The interview sheds light on the broader geopolitical dynamics at play, including the European Union’s push for critical minerals to support its green transition and the tensions arising from local opposition to such projects. Novakovic emphasizes the importance of community-led activism in challenging powerful corporate interests and advocates for sustainable alternatives that respect both the environment and local livelihoods. Her insights underscore the complexities of balancing economic development with environmental stewardship and social justice.

For the full report and sound go to The New Internationalist.

After Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Niš, Belgrade and Novi Pazar, students gathered around the “Students in Blockade” initiative organized a protest in Loznica called “March on the Drina”. 

At the first protest since students, who have been blocking colleges since mid-November 2024, called for early elections in Serbia, politics and ecology intertwined throughout the day. The students announced the next gathering in Čačak.

Apart from the student demands and the political crisis, at the protest in Loznica there was a lot of talk about ecology and the [Rio Tinto] Jadar project.

This was another all-day protest, minutes of silence were held for the victims of the demolition of the canopy in Novi Sad, as well as for the victims of fascism. Actors, students and professors gave speeches at the protest, and the blockade choir performed.

Marijana Petković: I believe that students and young people will defend Mačva and Jadar

Marijana Petković from Ne damo Jadar says that she believes that the students will defend Mačva and Jadar, because they grew up fighting and all polls indicate that they are against mining.

“Students at the faculties, each from their own field, analyzed the proposal about the mine. We will see what future scientists and academic citizens found in that study, which is full of holes. So they took part there, too, and they know what a mine near populated areas means. Just saying only 1.100 tons of sulfuric acid per day, nothing more needs to be said to a smart person,” she said, reports Nova.

For more information on the protest go to TIME Serbia.

But for many in Serbia, the Jadar project now symbolizes the EU’s alignment with a mining giant at the expense of public concerns — prioritizing Germany’s industrial interests and the bloc’s race to close the EV gap with a dominant China. Meanwhile, popular mistrust has led many locals to believe that only the politicians will benefit. (Serbia’s score is the lowest within the Western Balkans in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.)

“There is absolutely no place for lithium mining in a fertile valley, with sources of spring water, groundwater, a valley that feeds people, where farmers have tilled land for seven or eight generations,” said Bojana Novaković, leader of environmental NGO Marš sa Drine (March on the Drina).

If poorly managed, lithium extraction could contaminate groundwater reserves and farmland vital to the Jadar valley’s predominantly agricultural community, green critics contend. 

Nebojša Petković from the Ne Damo Jadar (We Won’t Surrender Jadar) association, who describes himself as pro-European, believes the EU isn’t interested in Serbia’s becoming a member. He accused the bloc of only caring about its own profits: “They want to turn us into their resource base and [a] landfill of Europe,” he said, branding the mine a strategic project to “destroy” Serbia. 

Rio Tinto insists the mine won’t pose the same environmental risks as others, because it will use dry rather than liquid waste storage methods. Mining waste, known as tailings, typically consists of fine rock particles, water, and sometimes chemicals — raising concerns about potential leaks or dam collapses.

The EU is now increasingly pressuring Serbia to align more clearly with its interests. The bells are ringing on resource cronyism, where state and corporate interests converge while the public is shut out of the debate.

“I honestly believe it’s political suicide to give this project the time of day and to keep pushing out for any, any kind of political faction within Serbia particularly, but also Europe, because I’ve never seen a project with this much dissent against it,” said Novaković of Marš sa Drine.

Serbia’s aspiration to join the EU now hangs in the balance of the bloc’s push for raw materials. Mining colony or not, the Western Balkan country faces further chaos amidst its instability.

For the full article go to Politico.

Rio Tinto is expecting to have its controversial lithium mining project Jadar in Serbia declared strategic by the European Union. Serbia and the European Commission have signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership in sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles. The Anglo-Australian mining giant’s proposed investment was met with years of fierce resistance from the local population and environmentalists.

