- EU endorses lithium mining project in Serbia
The European Union and Serbia have signed a Memorandum of Strategic Partnership on sustainable raw materials (primarily lithium), as well as on the production of car batteries and electric vehicles.
The document was signed on July 19 during the Summit on critical raw materials in Belgrade.
The European Commission emphasizes that the purpose of the partnership laid down in the Memorandum is to support the development of new local industries and high-quality jobs.
Close cooperation between the EU and Serbia is envisaged in five areas.
These include research and innovation, primarily within the framework of the EU program Horizon Europe. Both sides will share knowledge and technology based on the Memorandum signed.
Another area of cooperation covers mobilizing the EU’s financial and investment instruments to support investment projects in Serbia.
Training and advanced training of Serbian specialists is also laid down.
After the Memorandum of Understanding is signed, the EU and Serbia will develop a road map, putting forward concrete steps for the implementation of the strategic partnership within six months.
The agreements between Belgrade and Brussels are aimed at supporting the lithium mining project – the Jadar project. Despite protests by environmental activists and residents of the region where lithium is supposed to be extracted, the project was recently “reanimated” by Serbia’s authorities.
- Albania calls on Greece to legally end old war
On July 18, the Albanian parliament voted in favor of a declaration calling on Greece to repeal the 84-year-old law declaring a state of war with Albania.
In the appeal, the lawmakers ask the Albanian government to make every effort, jointly with the Greek government, to abolish the “law of war” and the legal implications that the law entails.
On October 28, 1940, Italy declared war on Greece, attacking the country from the then-occupied Albanian territory. Immediately after that, Greece declared a “state of war” with Italy and Albania. By the royal decree of November 10, 1940, the Albanian population was evicted from Greek territories while their property was seized. Since then, these norms have remained in effect. Thus, Albania and Greece, despite both being NATO allies, are technically still at war, and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ethnic Albanian property in Greece remains blocked.
- Alexander Kasanof becomes new U.S. representative for Western Balkans.
He will replace Gabriel Escobar, whose term in office expired late May.
As reported by the State Department, Alexander Kasanof was selected as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Balkans, as well as Press and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
Previously, Kasanoff served as Executive Assistant to former Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland. He has served in American diplomatic missions in Ireland, Turkmenistan, Chile, and Ukraine. He is the laureate of the James Clement Dunn Award for Excellence for his work as Political Counselor at the US Embassy in Kyiv during the Euromaidan Revolution in 2014, Serbian media reported.
- Kosovo shuts down Russian-Serbian gas station network
The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade of Kosovo, backed by local police, closed down three gas stations run by Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS Petrol) in North Mitrovica and Zubin Potok, while the Privatization Agency of Kosovo (AKP) terminated the lease contracts.
According to the Kosovo authorities, the gas stations operated without a proper license, while two of them were not even taxed.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, stated that “lawbreakers such as NIS Petrol, a branch of Russia’s Gazprom, have no place in the Republic of Kosovo.”
The main owner of NIS is Gazprom Neft, Gazprom, and the Government of Serbia.
The opening of the NIS Petrol gas station in the north of Kosovo in 2016 sparked strong resistance from the Kosovo authorities, who called the company’s work in North Mitrovica an attempt to spread Russian influence in Kosovo and across region. Pristina then sent a note of protest to the European Union and international institutions.
