Serbia

Politics:

• Analysis

  Serbia politics: Watershed talks for Kosovo

  Serbia politics: Watershed talks for Kosovo

  FROM EUROPEAN VOICE

  Deal could pave the way to membership talks

  The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia are expected to meet on Tuesday (2 April) for talks that could determine whether their countries will this year take their next steps toward EU membership.

  In question is how much autonomy ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo should be granted in return for accepting governance by Kosovo. Serbia continues to fund state institutions in northern Kosovo, in effect shielding the region from the control of Kosovo's authorities.

  An agreement would enable the European Commission to state in a report on 16 April that Serbia, a candidate for membership since last March, should be allowed to start accession talks, and that Kosovo should begin negotiating a stabilisation and association agreement – the first milestone toward membership.

  The recommendations would then be considered in June by leaders of the EU's member states – five of which have, like Serbia, refused to accept Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia. Approval then would enable the German parliament to endorse the leaders' decision before Germany goes to the polls on 22 September.

  Anxiety about Germany's electoral cycle has recently forced the pace in the EU-mediated talks, which have gained momentum since the turn of the year. The 2 April top-level meeting will be the eighth since the EU brought the two sides together in March 2011.

  © 2013 European Voice. All rights reserved.

  March 28, 2013

• Background

  Serbia: Key figures

  Tomislav Nikolic

  Mr Nikolic's victory in the May 2012 presidential election, in a second-round run-off with the incumbent, Boris Tadic, was unexpected, as pre-election opinion polls showed a substantial lead for Mr Tadic. Above all, the victory of Mr Nikolic-a former extreme nationalist turned Europhile, and a lacklustre candidate with little distinctive to offer-was the result of a popular protest vote, attesting to the deep-seated dissatisfaction of the population with Serbia's difficult economic and social situation. In winning the presidency at his fifth attempt, Mr Nikolic has shaken off the tag of "perennial loser". After his election, he immediately resigned as president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the party he formed after the split with the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS) in September 2008. He is unlikely to wield power in the manner of his predecessor, who over two terms turned the formerly ceremonial position into the main locus of power in Serbia.

  Ivica Dacic

  With his Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) emerging as kingmaker after its improved performance in the May 2012 parliamentary election, Mr Dacic was in a prime position to fulfil his ambition of becoming prime minister, ditching his old allies in the Democratic Party (DS) to win the coveted post by going into coalition with the SNS. A decade ago, after the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic, the party's founder, the SPS looked dead and buried. However, the SPS has survived and prospered under Mr Dacic, the leader of its modernising reformist wing. In 2012 it doubled the vote it received in the December 2003 polls (7.3%). Mr Dacic has proved an adept political operator and is likely to continue to lead his party.

  Aleksandar Vucic

  The acting chair of the SNS, Aleksandar Vucic, is first deputy prime minister, defence minister, anti-corruption official responsible for tackling organised crime, and secretary of the National Security Council. He was secretary-general in the SRS, before he joined the SNS, and was a former information minister in the SPS-SRS government of Mirko Marjanovic in the late 1990s, when he notoriously presided over an information law that introduced heavy financial penalties for journalists and media organisations which were considered to be critical of the government. Provided that he has a successful stint in government, Mr Vucic is a likely successor to Mr Nikolic as leader of the Progressives.

  Mladjan Dinkic

  Mr Dinkic, leader of the United Regions of Serbia (URS) and a former finance minister and governor of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS, the central bank), has returned to government as finance and economy minister. He has cemented his leadership of both the G17 Plus, a think-tank that transformed itself into a political party, after a power-struggle with its former leader, Miroljub Labus, and of the URS, which he created in 2010 as a vehicle to further his electoral ambitions. It promotes decentralisation and localism and appeals to ingrained resentment in central and southern Serbia of the capital, Belgrade. Mr Dinkic had difficult relations with members of the former governing coalition-notably, with Mr Tadic and EU minister Bozidar Djelic-and was open to joining a coalition with the SNS as long as the SPS was playing a leading role.