Now a group of members of the European Parliament is also raising the issue of the persecution of activists, corruption and the risks to water, nature and public health.

Of note, Balkan Green Energy News has published a chronological overview of the key events in the development of the Jadar project since 2001, when the company arrived in Serbia.

The movement includes people from other areas in the country and neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina with sites for the exploration of lithium and various minerals, as well as various mining operations.

Some mining companies leaving their waste behind for others to tackle

Completing their visit to Serbia, three EU lawmakers from the Left claimed that the Government of Serbia has many questions to answer about the Jadar project.

“My experience is that if you don’t put up strict demands on mining companies, if you don’t have transparency, if you don’t have respect for local communities, things can end really badly when it comes to mining,” MEP Jonas Sjöstedt stressed at a press conference.

He added that in northern Sweden, where he is from, some mining companies have extracted minerals for a short while before leaving without cleaning up first.

“That’s why it’s so important, so vital to listen to local communities. To have full respect for those who raise environmental concerns. And to not accept corruption or adapt legislation to the wishes of the multinational companies. Because they take advantage of countries if they have the chance,” Sjöstedt said at the event, organized by the Marš sa Drine activist group.

The environmental concerns in the Jadar area are real, especially about the quality of water for millions of people, in his view. If all the questions are not answered how toxic underground water and waste will be treated, it could be a very risky project, Sjöstedt pointed out.

“I’m also deeply worried about all the things we have heard about corruption. That it is possible for big multinational businesses to get their way with Serbian authorities by giving them economical benefits or making a contract that is not fully publicly available. I think that’s a really bad start of big industrial projects,” he asserted.

The level of intimidation against protesters including arbitrary arrests is unacceptable, according to Sjöstedt. “To be able to organize, to freely express your political will, it’s really the essence of democracy and that is what is at stake. Serbia is at a crossroads for the democratic development of the country,” he underscored.

For full article see Balkan Green Energy News:

In the Palace of Serbia, numerous journalist crews were taking their places, and cameramen were trying to find the best angle for their shots. A joint press conference of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was about to begin.

It was July 2024.

The evening before the conference, Scholz made an unexpected visit to Serbia, for one sole purpose – lithium. After civil protests were brought to a halt, the government had reopened the project of opening a lithium mine in western Serbia. The Jadar project has drawn the interest not only of the investor, the company Rio Tinto, but also of Germany and the European Union. Germany is the largest producer of electric cars in the EU and uses lithium-ion batteries in their production, while the EU wants to reduce its dependency on China, one of the largest lithium producers in the world.

The mine’s potential opening, however, has been met with huge protests in Serbia – some of the largest in recent years.

During the conference, Vučić stated that lithium offered enormous hope for Serbia and that the country would not miss this opportunity.

“If human lives and the environment are not fully protected, there will be no lithium mining in Western Serbia, in the vicinity of Loznica,” Vučić said.

However, documents obtained by the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS) indicate that the conditions for environmental protection were established in a way that harms the environment, and these documents were also altered and adopted without the consent of some experts.

In fact, the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia issued conditions to Rio Tinto for the Jadar project in August last year, outlining what needs to be protected in the area and how this should be done.

Emails, official notes, and other documents obtained by CINS reveal that some experts at the Institute were against this because they believed the conditions did not protect the environment. Some experts questioned the validity of issuing these conditions.

“…There are no conditions that can prevent the irreversible destruction of this area (at the mining field and landfill locations), as well as the habitats of numerous species,” one email reads.

Despite their opposition, the Acting Director of the Institute, Marina Šibalić, issued the conditions.

After this, some of the department heads wrote official notes describing what had happened.

How it all began

A few days after Olaf Scholz’s visit, the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbiareceived a request from Rio Sava Exploration, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto in Serbia, to issue nature protection conditions for the Jadar project.

This document serves as a guide to the investor on how to implement the project without harming the environment.

