The German Left calls for an immediate moratorium on the German-Serbian lithium agreement

MPs of the German Left asked their government questions regarding the mining of lithium in Jadar valley in Western Serbia, and commented that the answers they received were unsatisfactory for both the Serbian and German parliaments and peoples.

Olaf Scholz and Aleksandar Vučić; Photo: Serbian Presidency / Dimitrije Goll

“The German government’s answers are a reflection of its new policy of turning a blind eye to the growing erosion of democracy, the rule of law and environmental protection in Serbia. Geopolitics and the interests of the German car industry clearly take precedence over the rights of the people affected in the Serbian Jadar region, who have been taking to the streets for years to protest against the consequences of industrial lithium mining in their homeland and are being threatened and persecuted for their commitment against the first lithium mining in populated areas,” comments Cornelia Möhring, member of the German party Die Linke (Left) in the federal parliament and Die Linke chairman of the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Several federal MPs from the German Left party sent a questionnaire to the German government about lithium exploitation in Serbia. MPs Cornelia Möhring, Dr. Gregor Gysi and Susanne Hennig-Wellsow received answers to their questions at the end of November. The answers and comments were exclusively published by Die Welt magazine at the beginning of December, and now you can also read them in Mašina.

Die Welt: In July Scholz stated that the population in Jadar can rely on the German authorities

In the inquiry, MPs from the Die Linke party cite that on July 19th 2024, in Belgrade, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić and Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič signed the “Strategic partnership agreement for sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles”. Among other things, this agreement foresees the possible exploitation of lithium in the Jadar valley in western Serbia by the company Rio Tinto, accentuate the MPs.

As the German Left draws attention to Mašina’s readers, German Chancellor Scholz said during his visit to Belgrade on July 19, to paraphrase: “It’s about mining taking place with the highest standards possible today in terms of environmental protection and biodiversity. We will support this and do our part to ensure that it actually happens. With the experience that Germany has in mining and with the know-how of our authorities and institutions, we will help ensure that everything runs exactly as announced here. Local citizens must be able to rely on this, and they can.” It was these statements that prompted female MPs to ask the German Government – is it really so?

Activists being apprehended; Photo: Printsrceen glas_uzica
Activists being apprehended; Photo: Printsrceen glas_uzica

Die Linke MP: “The federal government does not want to take a position on respect for environmental protection conditions and targeted death threats to environmental activists”

The MPs inquiry titled “Lithium mining in Serbia” was answered by the Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection on behalf of the Federal Government of Germany. The answer is also signed by the president of the German Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, and is dated November 25, 2024. In the answers, the German government avoided answering many questions directly.

“Before the surprising lithium deal with President Aleksandar Vučić, there was still loud criticism of the Serbian leadership from Berlin, whether because of accusations of electoral fraud in the last parliamentary and local elections or because of the SNS ruling party’s increasingly authoritarian stance against the media, opposition and the rule of law, Belgrade’s deliberate escalation in Kosovo, Serbia’s anti-EU cooperation with Russian President Putin, its rejection of EU sanctions against Moscow and Serbia’s cooperation with China’s head of state Xi Jinping”, comments MP Cornelia Möhring.

 „The German government now seems to have eaten lithium chalk. In its answers to this minor interpellation, it refuses to take a clear and binding stance on environmental protection, human rights and democracy in Serbia’s bid to join the EU”, added the MP. The outgoing German government is thus doing exactly the opposite of its declared “values-led foreign policy”, she states.

“The Federal Government does not want to take a stance on compliance with environmental protection requirements, targeted death threats against environmental activists and their persecution as ‘eco-terrorists’ by pro-government forces, scientific findings on the consequences of lithium mining or compliance with German laws such as the Supply Chain Management Act, nor does it want to say anything concrete or provide any guarantees”, accentuates Möhring.

The Bundestag; Photo:   Herman / Flickr
The Bundestag; Photo: Herman / Flickr

The German government: We don’t have time to check whether Rio Tinto violated human rights somewhere

For example, to the question “Is the Federal Government of the opinion that the neglect of 38,000 signatures for a legal initiative to ban the exploitation of lithium represents a ‘serious case of violation of basic democratic standards’?” the German government responds: “The federal government emphasizes that a transparent and inclusive decision-making process is central to the Jadar project. Likewise, the Federal Government has in mind that on 10/10/2024, a comprehensive debate was held, initiated by the Opposition in Serbia, on the proposed law on the prohibition of lithium exploitation. The same proposal was rejected by a majority decision”, as if everything is going on in perfect order in the Serbian parliament.

Asked “Does the Federal Government have knowledge of violations of human rights and environmental protection laws by the Rio Tinto Group in the last 20 years? If yes, please sort these incidents chronologically,” the German government answers that – they didn’t have time to get informed on the matter:

“Due to lack of time, the Federal Government is unable to verify whether there have been violations of human and environmental rights on projects outside Germany in the last 20 years by Rio Tinto.”

The German government (sic!) didn’t even have time to review the limit values ​​for ecologically harmful and dangerous substances in soil in Serbia, Germany and the EU (to determine if they differ). The German government that it does not know how many test wells Rio Tinto has drilled, has no knowledge of soil contamination, and “has not carried out its own assessment” of an article on the environmental and social impact of the Jadar Project published in the journal Nature.

Probably most importantly, the answer to the to the question “What control mechanisms are available to the Federal Government and the EU in order to ensure the fulfillment of environmental protection conditions in Serbia during the planned lithium exploitation (please list them individually)?”, was, as expected: “Control of compliance with legal regulations is the responsibility of the Government of Serbia and competent institutions”. The same applies to respect for human and labor rights.

Many of the answers to the 33 questions asked by Die Linke MPs are equally “diplomatic”.

Ne damo Jadar activists; Photo: Mašina
Ne damo Jadar activists; Photo: Mašina

Cheap batteries for electric cars should not come before human rights, the member of the Die Linke party believes

“It is completely irresponsible for the German government to act with this non-transparent attitude towards the German Bundestag on the one hand and, on the other, to work confidentially with such a dubious partner as the Serbian government and rely on Serbian government agencies and multinationals such as Mercedes Benz and Rio Tinto to comply with all national and international minimum social and environmental standards,” states Möhring.

The Left Party in the Bundestag is therefore calling for the current and future German government to be honest and not prioritise raw materials deals over environmental protection and human rights.

“The Left Party in the Bundestag is calling for an immediate moratorium on the German-Serbian lithium deal. Cheap electric car batteries do not come before human rights: the raw materials agreement must therefore be reconsidered, not only to create transparency, but above all to be able to guarantee the minimum standards for granting the people in Serbia their rights,”, concluded Möhring.

The German government does not want to know Serbian environmental laws, says MP Akbulut

Gökay Akbulut (MP for DIE LINKE in der federal Parliament, Substitute member of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid), stated on the occasion:

“It’s really quite something that the German government, represented by Olaf Scholz and Franziska Brantner, is talking about high environmental protection standards, shifting the responsibility for this entirely onto the Serbian side and not even knowing Serbian environmental law. Or rather: does not want to know. You would think they would have learnt something from the various deals with autocrats in recent years. Instead, they are being naive and are being put off by vague promises of reforms. This unprincipled course is not only a disservice to the acceptance of ecological transformation and environmental protection but ultimately also to our democracy. It sends the signal that the economy takes precedence over democratic values.”

I.K.

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