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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Government must bring Serbia closer to EU

Belgrade/Kikinda, 14 September 2005

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Serbian negotiating team with the EU Miroljub Labus said today that by the end of its term of office, this government must bring Serbia considerably closer to the EU.

At a press conference in Kikinda, held as part of the continuing campaign known as “Europe Knocks on Your Door”, Labus said that the northern Banat region is one of perspective, that its economy source-oriented, and that the people in the region are interested in speeding up the process of approaching the EU.

According to Labus, the privatised companies in Kikinda are doing well, and entrepreneurs have not asked the state for subsidies.

Labus stressed that Serbia is undergoing the process of institutional changes, which has so far received an extremely positive assessment as seen in the report by the World Bank. He added that structural changes in the economy now await Serbia and that the Serbian government has adopted an agenda, according to which Serbia may join the EU in 2012.

If we compare the situation in Serbia with that of our neighbouring countries, it is obvious we have done a lot, and so the year 2012 is a quite optimistic but also a realistic forecast, Labus explained.

Speaking about the World Bank report, according to which Serbia is among the 12 leading countries with regard to the implementation of reforms carried out last year, he said this assessment will raise Serbia’s status in the international business world.

Labus specified that the report is an evaluation by an entirely independent and renowned international institution, and it says that last year Serbia continued with reforms, thus considerably improving opportunities for opening and running new businesses.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Serbian government will look at all elements of doing business, and needed improvements in the business climate will be addressed within the next 12 months.

The government will see to it that inflation is kept within reasonable limits, which means it should be below ten percent for the next several years, he pointed out.

Labus said that in the first quarter, GDP growth was six percent, whereas for the second quarter it is expected to be 6.5 percent, despite a decrease in industrial output. This shows that the services sector has adapted to new conditions better than the industrial production sector, which has to undergo restructuring, he explained.

Speaking about research and development of oil production in Serbia, Labus stressed that domestic reserves of oil are larger than the ones currently exploited, adding that the production of crude oil and natural gas is decreasing every year.

Labus stressed that there are not enough investments in the research and preparation of oil-wells, adding that apart from modernising the refineries in Novi Sad and Pancevo, it is also necessary to rehabilitate capacities in the gas and oil lines so that Serbia could produce these energy sources in even greater quantities.

The delegation that visited Kikinda within the “Europe Knocks on Your Door” campaign also included Serbian Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo, Czech Ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro Ivan Jestrab, Austrian Deputy Ambassador Ulrike Hartman and First Secretary of the European Commission’s Delegation to Serbia-Montenegro David Hudson.