  Boris Tadic

  Mr Tadic, the DS leader, was defeated by Mr Nikolic in the run-off for the presidency in May 2012. Defeat at the ballot box has emboldened party rivals such as Dragan Djilas, deputy party leader and mayor of Belgrade. Mr Djilas launched his bid for the leadership with a barbed attack on Mr Tadic, claiming that there had been no reckoning with those responsible for the electoral defeat. Having been re-elected comfortably to the mayoralty of Belgrade, Mr Djilas has credibility at both the ballot box and within the party. His political power is supported by his personal fortune, having business interests in a number of influential media groups. Mr Djilas hopes to pressure Mr Tadic into resigning so that he can stand unopposed for the leadership at the party congress later this year. Whatever transpires, Mr Tadic's leadership is weaker and his rivals bolder than ever. Having been in government for his whole time as party leader until now, Mr Tadic will find the internal party environment much less hospitable to him in opposition than it was in power.

  September 19, 2012

• Structure

  Serbia: Political structure

  Official name

  Republic of Serbia

  Form of state

  Democratic republic

  Legal system

  Based on the new Serbian constitution of November 10th 2006

  National legislature

  Unicameral: Assembly (Skupstina) of 250 seats

  Elections

  May 6th 2012 (parliamentary); next parliamentary election May 2016. May 6th and 20th 2012 (presidential); next presidential election May 2017

  Head of state

  President, elected by universal suffrage. Tomislav Nikolic was elected president on May 20th 2012 and was sworn in on May 31st in parliament

  National government

  Headed by the prime minister and responsible to parliament. The coalition led by Ivica Dacic of the SPS, which took office on July 27th 2012, comprises the SNS, the SPS, the URS and some independents and minor parties

  Main political parties

  Democratic Party (DS); Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS); G17 Plus; Liberal Democratic Party (LDP); New Serbia (NS); Serbian Progressive Party (SNS); Serbian Radical Party (SRS); a bloc comprising the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) and United Serbia (JS); United Regions of Serbia (URS)

  Key ministers

  Prime minister & interior minister: Ivica Dacic (SPS)

  First deputy prime minister & defence minister: Aleksandar Vucic (SNS)

  Deputy prime minister & minister of labour & social policy: Jovan Krkobabic (PUPS)

  Deputy prime minister & minister for European integration: Suzana Grubjesic (G17 Plus)

  Deputy prime minister & minister for trade & telecommunications: Rasim Ljajic (SDPS) (a)

  Deputy prime minister & minister for regional development & local government: Verica Kalanovic (G17 Plus)

  Agriculture, trade, forestry & water management: Goran Knezevic (SNS)

  Construction: Velimir Ilic (NS)

  Culture, media & information: Bratislav Petkovic (SNS)

  Education & science: Zarko Obradovic (SPS)

  Energy: Zorana Mihajlovic (SNS)

  Finance & economy: Mladjan Dinkic (G17 Plus)

  Foreign affairs: Ivan Mrkic (independent)

  Health: Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic (SPS)

  Justice: Nikola Selakovic (SNS)

  Mining: Milan Bacevic (SNS)

  Transport: Milutin Mrkonjic (SPS)

  Without portfolio: Sulejman Ugljanin (SDAS) (b)

  Youth & sport: Alisa Maric (independent)

  Parliamentary speaker

  Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic (SPS)

  Central bank governor

  Jorgovanka Tabakovic

  (a) Mr Ljajic is the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Serbia. (b) Mr Ugljanin is the leader of the Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak.

  March 08, 2013

• Outlook

  Serbia: Key developments

  Outlook for 2013-17

  • The coalition government-comprising the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), United Regions of Serbia (URS) and some independents-may face a popular backlash if economic difficulties persist.
  • The government faces tough economic policy challenges, particularly the need to consolidate state finances and reduce public debt.
  • The government is expected to negotiate a new stand-by agreement with the IMF for 2013-15 to reassure international markets and foreign investors.
  • Public dissatisfaction is expected to grow, given the economic downturn, high levels of unemployment and resurgent inflation.
  • Serbia may be invited to begin EU membership negotiations in 2013, although Germany seems reluctant to countenance further steps towards enlargement.
  • The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts insipid growth in 2013, of 1%, following an estimated real GDP contraction of 1.7% in 2012. We expect growth to average about 4% per year in 2014-17.
  • We forecast a gradual, modest reduction in the current-account deficit during 2013-17, measured as a percentage of GDP, following an increase in 2011-12.

