Economy minister denies differences with PM

Economy minister denies differences with PM

"The prime minister and I agree about the government program - solving of problems in companies undergoing restructuring, problems of public enterprises, adoption of key laws in the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy," Vujović told the daily Politika on Tuesday.

Asked whether it was true that he offered his resignation because Vučić "called him out" during a public government session that discussed the floods situation, the minister said it was a "banal situation," describing the ensuing "uproar" in the media as surprising.

He stressed that the government "should not impose social and political costs more than is needed," but must also not be "too timid" because that will not solve the economic problems.

Vujović added that by the end of July legislation would be passed that is necessary for resolving the status of companies in restructuring, and that they would enter the process by the end of the year, as the new deadline for completion is January 1, 2015.

"I feel like a surgeon who has to remove metastases, because there are no happy solutions. It is important that the patient - and that is the economy - survives, that workers receive social packages, that the job loss affects them as little as possible and that what can be saved is saved," said he.