Although projects in Serbia were not on the list, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić confirmed after meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that they would be included within a week, civil society organisations noted in a statement. The Serbian association March from the Drina, together with several NGOs and associations from Romania, Germany, Spain and Portugal, announced they would challenge the European Commission’s strategic designation of these projects. Among the strategic projects the activists consider contentious are major lithium projects such as the Jadar Project in Serbia (RIO), Mina do Barroso (SAV) and Mina do Romano in Portugal, Zinnwald in Germany (ZNVD), as well as Mina Doade and Mina Las Navas in Spain, and the Rovina gold-copper project in Romania (ESM).

Strategic Projects Receive Permits to Override Public Interest

Amid increasing geopolitical pressure, the EU CRMA seeks to “unlock” mineral partnerships with third countries, as well as domestic mining of metals needed for energy transition, the statement notes.

“To achieve at least 10% domestic production of critical minerals by 2030, strategic projects are given the green light to override public interest, expedite permit issuance, and access private and public investments,” the activists point out. Since the CRMA draft in 2023, environmental activists and affected communities have highlighted the law’s incompatibility with existing European environmental regulations such as the Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive, and Birds Directive. March from the Drina, together with Green Legal Impact in Germany, sent a complaint to the Commission in December.

“We Are Not a Playground for the Mining Mafia”

“We are not a playground for the mining mafia. Our lawyers in Europe are finalising legal appeals to annul this decision. Rio Tinto has shown disrespect for the rule of law in Serbia. People in Serbia expected that, by becoming an EU candidate, EU institutions would help strengthen the rule of law, not support a dictator who gives free passes for environmental destruction to line his pockets. It is inconceivable that during political unrest in Serbia, President von der Leyen meets with Vučić and discusses lithium. Together with colleagues across Europe, we are launching new action, and already organising legal steps to once again successfully delay the Jadar Project and other projects affecting our friends outside Serbia,” says Bojana Novaković from March from the Drina.

“Extracting cheap raw materials for the automotive industry in Germany and elsewhere threatens our way of life. We, who live from sustainable livestock farming and depend on clean rivers and green pastures, would only face disadvantages. The proposal is far from a just transition – mining in Portugal does not follow rules, and authorities do nothing,” explains Nelson Gomes from the civil initiative in Covas do Barozo.

“In our mountain region on the German-Czech border, two different companies intend to mine the same ore body from two sides. The cumulative impact of these two large mines on protected sites and on neighbouring villages and towns is not being considered. From our region’s past, we know that the larger the mines, the greater the damage. We will not allow this again,” explains Anja Weber from Bärenstein.

“In Spain, modern mining has caused so much destruction and pollution, and with it injustice, crime, corruption and suffering. The CRMA will multiply this. Strategic project status is an attempt to legitimise illegal and destructive projects, whilst communities are undermined and turned into ’public enemies’ in Commission materials,” says Joam Evans from the Iberian Mining Observatory.

I.K.