German chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Serbia and hold talks with president Aleksandar Vucic on Friday, a German government spokesperson told Reuters, naming critical raw materials as a key theme of the trip.
Scholz was set to attend a critical raw materials summit together with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic during which Serbia would sign a memorandum of understanding with the European Union on a strategic partnership over sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains and electric cars.
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“The background to this is a project for sustainable lithium mining in Serbia. Overall, it is about the further development of a European raw materials agenda and the derisking of raw material sources,” the spokesperson said.
Reuters said the visit came after the Serbian government reinstated a licence for Rio Tinto to develop Europe’s biggest lithium mine in a potential boost to the continent’s electric vehicle industry.
If developed, the US$2.4bn Jadar lithium project in western Serbia could cover 90% of Europe’s current lithium needs and help make the company a leading lithium producer.
However, there had been strong opposition to the project from environmental activists and opposition parties in Serbia, Reuters noted.