One of the department heads at the Institute sent a notification about this, along with the accompanying documentation and the initial division of responsibilities, to a joint mailing list. It included employees from expert services, primarily those who would be involved in drafting the conditions.

At the very beginning, biologist Ivan Medenica responded that after analyzing and comparing the data, he encountered “a highly complex and practically impossible situation.” In his opinion, there were no conditions that would prevent the irreversible destruction of nature.

For the full article go to CINS.

The European Union needs lithium for its energy transition and is eagerly eyeing huge reserves in northern Serbia, but twenty years after making the discovery in the Jadar valley, Rio Tinto’s ambitions to mine the site remain stuck in a mire of environmental opposition and Balkan politics.

Serbian activists were joined by leftist MEPs outside the European Parliament building to protest against the screening of a documentary film on Rio Tinto’s battle with the Serbian authorities, and local environmentalists who the Anglo-Australian mining giant claims have been misled by a shadowy disinformation campaign.

Filmmaker Peter Tom Jones – who heads the Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals at KU Leuven university presented his documentary Not in my Country in the European parliament on Wednesday (5 February) at the invitation of MEPs Hildegarde Bentele (Germany/EPP) and Yvan Verougstraete (Belgium/Renew).

The film makes a strong case for mining lithium in Europe, with Jones arguing it is essential for the energy transition and hence tackling global heating, and underlining the fact that the EU is currently almost entirely dependent on China for the raw materials needed for battery production. The documentary raises the prospect of thousands of new jobs, with processing and production taking place in Serbia itself.

It also gives Rio Tinto a platform to present its promise to abide by the highest environmental and social standards, dismiss concerns voiced by protesters over radioactivity and pollution by dangerous acid – and to profess contrition over past mistakes, notably blasting an ancient aboriginal burial site in Juukan Gorge, Western Australia, in 2020 to expand an iron ore mine.

EU partnership

The Jadar mine issue burst back onto the news agenda last July when protests erupted after Serbia’s constitutional court reversed a 2022 decision by the government of president Aleksandar Vučić to withdrew planning approval for the 220-hectare site amid widespread public opposition.

Within days, Vučić had inked a ‘strategic partnership’ on critical raw materials with the EU, at a summit in the Serbian capital attended by European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. August saw a mass protest in the capital Belgrade, followed by reports of intimidation, surveillance and the arrest of activists by the Serbian security services.

For full article go to EuroNews.

Serbian and German environmentalist groups ask EC to rethink naming planned Rio Tinto mine a ‘strategic project’, insisting it fails to meet environmental criteria.

Marš sa Drine and German NGO “Green Legal Impact” have sent a request to the European Commission and its Critical Raw Materials Board, asking them not to label Rio Tinto’s planned lithium mine in western Serbia a “strategic project”.

The Commission is currently deliberating recognition of the “Jadar” project as a “Strategic Project” under Article 6 of the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, CRMA.

The letter, seen by BIRN, was sent on November 17. The two organisations claim the project fails to meet the criteria set out for designation as a “Strategic Project” under the CRMA, since “the ongoing and potential environmental and social impacts of this project raise substantial legal concerns, which we believe disqualify it from such recognition”.

“We respectfully urge the Commission and the Critical Raw Materials Board to reject the application for ‘Strategic Project’ status for the Jadar project, in alignment with the principles and objectives of the CRMA, including the promotion of sustainability and environmental protection,” the letter says.

The 41-page document obtained by BIRN, details why Rio Tinto’s project, which is backed by Serbia’s government as well as EU countries, such as Germany, will have an environmental and socially destructive impact.

It emphasizes the risk of water and soil contamination, biodiversity loss, the negative social impact that would result from the necessary relocation of local residents and the potential impact on agriculture in a region characterized by fertile land and small-scale farming.

The letter notes “governance issues” surrounding development of the project, claiming it has been marred by administrative irregularities, state repression of activists and allegedly misleading business practices.

It refers to internationally recognised human rights that the project, the organisations say, “risks infringing on”, such as the right to safe drinking water and food and a to clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

The lithium project has caused huge controversy in Serbia and has sparked massive protests.

