Companies need rapid solutions – Prime Minister holds talks with leaders of Serbia's largest companies

(Miroslav Mišković at the meeting in the Palace of Serbia)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić spent over nine hours yesterday in talks with local and foreign businessmen, bankers and builders.

The last to leave the Palace of Serbia were local businessmen who spent the longest time discussing with Vučić. Apart from the Prime Minister, Ministers of Finance and Economy Lazar Krstić and Dušan Vujović also took part, as did Minister of Construction Zorana Mihajlović, Minister of Labour Aleksandar Vulin and President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Željko Sertić.

Veselin Jevrosimović, general director of the company ComTrade, said that in his opinion the meeting had been positive, and that solving the problems of business would be scheduled.

“The discussion was very positive, and representatives took part from the textile, IT and agricultural industries ….” said Jevrosimović.

Branislav Grujić, owner of the company PSP Farman, said that Serbia now needs to move fast to solve its accumulated problems.

The first businessman to speak at the meeting was the owner of Pink Television Željko Mitrović, followed by Miroslav Mišković, Chairman of Delta holding and the businessman Milan Beko. Vučić declared himself surprised by Miroslav Mišković's proposals concerning agriculture.

Responding to journalist's questions about Mišković's presence at the meeting, the Prime Minister had said earlier that it wasn't unusual, since three of Mišković's companies were among the top 200 tax payers in Serbia.

“The courts are doing their job and will make their pronouncements on the guilty, but regarding the payment of taxes he has deserved to be among the first 200 businessmen to assure their presence here”, said Vučić.

With Mišković came Dejan Jeremić, vice-chairman of the company. The meeting was also attended by Miodrag Kostić of MK Group, Dragan Tomić (Simpo), Toplica Spasojević (ITM Group), Goran Perčević (Interkomerc) and many more.

(Veselin Jevrosimović, on the right)

Vučić had previously promised foreign companies rapid passage of a new labour law, and that all large investors would have the “Prime Minister's aegis” that would be a further guarantee of investment.

At a press conference after the series of talks in the Palace of Serbia, Vučić said that meetings like today's would be held every two months to determine who had done what, whether contracted deadlines had been kept and what results had been achieved. The next meeting will be held in Niš, he declared.

“Today too I set clear deadlines”, said Vučić, mentioning the deadlines he had set for Ministers of Economy and Finance Dušan Vujović and Lazar Krstić of seven and ten days, and for others a month.

According to what the Prime Minister told representatives of the construction industry after the meeting, implementation of a packet of economic measures will cost Serbia's budget between 150 and 200 million euros this year, apart from 60 million euros in credit subsidies. Vučić claimed that this cost will be compensated by reducing the grey economy. He told them that suppression of the grey economy would bring budget revenues of 100 million euros this year, and that by 2017 the revenues were planned to amount to 500 to 700 million euros.

Owner of the company ITM, Toplica Spasojević, was of the opinion that Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandra Vučića's meeting with local businessmen was an untraditional and unusual step, but that it was the only possible move in Serbia's present situation.

“It seems to me that this time we shall have a state that protects our interests”, Spasojević told journalists.

The owner of ITM gave a positive assessment of the information that he had been invited to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that he was ready to talk with them about the economy.

Read HERE how the meeting went between Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and representatives of foreign companies.

Read HERE what bankers said about the meeting in the Palace of Serbia.

Translation provided by: www.halifax-translation.com