Signatories reject the proposed legislation because of its disregard for environmental and human rights, endorsement of social engineering, and failure to address Europe’s obsolete mining regulations and the urgency of reducing demand. If approved, the Act will fast-track permitting procedures, water down environmental laws and set the floor to inject billions of euros into socially and environmentally irresponsible mining corporations.

“The European Parliament and the Commission had the opportunity to meet the needs of local communities with this law and they failed miserably,” says Bojana Novakovic from the movement against lithium mining “Marš sa Drine” in Serbia. “We are tired of begging, pleading and negotiating. The EU has failed us, so we are sending a clear message – withdraw the law or you will see us on the streets and in court.”

The announcement earlier this week of a political agreement between the European Parliament and the European Council to push forward with the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) has brought about an immediate reaction among civil society organizations, local communities as well as experts and academics across the world. Recalling the ongoing political crisis in Portugal and its connection with two lithium mining projects, the letter warns that the regulation will extend the influence of the mining lobby and spread even more corruption due to less regulation. 

It also exposes how EU policymakers have failed to see beyond the Brussels ‘bubble’, disregarding the potentially catastrophic impacts of a new mining boom. Signatories condemn the proposed legislation’s endorsement of ‘social acceptance’ activities aimed at changing public opposition to mining projects into passive tolerance or active support. The letter also exposes 25 projects funded by the EU at a total cost of €181M with deliverables that seek out to build public acceptance for extractive projects.

“It’s simple for us,” says a representant from MiningWatch Romania: “Approval of the CRMA will lead to legal action as the proposed legislation would breach rights of public participation in environmental decision making, enshrined by the Aarhus Convention which the European Union ratified.”

On the situation in Portugal, the founder of MiningWatch Portugal, Nik Völker, adds: “Unfortunately, non-compliance seems to be the norm in Portugal, even in well-documented cases known to the authorities. The Borba tragedy, the tailings from the Panasqueira mine and, since last week, the acid waters in Aljustrel, also testify to a precarious state of the competent authorities. The Brussels ‘bubble’ that envisages permitting in two years seems a long way from our reality of projects that are already half a decade in the process, for example for Lithium in the Barroso area.”

Letter to the Commission: https://miningwatch.pt/public/OpenLetter-CSO-CRMA_2023-11-16.pdf

the Serbian government’s decision to cancel the Jadar proposal.

*

Joint Statement – Press Release

Mars Sa Drine^[1] and Extinction Rebellion Serbia

Belgrade/Serbia 09.05.2022 – At the Rio Tinto AGM in Australia on 5 May 2022, the outgoing Chairman of the Board, Mr. Simon Thompson stated that “we very much hope that we will be able to discuss all of the options with the government of Serbia now the elections are out of the way.”^[2]

This statement undermines the Serbian people who stood their ground in the streets in 2021 against Rio Tinto. Their voice was reflected by the government’s decision on January 20 2022 to annul the Special Purpose Spatial Plan, Jadar; the legal basis for Rio Tinto’s project and all subsequent permits, including procedure to obtain the environmental permit. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated that “Everything has been annulled. This means we’ve met the demands of environmental protests and have put a full stop on Rio Tinto in Serbia.”^[3]

What’s more, over 37,000 notarized signatures have been gathered for a national citizen’s initiative against lithium and borate mining in just 20 days. Initiators will present the bill to parliament after the summer recess. Along with an existing petition of over 290,000 signatures, this shows overwhelming public support against lithium and borate mining. With this in mind Mr. Thompson’s statement is ever more displaced as it comes in total disregard for the will of the people. The Prime Minister herself said: “With this act, everything to do with Project Jadar and Rio Tinto is over. It’s finished.”^[4]

This press release contains exclusively the official government decree in Serbian^[5] and English^[6] languages, along with the cancellation of the EIA procedure.^[7]

“Serbia’s effort to transition into a politically stable country that finally works for and listens to its people, will be jeopardized if companies like Rio Tinto believe they can undermine democracy by flexing their muscles and trying to re-introduce nepotism. The government made its choice: it listened to the people.”  Bojana  Novakovic, Mars Sa Drine Collective

“Serbia will not be used to absolve the EU’s or Rio Tinto’s guilt for not having acted on climate change. The people of Serbia have recognized that food and water are more important than the profits of a multinational corporation, inconvenient as that may be for Rio Tinto.” Milica D. Zavrnot Extinction Rebellion Serbia

^[1] Marš sa Drine is a national campaign against the mining of lithium and borates in Serbia. We are a collective of over 20 NGOs, citizens, independent experts, activists from Serbia and beyond, united to protect the Jadar Valley and the rest of Serbia from the devastating effects of mining on fertile soil. Our mission is to support locals who protect their land against lithium & borate exploitation and the forced relocation that entails. We work based on social, environmental, economic and legal principles.