  Review

  • A scandal about excessive aflatoxin in milk, caused by contaminated fodder, has deepened popular distrust of the political elite.
  • Talks between the Serbian and Kosovo prime ministers in late February and early March ended without an agreement on Serb-run institutions in Kosovo.
  • The European Commission may recommend in its April report that Serbia be granted a conditional start date for EU accession talks.
  • On February 14th, the Democrat Party (DS) expelled Vuk Jeremic, president of the UN General Assembly and Serbia's former foreign minister.
  • The former chief of staff of the army of Yugoslavia, Momcilo Perisic, was acquitted, on appeal, by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of war crimes charges in the period 1993-95.
  • The National Bank of Serbia (NBS, the central bank) raised its benchmark two-week repo rate by 25 basis points, to 11.75%, on February 5th.
  • On February 14th, the Serbian government successfully placed US$1.5bn of seven-year government bonds on the Eurobond market, at a rate of interest of 4.875%, well down on the rates carried by other recent Serbian bond issues.
  • The consumer price index increased by 0.6% month on month and 12.8% year on year in January.

  March 08, 2013

Economy:

• Background

  Serbia: Country fact sheet

  Fact sheet

  Annual data	2012a	Historical averages (%)	2008-12
  Population (m)	7.1	Population growth	-0.8
  GDP (US$ m; market exchange rate)	38,386	Real GDP growth	0.2
  GDP (US$ m; purchasing power parity)	81,284	Real domestic demand growth	-1.1
  GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate)	5,406	Inflation	9.0
  GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity)	11,449	Current-account balance (% of GDP)	-12.0
  Exchange rate (av) RSD:US$	87.99b	FDI inflows (% of GDP)	4.5
  a The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates. b Actual.

  Download the numbers in Excel

  Background: For almost a century Serbia was a part of various South Slavic states, including the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918-41 (renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929), the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945-92, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992-2003, and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003-06. After Montenegro voted to leave the state union, Serbia officially proclaimed its independence on June 5th 2006.

  Political structure: Serbia is a multiparty democracy. The national legislature is a unicameral parliament (Skupstina), which has 250 seats. The president is elected by popular suffrage, but has little formal power. The legal system is based on the Serbian constitution of 2006. Serbia has two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina in the north and Kosovo in the south; following the NATO bombing of 1999, Kosovo was made a UN protectorate. On February 17th 2008 the province's ethnic Albanians declared Kosovo's independence and sought international recognition. Serbia considers the independence proclamation null and void under the UN charter and the Serbian constitution.

  Policy issues: Serbia still lags behind in the transition to a market economy. Reasons for this include a succession of crises after the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991 (which also severed established economic links), the imposition of international sanctions, and the damage to industry and infrastructure caused by the 11-week air bombardment by NATO in 1999. Macroeconomic policy, structural reforms and privatisation improved dramatically under the government of Zoran Djindjic in 2001-03, but slowed in 2004-06 under the coalition government led by the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), and reforms were subsequently delayed by frequent national elections and the onset of the global crisis in 2008. An IMF agreement in 2009-11 helped to insulate Serbia from the damaging effects of the crisis and kick-started long-delayed reform of the public sector. A new agreement in 2012-13 should encourage further public-sector and structural reforms.

  Taxation: Serbia offers a generally favourable tax regime for businesses, including incentives for new investors and multi-year tax holidays. The corporate tax rate of 10% is among the lowest in Europe (Montenegro is one of the few countries with a lower rate, of 9%). Payroll and sales taxes were replaced by a value-added tax (VAT) in January 2005. The rate of personal income tax was reduced from 14% to 12% at the start of 2007.

  Foreign trade: The current-account de ficit underwent a sharp narrowing in 2009-10, reaching US$3.1bn in 2010, compared with US$10.7bn in 2008. However, the deficit widened to US$4.1bn in 2012, equivalent to an estimated 10.7% of GDP.

