World Bank

"Spending cuts will have no effect without growth"

KOPAONIK -- World Bank Country Manager for Serbia Tony Verheijen says the fiscal consolidation will not yield results by itself unless it is followed by economic growth.

KOPAONIK - World Bank (WB) Country Manager for Serbia Tony Verheijen has said that the fiscal consolidation will not yield results in Serbia just by itself, if not followed by an economic growth.

At the Kopaonik Business Forum, Verheijen said that the fiscal consolidation is not a goal unto itself, but rather a means for achieving the real objective-economic growth.

The last time George Papandreu became prime minister, he had to tackle Greece?s deep economic crisis.

BELGRADE - The 22th Kopaonik Business Forum titled "Serbia 2015-2030: New Vision for Industrialization of the Economy and Modernization of the Society" will begin on Tuesday, bringing together a record number of 600 participants.

EU Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cre?u has insisted that poverty betrays a systematic error of society that can only be remedied through a holistic approach.

In an interview for the Bulgaria On Air TV channel, Romania's EU Commissioner admits that roads and infrastructure are important, just as the reduction of poverty and social inequalities.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta told Antena 3 private broadcaster on Sunday evening that his Cabinet has not set to compete for announcements of a smaller Value-Added Tax (VAT), adding that the measures in the draft Tax Code were drawn up after a one-year activity and in consultation with experts, the World Bank as well as the business community represented by the Coalition for Romania's Developmen

When Kemal Dervi? was asked to sort out the Turkish economy fourteen years ago, few were hopeful. In 2001, this country was in the midst of its worst economic crisis in modern times and Dervi? was given little chance, despite his 22-year career at the World Bank. He was seen as an inexperienced outsider with little knowledge of domestic politics.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic has said that he would present by July the plan for a reduction of jobs in the public sector, and added that the new arrangement with the IMF would help the dinar strangthen further.

Lazar Lazarov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Roads Infrastructure Agency, has assured that tolls will only be levied on heavy goods vehicles.

In a Wednesday interview for the morning broadcast of bTV, Lazarov informed that toll revenue would go to road maintenance.
He said that the new tolls were expected to take effect in 2018.

Turkey needs to rebuild trust to attract more investments so as to avoid the middle-income trap, said the World Bank Country Director for Turkey, Martin Raiser.