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Iosif Vangelatos, Inos Balkan General Manager

Need For Raw Materials On The Rise

The Serbian secondary raw materials industry has undergone a series of transformations over the course of the past 20 years. As the country is...

OTP Banka

Proud Of Generator Zero Project

OTP banka awards two million dinars to Fragment Panels, the New Winning Solution of the 2023 Generator ZERO Competition. Some of the solutions that...

Sanja Pešić, Alma Quattro CEO

Leaders For A Full Three Decades

Next year will be marked by the 30th anniversary of the founding of company Alma Quattro, which enriches its network of advertising media and...

Maja Marić, Owner And Director, Finexpertiza d.o.o.

Always Several Steps Ahead

FinExpertiza, which forms part of one of the world’s leading auditing companies, recently celebrated eight years of successful operations. Alongside auditing, accounting support, legal...

Danilo Savić, CEO, Data Cloud Technology

Reliable Partner To Giants

The state data centre in Kragujevac isn’t the only such centre in the region, but it is among the most modern. It has much...

Milojko Arsić Ph.D., Professor At The University Of Belgrade Faculty Of Economics

There Will Always Be Bread, But Not Smarts

Even during the times of the harshest sanctions imposed during the 1990s, enough food products were still available in Serbia. Temporary shortages of such products can only occur as a consequence of mistaken economic policies

In the case of the introduction of sanctions, we can be quite certain that would result in the worsening of relations between the Serbian and Russian political leadership. I estimate it as being unlikely that Russia would apply harsher measures against Serbia, such as halting gas supplies and the like, because in the long run that would lead to the loss of its stronghold among the Serbian people. The Russian leadership would probably try to attribute the possible imposing of sanctions to Serbia’s “unpopular pro-Western leadership”, but it would try to maintain its close affinity with the Serbian people, while seeking out new partners on the Serbian political scene. I think the economic cost of imposing sanctions against Russia would be an increase in gas prices for Serbia, probably combined with the suspending or annulling of the free trade agreement with Russia. The rise in the price of gas would have a negative impact on the entire economy and the citizens of Serbia in a certain period, while the suspension of the FTA would hit the parts of the economy that had significant exports to Russia, such as producers of fruit and vegetables.

In the case of the European Union, some form of punishment for Serbia should be expected to take the form of a suspension of EU accession talks and the withdrawing or reducing of financial assistance to Serbia. The harshest possible measure that one could expect, but which I don’t think is very likely, would be some kind of recommendation not to invest in Serbia for companies from the EU, or from key EU countries like Germany, Austria and Italy.

I estimate it as unlikely that Russia would apply harsher measures against Serbia, such as halting gas supplies and the like, because in the long run that would lead to the loss of its stronghold among the Serbian people

I don’t think the EU would go further than that, and imposing harsher measures would only serve, in the long run, to distance Serbia from the EU and push it towards Russia and China. Any significant reduction in EU investments would hit the Serbian economy hard, because it would cause a slowdown in economic growth and the stagnation of employment and standards, while problems would also arise in terms of financing the balance of payments and servicing external debts. That would all lead to increased pressure on the weakening dinar, and could also result in rising inflation.

When it comes to supplying basic foodstuffs, none of these scenarios threaten Serbia because it is a major producer and exporter of such products. Even during the times of the harshest sanctions imposed during the 1990s, enough food products were still available in Serbia. Temporary shortages of such products can only occur as a consequence of mistaken economic policies, such as controlling prices administratively etc.

By Zoran Panović

Serbia Divided

Vučić’s calls for “unity” actually represent a call for his supporters to unify. Serbia is a deeply divided society – and two massacres (in...

H.E. Christopher Hill, U.S. Ambassador To Serbia

Mutual Understanding Is The Bedrock Of Community Resilience

Crises remind us to listen and be kind to one another, transcending divisions like politics and embracing our shared humanity Any crisis is a reminder...

H.E. Annika Ben David, Swedish Ambassador To Serbia

Freedom And Inclusion Strength Societies

Culture empowers the dynamic interplay of diversity, human rights and both social and economic cohesion, driven by the creative and cultural industries as drivers...

H.E. Raúl Bartolomé Molina, Spanish Ambassador To Serbia

Cultural Connections Foster Long-term Relationships

Cultural diplomacy operates on the basis of the belief that shared understanding can be nurtured through the promotion of cultural exchange and dialogue, thereby...

The President Of India Draupadi Murmu Visits Serbia

The President of India, Draupadi Murmu, has arrived on an official visit to Serbia, where she will stay for...

Slovenia To Take Up Seat Of UNSC Non-permanent Member For 2024-2025

Slovenia, not Belarus, will take up the seat of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2024-2025...

Čadež: The Western Balkans Is The Region Of Potential And Not Problems

Europe should accept, as soon as possible, the fact that the Western Balkans (WB) is not the region of...

Serbia To Celebrate The EU Green Week

Serbia is celebrating the EU Green Week again this year, with a set of events that brings together hundreds...

Elon Musk Reclaims Title Of World’s Richest Person

Elon Musk is once again the world’s richest person after leapfrogging French billionaire Bernard Arnault, after a slump in the...

The President Of India Draupadi Murmu Visits Serbia

The President of India, Draupadi Murmu, has arrived on an official visit to Serbia, where she will stay for...

Slovenia To Take Up Seat Of UNSC Non-permanent Member For 2024-2025

Slovenia, not Belarus, will take up the seat of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2024-2025...

Serbia To Celebrate The EU Green Week

Serbia is celebrating the EU Green Week again this year, with a set of events that brings together hundreds...

Elon Musk Reclaims Title Of World’s Richest Person

Elon Musk is once again the world’s richest person after leapfrogging French billionaire Bernard Arnault, after a slump in the...

Argentina’s Candidate Wins Vote To Lead UN Weather Agency

 Argentina's Celeste Saulo was appointed to head the U.N. weather agency on Thursday, a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson...

The President Of India Draupadi Murmu Visits Serbia

The President of India, Draupadi Murmu, has arrived on an official visit to Serbia, where she will stay for...

Slovenia To Take Up Seat Of UNSC Non-permanent Member For 2024-2025

Slovenia, not Belarus, will take up the seat of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2024-2025...

Serbia To Celebrate The EU Green Week

Serbia is celebrating the EU Green Week again this year, with a set of events that brings together hundreds...

Elon Musk Reclaims Title Of World’s Richest Person

Elon Musk is once again the world’s richest person after leapfrogging French billionaire Bernard Arnault, after a slump in the...

Argentina’s Candidate Wins Vote To Lead UN Weather Agency

 Argentina's Celeste Saulo was appointed to head the U.N. weather agency on Thursday, a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson...
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