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On October 10th, the Serbian parliament gave its green light for the exploitation of lithium mines, wiping out all the arguments of ecologists and opposition parties. Lithium, as other minerals, is a must for a global economy prone to low carbon emissions : the price of lithium has fallen down at the moment because the market for electric vehicules is far from expectations, however this mineral is necessary for other industries , such as military and aerospace industries.
The biased phrase « green transition” would indeed make humanity fall from the frying pan into the fire. From the frying pan of fossile energies, looted all along the two centuries of the industrial revolution, to the fire of mining extraction frenzy. It is well known that the consequences of the frenetic search for minerals will be far more serious and have far more destructive effects than the exploitation of oil or coal. There is no “clean mine” and moreover they are becoming dirtier and dirtier due to the need of colossal infrastructures to be able to extract less concentrated minerals as Celia Izoard explains in her book La Ruée minière au XXIéme siècle. Jadar lithium deposit, in Western Serbia, offers an important concentration rate, but the global resources of the country are far less important than those in Germany or France. So Vucic &Co only option is to explain that the destruction of wide regions of the country is nothing less than a step forward to the bright European future…
A strong opposition to a possible lithium extraction has arisen in both countries, France and Germany. So extraction should be developed in countries where opposition would be less strong : the Western Balkans are under the influence of the EU and have all the prerequisite advantages. They are situated next to European economic centers ; the German carmakers did not forget to mention it last July when they were part of Chancellor Sholz’s delegation in Belgrade. And the leaders of those Balkans countries, and first of all the Serbian autocrat Vucic, “are bound” by the promise of the European integration.
The only argument left to Vučić & Co is to pretend that the whole destruction of entire regions of Serbia is a step forward to the radiant European future.
Actually it is a promise only for those who believe in it, or pretend to believe in it, to start with by those leaders in the Balkans who have repeated for years, even decades, to their public opinion, that they were “preparing “ their countries to this glorious epiphany. Therefore, they won’t run the risk to enter in conflict with the EU. The European leaders are well aware of the moral and political corruption of those leaders of the Balkan countries, but they are happy with it, since they can have more grip on them. So the only argument left to Vučić & Co is to pretend that the whole destruction of entire regions of Serbia is a step forward to the radiant European future. Though it is obvious enough that the transformation of Serbia into a mining colony of Europe is conflicting with any European perspective : if Serbians join the Union in the coming years, they could be opponents to the destruction of their country.
It is the same sort of story with the welcome of refugees, Europe does not want. On October 16th, the Italian retention centers of Shengji and Gladër, relocated in Albania, welcomed their first guests, 16 refugees caught off Lampedusa and brought to the Adriatic port at great expense.
None can consider their lackeys, the inhabitants of a submitted area, the wardens of a relegation zone as equals.
The agreement reached a year ago, between the corrupt Albanian First Minister, Edi Rama, and his Italian fascist counterpart, Giorgia Meloni was first criticized by the other members of the EU, but now nearly all of them agreed. The President of the EU Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, even called on “learning” from the Albanian example and multiply “return hubs”, that is to say retention and expulsion centers beyond the European borders.
Where are those hubs going to be built ? Perhaps in Tunisia, or in Libya, whereas since the 2016 agreement Turkey has already withheld refugees from Syria, and received good money in return. And soon those future hubs will be erected in the Balkan countries, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, or Montenegro.
Edi Rama, whose links with the networks of organized crime and narco-traffickers are too obvious always need to “be useful” to his bigger neighbour and claims that Italy could always rely on Albania…. Except that Rome relies on Tirana as one relies on a servant whose misbehaviours and turpitude are well known
The integration show
No way that Albania could be considered as equal to Italy, if ever it joins the EU, and the fact that Tirana has opened the first chapter of negociations to join the EU, just the right day before the first refugees were arriving at Shengjin is nothing more than a cynical farce. The “show must go on”, not for the citizens of the Balkans who are no longer lured to this game, but for those of the members of the EU who persist in believing in the illusion they are still living in those privileged, democratic and prosperous societies, a most enviable and tempting pattern all over the world.
The citizens of the Balkans are no longer fooled by this farce and it is for this very reason they are massively emigrating to the EU countries and also to Canada, China, The United States, New-Zealand or the rich Emiraties… Serbia has lost half a million people in ten years, small Albania as many in 20 years. But this does not seem to worry either the leaders of these countries or their European mentors. Neither the lithium mines nor the retention camps need a numerous work staff and deserted Balkans will be easier to get under control.
The Western Balkans have non longer the "vocation” to join the European Union, but the European Union is in great need of them for menial tasks. The best they can hope for is a status of “federal peoples” just as Rome granted this status to its allied Barbarians, led by greedy and corrupt chiefs, much alike the leaders in the Balkans who always pretend they are working for the best of “the European future” or ad majorem gloriam Romae...
