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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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EPD meeting of Serbian government representatives, European Commission begins

Belgrade, 14 June 2007

Serbian Minister of Finance Mirko Cvetkovic said today at the opening of the fourth meeting of the Enhanced Permanent Dialogue (EPD) of the Serbian government and European Commission representatives that the most important tasks of the Ministry are adopting the budget for this year, maintaining macroeconomic stability and planning for the 2008 budget.

Author: Fonet

According to a statement by the Serbian government’s EU Integration Office, Cevtkovic, speaking on harmonisation of regulations with EU legal standards, laid special emphasis on the importance of the law on external audit which is expected to be adopted by Serbian parliament, and stressed that the process of harmonisation does not end with adoption of regulations, rather it is necessary to secure a system for their effective implementation.

Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Radovan Jelasic said that in the area of monetary policy the most important task, which is achieving a low inflation rate, has already been accomplished, and expressed conviction that annual inflation this year will stand somewhere between 4% to 8%, while an inflation rate of between 3% to 6% is predicted for 2008.

Commenting on the policy regarding the rate of the dinar, the Governor said that the rate was never before determined so freely, and the foreign exchange reserves are at a record high of $12.3 billion.

According to Jelasic, continuation of the liberalisation of the foreign currency market is planned, as well as strengthening of the role of foreign participants on the Serbian foreign exchange market.

Director of the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs Antonio de Lecea expressed conviction that the new government will have a key role in the political and economical reforms which await Serbia on the path towards EU integration.

Lecea recalled that the European Commission has assessed that economic reforms in 2006 progressed in harmony with criteria from Copenhagen, but that in some sectors, such as strengthening competition in the private sector and privatisation, there is scope for further improvement.

At today’s meeting reforms in the areas of economy and finance are being examined, and experts of the Serbian government and the National Bank of Serbia will present an overview of the general economic situation in Serbia, above all macroeconomic trends and prospects, fiscal reforms, monetary and foreign exchange policy and balance of payments conditions.

As regards the functioning of market economy, the topics will be free competition of marketing forces, restructuring and privatisation of state-owned companies and reform of the regulated and controlled price systems, whereas the development of the banking and insurance sectors, leasing, capital markets and pension funds will be given special attention.

Tomorrow, on the second day of the meeting, representatives of the European Commission and the Serbian government will discuss liberalisation of “network” industries (energy, telecommunications, traffic), infrastructure development and the implementation of the National Investment Plan.

They will also look at the reform of public administration and finances, as well as at the progress achieved in the development of a national statistics system and cooperation in the statistics sector with the European Commission and other partners, adds the statement.