World
EU remains 'fully committed' to lithium deal despite unrest in Serbia
The EU Commission remains committed to strategic partnership on raw materials with Serbia despite recent protests, while Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen are rumoured to be set to visit Belgrade.
The European Commission is steadfast in its intention to pursue a strategic partnership on raw materials with Serbia despite concerns over president Aleksandar Vučić’s claims that western powers lie behind widespread protests against a planned lithium mine, a spokesperson for the EU executive said today.
Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič and German Chancellor Olaf Schulz signed a memorandum of understanding in Belgrade last month, just days after Belgrade gave the green light for Anglo-Australian mining corporation Rio Tinto to resume a lithium mining development in the west of the country.
The EU executive said today that it remains “fully committed” to the partnership – the latest in over a dozen Brussels has signed to reduce dependence on China for access to the critical raw materials essential for electric car batteries and Europe’s ongoing energy transition.
“I don’t think we can quantify the importance of the memorandum of understanding with Serbia,” the Commission’s spokesperson on trade Johanna Bernsel told reporters today after president Ursula von der Leyen said securing access to cheap raw materials would be a key goal of the Clean Industrial Deal, the flagship policy agenda for her second mandate.
“What I can say is that we remain fully committed both to the partnership as such and to the environmental standards, to the fact that the environmental standards have to be compatible with EU law,” Bernsel said.
But such rhetoric, which EU leaders have been using since the deal was struck on 18 July, has cut little ice with opponents of Rio Tinto’s plans to open Europe’s largest lithium mine in the Jadar valley 100 kilometres west of the Serbian capital.
Widespread protests by environmentalists and opponents who fear Serbians will receive little benefit of the project culminated on 10 August when tens of thousands marched in the capital, and smaller groups later blocked railway lines into the capital.
There were reports of dozens of arrests, with protest organisers complaining of what they saw as coordinated police action and surveillance – while President Vučić railed against unnamed western powers he said were waging a “hybrid war” against his government.
Vučić said Russian intelligence services had warned him that unspecified governments were looking to foment “mass unrest and a coup” to unseat him from power – echoing assertions the Serbian president made back in February during a television appearance.
The European Commission dismissed such claims. “The European Union absolutely rejects any allegations that it would be involved in any kind of illegal or illegitimate activities linked to foreign interference,” foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said.
EU leaders are keenly watching developments in Serbia, historically an ally of Russia which in May hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with Vučić having said he expects a visit later this month from French president Emmanuel Macron whom he met on the sidelines of a summit in the UK in July.
WIDGET: Big summit of European leaders kicks off, focusing on Ukraine and EU-UK ties | Euronews
Macron said of the meeting that he had expressed his “full support” for Serbia’s integration into the EU, while stressing the importance of normalising relations between Belgrade and the majority ethnic Albanian enclave of Kosovo – whose independence Belgrade has yet to recognise and whose government is currently facing EU criticism over plans to open a bridge in the divided city of Mitrovica.
The French foreign ministry did not respond to repeated requests for confirmation that this visit may have been scheduled for next week. Similarly, the European Commission would not confirm whether president von der Leyen is planning her own visit to Belgrade in the coming weeks.
new video loaded: W.H.O. Chief Visits Ebola-Struck Region: ‘It’s Time to Move Fast’
transcript
transcript
W.H.O. Chief Visits Ebola-Struck Region: ‘It’s Time to Move Fast’
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, told The New York Times on a flight to the Democratic Republic of Congo that swift international support was necessary to contain the Ebola virus, which is spreading rapidly there.
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“Of course there are different scenarios, but it’s in our hands. We move fast, we will catch up. If we don’t, it will be a very serious problem. So it’s time to really move fast.” A dire warning from the World Health Organization chief as we approach Ituri, the province at the center of Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak. More than 1,000 suspected Ebola cases and over 200 suspected deaths have been reported here. With no vaccines and no treatment for the virus species fueling the outbreak, containment is where immediate efforts should focus, health officials say. It’s not easy. Testing capacity is still very low. Protective supplies are short. Both the facilities for isolation and the region’s overall health care infrastructure are insufficient. “We cannot tell them what the problem is, Ebola is one but there are many problems and we have to listen to them.” It’s not the first Ebola outbreak for Congo, and as a glimmer of hope, officials say at least one health care worker was discharged earlier this week after recovering. But international commitments to fund their response aren’t enough. Only one-third of the needed funds have been delivered, the W.H.O. chief says. “Do you think the world is moving fast enough right now?” “It’s starting to understand now, but I still don’t think it’s enough.”
