Government adopts decision: EUR 5 BILLION against consequences of COVID-19

The Serbian Government has approved a 2020 budget revision, which includes a package worth EUR 5.1 billion of assistance to businesses and citizens to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus epidemic, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said. He said at a news conference that after the revision, the budget deficit would be 6.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and that public debt would be lower than 60 percent of GDP. „The revision also includes the allocation of two billion dinars for the distribution of 400,000 tourist vouchers for holidays in Serbia, as well as 3.3 billion dinars for the construction of the Morava Corridor,“ Mali said. According to the Government’s estimate, as he said, the drop in GDP in Serbia will be 1.8 percent in 2020, although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted a drop of three percent. He stressed that the revision was „done to preserve and maintain macroeconomic stability and stable finances and to help those most in need, in order to get out of the crisis as easily as possible.“ The original budget for 2020 envisaged revenues of RSD 1,314.5 billion and expenditures of RSD 1,334.7 billion, so that the deficit would amount to RSD 20.2 billion, i.e. 0.3 percent of GDP. The budget was planned based on an estimate that GDP growth would be four percent in 2020, and that inflation would be two percent. The Serbian Government has also adopted the regulation on the payment of 100 euros to all adult citizens who want to receive this money. At the government session, a contract between the government and commercial banks was also adopted, which provides a guarantee scheme worth EUR 2 billion for entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Izvor: Beta

Foto: Pixabay