National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia / Activities / Activity details
24 November 2024 The participants of the public hearing
Sunday, 24 November 2024
Public Hearing on Presentation of the Republic of Serbia 2025 Budget Bill and Bill on the Republic of Serbia 2023 Budget Final Financial Statement
On 24 November 2024, the National Assembly House hosted a public hearing with the topic: Presentation of the Republic of Serbia 2025 Budget Bill and the Bill on the Republic of Serbia 2023 Budget Final Financial Statement, organised by the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending.
The public hearing began with a minute’s silence for the late MP Dragan Markovic.
The Chairman of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending Veroljub Arsic said that the public hearing is attended by the members of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending, MPs who are not members of this Committee, representatives of the Government and the Ministry of Finance, the National Bank of Serbia, State Audit Institution, Fiscal Council and as well as Transparency Serbia and the National Convention on the European Union.
Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali said that the Republic of Serbia 2025 Budget Bill is focused on both pillars of our economic policy - the accelerated growth of citizens' living standards and the continuation of development through a high level of capital investments. The Minister of Finance also pointed out that this is the first budget that Serbia is expected adopt as a country with an investment credit rating. He pointed out that Serbia has entered a zone of stable growth and has managed to preserve its macroeconomic stability.
Sinisa Mali said that a new addition to the 2025 Budget Bill is the attachment related to the green agenda, i.e. so-called "green budget", and that as much as 10.57% of the expenditure is marked as green. This shows the focus on investing in sustainable growth and environmental protection, thereby improving the quality of life of the citizens.
The Minister added that this year for the first time, the citizen's guide to the budget was published long before the budget itself and announced a broader discussion is planned for t next year, i.e. broader consultations with the Serbian citizens and that they will be involved in making decisions about the budget for 2026.
Mali pointed out that, for 2025, a high growth rate of 4.2% is predicted, as well as an increase in the minimum wage, with a focus on further growth of wages and pensions and lowering of the unemployment rate.
The Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, Dr Jorgovanka Tabakovic, said that the 2025 Budget Bill contributes to the achievement of the goals of the Serbian Government and National Bank – maintenance of macroeconomic stability accompanied by the creation of conditions for further economic development, strengthening competitiveness and growth in employment and the citizens’ living standards. She added that the National Bank of Serbia supports the principles of budget planning duly followed in the budget proposed for the next year.
Tabakovic concluded that the National Bank of Serbia is of the opinion that the 2025 Budget Bill contributes not only to the preservation of the results achieved so far, but also to the achievement of more demanding economic policy goals, such as green agendas, full employment and additional strengthening of the investment rating.
The Fiscal Council’s findings and evaluations on the proposed budget for next year were presented by the President of the Fiscal Council Prof. Dr Blagoje Paunovic. He said that the fiscal deficit is increasing, but this will not threaten fiscal stability, as the trend of slow reduction of public debt will continue. He assessed that public revenues and expenditures were realistically planned and listed the challenges of fiscal policy. He added that the Fiscal Council supports the continuation of the current investment cycle.
The President of the Council of the State Audit Institution Dr Dusko Pejovic presented the audit report on the 2023 Budget Final Financial Statement to the participants of the public hearing. He pointed out that there are 23 reports on the financial audit of the 2023 final budget account and 22 individual user reports that were included in the preparation of this audit.
The presentations were followed by a discussion through the exchange of the participants’ opinions and evaluations of the Republic of Serbia 2025 Budget Bill and the Bill on the Republic of Serbia 2023 Budget Final Financial Statement.
After the discussion, Committee Chairman Veroljub Arsic thanked all the participants for helping the members of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending in reviewing the bills.
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