  Major exports 2011	% of total	Major imports 2011	% of total
  Manufactured goods	29.6	Manufactured goods	19.1
  Food	20.1	Mineral fuels & lubricants	19.7
  Machinery, apparatus & transport articles	16.7	Machinery, apparatus & transport articles	22.9
  Chemical products	8.5	Chemical products	14.7
  Leading markets 2011	% of total	Leading suppliers 2011	% of total
  Bosnia and Hercegovina	11.2	Germany	10.9
  Italy	9.2	Italy	8.7
  Germany	8.9	Hungary	8.3
  Russia	6.8	Slovenia	5.9

  Download the numbers in Excel

  Download text file (csv format)

  March 08, 2013

• Structure

  Serbia: Economic structure

  Data and charts: Annual trends charts

  
  

  

  March 08, 2013

• Outlook

  Serbia: Country outlook

  Serbia: Country outlook

  FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

  POLITICAL STABILITY: The Economist Intelligence Unit expects the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to continue to increase its political leverage in the government that took power in July 2012, at the expense of its main coalition partners, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the United Regions of Serbia (URS). The SNS--once part of the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS)--has replaced the Democratic Party (DS) as the main political force. The former SNS leader, Tomislav Nikolic, won the presidency in May 2012, defeating Boris Tadic, the DS incumbent. The current SNS leader, Aleksandar Vucic, has multiple posts in the government, concentrating significant power in his hands and ensuring that the SNS has a counterweight to the prime minister, Ivica Dacic of the SPS. Mr Vucic's energetic leadership of the government's anti-corruption drive has earned him public respect, as well as plaudits from international actors. The first deputy prime minister's position has also been strengthened by revelations that Mr Dacic held meetings with a high-ranking member of a criminal gang while he was minister of the interior in the previous, DS-led government. Even if the official investigation exonerates him, the prime minister's credibility has been undermined. Mr Vucic's rising political fortunes are reflected in opinion polls, which show increased levels of popular support for the SNS, with a 41% share, and dwindling support for the SPS and the DS, both on 13%.

  ELECTION WATCH: The next parliamentary election is due by May 2016 and the next presidential election by May 2017. The recent change in leadership of the DS, with Dragan Djilas, the mayor of Belgrade, replacing Mr Tadic as head of the party, does not alter our view that it will be some time before the DS rehabilitates itself with the electorate. We expect the government to remain in office in the short term, but an early election cannot be ruled out. If Serbia were to receive a date to open EU accession talks, the SNS might be tempted to exploit the opportunity to go to the polls and increase its share of the vote.

  INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Serbia was awarded EU candidate status on March 1st 2012 and hopes to receive an invitation to begin accession negotiations by June 2013. The European Commission is expected to make a recommendation in April, dependent on progress towards a "visible and sustainable" improvement of relations with Kosovo (a process often referred to as a normalisation of relations). There is a chance that Serbia will be allowed to start talks in 2013, but EU membership is a distant prospect. A new survey shows that support among Serbia's citizens for EU membership fell to a record low of 41% in December, down by 8 percentage points from June 2012. The sharp recent rise in popular Euroscepticism appears to be a reaction to rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) war crimes tribunal in The Hague, acquitting Croatian and Albanian military leaders accused of committing war crimes against Serbs. It also reflects growing public impatience with EU demands for Serbia to make concessions on Kosovo in return for progress towards membership.

  POLICY TRENDS: Reform momentum has slowed in recent years, and we do not expect a significant acceleration in the short term. Nevertheless, Serbia's desire to open EU accession talks and an expected new IMF programme in 2013-15 should provide incentives for reform. Recent IMF programmes have focused on privatisation and enterprise restructuring, but adverse domestic and external economic conditions have hindered progress. In early 2012 the previous government was forced to buy back privatised state property as the global crisis hit foreign investors. This included the Smederevo steel plant (Serbia's largest exporter) from US Steel, and a minority stake in national telecommunications company Telekom Srbija from OTE (Greece; controlled by Germany's Deutsche Telekom). Despite its best efforts, however, the government has been unable to tempt new buyers for the stricken steel plant. Nevertheless, privatisation will figure prominently in any new multilateral loan agreement, and the government will remain under pressure to sell state assets.