By Bethlehem Feleke, Michael Anthony Adams and Alisa Shodiyev Kaff
May 30, 2026
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Russia and the Taliban government in Afghanistan have signed a military cooperation pact, cementing an alliance that further solidifies Moscow’s influence in Central Asia, according to reports.
The deal, finalized Wednesday at an international security forum in Russia, followed a meeting between Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob.
The Taliban Defense Ministry announced on X that Yaqoob had traveled to Russia to attend the conference.
Yaqoob is the Taliban’s former military chief and the son of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar.
AL QAEDA REMAINS MOST DANGEROUS TERRORIST GROUP 24 YEARS AFTER 9/11, EXPERT WARNS
Russia and the Taliban government in Afghanistan have signed a new military-technical cooperation pact, cementing an alliance that solidifies Moscow’s influence in Central Asia. (Photo by Elke Scholiers / Getty Images)
Omar had formed a close alliance with Osama bin Laden and provided a safe haven from which al Qaeda planned the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As of Thursday, neither Russia nor the Afghan side had shared the further details of the new military agreement.
“Afghanistan and Russia have long and historical relations. In this direction, we want to move further. We have expanded bilateral relations,” Yaqoob said at the meeting.
The pact follows statements from a senior Russian security official who noted that Moscow has established a “full-fledged partnership” with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban and is encouraging other countries in the region to expand cooperation with Kabul, Reuters reported.
The Taliban had regained power in August 2021, after overthrowing the U.S.-backed Afghan government run by President Ashraf Ghani.
In 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the possibility of dropping Russia’s classification of the Taliban as a terrorist organization.
FORMER AFGHAN TRANSLATOR WARNS OF STARVATION, HUMANITARIAN CRISIS: ‘BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED IN 2001’
In 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the possibility of dropping Russia’s classification of the Taliban as a terrorist organization. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo/AP, File)
In 2024, he called the Taliban “allies in the fight against terrorism” and Russia became the first country to formally recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
“After several years of vacillation, Russia has become the first country in the world to officially recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan,” Nikita Smagin, an expert on Iranian foreign and domestic policies, Islamism and Russia’s policy in the Middle East, said in a report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“It’s more of a symbolic gesture than something driven by trade or economic considerations,” Smagin added, describing how when Taliban militants entered the Afghan capital in August 2021, “Russia was already deemed eligible for special treatment.”
“Its diplomatic mission was immediately provided with security, and Russian Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov became the first foreign diplomat to meet with the new rulers of Afghanistan,” he explained.
On Wednesday, Shoigu also called for Western countries to unfreeze sanctioned Afghan assets.
AFGHANISTAN’S ONLY WOMEN-LED RADIO STATION TO RESUME OPERATIONS AFTER TALIBAN LIFTS SUSPENSION
Russia has become the first country in the world to officially recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan. (Photo by Elke Scholiers / Getty Images)
“We are convinced that Western countries should unfreeze blocked Afghan assets, fully recognize their responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan, and bear the burden of the country’s post-conflict reconstruction,” Shoigu said, according to reports.
“Moscow needs to take steps that will restore its image as an influential power that holds the initiative, and recognition of the Taliban regime serves precisely that purpose,” Smagin added.
“The status of the first country to establish official diplomatic relations with the Taliban government should ensure Russia has a leading role in discussions of regional security issues.”
The recognition of the Taliban, he said, was an attempt by Russia to “prove itself as a leading global force that is not afraid to break established norms and set precedents for other countries.”
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Moscow continues to emphasize the need to work directly with Kabul as it faces severe, ongoing security threats from various rival Islamist militant groups operating throughout Central Asia and the Middle East, Reuters said.
Shoigu also said Moscow was building a “pragmatic dialogue” with the Taliban that included security, trade, culture and humanitarian support, the outlet reported May 14.
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