Government of Serbia writes off Srbijagas’ DEBT of EUR 1.2 billion

TheGovernment of Serbia has written off the entire debt of the public companySrbijagas towards the state in the total amount of 1.2 billion euros, accordingto the Conclusion of the Government of Serbia, which was delivered to the RadioFree Europe (RFE) on request. According toRFE, the debt of Srbijagas, a company that is 100-percent owned by Serbia,towards the state has been accumulating over the years, and almost 80 percentof that debt (933.8 million euros) was created by activating bank guarantees,which the state of Serbia provided for long-term loans taken by Srbijagas fromcommercial banks, according to the conclusion of the Government as of March 26,2019. The text of the Conclusion statesthat the Government has decided to „convert the accounts receivable fromSrbijagas in the total amount of more than 141 billion dinars (1.2 billioneuros) into a permanent share of the Republic of Serbia in the public companySrbijagas, that is, as the founder, the Republic of Serbia would increase thecapital of the public company by the amount of the converted claim“.This is practically the „writing off ofSrbijagas’ debt“, as explained by a member of the Fiscal Council of SerbiaVladimir Vuckovic for RFE, noting that in economic terms this is not anadditional budgetary expense, i.e. an expense for the citizens of Serbia.

Izvor: Radio Slobodna Evropa

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