PM says his cabinet "took Serbia away from bandits"

PM says his cabinet "took Serbia away from bandits"

Vucic said that his cabinet had inherited a multitude of problems, and had to deal with the May floods which he described as "the greatest natural disaster in the last 100 years."

"Hardly anybody could say that this government is to blame for anything in the past eight months, other than for implementing measures that are necessary and that no one else has dared and wanted to take," said Vucic.

Vucic added that the government has set "difficult goals" for itself, which previous governments did not wish to do, and managed to "take Serbia away from various bandits and return it to ordinary citizens."

"I promised to Serbia work and order, in my expose," Vucic said, adding that he "said it would be difficult." He added that he was proud of the work of the government and people in it, especially during the floods.

"For our work we received the support of world institutions, both from the west and from the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China," he said, noting that he was "overjoyed" to have hosted the recent China-CE Europe summit.

Serbia next year expects to open several chapters in EU membership negotiations, make progress on the European path, and implement reforms, "not because of EU, but for our people," Vucic said.

"We will further improve the reputation of Serbia, when in December next year foreign ministers of many countries, including Kerry and Lavrov, arrive," he was quoted as telling reporters.

"A big obligation for Serbia in the coming year will be chairing the OSCE. There will be many serious obligations for Serbia, but we are not afraid of our obligations - we are afraid of the situation on the ground," Vucic said, adding that "the day when the ruble lost in value the Serbian dinar did as well.".

Asked to comment on a statement madeby opposition DS party leader and head of the provincial government of Vojvodina Bojan Pajtic that "the Serbian government will not be brought down by parties, but by dissatisfied citizens," Vucic said he saw it "more as a joke."

He reiterated that "some Democrats earlier called for the Ukrainian scenario," one he will "not allow" to happen.

Vucic then observed that "part of the opposition has still not left the 1990s, and exist only when talking about the 1990s, because they have no other arguments."

"Highest price"

Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday the selection process for the privatization consultant for Telekom Srbija was under way, and that he expected the offered price for that government company to be significantly higher than expected.

He told the news conference at the government headquarters the price would be "dramatically higher than the one from 2011."

The estimates made for the previous government, four years ago, put the Telekom Srbija value at EUR 2.2 billion.

The former government required a minimum of EUR 1.4 billion for 51 percent of the company.

The only bidder, Telekom Austria, was not willing to pay that much at once, but only EUR 950 million, while the rest would be pumped into the company through investments, so the sale failed.

The government owns around 58 percent of Telekom Srbija, while 20 percent is owned by Telekom itself and the rest by the Serbian citizens.

Dialogue will continue

The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will resume in Brussels on February 9, Aleksandar Vucic confirmed.

He said he would take part in those talks together with Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, while Kosovo would be represented by Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Foreign Minister Hasim Taci.

EU High Represeentative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini scheduled the meeting and this will be her first involvement in the dialogue since she took her post in November.

"Mogherini called. Mustafa and Taci will be on their side and we will also go as one plus one. Dacic and me will go to the first meeting, while others will accompany me to later meetings, depending on the topic," Vucic explained at his year-end news conference.

He stated that he was not going to Brussels "happy and cheerful," but that it was "his job and his duty."

"Ministers did well"

Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic and Minister of Economy Zeljko Sertic would not be replaced, because he was pleased with their performance, and that he would inform the public about any potential government reshuffle.

He said he had stated in the government program presented to the parliament on April 27 that there would be reshuffles because he believed it was important to check the performance of all the ministers.

"I pointed out it was important to check on ministers, to not allow them to think they would be ministers for four years and that the prime minister would remain in his position for four years. Maybe someone else can do the job better. No one should relax," he stressed.

He remarked that he had mentioned no names when it came to which ministers might be replaced in a potential reshuffle, adding that he did not know what to say to the recent reports in the press about an alleged government reshuffle in which Vujovic and Sertic were marked as the ministers who would lose their positions.

"Year of investments"

The Serbian government has shown that it can manage public finances transparently, and the coming year will be marked by investments, Aleksandar Vucic said during the news conference.

Serbia's revenue in December this year is higher by RSD 3 billion than in the same month last year, which means economic activity and trade have risen, he noted.

"More money is being spent in shops. The data say that more is being spent. It is important that we make it through the difficult steps and welcome their results in 2016 like Portugal and Estonia," he stressed.

The VAT revenue has gone up significantly over the last four months of this year, and the projections say that if the trend continues, the government will collect RSD 400 billion from VAT, leading to a smaller fiscal deficit, Vucic remarked.

Serbia will no longer incur new debts to get investments, but it will instead turn to different financial arrangements, like concessions, and half of the sum got through the same of 502 government companies will be used for new investments, he noted.

The road part of Corridor 10, that is the eastern leg, towards Bulgaria, and the southern, towards Macedonia, will be completed by the end of 2016, and the most complicated sections of Corridor 11 could be completed as much as a year ahead of the deadline, he stated.

Commenting on Corridor 11, Vucic told reporters that the section between Ub and Lajkovac, built by Serbian companies, had been completed and that the 40 km section between Preljina and Ljig was coming along excellently, adding that it was one of the most complicated parts of the route, with 56 bridges and 42 tunnels.

"It is one of the most complicated parts and it will be completed perhaps even a year before schedule," he said.

All the sections of Corridor 11 from Belgrade to Cacak will link up in early 2017 or late 2016, he pointed out.

The government wants to take part in two more large projects, depending on the funds gained from the sale of government companies, he announced, explaining that the two projects were the Morava Corridor or the construction of a motorway from Belgrade to Temisoara.

Next year should be the one to change the face of Serbia, a year of challenges, a year, in which the government will try to prevent unemployment from growing, despite the difficult measures.