The Chinese company Jiangling Group Electric Vehicle (JMEV) plans to build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Sremska Mitrovica in northwestern Serbia with the long-term goal of exporting cars to the European Union without paying duties. This was reported to Radio Free Europe by Brancica Zjalic, JMEV project manager in Serbia.
“The size of the investment will be determined in the next two months and depends on whether we will produce three thousand or five thousand cars a year,” Zjalic said. She added that Serbia was chosen because of its good economic relations with both China and the EU. “Serbia is a kind of bridge between China and Europe in terms of sales of electric vehicles,” she said.
In October 2024, the European Union imposed high duties (up to 35%) on electric vehicles made in China for five years to protect European automakers from allegedly unfair competition from Chinese manufacturers that benefit from government subsidies.
Serbia, for its part, signed a free trade agreement with China that entered into force in 2024, which has drawn criticism from the EU given Serbia’s status as a candidate for accession to the Union.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/542
The Chinese company China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) is threatening Serbia with a lawsuit in international arbitration worth USD 795 million due to years of delays in the construction of the Kostolac B3 thermal power plant. The Chinese believe that the four-year delay was not their fault, and that EPS is responsible. In case of a loss, Serbia intends to file a counterclaim for damage caused by the need to import electricity. If the case goes to arbitration, the project could cost Serbia $1.5 billion, including the $715 million already paid.
The Chinese side claims that the increase in costs is due to inflation, the coronavirus and the war in Ukraine, as well as changes in the scope of work by EPS. The main disagreement concerns the revision of prices that were stipulated in the 2013 contract, when the project was supposed to be completed in 2019.
Despite the completion of construction and commissioning of the facility in December 2024, negotiations on compensation have not been completed, as the Chinese company is demanding a revision of the contract price. The Chinese argue that inflation and changes in the design documents have led to additional costs, and also take into account problems with obtaining permits and the effects of the pandemic and war in Ukraine.
Serbia tried to negotiate, but the Chinese did not agree to a compromise and continued to seek compensation through arbitration. In the event of arbitration, China is expected to file a claim for an amount exceeding the original project amount.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/516
According to the European Commission, from July 1, 2024 to February 2, 2025, the European Union countries imported about 1.24 million tons of sunflower oil. This is less than in the same period last year (1.51 million tons), but higher than in the 2022/23 season (1.13 million tons). The pace of imports has slowed in recent weeks: while in December up to 59,000 tons were imported weekly, in early February – less than 25,000 tons per week.
Ukraine remains the largest supplier of sunflower oil to the EU, providing 94% of imports (1.17 million tons). However, this is lower than the previous year’s figure (1.40 million tons) due to reduced raw material supplies, slower processing and limited export potential.
Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are the second and third largest suppliers of sunflower oil to the EU with market shares of 3% and almost 1% respectively. However, their export volumes also declined compared to the previous year.
The decline in supplies from Ukraine, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is prompting the EU to seek new sunflower oil suppliers to compensate for the deficit and stabilize the market.
Source – TG channel Serbian Economist
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Serbia Ivica Dačić said that the Criminal Police Department, together with the Belgrade Police Department, conducted one of the largest cocaine seizures in recent times, Euronews reports.
“Today in Surčin, during the detention of two people, nine kilograms of cocaine were seized. The detainees were taken into custody for 48 hours, after which they will be transferred to the prosecutor’s office for further consideration,” Dacic said in a statement from the Interior Ministry.
According to Interior Ministry video footage, the bags of cocaine were hidden under the car’s gear lever.
The cost of cocaine on the black market in Europe varies depending on the country and specific conditions. According to local police, in Latvia, the wholesale price for a kilogram of cocaine is about 30,000 euros, and the retail price is 120 euros per gram.
In the Czech Republic, the retail price of cocaine is approximately 136 US dollars per gram.
In Austria, a 137 kg shipment of cocaine was valued at 14 million euros, which corresponds to approximately 102,200 euros per kilogram.
It should be noted that these figures can vary significantly depending on the country, region and current market situation.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/462
Ukrainian veterans will be able to undergo training in humanitarian demining in Serbia, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs has announced.
“The training will provide war veterans with knowledge of the intricacies of demining, familiarization with national standards of mine action, etc. During the training, war veterans will be able to acquire the necessary skills and certification, which will open up new career opportunities for them,” the ministry said in a statement following a meeting between Deputy Minister Yulia Kyrylova and Serbian Ambassador to Ukraine Andon Sapundji and representatives of the Serbian Demining Center.
It is noted that at the same time, such an initiative will help strengthen the national demining system, as experienced specialists will be able to work on the security of the liberated territories.
In addition, the Ministry of Veterans and the Mine Action Center of Serbia agreed to further establish cooperation in the training of demining specialists among war veterans.
IKEA Serbia has submitted a request to the Belgrade Secretariat for Environmental Protection to decide on the need for an environmental impact assessment for the expansion and reconstruction project of the IKEA-istok department store in Belgrade, Biznis.rs reported today.
The project involves the reconstruction and expansion of more than 6,000 square meters of the department store on Astrid Lindgren Street, and the deadline for public review and submission of conclusions on the request is January 31.
The reconstruction and expansion is planned to be carried out in one stage, while maintaining existing infrastructure connections and without increasing the capacity.
The request states that the existing wastewater treatment technology and the existing wastewater separator from the transport areas will be preserved.
“Since the existing purpose of the facility is maintained, which is not a source of pollution, and given the latest environmental standards that the investor IKEA applies to all its projects, no pollution and inconvenience is expected in the Ikea department store complex in Belgrade,” the request for a decision on the need to conduct an environmental impact assessment reads.
It was also noted that pollution can be considered stationary traffic, which, according to their assessment, does not have a significant spatial dispersion or duration.
IKEA said that during the expansion, the geomechanical and hydrogeological characteristics of the soil will be taken into account based on detailed observations and analyzes.
“The implementation of the planned project will not lead to pollution that is significant for the area where it will be located. The possibility of an accident is minimized through the implementation of appropriate preventive and rapid response measures,” the request says.
The company believes that the project will not have a negative impact on the environment, so there is no need to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment.
Source: http://relocation.com.ua/ikea-rozshyriuie-svoiu-prysutnist-u-serbii/
