The discussions about the budget for next year were very successful, and all goals have been fulfilled so far, Donal McGettigan, who heads the delegation of the International Monetary Fund, commented after a meeting with Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali regarding the second review of the standby arrangement granted to Serbia in December last year.
“The discussions about the budget were very successful and concluded in a very short time, and we confirmed this together. All the structural goals we had in the program have been fulfilled so far, and Serbia is on the right path in terms of fulfilling all the agreed goals and obligations under the current arrangement,” McGettigan said.
He also commended the Serbian Iskra system – the central information system for salary calculations for all public sector employees – which, as Finance Minister Mali emphasised, will include 296,000 people within two months. They will collaborate on further implementing the system to bring order to this segment.
Mali presented Serbia’s economic results so far, the progress of agreed-upon reforms, and informed the delegation that the budget for the Republic of Serbia for 2024 is ready.
“Serbia is preparing to adopt the budget for next year. There are no surprises in the budget; we are following the policies we have been implementing so far,” said Mali during the meeting, according to a press release from the Finance Ministry.
Mali also emphasised that the recent meeting with the Deputy Director of the IMF in Marrakech, Bo Li, went well, and Serbia presented its economic performance in Morocco.
“We are liquid, on the right path, consistently fulfilling all of our obligations. In further reforms, energy and the restructuring of EPS remain key, but we are also reforming the tax administration and adhering to all fiscal rules. The effects of everything we have done are substantial,” said Mali, concluding that the precautionary arrangement is beneficial for Serbia, effectively addressing the effects of the global crisis.
The IMF mission in Serbia began on October 19 and will continue until October 31. The IMF granted Serbia a two-year standby arrangement worth approximately €2.4 billion at the end of last year. This arrangement supports Serbia’s agreed-upon economic program
(Jelena Jevtić | EURACTIV.rs)
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