Thousands rally in various Serbia towns to protest against lithium excavation deal
Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia on Monday to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country's government recently signed with the European Union.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Thousands rallied across Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project their country's government recently signed with the European Union.
00:11Protests were held simultaneously across the country following similar gatherings in the past weeks.
00:18The recent deal which was reached earlier this month concerning critical raw materials could reduce Europe's dependency on China.
00:27It could also have the effect of pushing Serbia, which has close ties to Russia and China, closer to the EU.
00:35The deal has been fiercely criticised by environmentalists who argue it would cause irreversible damage to the environment while bringing minimal benefits to Serbian citizens.
00:45The Serbian president has said that any excavation would not start until 2028 and that the government would seek firm environmental guarantees before allowing the digging.