Vucic: Increase in pensions and salaries, borrowing will be cheaper, there will be no mining of lithium until we get guarantees

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said that the rate of economic growth in the second quarter, according to the flash estimate, was 4.2%, while in the first quarter it was 4.7%.

- Of those published for the second quarter, we are once again the first in Europe. When the first two quarters are totaled, we will be first, second, in the worst case third - said Vucic.

According to him, this is a sign for citizens that Serbia is on the right path and that we have a safe and certain future.

- We have over EUR 6.5 billion in the state account. Even countries five times larger than us do not have that. We have no fiscal problems. The rate of public debt is 49.4%, below 50% in relation to GDP - the president pointed out.

He announced that the increase in pensions will be before January next year and will amount to 11%.

- That would be RSD 5,000 on average, if the average pension is RSD 46,000. That is not enough, but the increase is important - said Vucic.

Vucic pointed out that his request, since the negotiations on the increase of the minimum wage are yet to follow, is for it to be increased significantly above RSD 50,000.

He said that the state's obligation is to increase the salaries of teachers and professors.

- The increase must be significantly higher than for all others. I hope that the salary increase for the teachers and professors will be higher than the increase in pensions - Vucic said.

The president said that he expects the average salary to be EUR 900 in December, and EUR 1,000 next year.

He announced an increase in parental allowance and pointed out that the biggest increase is expected for parents of a second child.

President Vucic said that starting from November 1, the parental allowance will be increased, and that amount will be EUR 4,336 for the first child, and until now it was EUR 3,307, while the allowance for the second child is even EUR 2,000 higher compared to the previous allowances.

- For the second child, the biggest increase, if I may say so. It will now amount to EUR 5,126, that is RSD 600,000 in 24 equal installments, plus RSD 7,500, plus RSD 135,000 right to one-time assistance. Therefore, a total of 742,500 dinars, i.e. 6,344 EUR - said Vucic at the conference in Villa Mir.

As he said, the allowance for the third child has also been increased and will be over EUR 20,500.

- This is where RSD 2,280,000 come in, in 120 equal monthly installments of RSD 19,000 plus 7,500, for the fourth child we increase it to EUR 27,231. For the birth of the second and third child, we added RSD 135,000 dinars as a one-time payment and on top of that we pay on a monthly basis - he said.

Stating that EUR 2,900 was paid for the fourth child in 2012, Vucic pointed out that almost 10 times more is paid now - EUR 27,230.

Vucic emphasized that the Government is preparing the Law on the Protection of Users of Financial Services, which will introduce a limit on interest rates on loans.
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The interest limit will include housing loans, cash loans, credit cards, borrowing within the permitted minus on the current account.

He pointed out that the law, which will be in force by the end of September, will enable citizens to borrow more cheaply.

- Borrowing will be incomparably cheaper, especially for young married couples. Young people will calculate how and in what way to spend their money in the future. And how can they provide themselves with basic things for life, which is of key importance - said Vucic.

The president noted that the law will prevent banks from compensating for interest rate cuts by increasing ancillary costs.

- We will not threaten the banking sector. Banks in Serbia make extremely high profits, so they can reduce them a bit - he added.

Speaking about lithium mining in Serbia, President Vucic said that "there will be no mining in the field until we get guarantees" that everything is absolutely safe in terms of ecology and people, stating five important points.

- There is no digging in the field and there won't be until we get all the guarantees, in the next 12 to 18 months, nothing will change. They deceive you every day. We have to collect all the documentation, we will invite the best international and domestic experts for environmental protection - Vucic said

According to him, point two are the problems of all the people who sold their property in the process of expropriation, through a direct deal with Rio Tinto.

- We should talk to those people to try to solve the problems - he points out.

He notes that the care of the environment will be assigned to the greatest world, European and domestic experts.

- The next point is the struggle for the value chain. The mine is on 140 hectares, and it will not exceed 220 hectares. We have 60,000 hectares of Kolubara, so you know what kind of area we're talking about - Vucic says.

He said that the average salary in Bor is EUR 1,025.

- The Bor mine is an open-pit mine, it would be 400 times smaller than the mine in Loznica, and it will not be an open-pit mine, but an underground mine - Vucic said.

He commented on the fear of sulfuric acid.

- We use sulfuric acid everywhere, suddenly it became the biggest problem. Sulfuric acid will be used in a closed system below the boiling point, there is no sulfur rain, the transport will be in accordance with the transport of dangerous materials - Vucic said.
The MPs also adopted amendments to the Law on Special Conditions for the Implementation of the Project for the Construction of Apartments for Members of the Security Forces.

Rio Sava Exploration d.o.o. Beograd

Rio Tinto Exploration Dunav d.o.o. Beograd

Rio Tinto

Serbia's economic growth rate

Serbia's public debt

increase in pensions

increase in minimum wage

increase in salaries for educators

parental allowance

Law on the Protection of Users of Financial Services

limitation of interest rates on loans

lithium mining

lithium

sulfuric acid