Q:
A:
Law on regional development to be discussed in parliament in mid-2008
Nis,
22 June 2007
State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development Verica Kalanovic said today in Nis that the law on regional development will enter parliamentary proceedings in the middle of next year.
File photo of Verica Kalanovic
Author:
Tanjug
Speaking at a gathering themed "Regional development and demographic flows of the Balkan countries" held at the Faculty of Economics in Nis, Kalanovic said that this will be a systemic law that will define criteria for putting municipalities into four groups according to the level of development.
She explained that the first two groups would include the most developed municipalities that are capable of continuing their development with a considerable participation in the financing of projects, while the third and fourth groups would include the most underdeveloped municipalities in the country.
Kalanovic said that the third group would include municipalities in which unemployment and lack of serious initiative are the main problem.
According to her, the most underdeveloped regions will be assisted through special development programmes, with considerable assistance from the Republic of Serbia.
Kalanovic said that RSD 1.3 billion have been set aside this year for encouragement and crediting of small and medium-sized enterprises and added that the most underdeveloped municipalities will be given loans with the seven-year repayment period, at a 1% interest rate.
Additional funds will be set aside from EU pre-accession funds, which stand at €187 million for this year.
She said that the Serbian government has set aside RSD 2.2 billion for this and next year for assistance to Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija.
Funds from the National Investment Plan intended for Kosovo have not been used because UNMIK blocked this form of assistance, Kalanovic said.
This gathering is being attended by economists from Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Slovenia who agreed that the resolution of the issue of regional development is impossible without an international approach.
She explained that the first two groups would include the most developed municipalities that are capable of continuing their development with a considerable participation in the financing of projects, while the third and fourth groups would include the most underdeveloped municipalities in the country.
Kalanovic said that the third group would include municipalities in which unemployment and lack of serious initiative are the main problem.
According to her, the most underdeveloped regions will be assisted through special development programmes, with considerable assistance from the Republic of Serbia.
Kalanovic said that RSD 1.3 billion have been set aside this year for encouragement and crediting of small and medium-sized enterprises and added that the most underdeveloped municipalities will be given loans with the seven-year repayment period, at a 1% interest rate.
Additional funds will be set aside from EU pre-accession funds, which stand at €187 million for this year.
She said that the Serbian government has set aside RSD 2.2 billion for this and next year for assistance to Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija.
Funds from the National Investment Plan intended for Kosovo have not been used because UNMIK blocked this form of assistance, Kalanovic said.
This gathering is being attended by economists from Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Slovenia who agreed that the resolution of the issue of regional development is impossible without an international approach.
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