^[2] https://www.reuters.com/business/rio-tinto-keen-restart-talks-stalled-serbian-lithium-project-2022-05-05/

^[3] https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/497517/Brnabic-Ukinut-prostorni-plan-za-Jadar-i-sve-ostale-odluke

^[4] https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/497517/Brnabic-Ukinut-prostorni-plan-za-Jadar-i-sve-ostale-odluke

^[5] Serbian Version: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/drlsu1460xfj9fz/AAAd9wN4OM71zRvwxnWiFVu5a?dl=0

^[6] English Version: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ztygwe99pyy4whp/AACCyDorgSuQ88laOkLns5TEa?dl=0

^[7] https://novaekonomija.rs/vesti-iz-zemlje/poni%C5%A1tena-sva-re%C5%A1enja-ministarstva-za-projekat-jadar

Despite two petitions with over 300,000 signatures, the views of leading lawyers
and a huge protest in Belgrade, the Serbian government has adopted the Law on
Referendum and the Law on Expropriation!
Organizers from all over the country have united to create a nationwide blockade
of roads from today at 2 pm CET for one hour. In Belgrade, scattered from all areas,
we will take Gazelle Bridge on foot. Varadinska duga in Novi Sad. Crossing near the
Balkans in Kragujevac! Organizers include Kreni Promeni, SEOS, Eko-Ustanak,
Skupstina Slobodne Srbije among many local ecological groups and the support
of the Mars Sa Drine Campaign.
This law means that the government can confiscate anyone’s property by
declaring it in the “public interest”, a term that is being broadened by the changes
in the law to mean any deal struck between the Serbian Government and an
international corporate or trade agreement. This law was passed not just because
of Rio Tinto, but other corporate interests around lithium in six provinces around
the country, as well as many other dirty foregin investments threatening our
environment! The locals do not want to sell their land at any cost.
“There are things that money cannot buy. Our land, our roots, our home, our
heritage are not for sale and neither are our souls. You don’t have our permission
to mine in Jadar! We will defend this land at the cost of our lives,” says Zlatko
Kokanovic, vice president of ‘Ne Damo Jadar’.
“We can’t let these people down! Today they will steal their property, but tomorrow
they can steal the property of any of us! The apartments where our children live,
the houses of our parents where we learned to walk or my grandfather’s plot with
a cherry tree on which hung a swing.
It seemed impossible to change the opinion about Rio Tinto, because the
government controlled the media. But we have reached millions of people with
our advertising. And the latest research shows that Rio Tinto will be replaced by
another company. It’s a won battle! But if we let this Law pass we can lose the
war!
At the protests, we announced that we would enter the roadblocks for 1 hour. In
Belgrade, we will block the international highway! I am aware that calling this act
is a violation of the law, but we will not allow Serbia to become a colony!” Savo
Manojlovic, Kreni-Promeni
Protest organizers have explicitly advised: Do not try to organize the blockade
yourself. Do not get into a conflict with the police. In case there aren’t a lot of people
where you are, record the actions of the police. this is a day of peaceful blockades
of vital roads. No demolition, no vandalism!

Loznica/Serbia 26 October 2021 – Documents released under an access to information request reveal Vucic’s firm support for Rio Tinto’s (RIO.L) Jadar project and highlight a calculated roadmap to greenlight the mine. A paragraph reads that “the project has political support from Serbian president – Mr. Vucic.” This is relevant given Vucic’s statement that “the people will have the final say on the project.” The documents also reveal that the mine site development is to start after the general elections in spring 2022. 

‘Mars Sa Drine!’ (Rio Tinto, Get off the Drina!) is a network uniting fifteen Serbian NGOs, as well as experts and activists who support the work of ‘Ne damo Jadar.’ This is an association of 350 local property owners opposed to Rio Tinto’s mine proposal on social, environmental, economic and heritage grounds. They also oppose the forced resettlement that the mine entails. A petition has gathered over 130,000 signatures in Serbia and an international petition has gathered 80,000 signatures. Most recently, a protest of over 17,000 people in Belgrade included over 20 groups who announced their opposition to the mine. 

According to the documents released by the EU Commission under its transparency rules, a detailed political roadmap has been elaborated behind closed doors. This is likely to prevent the Rio Tinto lithium proposal to become a contentious electoral subject and to clear the way for Vucic to be able green-light the mine after the general elections in 2022. According to the roadmap the exploitation permit and all other regulatory approvals (e.g. EIA) are to be granted by the end of 2021 or early 2022 and the mine site development is to start after elections in Serbia. A document reads that “the project has political support from Serbian president – Mr. Vucic ” meaning that if Mr Vucic was to call for a referendum his intention is to greenlight the mine nonetheless. The papers imply his reelection as the roadmap does not foresee a risk scenario for an alternative result. 

The documents also reveal that a meeting “took place in the context of Rio Tinto’s CEO Jakob Stausholm visit to Belgrade … to meet President Vucic and the Commission’s intention to develop a strategic partnership in Critical raw materials and batteries with Serbia” – in absence of an EIA or any assurance showing that the strictest standards will be respected. Worse still, the EU Commission underlines its “close and positive contacts with Serbian authorities” encouraging “Rio Tinto to keep close and regular contacts with the EU Delegation in Belgrade.” 

Today ‘Mars Sa Drine!’ and ‘Ne damo Jadar’ sent a letter to the EU Ambassador to Serbia asking for a clarifying meeting and also alerted Thomas Waitz, member of the European Parliament, the EU’s directly elected body.

