Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday in Nis, southern Serbia, that the country has good economic indicators.
This is true despite the problems in agriculture and hydroelectric power plants due to drought, she said, according to the Serbian government, and announced that the public debt will be reduced to 62 percent of GDP by the end of the year.
Answering journalists’ questions, Brnabic confirmed that there will certainly be wage and pension increases, and said that, at the moment, it is early to talk about percentages.
“We have said that economic growth will probably be less than 3 percent, which was the projection, but unfortunately, due to weather conditions and an extremely difficult winters, due to which power generation suffered, primarily in the thermal sector, but also due to the drought that struck agriculture and power generation in the hydro-sector,” she added.
However, all other indicators are very good, the Prime Minister emphasized, adding that she also discussed this with the Fiscal Council and that these parameters show that we have economic recovery, as well as exports that are higher than predicted, that is, with a growth of 10 to 12 percent.
Brnabic pointed out that growth was also recorded in the industry, 6 to 8 percent, and added that we also had a reduction in public debt, much more than planned, so today it stands at 64.5 percent, with the expectation that it is possible to drop to 62 percent of GDP by the end of the year.
She pointed out that Serbia could achieve better economic growth, announcing at the same time that we will have a much better next year.
The prime minister stated that the government of Serbia is looking at a broader picture and that it does not want to be irresponsible towards the budget, and that now it invests only in spending that could endanger fiscal discipline tomorrow.
At this moment, we measure the fiscal effects of a possible increase in salaries and pensions, which will certainly happen, Brnabic underlined.
