to listen could not all fit in that room, so once again, in that sense, there was great interest in Serbia and viewing Serbia as a credible and reliable partner,” Brnabić noted. She emphasized that Serbia, due to lithium, will not agree to any compromises regarding the protection of our waters, our air, and our land. “What is the first key and most important point, as President Aleksandar Vučić has mentioned several times, is that the environmental impact assessment study must be completed, so we know that this project can be carried out in a way that is safe and protected for our country, our waters, and our air,” said Brnabić. She added that she found it interesting to see that the information highlighted at the panel on critical raw materials was that the European Commission included the Jadar project among 13 strategically important projects across the entire European continent for critical raw materials. “It is nice to see that, but the emphasis is on communication with citizens, completely open and transparent communication with citizens, and on truly controlling the environmental impact assessment study, because we will not agree to any compromises regarding the protection of our waters, our air, and our land,” Brnabić stated. When asked how the participants of the panel on critical raw materials see Serbia, Brnabić replied that they see us very differently than those in Serbia who oppose lithium exploitation. “Here, they see us as an extremely rich country, a country with incredible potential. A country that should be happy because it has discovered such reserves of lithium. And a country that can open completely new perspectives in the future, precisely for the entire supply chain, or rather the entire production chain. And that is what we are fighting for to this day,” said Brnabić.
She also emphasized that former European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson stood by Serbia with statements that there are protests across the EU regarding projects related to lithium and that what is happening in Serbia is not unique. The former European Commissioner for Energy said that there are protests across the EU regarding such projects, that it is nothing unique to Serbia, nothing different from other countries, but she also emphasized that constant communication with citizens is important, that half-information should not be shared,” Brnabić said, adding that Simson’s message was also that it is important to believe in science and the studies that will be conducted. In this way, the former commissioner stood by Serbia, Brnabić said. (October 30)
