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The Jadar project reflects the EU’s urgent push for lithium to drive its green transition, but its prioritisation of resources over local and democratic concerns exposes a deeper dilemma.
Image Source: Getty
The European Union’s (EU) strategy for a sustainable future increasingly relies on lithium. It is one of the 34 crucial raw materials recognised by the Critical Raw Materials Act. With a predicted 40-fold increase in global demand for lithium by 2040, ensuring sustainable supply chains is of utmost importance. Currently, the EU is extremely reliant on China as a source of lithium-ion batteries. By 2030, it may be reliant on Chinese battery technology as it was on Russian energy before the Ukraine war. A large number of batteries will be required for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems to meet the continent’s goal of a 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The EU is extremely reliant on China as a source of lithium-ion batteries. By 2030, it may be reliant on Chinese battery technology as it was on Russian energy before the Ukraine war.
In this context, the Jadar lithium project in western Serbia offers a revolutionary prospect. The project site contains 118 million tonnes of ore with 1.8 percent lithium oxide. Operated by Rio Tinto, a British-Australian multinational company, the project could power one million EVs annually and supply 90 percent of Europe’s present lithium needs. This makes it crucial for the continent’s battery manufacturing aspirations and, therefore, essential to European resource sovereignty.
However, these aspirations are not without their challenges. The project has faced strong opposition due to environmental risks and accusations of “green colonialism”. Many Serbians have also demanded greater transparency and accountability from their government. This has set Brussels’ resource diplomacy at odds with grassroots resistance in the Balkans, sparking a deeper conflict between democratic accountability and climate ambitions.
Figure 1: Location of the Jadar Lithium Mining Project
Source: Volt Resources
The Jadar lithium mining project is situated in Serbia’s agricultural heartland, near Loznica, nearly 94 kilometres from the capital, Belgrade. The site has deposits of jadarite, which contains both lithium and boron, making it a commercially viable source for these elements. The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act designates the Jadar Valley’s lithium-boron reserves as a strategic asset, essential for reducing dependence on Chinese imports and securing Europe’s supply of critical materials.
However, the project has become a flashpoint between global energy advocates and local farmers who argue that it poses an existential threat to their livelihoods. Additionally, there are concerns that the planned wastewater systems of the mine could contaminate the Drina River basin (that spans southwestern Serbia, Eastern Bosnia and northeastern Montenegro), endangering drinking water for millions of people and leaving boron levels in surrounding soils 14 times over permissible limits. Moreover, while EU officials say Jadar is essential for reaching 2030 carbon targets, many see it as a colonial resource exploitation rebranded, a view strengthened when it was revealed that Rio Tinto had reportedly negotiated tax reductions worth millions before public consultations started.
The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act designates the Jadar Valley’s lithium-boron reserves as a strategic asset, essential for reducing dependence on Chinese imports and securing Europe’s supply of critical materials.
Such concerns have sown doubt about Rio Tinto’s environmental protection guarantees and resentment over the government’s opaque deal-making. These concerns set off a staggering surge of opposition. A poll conducted by a local media, Nova Srpska Politička Misao, in September 2024 revealed that over 60 percent of Serbians oppose the project. The government has tried to play down this opposition by labelling it as “politically motivated”. However, the project has become emblematic of “green colonialism”, sacrificing underprivileged areas to drive Western environmental agendas, as farms risk seizure and villages get ready for forced evacuation.
For the EU, the controversy surrounding the Jadar project highlights a fundamental divide between its climate targets and local environmental concerns.
Given its objectives of advancing the EV revolution and lessening its dependence on China, the Jadar project is critical for the EU, notwithstanding the environmental concerns and the Serbian government’s opaque deal-making. On 4 June 2025, the European Commission (EC) recognised the contentious project as one of 13 strategic critical raw resources ventures beyond the EU borders.
The EU’s prioritisation of resource security over other concerns vis-à-vis the Jadar project is a strategic move, given that China and Russia have been increasingly wooing Serbia. For China, Serbia is a key part of its Belt and Road Initiative, with significant Chinese investment in infrastructure projects, particularly in transportation, whereas Russia has had closer cultural contacts with Serbia, given the common Slavic heritage. The EU is keen to prevent further slide of Serbia into Russian and Chinese influence. In 2024, the EU signed a memorandum of understanding with Serbia that sought to limit further Chinese and Russian involvement in the Balkans’ critical minerals sector. The EU’s silence on the Jadar project stems from this reality. European officials have justified their tactical silence on the controversy surrounding the project by stating that it is an important European project that contributes to Europe's sovereignty and independence in the supply of raw materials in a changing world. This silence also comes at the cost of the EU’s insistence on fostering democratic stability in the continent. Despite Serbia’s status as an “electoral autocracy” and President Aleksandar Vučić’s authoritarian consolidation, the EU maintains what critics call a “stabilitocracy” stance, tolerating democratic backsliding to secure strategic relationships – something which its own report on Serbia has pointed out as a seal of approval, ignoring the lack of rule of law in Serbia and the problems with the implementation of laws and regulations by Serbian authorities.
Despite Serbia’s status as an “electoral autocracy” and President Aleksandar Vučić’s authoritarian consolidation, the EU maintains what critics call a “stabilitocracy” stance, tolerating democratic backsliding to secure strategic relationships.
Brussels has warned that Chinese lithium cannot become tomorrow’s Russian gas. Thus, it is using its tactical discretion on these democratic shortcomings to ensure lithium supplies for its green transition. However, even as it overlooks the political dimensions related to the project, the EU has attempted to address the environmental concerns arising from the project. It has, for instance, mandated strict compliance with EU environmental standards, public consultation procedures, and ongoing monitoring mechanisms. A spokesman for the EC has highlighted that “if the conditions required by the EU are not met”, the project will be taken off the Critical Raw Materials Act, indicating the EU’s commitment to accountability. Moreover, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the Commission, has promised to “respect and preserve the beautiful nature of Serbia” while carrying out the strategic cooperation.
The Jadar project exemplifies the EU’s urgent need to secure lithium for its green transition, minimising dependency on China and promoting resource sovereignty. However, the bloc’s priority of essential resources over local environmental and democratic concerns reveals a serious quandary. While the EU insists on stringent environmental and social criteria, its implicit support for a project plagued by controversy and internal opposition risks weakening its credibility and fanning anti-European sentiment. Finally, the Jadar saga highlights the inherent tension between the EU’s climate ambitions and its professed commitment to democratic values and local well-being, which has long-term ramifications for both the Balkans and Europe itself.
Veer Puri is a Research Intern at the Observer Research Foundation.
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