EC Spokesperson: If EU Conditions Aren’t Met, Project Jadar Will Be Removed from Priority List

Brussels, European commission (Photo: Pixabay)

The fact that mining lithium in Western Serbia’s Jadar river valley was declared a project of strategic importance to the EU can change overnight, said European Commission (EC) spokesperson Eirini Zarkadoula, explaining that Project Jadar will immediately be dropped from the priority list should Serbia not fulfill the Union’s specific conditions.

In an interview for Nova.rs published on June 15, Zarkadoula explained that numerous prerequisites must be met before any work can begin toward exploiting the Jadar Valley’s lithium and boron reserves.

“All projects listed as strategically important remain subject to further environmental impact evaluation and require public consultations in keeping with national legislation,” said Zarkadoula.

The press officer recalled that according to Article 6 of the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), any project – therefore, Rio Tinto’s Project Jadar included – must be implemented in an environmentally sustainable manner.

“This primarily pertains to the monitoring, prevention and minimization of environmental impact, followed by socially unfavorable impact, by employing responsible practices, including respect for human rights, as well as the rights of locals and workers, in the planned excavation area. Particularly in the event of forcible relocation, when there is potential for creating high-quality jobs and significantly hiring from the local community. The conditions which a project must meet further include preventing the risk of unfavorable impact on the functioning of local administration, which pertains to corruption and bribery,” Zarkadoula concluded.