Serbia Files Program of Economic Reforms until 2023 to European Commission

Serbia has filed the Program of Economic Reforms for 2021-2023 to the European Commission, as the most important strategic document in the economic dialogue with the European Commission and EU member states, the Ministry of Finance told Tanjug.

As part of the preparations for participating in the process of EU states’ economic and fiscal supervision, the Government of Serbia adopted the program as a candidate for accession to the EU.

The document, the Ministry of Finance says, will be examined together with EU representatives, that is, the ministers of finance and economy, representatives of the central banks of EU member states and the competent European institutions, in April and May 2021, within the economic dialogue.

At the meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the EU in May 2021, new recommendations to the participants in the process (Western Balkans and Turkey) will be adopted as well.

The Ministry of Finance told Tanjug that the program, adopted by the Government of Serbia on January 28, contained a medium-term framework of the macroeconomic and fiscal policy and a detailed overview of the structural reforms.

The reforms, organized into eight key areas, should contribute to an increase in the competitiveness of the national economy, economic growth and development and the creation of new jobs and better living conditions.

The eight key reform areas are: energy and transport market, agriculture, industry and services; business environment and fight against the shadow economy; research, development and innovations; and digital transformation.

Other key areas pertain to reforms in the field of economic integration; education and skills, employment and labor market and social welfare and inclusion, including healthcare.

The ministry says that the preparation of this document on an annual level is important for Serbia as an EU membership candidate state, because it means preparation for taking part in the process of EU states’ economic and fiscal supervision.

They specify that the preparation of the program means getting included in the process of the European semester of coordination of economic policies in the EU, which is being discussed with the European Commission within the negotiation chapter 17 – economic and monetary policy, which opened in December 2018.

The program of economic reforms is the result of intensive cooperation between different ministries, the Ministry of Finance says and adds that representatives of the civil society, experts and the business community also took part in the preparation of the document, which enabled them to shape the document and give suggestions as to how it might be improved.

The part of the document that pertains to the macroeconomic and fiscal framework was prepared by the Ministry of Finance in cooperation with the National Bank of Serbia, largely relying on the document “Fiscal Strategy for 2021 with Projections for 2022 and 2023”.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Narodna banka Srbije Beograd

Vlada Republike Srbije

European Commission

Program of Economic Reforms for 2021 2023

macroeconomic policy

fiscal policy

energy and transport market

agriculture

industry and services

business environment and fight against the shadow economy

research

development and innovations

digital transformation

reforms in the field of economic integration

education and skills

employment and labor market and social welfare and inclusion

healthcare

EU membership candidate state

economic supervision

fiscal supervision

Fiscal Strategy