In July, Serbia and the EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding that greenlit the planned mine in the Jadar Valley, despite environmental concerns.

The EU is seeking fresh lithium sources for use in electric car batteries, in order to reduce its dependence on Chinese imports.

In an indication of how important the mine project is to the European Union, the signing ceremony was overseen by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as well as Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Days before, Serbia’s government put back in force a plan to realise the project, which it had cancelled in 2022 following mass protests.

Activists fear the project will damage water and land in western Serbia, while some Serbs say they feel steamrollered by the powerful multinational giant, which has been accused of causing environmental damage.

Protesters claim the financial benefits for Serbia will be small and note that other Rio Tinto ventures around the world have been dogged by controversy.

Lithium mining is a chemical-intensive process that involves digging up vast amounts of rock and extracting those with lithium.

Rio Tinto claims the mine planned in the Jadar Valley region will be among the biggest in Europe and will make the company one of the top ten lithium producers in the world.

Serbian police and intelligence authorities are using advanced phone spyware alongside mobile phone forensic products to unlawfully target journalists, environmental activists and other individuals in a covert surveillance campaign, a new Amnesty International report has revealed. 

The report, “A Digital Prison”: Surveillance and the Suppression of Civil Society in Serbia,” documents how mobile forensic products made by Israeli company Cellebrite are being used to extract data from mobile devices belonging to journalists and activists. It also reveals how the Serbian police and the Security Information Agency (Bezbedonosno-informativna Agencija – BIA) have used a bespoke Android spyware system, NoviSpy, to covertly infect individuals’ devices during periods of detention or police interviews. 

“Our investigation reveals how Serbian authorities have deployed surveillance technology and digital repression tactics as instruments of wider state control and repression directed against civil society,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe. 

“It also highlights how Cellebrite mobile forensic products – used widely by police and intelligence services worldwide – can pose an enormous risk to those advocating for human rights, the environment and freedom of speech, when used outside of strict legal control and oversight.” 

How Cellebrite and NoviSpy is used to target devices 

Cellebrite, a firm founded and headquartered in Israel but with offices globally, develops the Cellebrite UFED suite of products for law enforcement agencies and government entities. It enables the extraction of data from a wide range of mobile devices including some of the most recent Android devices and iPhone models, even without access to the device passcode.  

While less technically advanced than highly-invasive commercial spyware like Pegasus, NoviSpy – a previously unknown Android spyware – still provides Serbian authorities with extensive surveillance capabilities once installed on a target’s device. 

NoviSpy can capture sensitive personal data from a target phone and provide capabilities to turn on a phone’s microphone or camera remotely, while Cellebrite forensic tools are used to both unlock the phone prior to spyware infection and also allow the extraction of the data on a device. 

Critically, Amnesty International uncovered forensic evidence showing how Serbian authorities used Cellebrite products to enable NoviSpy spyware infections of activists’ phones. In at least two cases, Cellebrite UFED exploits (software that takes advantage of a bug or vulnerability) were used to bypass Android device security mechanisms, allowing the authorities to covertly install the NoviSpy spyware during police interviews. 

Amnesty International also identified how Serbian authorities used Cellebrite to exploit a zero-day vulnerability (a software flaw which is not known to the original software developer and for which a software fix is not available) in Android devices to gain privileged access to an environmental activist’s phone. The vulnerability, identified in collaboration with security researchers at Google Project Zero and Threat Analysis Group, affected millions of Android devices worldwide that use the popular Qualcomm chipsets. An update fixing the security issue was released in the October 2024 Qualcomm Security Bulletin.

Cellebrite phone hacking and spyware infection threats to journalists and activists 

In February 2024, Serbian independent investigative journalist Slaviša Milanov was arrested and detained by police under the pretext of performing a test for driving under the influence of alcohol. While in detention, Slaviša was questioned by plain-clothes officers about his journalism work. Slaviša’s Android phone was turned off when he surrendered it to police and at no point was he asked for nor did he provide the passcode. 

