http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu Ministry of Finance, Republic of Serbia RSS feed 12.03.2010. Copyright 2008, Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/images/mfin-logo.gif http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu 133 100 http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/news-eng/1403/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 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. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1403 http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/news-eng/1402/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 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. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1402 http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/news-eng/1401/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 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. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1401 http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/news-eng/1400/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 On 15 October 2008, representatives of the insurance industry and fund industry in Serbia met with representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Serbia in the Ministry of Finance premises. The objective of the meeting was to identify in direct discussion the potential short-term and/or long-term influences of the global financial crisis on the financial sector in Serbia, and to agree on potential measures that competent governmental institutions may undertake in order to neutralize any damage. The current situation in the two financial areas was overviewed in a very constructive dialogue. It was agreed it would be necessary to maximally protect and preserve confidence in the banking sector as the generator of general trust in all financial actors, and also that the insurance industry in Serbia was not directly jeopardized by the global financial crisis. Certain phenomena like hesitating or postponing the decision to buy new life insurance policies have been noticed over the past few days, but there have been no withdrawal of funds related with the existing ones. It was noted that the crisis would reflect on the functioning of the fund industry, primarily in a lower number of foreign investors coming to Serbia. Furthermore, it was concluded that the pension funds have not suffered any damage due to the global financial crisis, while the biggest current problem of the fund industry was liquidity. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1400 http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/news-eng/1399/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 At a session held on 02 October 2008, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Draft Law on Changes and Amendments to the 2008 Budget Law and Memorandum on the Budget and Economic and Fiscal Policy for 2008, with projections for 2010 and 2011. The Draft Law on Changes and Amendments to the 2008 Budget Law of the Republic of Serbia specifies total revenue of the Republic of Serbia at RSD650.174,3 million, total expenditure and net borrowing at RSD695.959,1 million, while the stipulated deficit is RSD45.784,7 million. Minister Dragutinovic underscored that the revenue/GDP ratio increased by 0.4%, the share of expenditure grew by 0.6%, whereas the deficit rose by 0.2%. “The increase in fiscal policy expansiveness was not outstanding, but it was realized in the atmosphere of high demand and overheated economy. It is necessary that we take a turn toward cutting the share of government expenditure and fiscal deficit in GDP as of 2009 already”, Diana Dragutinovic highlighted. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1399 http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/news-eng/1398/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 Within the Financial Management Framework concerning support to implementation of the Development Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Slovak Republic, Serbian Ministry of Finance and Slovakian Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a Financial Memorandum on 30 September 2008. The legal framework for cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the Slovak Republic is the Development Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Slovak Republic, signed on 03 December 2007. Concrete conditions and the amount of allocated funds are specified in Financial Memorandums, which are signed separately for every year of cooperation – five Financial Memorandums had been signed up to 30 September 2008. Financial Memorandum I granted EUR1.3 million in assistance, Financial Memorandum II allotted EUR1.6 million, Financial Memorandum III allocated EUR1.5 million, whereas Financial Memorandum IV granted SKK50 million (around EUR1.3 million). The Fifth Financial Memorandum for 2007 was signed on 06 May 2008 and SKK64 million (around EUR1.9 million) was granted for candidate projects in 2007. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1398 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 On September 18, 2008, Government adopted the Report on Granted State Aid in the Republic of Serbia in 2006, an analytical (comparative) survey of allocated state aid in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The 2006 Report contains data collected from authorities granting the state aid, and in its preparation in the greatest possible extention has been applied the methodology prescribed by the European Commission in the field of state aid reporting. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1397 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 Within the financial management framework concerning support to the Development Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Republic of Slovakia, Serbian Ministry of Finance and Slovakian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will sign a Financial memorandum in the Cabinet of the Minister of Finance, 20 Kneza Milosa St., at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday 30 September 2008. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1396 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 The Ministry of Finance and “Support to the Serbian Ministry of Finance” Project supported by the UNDP on the occasion of the successful conclusion of the Project, held an appreciation meeting on Friday, 26 September 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at the Ministry of Finance, Kneza Miloša 20. Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinović, United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative Lance Clark, and Royal Netherlands Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Tsjeard Hoekstra attended the event. On behalf of the Ministry of Finance State Secretary Janko Guzijan expressed gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and UNDP for their enormous contribution to the Ministry of Finance’s capacity development during past seven years. The State Secretary expressed deep belief that the cooperation with the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and UNDP will continue in the future as well. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1395 http://www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/news-eng/1394/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:17:22 +0100 Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic underscored that money in the state coffers should be redistributed, while some 55 billion dinar gap in the budget would be covered from current revenues and by reallocation of expenses. “The 55 billion dinars can be covered with real money”, Minister Dragutinovic highlighted. The Minister specified that additional spending was required because of expenses related with establishment of a joint venture between Serbia and Italy’s Fiat, as well as due to financing of the construction of Corridor 10 and the 10 percent increase in October pensions that will be paid in November. www.mfin.sr.gov.yu/1394