The Raw Materials Situation in Neighboring European Countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia
This publication was originally published and edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, July 2024
The global demand for critical raw materials and rare earths is continually increasing. Indispensable for achieving the goals of the energy transition, digitalization, and the strategic autonomy of the European Union (EU), these materials are of great economic importance, and their supply is at high risk. Resource-rich third countries neighboring the EU are increasingly becoming the focus of strategic European economic policy. At the same time, the raw materials situation in countries of this region – geographically located in Europe but not members of the EU – is less well-known. Therefore, at the end of 2023, the Heinrich Böll Foundation invited experts from its partner network in the Western Balkans, the South Caucasus, and Ukraine to Berlin and Brussels for a study trip on the topic of raw materials.
This publication reflects the results of this exchange on the raw materials situation in four countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Georgia, and Armenia. The authors focus on raw material deposits, the demand for raw materials, and the mining conditions in the local contexts, taking into account international standards and agreements. They address the ecological and social problems in the respective and potential mining cities in the Western Balkans and South Caucasus, as well as the political and legal environments in their countries.
The four states presented here – three of which are EU candidate countries, whereas Armenia is not – are showing increasingly authoritarian tendencies in various areas. This gives legitimate cause for concern that they have little or no power on the ground to implement existing national and international agreements and legislation. International partners and representatives of EU institutions and EU member states have the task of aligning their policy content and instruments accordingly in order to promote resilient democratic institutions in the partner countries. Stable institutions adhering to the rule of law are a prerequisite for compliance with the minimum social and environmental standards for potential mining projects.
