Minister of Finance of Serbia Sinish Mali stated that as of today, August 1, the prices of prescription drugs have been reduced. Along the way, he also announced that in mid-August, a part of the medicines that until now have been fully paid for by patients will be added to the list of medicines financed by the state.
"As we promised, we fulfill it - in pharmacies throughout Serbia, prescription drugs are cheaper. "There are 769 medicines on the list, which is 99,6 percent of all medicines that are issued with a surcharge," said Mali in the program of Radio and Television of Serbia.
He also emphasized that the state has allocated more than one hundred million euros for this measure.
Where there are cheap medicines there are also free vouchers
Mali also reminded that registration for 30.000 t starts on Mondaytourist vouchers in the value of 10.000 dinars each, to which pensioners whose incomes do not exceed 80.000 dinars will be entitled. They will be able to submit applications at the branches of the Post of Serbia.
One-time assistance payment
Speaking about the dynamics of announced payments to citizens, Mali said that on September 14, one-time aid will be paid to pensioners, recipients of social assistance, child and veteran's allowance.
"Depending on the amount of the pension, pensioners will receive from 20.000 to 35.000 dinars," said the Minister of Finance, adding that recipients of cash social assistance, child and veteran's allowance will receive 25.000 dinars each.
And from September 22, the payment of one-time assistance to all citizens of Serbian age in the amount of 6.000 dinars will begin.
Serbia is an economic champion
And how are all those state gifts possible?
Mali explained that the latest data from the Republic Institute of Statistics show that Serbia is the fastest growing economy in Europe and expressed his belief that such a result will enable a new increase in the standard of living of citizens.
Serbia, he says, achieved GDP growth of 3,6 percent in the second quarter of this year, after a growth of 3,2 percent in the first quarter, so it should follow from these data that an economically successful country can afford to hand out money to its citizens.
Citizens will pay everything back, and with high interest
"Of course, there is no money in the budget for that," says Danica Popović, a professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, in Radio Free Europe's "Most".
"The budget was drawn up at the beginning of the year when Vučić did not have those intentions and those wishes. But that is not a problem for him. The government will borrow so much at a very high interest rate, and the loan will be repaid by all those who will now receive gifts."
Milan Ćulibrk, economics editor in "Radar", followed up on that: "Every year, the Serbian budget remains in the red by around two billion euros. This year, the deficit will be even bigger because 600 million euros will be paid that were not planned in the budget."
He believes that the government could give up some previously planned projects "in order to provide money for oiling the voting machine before the elections".
"The problem is that the deficit in the budget has been covered by new borrowings for years, which has been especially pronounced since 2020, when the state first started handing out so-called helicopter money after the pandemic," explains Ćulibrk. "That's why our public debt is growing year by year, and interest costs are getting higher. This year, we will pay more than two billion euros just for interest."
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