Condition for USD 400 million - First arrangement with IMF, then loan from World Bank

(Loup Brefort)

Serbia can count on a EUR 400 million loan from the World Bank only if it reaches an arrangement with the IMF, World Bank Country Manager for Serbia Loup Brefort told the National Broadcasting Corporation of Serbia (RTS). The government must persevere in its efforts to cut the spending and check expenditures every three months, he noted.

In an interview with RTS, Brefort said he was optimistic about Serbia's chances because the adopted budget was realistic and because the country was working on reforms by proposing the Law on Public Companies, which Brefort underlined in a letter to Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic.

- We are happy that the issue of corporate governance and transparency at public companies has even been raised. In other words, an effort has been made to exclude politics from public companies. I believe that this law is a step in a good direction that could even be taken further, but in any case, we support the Finance Ministry.

There are two challenges regarding the budget: the government must persevere in its decision to cut the spending, although it is obvious that it is going to be hard; and it must take the advice of the Fiscal Council and check expenditures every three months in order not to let the situation with, for example, subsidies or public procurements go out of control, Brefort stressed.

It matters to the government what the World Bank thinks about the budget because they expect to get the promised loan of USD 400 million as a support to that budget.