,1,It is more urgent than ever for Europe to become self-sufficient in energy. This is accompanied by major power shifts, both within and outside the EU. What will the energy transition mean for geopolitical relations?
Brussels wants to go green at lightning speed - and thus become less dependent on Russian gas and oil from the Middle East. As head of the cabinet of Frans Timmermans, Diederik Samsom is currently working in Brussels on 'his' Green Deal. According to Samsom, the need to be energy independent is greater than ever. The ambition is to extract the necessary green raw materials as close as possible, and preferably in Europe itself.
EU candidate member Serbia has become a contested field on the green raw materials chessboard because of this ambition. The country is rich in copper and lithium. The Chinese mining giant Zijin has already made headway there and recently opened a large copper mine, important for the construction of wind turbines.
But the EU is also looking at Serbian raw materials with interest. And especially lithium. That mineral is in the ground in the Jadar Valley. The plans of mining company Rio Tinto have been put on hold by the government because of a massive popular uprising against the arrival of the mine. Many Serbs are not waiting for the lithium economy to arrive in their country.
Original air date: March 7, 2022, 'Een nieuwe orde'.
Directed by Mea Dols de Jong
Research: Arnout Arens, Ilija Bozovic
Editing: Paul Delput
Production: Marie Schutgens
Final editing: Doke Romeijn & Geert Rozinga
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