After his release, Slaviša noticed that his phone, which he had left at the police station reception during his interrogation, appeared to have been tampered with, and his phone data was turned off.  

He requested Amnesty International’s Security Lab to conduct a forensic analysis of his phone – a Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S. The analysis revealed that Cellebrite’s UFED product was used to secretly unlock Slaviša’s phone during his detention. 

Additional forensic evidence showed that NoviSpy was then used by Serbian authorities to infect Slaviša’s phone. A second case in the report, involving an environmental activist, Nikola Ristić, found similar forensic evidence of Cellebrite products used to unlock a device to enable subsequent NoviSpy infection. 

“Our forensic evidence proves that the NoviSpy spyware was installed while the Serbian police had possession of Slaviša’s device, and the infection was dependent on the use of an advanced tool like Cellebrite UFED capable of unlocking the device. Amnesty International attributes the NoviSpy spyware to BIA with high confidence,” said Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, the Head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab.  

Activists infected with NoviSpy while making complaints to the police or BIA 

This tactic of installing spyware covertly on people’s devices during detention or interviews appears to have been widely used by the authorities. 

In another case, an activist from Krokodil, an organization promoting dialogue and reconciliation in the Western Balkans, had their phone, a Samsung Galaxy S24+, infected with spyware during an interview with BIA officials in October 2024.  

The activist was invited to BIA’s office in Belgrade to provide information about an attack on their offices by Russian speaking people ostensibly in opposition to Krokodil’s public condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

After the interview, the activist suspected that their phone had been tampered with. At their request, Amnesty International carried out a forensic investigation which found that NoviSpy had been installed on the device during the BIA interview. Amnesty International was also able to recover and decrypt surveillance data captured by NoviSpy while the activist was using their phone, which included screenshots of email accounts, Signal and WhatsApp messages and social media activity. 

Amnesty International reported the NoviSpy spyware campaign to security researchers at Android and Google before publication, who took action to remove the spyware from affected Android devices. Google has also sent out a round of “Government-backed attack” alerts to individuals they identified as possible targets of this campaign.   

Impact of state digital surveillance and repression tactics on Serbian civil society

Serbian activists have been left traumatised by the targeting. 

“This is an incredibly effective way to completely discourage communication between people. Anything that you say could be used against you, which is paralyzing at both personal and professional levels,” said Branko*, an activist who was targeted with Pegasus spyware. 

The targeting has also resulted in self-censorship. 

“We are all in the form of a digital prison, a digital gulag. We have an illusion of freedom, but in reality, we have no freedom at all. This has two effects: you either opt for self-censorship, which profoundly affects your ability to do work, or you choose to speak up regardless, in which case, you have to be ready to face the consequences,” said Goran*, an activist also targeted with Pegasus spyware. 

Activist, Aleksandar* who was also targeted with Pegasus spyware, said: “My privacy was invaded, and this completely shattered my sense of personal security. It caused huge anxiety…I felt a sense of panic and became quite isolated.” 

In a response to these findings, NSO Group, which developed Pegasus, could not confirm whether Serbia was its customer but stated that the Group “takes seriously its responsibility to respect human rights, and is strongly committed to avoiding causing, contributing to, or being directly linked to negative human rights impacts, and thoroughly review all credible allegations of misuse of NSO Group products.” 

In response to our findings, Cellebrite said, “Our digital investigative software solutions do not install malware nor do they perform real-time surveillance consistent with spyware or any other type of offensive cyber activity.  

 “We appreciate Amnesty International highlighting the alleged misuse of our technology. We take all allegations seriously of a customer’s potential misuse of our technology in ways that would run counter to both explicit and implied conditions outlined in our end-user agreement. 

 “We are investigating the claims made in this report. Should they be validated, we are prepared to impose appropriate sanctions, including termination of Cellebrite’s relationship with any relevant agencies.” 

