Five days after the decision of the Constitutional Court declaring unconstitutional the Decree of the Government of Serbia on the cancellation of the spatial plan for the “Jadar” project, the Government adopted a new one. The one adopted in 2022, which put an end to the “Jadar” project, is annulled.
“In order to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court, in order to ensure the possibility of further application of the Regulation and to complete the started proceedings in a constitutional and legal manner, the Government, by adopting the Regulation, undertakes measures to restore the legal order to the state it was in before the adoption of the Regulation was declared unconstitutional”, the Government announced.
“Rio Tinto” welcomes the decision, activists condemn it.
“The Jadar project will have to meet strict environmental standards in accordance with the regulations of Serbia and the European Union, which includes the continuation of the development of the project in the legal sense, further work on the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Study, public inspection and obtaining the necessary permits and approvals even before the actual implementation of the project”, it was announced from “Rio Tinta”.
The reaction of those who are advocating a ban on mining in the Jadra valley also came quickly.
“Instead of its own people, the government chose to serve a foreign company – ‘Rio Tinto’.” The government will be responsible for any unrest and conflicts in society,” says Savo Manojlović from the “Move-change” movement.
Before the announcement of the Government, the Speaker of the Parliament responded to the allegations of the leader of the Party of Freedom and Justice that her party brought the company “Rio Tinto” to the country.
Ana Brnabić reminds that the “Jadar” project arrived in Serbia during the Democratic Party’s rule and that the first permit was issued in 2004.
“I don’t work for a private company. I work for the interest of citizens, completely transparently. As for 2017 and the signing of the cooperation agreement with ‘Rio Tinto’, I did not forget, I just said that those who are talking today that they had nothing to do with ‘Rio Tinto’, and who are against ‘Rio Tinto’ and mining and of lithium, these are the people who brought ‘Rio Tinto’ to Serbia, who gave them investigative rights,” said Brnabić.
Đedović Handanović: There is no impossible project, there are only bad solutions
Dubravka Đedović Handanović, the line minister, said that experts should have the main say on the project.
“We need to talk on the basis of arguments, and on the other hand, what is the responsibility that we assume both with the project and without the project. No project is impossible. There are only bad solutions. In this sense, our demands should be maximal in terms of environmental demands, economic demands, and we will not give up on them,” said the minister.
A jadarite mineral deposit was discovered in the Loznica region in 2004. This mineral is considered one of the key for the production of lithium batteries used in electric cars.
Source: RTS
Source: energetskiportal.rs