“We are used to foul plans and double-play by decision-makers claiming to represent our best interest. It is unfortunate that the EU Commission’s DG Grow so readily concurs with a murky lithium proposal that will undermine the energy transition, add human rights & the environment as casualties & feed corruption. If the laws are applied then this mine will never go ahead & we will use all legal means to prove this,” says Bojana Novaković, coordinator ‘Mars Sa Drine’.

“Money can buy a lot of things, including TV commercials or even electoral campaigns. Disappointingly for Rio Tinto there are things that money cannot buy: our country, our roots, our homes, our heritage, our inheritance are not for sale, nor are our souls. Everything we have, we inherited from our forefathers, and it’s our duty to pass it on to our grandchildren. You don’t have our permission to build a mine in the Jadar valley.” * * *

For more information contact Zlatko Kokanović from Ne damo Jadar on +38 164 211 33 94  (Serbian only) and Bojana Novaković, from ‘Marš Sa Drine’ on + 38 164 320 77 00 (for English & Serbian) ￨ email info@marssadrine.org

Belgrade/ Serbia, 9 April 2021
As Rio Tinto gathers for its annual general meeting, a broad coalition comprising locals from the Jadar Valley, experts and NGOs are organising a protest at the Rio Tinto office in Belgrade as well as in Loznica, London and Washington DC. Together they will inform Rio Tinto’s shareholders that they will fight and don’t need toxic chemicals in their lives!

“Here is our message to Rio Tinto’s shareholders: There are things that money cannot buy. Our
land, our roots, our home, our heritage are not for sale and neither are our souls. You don’t have
our permission to mine in Jadar! We will defend this land at the cost of our lives,” says Zlatko
Kokanovic, vice president of ‘Ne Damo Jadar’.

‘Ne damo Jadar’ [1] is an association of local property owners from the Jadar Valley. It consists
of 350 property owners opposed to Rio Tinto’s Jadar mine proposal on social, environmental,
economic and heritage grounds and the involuntary resettlement that it entails. The ‘Rio Tinto:
Mars Sa Drine!’ (Rio Tinto: Get off the Drina!) movement centers on supporting ‘Ne damo Jadar’
and unites twenty Serbian organizations. [2] Together they gathered 63,000 signatures against
the Jadar mine within the past two months alone [3].

At the protest members of the ‘Mars Sa Drine!’ (Get off the Drina!) movement and the public will
also hand Rio Tinto the 63.000 signatures and send a clear message: there will be red cards for
shareholders and suitcases for Rio Tinto to pack their bags because Jadar is not for sale!
The Jadar mine proposal [4] in the Jadar Valley in western Serbia is owned by the
anglo-australian mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO.L) via ‘Rio Sava exploration’. The company intends
to exploit jadarite. It plans to start with the construction of its low-cost and expandable mine in
2022 and to operate by 2026.

The mine proposal has been beleaguered by scandals as well as national, and transnational
opposition due to the use of very large amounts of water and toxic chemicals; the destruction of
forests; forced resettlement and a potential transboundary impact in the event of a spill. The

proposal covers 22 villages and mining is to occur under two riverbeds – the Korenita and Jadar
rivers. Both are prone to flooding meaning that there exists a high risk that the tailings will end
up in these two rivers, and then escape into the Drina, the Sava, and the Danube rivers.
The project footprint includes the area around Paulje, a Bronze Age archeological site as well as
several classified natural monuments. In 2017 the Serbian government and Rio Tinto signed [5]
a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which is being withheld from the public; despite claims
to transparency [6]. MOU’s have a particularly bad taste in Serbia, they are usually associated
with corruption at the highest political level.

“We started litigation to anul permits. We asked the EU to confirm that all permits will need to be
in accordance with European legislation; this not only regarding the environment but also with
regards to the Water Framework Directive, the Mining Waste Directive and associated conditions
such as insurance and proper risk and accident assessment. We encouraged our neighbors to
assess a potential transboundary impact in view of triggering the Espoo convention on
environmental permitting. And just a few days ago we shared a risk assessment with Rio Tinto’s
shareholders. But this is just the start,” explains Marijana Petkovic, a member of ‘Ne Damo
Jadar.’[7]

“We own land with archaeological remains dating back to the Bronze Age and the area also contains classified natural monuments. Land that is now within the mine’s footprint. How can Rio Tinto’s CEO be serious about making protecting cultural heritage an issue “felt in the hearts and minds”, when at the same time in Serbia Rio Tinto wants to develop a mine that will swallow-up natural monuments and heritage dating back to the 14th century BC? asks Marijana Petkovic, a member of ‘Ne Damo Jadar.’

Joining the solidarity in Washington will be Bojana Novakovic and youth climate activist Jamie
Margolin.

Contact information: Bojana Novakovic for English language inquiries on mobile +1 310 227
1805 and email info@marssadrine.org – For high-resolution images of the action in Belgrade,
Loznica, London and Washington DC and further campaign material

All info will be available on 9 April from 13:00 BST.