A Financial Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark and the National Bank of Serbia will be signed on Friday 24 October 2008 at 12:30 p.m. in the press room of the Serbian Government building. Minister of Finance Dr Diana Dragutinovic, NBS Governor Radovan Jelasic and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark Mette Kjuel Nielsen will sign the Agreement.

With the Financial Agreement, the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark will commit a grant of DKK15 million (around EUR2 million) to the Government of the Republic of Serbia for realization of subcomponent 2.3 of the LEDIB programme: Better Access to Favorable Loans. Better Access to Favorable Loans is a subcomponent of the LEDIB programme that supports the Poverty Reduction Strategy and SME Development Strategy in the Republic of Serbia. The programme is implemented in the Nisava county, in the area of construction and textile industry.

At its session held on 16 October 2008, Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted a Conclusion that stipulates that implementation of the Interim Agreement on Trade and Trade-Related Matters between the European Communities, of the one part, and the Republic of Serbia, of the other part, will start as of 01 January 2009. The objective of this measure is to reduce the period of time that needs to expire between the start of application of the Interim Agreement and the granting of the candidate status to Serbia.

Full trade liberalization will be completed within six years, by 01 January 2014. The tempo of liberalization may be accelerated, depending on the economic situation.

Serbia has enjoyed a preferential status regarding exports of goods into the EU as of 2001, due to Autonomous Trade Measures approved by the EU (Council Regulation 2007/2000), which allow for completely free exports of goods originating in Serbia to the EU market. This regime will be effective up until 31 December 2010. With coming into force of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, these measures will be translated into measures regulated by the Agreement, that is, they will become contractual obligations.

A meeting to discuss the current situation in the Serbian banking sector, organized at the initiative of the Ministry of Finance, took place in the premises of the Association of Serbian Banks on 16 October 2008. Dr Slobodan Ilic, State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Finance, Mira Eric, Vice-Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, Dr Veroljub Dugalic, General Secretary of the Association of Serbian Banks and chairs of executive boards of banks participated in the discussion.

It was reiterated at the meeting that the banking sector in Serbia is solvent, liquid, safe and that the citizens and the corporate sector can trust it. The participants analyzed the future of banking operations and highlighted certain moves that need to be made. It was agreed to establish a permanent communication between the Ministry of Finance, National Bank of Serbia, Association of Serbian Banks and the banks, in order to continuously review the initiatives and proposals coming from the banking sector and to identify in a timely manner potential problems and related measures to be taken by competent institutions.