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Serbian Economy Relying Mostly on German Economy, Shares the Fate of European Economy

May 18, 2022

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Serbian economy is closely connected with the EU economy, in great part to the German economy, so any instability and crisis in that market will strongly affect us, said Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, adding that Serbian companies should brace for the autumn period.

German industry consumes 95 billion cubic meters of gas, 40 percent of which is imported from Russia. 40 percent of reserves are in warehouses. Provinces that are the main partners in cooperation with Serbia - Baden Wittenberg and Bayern - will be the most affected by the crisis, Čadež pointed out at the opening of the conference "How resilient is the Serbian economy to global crises and challenges?".

He explained that there are three key bad signals for the global economy: inflation, rising interest rates, and the price of copper, which has started to fall on the stock exchanges. The time of cheap money and energy is over. We live in a completely new and different world, the president of the CCIS pointed out.

Čadež added that thanks to the activities and measures of the Government of Serbia, our economy managed to withstand the first blows of the global crisis, exports are growing and other parameters are good, but we must be careful because forecasts are that the crisis is coming. At this point, some companies may find it difficult to plan their production. "We are facing a difficult period that we cannot affect so much, because the problem is global," the president of the CCIS pointed out.

He reminded that Germany is among the leading investors in Serbia. Investments in the Serbian economy are worth three billion euros, while 125,000 people are employed in companies with German capital or related entities. As much as 65 percent of Serbian exports go to the EU, and 950,000 jobs are related to companies that do business with the EU, where 70 percent of investments come from. This shows that Serbia is part of the European economic system, said the president of the CCIS. He thanked the German government for the support of CCIS in the modernization processes so that today's chamber can effectively represent the interests of companies and be a strong service to the economy.

German Ambassador to Serbia Thomas Schieb pointed out that the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union will remain a priority of German foreign policy, and that the German private sector will continue to invest in long-term projects in Serbia.

According to him, the war in Ukraine will undoubtedly have great consequences on the world economy and is already reflected in the average growth of inflation, which has emerged as one of the most important topics.

The Minister of Finance of Serbia, Siniša Mali, pointed out that despite the challenges, the Serbian economy continues to grow and we are far from recession. "The challenges the whole world, the European and Serbian economy is faced with are enormous. Our economy also depends on what is happening in the EU. This crisis, war, and energy crisis are the factors that put the world in danger of inflation, and crisis. Everyone is facing these challenges, including us. At this moment, the Government has taken a number of measures to protect the interests of the economy and the citizens of Serbia - such as controlled fuel prices, low electricity prices, limited food prices, "Mali reminded. He announced that tomorrow the Government of Serbia will adopt a measure directed to assistance for around 1,400 companies, whose business is focused on the markets of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. 

The conference "How resilient is the Serbian economy to global crises and challenges" was organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Belgrade, the German-Serbian Initiative for Sustainable Growth and Employment and German Development Cooperation. 

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