Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Improving sector of small and medium-sized enterprises

Belgrade, 27 September 2006

Serbian Assistant Minister of Economy Petar Pavlovic said today that the situation in the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship (SMEs) in Serbia was rated according to principles of the European Charter on Small Enterprises with a grade between 2 and 3, on a scale from 1 to 5.

Pavlovic said at a press conference that a grade of 4 has to be achieved before accession to the European Union adding that the new rating will take place in October this year.

He explained that Serbia is rated with 5 in the field of registration of economic entities, while in some other fields it is rated with 1, which should be improved in the next period.

According to the European Charter on Small Enterprises from 2000 which is based on the thesis that small enterprises are the pillar of Europe's economy, there are ten crucial principles that measure the influence of the economic policy in the development of that sector, and they are implemented by 35 countries.

Pavlovic recalled that the National Investment Plan envisages some €160 million to be set aside for SMEs sector, namely for industrial zones and parks, business incubators, start-up loans, micro loans for self-employment, export incentives and underdeveloped municipalities.

Last year, there were 304,181 small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs in Serbia, which is 11.2% more than the year before, Pavlovic pointed out.

The Ministry of Economy will hold an annual conference on SMEs on November 16 and 17, while on November 17 a regional meeting of the countries of western Balkans will be held on the implementation of the European Charter on Small Enterprises.

Director of the Programme of support to the development of companies and entrepreneurship of the European Agency for Reconstruction David Miller said that the SMEs sector in Serbia must be much more dynamic and competitive, although positive changes have already been made in legislation, registration, financing and the creation of business infrastructure.