The European Commission (EC) prepares to present a large-scale economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans. The plan is supposed to be revealed during the presentation of progress reports for the region countries.

The European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi announced the details on Monday in a speech at the Forum on Western Balkans in Berlin, organized by Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Klix.ba portal reports.

He said that now they were on the third pillar of the EU integration process.

– In the coming weeks we shall present a large-scale economic and investment plan the Western Balkans region, said Varhelyi.

He stated that there was enormous economic development gap with the European Union.

– The faster we close the gap, the sooner we start building resilient and strong market economies for countries and its peoples and faster their integration will go leading to long-term peace and stability in the region, Varhelyi said.

Furthermore,when it comes to EU integration, he announced a new dynamic and stepping away from the negotiation chapters,

– Those who deliver results quicker and are able to perform all legislative reforms after opening a chapter, and if there are legislative reforms before opening a chapter binds us to close the chapter negotiations within a years time. This is huge step forward compared to the previous practice where the chapters stayed open for 5 to 7 years without much progress, Varhelyi said.

He said the EU needed a new economic-based policy approach, otherwise their goal to intensify their presence in the Western Balkans could not be achieved.

– We need to increase our investment and to help to close the economic development gap. Thereby, this new economic and investment plan should concentrate on flagship areas and projects that will directly create long-term growth and much needed jobs, Varhelyi assessed.

According to him, this was also a way to create an attractive investment climate.

– These flagship areas that the plan will focus on, are connectivity in transport and energy, the so-called Green Deal, and digital transformation, including basic digital network infrastructure missing in the region,. Without these, it is impossible to develop a competitive economy, Varhelyi believes.

As he stated, the plan will also reflect elements of “open strategic autonomy”.

Varhelyi said that this priority of the German presidency, which puts a strong emphasis on “technological autonomy”, is a very important aspect in a context of reconfiguration of global value chains.

– The Western Balkans has an enormous potential to become an investment hub for European companies trying to cut their value chains and we have to help the region to develop into that, Varhelyi concluded

Grad Beograd ponovo je danas oglasio prodaju Sava centra, po početnoj ceni od 21,9 miliona evra.ž
BEOGRAD - Grad Beograd ponovo je danas oglasio prodaju Sava centra, po početnoj ceni od 21,9 miliona evra.

Učesnik u postupku dužan je da uplati depozit za učešće u postupku u iznosu od 2,1 milion evra.

Dolaskom Američke razvojne agencije DFC Beograd će postati finansijski centar regiona, jer će se u prestonici Srbije odlučivati o velikim investicijama, kaže potpredsednik Američke privredne komore Ivan Miletić.

On je rekao da je to sjajna vest za Srbiju jer DFC ulaže u velike infrastrukturne projekte, zdravstveni sektor, ali i projekte od društvenog značaja kao što su žensko preduzetništvo.

- Najavljen je dolazak delegacije već 21. septembra u Beograd, što znači da oni brzo žele da počnu sa poslom. Pretpostavljam da će ta delegacija već na početku krenuti sa razgovorom o tome kakvi bi ovo projekti mogli da budu - rekao je Miletić za TV Pink.

Navodi da DFC tradicionalno ulaže u velike infrastrukturne projekte, da je u Vašingtonu već bilo govora o železničkom saobraćaju, o velikim projektima koji se tiču izgradnje pruga, što bi povećalo izvozne kapacitete Srbije i regiona.

- Oni ulažu i u zdravstveni sektor, ali i projekte od društvenog značaja kao što žensko preduzetništvo. To je nešto što članice Američke privredne komore godinama podržavaju u Srbiji. Žene preduzetnice i malih biznisa, to su biznisi koji su okosnica naše ekonomije - naveo je on.

Kako kaže DFC će kancelariju jedino imati u Beogradu, jer je Beograd postao centar regiona, što se tiče poslovanja.
- Ovo sada Beograd stavlja na mapu i kao finansijski centar, ovde će se praviti ozbiljne odluke o velikim investicijama. DFC dolazi sa svojim projektima. Oni imaju četiri različite vrste podrške privredi: kroz direktne zajmove, kroz equity investing, ali i kroz osiguranja od političkih rizika, kroz studije izvodljuivosti. To su stvari od velikog značaja - zaključio je Miletić.

When the US International Development Financial Corporation (DFC) comers to Belgrade, the city will become the financial center of the region because the decision on big investments will be made in the capital, the vice-president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia, Ivan Miletic said.

He said that that was great news for the Serbia, because DFC invests in large-scale infrastructural project, into healthcare and in socially significant projects such as womens entrepreneurship.

– The arrival of the DFC delegation on September 21 was already announced, which means they want to get to work as soon as possible. I assume the delegation will immediately want to discuss what kind of projects they could work on, Miletic said for Pink TV.

He said that the DFC traditionally invests in infrastructural projects, that there were already talks in Washington on rail traffic and large-scale projects regarding railroad construction,which would increase the export capacity in Serbia and in the region.

– They invest in the healthcare but also in the socially significant projects such as womens entrepreneurship. Its something that women members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia have been in support of for years. Women entrepreneurs and small enterprises are the backbone of our economy, he stated.

According to him, DFC will only have an office in Belgrade since Belgrade has become the center of the region for business operations.

– This puts Belgrade on the map as as financial center as well. Serious decisions on large-scale investment will be made here. DFC will bring its own projects. They support economies in four different ways: through direct loans, equity investing, political risk insurance and through conducting feasibility studies. These are things of great importance, Miletic concluded.

