Hot potato handed to URS, leader says

United Regions of Serbia (URS) leader Mladjan Dinkic, who will take part in the government, says his party is aware of the difficult situation in the country. “Serbia is on the verge of bankruptcy,” he said in Brussels where he is taking part in the annual meeting of the European People's Party (EPP), the biggest MP group in the European Parliament (EP). Hot potato handed to URS, leader says He said he had received support from his colleagues from the EPP to start the talks on participation in Ivica Dacic’s government. When asked how EPP leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, reacted to Dacic’s appointment as a PM-designate, Dinkic said that “nobody in Europe is interested in who makes the government but what the government does”. The URS leader noted that his party had accepted the offer to join the talks on the government, adding it was not an easy decision. “The situation is dramatic, we need USD 3bn right away just to cover the budget deficit and the foreign debt,” he told Tanjug and accused the previous government of hiding the truth about the severity of the crisis from the people. The URS leader explained that the problems would have to be solved by the ministries that his party would like to run, the Finance Ministry and the Economy Ministry. “We were handed the hottest potato because the economy and the finance are always the hottest,” he pointed out. “An agreement with Dacic should not be a problem if the URS’ plans on anti-bankruptcy measures and equal development of Serbia are accepted,” Dinkic said. “The agreement with the Democratic Party (DS) failed because the DS has never truly wanted the URS as its partner,” he concluded. Mladjan Dinkic (Beta, file) Tanjug

Hot potato handed to URS, leader says

He said he had received support from his colleagues from the EPP to start the talks on participation in Ivica Dačić’s government.

When asked how EPP leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, reacted to Dačić’s appointment as a PM-designate, Dinkić said that “nobody in Europe is interested in who makes the government but what the government does”.

The URS leader noted that his party had accepted the offer to join the talks on the government, adding it was not an easy decision.

“The situation is dramatic, we need USD 3bn right away just to cover the budget deficit and the foreign debt,” he told Tanjug and accused the previous government of hiding the truth about the severity of the crisis from the people.

The URS leader explained that the problems would have to be solved by the ministries that his party would like to run, the Finance Ministry and the Economy Ministry.

“We were handed the hottest potato because the economy and the finance are always the hottest,” he pointed out.

“An agreement with Dačić should not be a problem if the URS’ plans on anti-bankruptcy measures and equal development of Serbia are accepted,” Dinkić said.

“The agreement with the Democratic Party (DS) failed because the DS has never truly wanted the URS as its partner,” he concluded.