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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia will not introduce new subsidies for export to Russia

Belgrade, 22 August 2014

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stated that Serbia will respect the will of the EU and will not grant any new subsidies for export of Serbian products to Russia, but will not introduce sanctions for the Russian Federation either.

Addressing a news conference on the aide-memoire sent by the EU to Serbia, Vucic stressed that citizens can be at peace, as Serbia, although in a difficult economic situation, is not at jeopardy.

Vucic explained that Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Oscar Benedict delivered an aide-memoire to him in Obrenovac two days ago, notifying the Serbian government that it should refrain from any governmnet measures to support new trading activities, such as export subsidies, credits and guarantees, or state trading companies and substantially expanding Serbian exports market share in Russia by replacing EU banned exports.

This is a form of a document of a lower degree than a demarche, but we do not wish to underestimate its contents and it would be irresponsible if we were to behave in such a way, Vucic said.

He also said that there is no need for Serbia to introduce new or additional subsidies for export of goods to Russia.

Vucic said that our country does not need to provide incentives for exports to Russia, and stressed that our strategic objective is Serbia’s membership in the EU. He recalled that the EU is the largest trading partner of Serbia, adding that nine times more goods are exported to the EU than to Russia.

Serbia also expects the EU to keep its promise and open Chapters 32 and 35 by the end of the year, Vucic said.

The Prime Minister said that he expects no EU-imposed sanctions in the wake of the current situation, and noted that he sees Serbia as a successful and modern country.

He added that he expects Serbia to have the highest economic growth rate in Europe in 2016.

Vucic also called on businessmen to increase production, as there is room to sell more goods even in our country, stressing that the production will be increased according to government measures to be taken in conformity with laws.

He also announced that certain cities will become free trade zones, as Serbia wants to attract investors.

We already have 11 cities with free zones, which have their own infrastructure, the Prime Minister explained and said that the aim is to attract more manufacturers, which he discussed in a meeting with the largest European private producers of meat from Germany.

Referring to the process of reconstruction after the floods, Vucic said that the amount of €3,000 in state aid for the rehabilitation of damaged houses in flooded areas is a large sum of money at the moment, noting that 600 decisions to pay for the damages have been made so far.

This process will now go much faster, due to the fact that the situation changed recently when Belgrade sent lawyers to Obrenovac to assist in the issuance of the decisions, explained the Prime Minister.