Thursday, 20 October 2016

10th Sitting of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending

At the 10th sitting, held on 20 October, the members of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending considered the Bill on the Confirmation of the Framework Loan Agreement LD 1768 (2012) between the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Republic of Serbia, Bill on the Confirmation of the Finance Agreement “Apex loan for small and medium enterprises and other priorities III/B” between the Republic of Serbia and the European Investment Bank and the National Bank of Serbia, Bill on the Confirmation of the Framework Loan Agreement LD 1830 (2014) between the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Republic of Serbia, Bill on the Confirmation of the Loan Agreement (Modernisation and Optimisation of Public Administration Program) between the Republic of Serbia and the International Reconstruction and Development Bank, and the Bill on the Confirmation of the Loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to Support the General Budget, submitted by the Government.


The Committee members decided, by majority vote, to have a joint debate on all the items on the agenda, which were elaborated on the behalf of the submitter by Dragana Ratkovic of the Ministry of Finance, Public Debt Administration.

The Bill on the Confirmation of the Framework Loan Agreement LD 1768 (2012) between the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Republic of Serbia concerns the construction of correctional capacities in Kragujevac for the housing of prisoners sentenced to longer than 5 years, and the loan amounts to 17 million EUR. What makes this loan favourable is the fact that the interest rate for each portion withdrawal can be selected, and the payback period ranges between 15 and 20 years.

The Bill on the Confirmation of the Finance Agreement “Apex loan for small and medium enterprises and other priorities III/B” between the Republic of Serbia and the European Investment Bank and the National Bank of Serbia concerns financing for small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs, in the amount of 150 million EUR. Serbia has so far used five of these loans through the National Bank of Serbia which places the funds at the disposal of business banks which then offer them to end users. Minimum portion withdrawal is 5 million EUR, and in the case of youth employment no less than 2.5 million EUR. Half of the credit line is intended for the new element included in the loan - youth employment.

The Bill on the Confirmation of the Framework Loan Agreement LD 1830 (2014) between the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Republic of Serbia is intended to contain the earthquake damage in Kraljevo, amounting to 8 million EUR, under the same conditions as the first loan – no bank fees, interest rate can be selected, and it is to be withdrawn in two portions. Part of the funds for the construction of housing in Kraljevo will be supplied by the City of Kraljevo, and the work is to start in early 2017.

The Bill on the Confirmation of the Loan Agreement (Modernisation and Optimisation of Public Administration Program) between the Republic of Serbia and the International Reconstruction and Development Bank is intended for the budget of the Republic of Serbia, in the amount of 69 million EUR, and the payback of the portions will depend on the fulfilment of indicators defined by the loan. It is a 17-year loan, with a five year grace period.

The Bill on the Confirmation of the Loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to Support the General Budget is similar to the 2014 agreement and can be considered a bilateral agreement with the Government of Abu Dhabi. The one billion USD loan is to be withdrawn in five 200 million USD portions, with no less than six months between withdrawals. The funds will be withdrawn as needed i.e. when the state’s USD liabilities fall due, at a 2.25 annual interest rate accompanied by administrative rate, 10-year payback period, with a five year grace period.

Following a long debate the Committee members accepted all the bills by majority vote.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairperson Dr Aleksandra Tomic.

The sitting was attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Zoran Krasic, Goran Kovacevic, Momo Colakovic, Olivera Pesic, Srbislav Filipovic, Zoran Bojanic, Milorad Mircic, Goran Ciric, Slavisa Bulatovic, Zoltan Pek, Ivan Manojlovic and Milan Lapcevic.


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friday, 29 march
  • 9.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

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