Serbia may not seek new arrangement with IMF - PM

Serbia may not seek new arrangement with IMF - PM

Brnabic said she would continue pursuing a plan to overhaul Serbia's public administration started by now President Aleksandar Vucic, whom she replaced as head of government.

Asked if Serbia may forgo renewing the three-year precautionary deal, "during which IMF officials have recommended measures including cutting spending, selling or shutting down unprofitable state companies, and reducing the public workforce" - she replied, "It’s possible.”

Brnabic told the agency that she wants to accelerate economic growth to four percent over the next two years from three percent in 2017 - according to Bloomberg, "an uphill battle after the economy slowed its expansion to 1.2 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier."

"Now she’s considering whether the benefits of a new IMF deal outweigh the Washington-based lender’s stringent oversight," the article continued.

“It’s obviously good to have someone who’s giving you tempo, the pace of reforms, with whom you are discussing the priorities, and all of that is a big, big pro. But sometimes the IMF is more stringent than is necessary, and in that respect, it is possible that a new deal hinders growth," Brnabic said.

Brnabic also revealed that her government would seek to cut 11,300 jobs in local administrations through 2020, including 2,500 this year - in addition to 80,000 jobs Vucic eliminated mostly through attrition from local governments and state-run enterprises since 2013.