In response to Amnesty International’s queries sent early during the research process, Cellebrite said its products “are licensed strictly for lawful use, require a warrant or consent to help law enforcement agencies with legally sanctioned investigations after a crime has taken place.” 

While this may be the intended use, Amnesty International’s research demonstrates how Cellebrite’s products can be misused to enable spyware deployment and the broad collection of data from mobile phones outside of justified criminal investigations, posing grave risks to human rights.  

Amnesty International has shared the findings of this research with the Serbian government ahead of the publication but has not received a response.  

Serbian authorities must stop using highly invasive spyware and provide effective remedy to victims of unlawful targeted surveillance and hold those responsible for the violations to account. Cellebrite and other digital forensic companies also must conduct adequate due diligence to ensure that their products are not used in a way which contributes to human rights abuses. 

Over the past years, state repression and a hostile environment for free speech advocates in Serbia has escalated with each wave of anti-government protests. The authorities have engaged in sustained smear campaigns against NGOs, media and journalists and have also subjected those involved in peaceful protest to arrests and judicial harassment. 

*Name changed to protect identity 

LONDON/MELBOURNE, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), opens new tab, (RIO.L), opens new tab has agreed to buy U.S. based Arcadium Lithium (ALTM.N), opens new tab for $6.7 billion, it said on Wednesday, a deal that will catapult it to become the world’s third largest miner of the metal used in electric vehicle batteries.

Already the world’s largest producer of iron ore, Rio is transforming itself into a processor of high end, low carbon raw materials essential for the energy transition. The market is currently oversupplied with lithium, but CEO Jakob Stausholm said Rio is confident that long-term demand will be strong.

Rio said it would pay $5.85 per share in cash for Arcadium, an almost 90% premium to its closing price of $3.08 per share on Oct. 4, the day Reuters exclusively reported a potential deal.

Rio’s London-listed shares were down 0.4% by 1054 GMT. Shares in U.S.-listed Arcadium jumped around 40% on Monday, after the companies confirmed negotiations.

Rio would gain access to lithium mines, processing facilities and deposits in Argentina, Australia, Canada and the United States to fuel decades of growth, as well as customers that include Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, BMW (BMWG.DE), opens new tab and General Motors (GM.N)

Lithium prices have floundered due to Chinese oversupply and a slowdown in electric vehicle sales, resulting in miners of the metal emerging as attractive takeover targets.

Rio’s Stausholm told investors that by the end of the decade the company expects a shortfall in supply, with a more than 10% compound annual growth rate in demand through to 2040, boosted by electric vehicles and energy storage.

The current weak market was an opportunity to pick up top quality assets at the right price, Stausholm told Reuters.

“We really want battery-grade lithium, i.e. the processing as well. And then, of course, we like to be an operator, and if you take those criteria, you very quickly come to Arcadium,” he said.

“The way you should think about it is kind of a reverse takeover. This is not a case about cutting costs. This is a case about building faster and better,” he added.

The deal won’t make a material difference to Rio’s current capex plans of up to $10 billion in 2025 and 2026, Stausholm said.

For the whole article go to Reuters.

Jose Fernandez, under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment at the U.S. Department of State, told a briefing late on Monday that China was producing much more lithium “than the world needs today, by far”.

“That is an intentional response by the People’s Republic of China to what we are trying to do” with the Inflation Reduction Act – the largest climate and energy investment package in U.S. history valued at over $400 billion, Fernandez said, adding:

“They engage in predatory pricing… (they) lower the price until competition disappears. That is what is happening.”

China accounts for about two-thirds of the world’s lithium chemical output, which is mainly used in battery technologies including for electric cars. Prices of lithium have fallen more than 80% in the past year largely due to overproduction from China and a drop in demand for electric vehicles.

However, the price collapse is also affecting China as it has forced Chinese companies like battery giant CATL (300750.SZ), to suspend production at certain mines.

For the whole article go to Reuters.