VUJOVIC: Adoption of 2017 budget in December

(Dusan Vujovic) Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic stated on Sunday, October 30, that the budget for 2017 would be adopted on time, in mid-December. It will be, as he emphasized, development-oriented and will reflect results made so far.

Vujovic said at the conference at the Government of Serbia that the government had achieved noticeable results, causing the International Monetary Fund to abate, contrary to its usual practice, and allow the salaries and pensions to be raised during the program.

– This is the tenth IMF program in the world I've witnessed and it has rarely happened that IMF admits that progress has been made and allows citizens to benefit from better fiscal results. This is an unusual approach, and there's already a structural decrease at 3.89 of the planned 4% – Vujovic said and emphasized that Serbia was were it should have been in December 2017, when the IMF program was supposed to end.

The fiscal results, as he said, exceed expectations, and that, as he noticed, is most important.

– The aim of the program which we've signed with the IMF is to not just bring back salaries to where they used to be, but to also have sustainable and inclusive growth, reflecting positively on everything else, in 2018 – Vujovic said.

The growth rate, the minister said, is also increasing and the projections are moving up as well. This year alone, he reminded, the IMF reviewed the growth projection from 1.75 to 1.8 and then to 2.5%.

– We expect the growth of the GDP to be 2.7-2.8% – he said and added that he expected a growth of at least 3% in the years to come.

– We expect even more if all the reforms succeed. It's crucial to stop the money from leaking out and redirect it to healthcare and education – he said.

Vujovic also announced that the Law on the Budget for 2017 would be completed in time, and that the adoption was expected to take place in mid-December.

– This is the continuation of the program, and the budget will have developmental elements leading to growth – the minister said and announced that he would be able to give a detailed overview on Tuesday, at the closing conference with the IMF.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Međunarodni monetarni fond-MMF Beograd

Ministry of Finance

budget of Serbia for 2017

Budget Law

IMF

International Monetary Fund

economic growth

GDP