Shandong Linglong Tire Co.’s new tire plant in Zrenjanin, Serbia is attracting new environmental scrutiny as 26 members of the European Parliament have called on the legislative body to enforce existing environmental laws at the construction site. In a letter to EP Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, the members, which collectively represent 15 EU nations, catalogued various complaints related to the plant’s construction and permitting, including issues with environmental impact and water usage. The letter calls upon the EP to require the Serbian government to “provide a clear action plan moving forward on how they are going to address the existing issues outlined above, as well as a commitment to honoring and following both their own domestic legislation and the regulations passed down as part of the EU accession process.”
Linglong broke ground in April 2019 on the $994 million factory, which will produce 12 million car tires, 1.6 million truck/bus tires, and 20,000 OTR tires per year at full capacity.