Vucic wants to "buy" the EU through lithium, but Scholz mentions normalization with Kosovo

Serbia wants to "buy" the membership ticket to the European Union through "underground" assets. The summit on the use of raw materials was held in Belgrade, with a special focus on the mineral lithium, which is very important for electric vehicles.

The European Union and Serbia signed an agreement on strategic partnership in sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles. This paves the way for the construction of the largest lithium mine in Europe.

President Aleksandar Vu?i? considered this a quantum leap for Serbia and, in the face of numerous protests, promised to take care of environmental protection for residential areas near the mine. But the main interest was in money, promising that this will bring 6 billion euros of new investments.

Serbian opposition and environmental activists have warned they will block railways and major roads if the government goes ahead with the project.

"We have signed for mineral resources, we must look at things to exploit what we have, Serbia has no sea, oil, or gas, but what we have we must use it as best as possible, to protect people, to provided them with higher salaries and pensions. This is also very important in our European journey. We have tripled trade with Germany in recent years. From Monday you will be able to see new big news for our country" , said Aleksandër Vucic, President of Serbia.

Germany is a key player in this deal, as it could bring the electric vehicle industry to Serbia.

Belgrade hoped that through lithium it would influence the normalization process with Kosovo, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz showed the officials the reality.

“We want to help you succeed because it promotes peace and stability in the region. I am a big supporter of the integration of the countries of the Western Balkans in the European Union, therefore I advocate for good neighborliness, normal relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as normalization of relations with Kosovo" , said Olaf Scholz.

The Chancellor of Germany underlined that lithium in this period is as important as oil once was.

The vice-president of the European Commission, Marosh Sefcovic, was in Belgrade to sign the memorandum, underlining that this was a historic day for Serbia and the EU.

"We see you, we want you in the European Union and a project like this will only speed up the whole process" , he emphasized.