Economist Borislav Borović stated that Serbia’s official public debt, which reached €38.2 billion in July, does not fully capture the state’s total obligations. He emphasized that this figure only includes the withdrawn funds processed through the treasury.
In an interview with the Beta agency, Borović noted that the contracted loans add at least another €25 billion to the state’s liabilities.
“The reported public debt of €38.2 billion is merely the withdrawn funds, not the entire range of state obligations. Contracted but undrawn loans are excluded from the public debt-to-GDP ratio. Loans for various projects like ‘bursts,’ the metro, and EXPO are estimated to add at least another €25 billion in new obligations,” he explained.
When asked about the potential dangers of high state indebtedness, Borović highlighted that Serbia will need to repay a staggering 976,449,116,000 dinars, or €8.4 billion, in principal alone in 2024.
