Economics

The government of Serbia approved unanimously the USD 1B loan from the United Arab Emirates late on Wednesday.

Owing to the loan, Serbia will save USD 40M annually, or approximately USD 400M over the period of ten years, Finance Minister Lazar Krstic pointed out, Serbian Tanjug reports.

A new report by CIVIL – Center for Freedom, an NGO, documents numerous human rights violations over 2013 and at the start of this year in Macedonia.

BELGRADE - The government of Serbia made a unanimous decision late on Wednesday to approve the USD 1 billion loan from the United Arab Emirates.

Owing to the loan, Serbia will save USD 40 million annually, or approximately USD 400 million over the period of ten years, Finance Minister Lazar Krstic pointed out.

KOPAONIK - Serbia needs to conduct a fiscal consolidation in order to reduce public spending, President of the Council of the Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Nebojsa Savic has said.

KOPAONIK - Scientific Director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies Michael Landesmann noted on Tuesday that the issue Serbia should focus on in the coming period is its vast foreign debt.

BELGRADE - The official talks between the outgoing Serbian govenrment and the Mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concerning a new three-year arrangement with the IMF and ongoing economic developments in the country will begin in Belgrade on Monday.

Balkan countries take measures to help youth find jobs

Regional countries are subsidising temporary employment and paid internships to help young people find jobs.

Enterprising young people, such as this pair in Sarajevo (above), used billboards in the past to attract employers' attention. The sign reads: "I am looking for a job!" [AFP]

BELGRADE - The Serbian government set on Friday a minimum wage at RSD 115 per hour, without taxes and contributions for compulsory social insurance, for the period between January and June 2014.

Hence, the minimum wage remains the same as it was in the period from March to December 2013, which was also valid in the first two months of 2014.

BELGRADE - The value of bilateral trade between Serbia and Germany reached a total of EUR 2.78 billion in 2013, which is its highest level in history, announced the Delegation of the German Economy in Serbia, citing the data of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.

BELGRADE - A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has started the talks with Serbian officials in Belgrade on Wednesday on the state of public finances in the country, the IMF Resident Representative Office in Belgrade confirmed for Tanjug.