The City of Belgrade has published a new ad for the sale of Sava center, to be carried out through written bid collection at the initial price lowered to EUR 21,9 million. The conditions of the sale remain the same as in previous attempts.

As stated, the buyer is obliged to carry out construction and finishing works on the adaptation and reconstruction of the said building, the total value of which cannot be lower than EUR 50 million within five years from the day they paid out the entire amount of the sales and purchase price.

All legal and natural persons who submit two offers and make a deposit of EUR 2.1 million by 10 am on September 25 are eligible to participate in the public tendering procedure.

The public opening of bids will take place on the same day at 1 pm on the 20th floor of the of the City Administrations office building.

As previously stated for eKapija, even though it hadnt participated in the last tender, Delta Holding still wants Sava Center.

They are still interested in buying the largest congress center in Serbia bu only under the economically acceptable conditions, Delta told eKapija.

– The City of Belgrade has set the price of EUR 27 million on the tender with the buyer being obligated to invest around EUR 50 million. The foreign experts we hired determined that the investment would not be cost-effective. We would not be able to make a return on a EUR 80 million investment within a reasonable time from the expected revenue. Going into such a project would not be sustainable and at the same time irresponsible to those Deltas involved with – our employees, banks, the social community who regards Sava Center as more than just a building, the senior vice president of Delta Holding, Zivorad Vasic said.

Even though it had been showing interest in Sava Center for years, Delta Holding hasnt showed up at the last tender. As they said, they dropped out because the conditions were not cost-effective. They are still interested in buying the largest congress center in Serbia but only under the economically acceptable conditions, Delta told eKapija.

– The City of Belgrade has set the price of EUR 27 million on the tender with the buyer being obligated to invest around EUR 50 million. The foreign experts we hired determined that the investment would not be cost-effective. We would not be able to make a return on a EUR 80 million investment within a reasonable time from the expected revenue. Going into such a project would not be sustainable and at the same time irresponsible to those Deltas involved with – our employees, banks, the social community who regards Sava Center as more than just a building, the senior vice president of Delta Holding, Zivorad Vasic said.

He added that Delta isnt hiding its interest in investing in Sava Center.

– We understand the city needs, but we also expect for them to create conditions for an economically reasonable investment. We are positive that Belgrade will get a modern congress center which will not only be the pride of the capital but a generator of considerable revenue for the economy, entrepreneurs and the state and city budgets as well.

Bruto devizne rezerve Narodne banke Srbije su na kraju avgusta iznosile 13,4 milijardi evra, što je povećanje za 0,3 milijardi evra u odnosu na kraj avgusta prošle godine, saopštila je danas NBS.
BEOGRAD - Bruto devizne rezerve Narodne banke Srbije su na kraju avgusta iznosile 13,4 milijardi evra, što je povećanje za 0,3 milijardi evra u odnosu na kraj avgusta prošle godine, saopštila je danas NBS.

Deviznim rezervama na ovom nivou, navodi se u saopštenju iz kabineta guvernera, obezbeđuje se pokrivenost novčane mase M1 od 141 odsto i šest meseci uvoza robe i usluga, što je dvostruko više od standarda kojim se utvrđuje adekvatan nivo pokrivenosti uvoza robe i usluga deviznim rezervama.

Srbija je napredovala na svetskoj listi Indeksa ekonomskih sloboda, koju je u godišnjem izveštaju za 2020. objavio Institut Fraser iz Kanade, na bazi podataka za 2018. godinu, i trenutno zauzima 74. poziciju od 162 zemlje. Napretku je najviše doprinelo popravljanje ocene za oblast Zdrav novac, zahvaljujući očuvanju niske, stabilne i predvidive inflacije, saopštila je Narodna banka Srbije.

Prema ovom indeksu, koji pokazuje u kojoj meri su politike i institucije usaglašene sa osnovnim principima ekonomskih sloboda, Srbija je na skali od 1 do 10 dobila ocenu 7,05, što je blago iznad svetskog proseka od 6,9. Posmatrano po komponentama indeksa, u odnosu na prethodnu godinu Srbija je najviše napredovala u oblasti Zdrav novac, gde je ostvarila prosečnu ocenu 8,47, pre svega zahvaljujući niskoj, stabilnoj i predvidivoj inflaciji, koja čuva realnu vrednost dohodaka privrede i građana.

- Prosečna ocena u odnosu na prethodnu godinu povećana je i u oblastima Struktura pravnog sistema i svojinskih prava, Regulacija na kreditnom tržištu, tržištu radne snage i poslovanja i Slobodna trgovina sa inostranstvom. To što je u ovim oblastima najveći napredak zabeležen u zapošljavanju, otklanjanju trgovinskih barijera i administrativnih zahteva, kao i zaštiti prava svojine, govori u prilog povoljnijem investicionom ambijentu - navodi NBS.

Inače, Indeks ekonomskih sloboda obračunava se na osnovu 42 varijable, koje su razvrstane u pet širih oblasti: Veličina javnog sektora, Struktura pravnog sistema i svojinskih prava, Zdrav novac, Slobodna međunarodna trgovina i Regulacija na kreditnom tržištu, tržištu radne snage i poslovanja. Konačna ocena dobijena je kao prosečna ocena za navedenih pet oblasti. Kao izvori podataka na bazi kojih se izračunavaju ocene koriste se podaci Međunarodnog monetarnog fonda, Svetske banke, Svetskog ekonomskog foruma i drugih međunarodnih institucija.