Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz will receive Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic next Tuesday in Freiberg, Saxony.

The topics to be discussed will include the planned lithium mining in Serbia, high sustainability standards and the security of raw materials, a government spokeswoman said in Berlin on Friday. The Mining Academy at the Technical University of Freiberg is considered one of the world's leading institutions in this field. In view of protests by environmentalists in Serbia against a planned lithium project, Scholz had already promised Vucic help in a telephone conversation in September. "It is clear to us that the project should be realized and that high environmental standards will be met," said the spokeswoman.

Serbia is to become a center for European lithium and battery supply. The country has lithium reserves for which the Australian company Rio Tinto has secured a mining license. According to Vucic, the lithium should cover 17 percent of European demand. It is the largest lithium mine in Europe. Serbia would like to process a large proportion of the raw material in the country itself. Companies such as car manufacturers Mercedes and Stellantis want to help establish a value chain.

Serbia is also a candidate for EU accession, but there have recently been problems with the adoption of European legal standards. "We are supporting Serbia on its path to the EU. But one thing is also clear: there is no lithium discount," said German foreign office circles. The accession process is performance-based and progress is linked to the fulfillment of specific requirements. "Unfortunately, the conditions for the opening of further negotiation clusters have not yet been met," they added.

(Report by Andreas Rinke; edited by Christian Götz. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)