Parliament to approve government changes

The Serbian parliament will on Monday in Belgrade vote to approve the country's reshuffled government. New members of the cabinet will be elected and sworn in. Parliament to approve government changes After the changes, the Cvetkovic cabinet will have 17 instead of 24 portfolios and 21 instead of 27 members. PM Mirko Cvetkovic will also take over as finance minister. His deputy from the G17 Plus party will now be Verica Kalanovic instead of sacked Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic. New names include Dusan Petrovic and Nebojsa Ciric who will head the agriculture, trade, forest and water management, and economy and regional management ministries, respectively. Former Health Minister Tomica Milosavljevic will be replaced by Zoran Stankovic, while Oliver Dulic has had mining added to his spatial planning and environment portfolio. Culture and information and information society ministries also merged and they will now be headed by Predrag Markovic. (Tanjug) New measures, old goals Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic announced on Monday, while presenting the program of the reshuffled government to MPs, that in the next few months the government will carry out certain measures of economic policy that will improve the people's standard of living. These measures, as Cvetkovic underlined, imply basic foodstuffs at prices acceptable for all citizens, better employment, reduced public expenditure and public deficit, dynamic growth of economic activities based on production of exchangeable goods, as well as bigger investing into agriculture. The announced steps are also aimed at encouraging exports through the establishing of the Development Bank and providing a more efficient mechanism in securing guarantees for export-oriented industry, attracting new investments, a systematic support to small, medium and innovative companies, reform of public companies, and a more efficient management of major infrastructure projects, Cvetkovic said. He also told the Serbian parliament that the objectives of the executive authority will remain the same. The priorities of the Serbian government, Cvetkovic said, will be complete commitment to Serbia's speediest possible EU accession, preservation of Kosovo and Metohija as part of the Republic of Serbia, development of Serbia's economy and improvement of the people's standard of living, building of a socially responsible society and solidarity among people, uncompromising fight against crime and corruption, and full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.

Parliament to approve government changes

After the changes, the Cvetković cabinet will have 17 instead of 24 portfolios and 21 instead of 27 members.

PM Mirko Cvetković will also take over as finance minister. His deputy from the G17 Plus party will now be Verica Kalanović instead of sacked Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić.

New names include Dušan Petrović and Nebojša Ćirić who will head the agriculture, trade, forest and water management, and economy and regional management ministries, respectively.

Former Health Minister Tomica Milosavljević will be replaced by Zoran Stanković, while Oliver Dulić has had mining added to his spatial planning and environment portfolio. Culture and information and information society ministries also merged and they will now be headed by Predrag Marković.

New measures, old goals

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković announced on Monday, while presenting the program of the reshuffled government to MPs, that in the next few months the government will carry out certain measures of economic policy that will improve the people's standard of living.

These measures, as Cvetković underlined, imply basic foodstuffs at prices acceptable for all citizens, better employment, reduced public expenditure and public deficit, dynamic growth of economic activities based on production of exchangeable goods, as well as bigger investing into agriculture.

The announced steps are also aimed at encouraging exports through the establishing of the Development Bank and providing a more efficient mechanism in securing guarantees for export-oriented industry, attracting new investments, a systematic support to small, medium and innovative companies, reform of public companies, and a more efficient management of major infrastructure projects, Cvetković said.

He also told the Serbian parliament that the objectives of the executive authority will remain the same.

The priorities of the Serbian government, Cvetković said, will be complete commitment to Serbia's speediest possible EU accession, preservation of Kosovo and Metohija as part of the Republic of Serbia, development of Serbia's economy and improvement of the people's standard of living, building of a socially responsible society and solidarity among people, uncompromising fight against crime and corruption, and full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.