  ECONOMIC GROWTH: The recovery from the recession of 2009, when GDP fell by 3.5%, has been lacklustre, with real GDP growing by 1% in 2010 and 1.6% in 2011. In 2012 the economy slipped back into recession. The Republican Statistical Office has revised its previously released real GDP data for 2012, from -2.5% to -2.3% growth year on year in the first quarter; from -0.8% to -0.6% in the second quarter; and from -2.2% to -2.5% in the third. Real GDP declined by 1.5% year on year in the fourth quarter, according to a flash estimate, putting the full-year contraction at 1.7%. The steepest decline in gross value added was in agriculture, where output fell by an estimated 17.5%. Industrial production fell by an estimated 3.4% in volume terms in 2012, while construction work increased by an estimated 3.7% in value terms. Retail trade turnover fell by 6.2% year on year at constant prices, reflecting depressed domestic demand and high unemployment (estimated at 23.7% in November 2012). Average gross salaries and wages increased by 8.9% year on year in nominal terms during 2012, and by an estimated 1% in real terms. The one bright spot was the pick-up in automotive output as a result of production getting under way at the Fiat plant in Kragujevac during July.

  INFLATION: Inflation volatility in Serbia will continue to be driven by food prices, low base effects and continued increases in administered prices), as the January 2013 data release revealed. The consumer price index increased by 12.8% year on year in January, compared with a 12.2% year-on-year rise in December 2012, when prices dropped by 0.4% month on month on account of higher-than-expected falls in the prices of fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. Food and non-alcoholic drinks prices increased by 1.4% in January compared with December 2012. In the coming months, inflation will continue to be adversely affected by volatile food prices because of the residual impact of the weak 2012 harvest (a normal harvest in 2013 should bring about a slowdown in price rises during the second half of the year), the base effect of lower inflation from mid-2011 and further increases in administered prices. Continued uncertainty related to the euro zone economic malaise and sovereign debt crisis could have a negative impact on exchange-rate developments and capital inflows, and a knock-on effect on inflation. Other uncertainty concerns domestic policy issues, including budget execution. However, the persistent negative output gap, and the strengthened dinar, will have a disinflationary impact. Assuming that fiscal policy remains prudent, we expect gradual disinflation over the forecast period, with inflation declining to 3.2% by end-2017. However, inflation is expected to remain above the central bank's target band during much of 2013.

  EXCHANGE RATES: The dinar depreciated in nominal terms by 8.7% against the euro between end-2011 and end-2012, to RSD113.7:EUR1, and by 6.6% against the US dollar, to RSD86.2:US$1. The dinar depreciated in real effective terms in 2012 by an average of 10.7% year on year against a trade-weighted basket of currencies. In common with other regional currencies, the dinar was driven down by euro zone troubles, but domestic political uncertainties made it especially vulnerable to depreciation pressures. The dinar is likely to remain subject to turbulence in 2013, reflecting nervousness in financial markets caused by the sovereign debt crises in Greece and the wider euro zone, and by concern about fiscal policy developments in Serbia. The dinar is forecast to strengthen modestly in real effective terms during 2013-17, following the large cumulative depreciation in 2008-12. Later in the forecast period, concern about the movement of the dinar will shift as liberalisation of the capital account leads to greater speculative inflows and exchange-rate volatility.

  EXTERNAL SECTOR: The current-account deficit, which reached nearly 23% of GDP in 2008, was a crucial weakness of the macroeconomic environment before the 2008-09 crisis, stemming from excessive domestic demand and the low competitiveness of exports. After contracting sharply in 2009-10, the deficit expanded in 2011-12, reaching an estimated 10.7% of GDP in 2012. With Serbian GDP falling by an estimated 1.7% in 2012, some positive rebalancing on the external side might have been expected. The trade deficit decreased from US$8.1bn in 2011 to US$7.7bn in 2012, as exports fell by 3.6% year on year and imports by 4.3%; however, the balance of some of the other items on the current account worsened. Recession in the euro zone means a less favourable outlook for export growth in 2013, although there is some cause for optimism on the export front: the new Fiat 500L production line at Kragujevac is doing well, producing more than 17,000 cars per month, and the government expects Fiat exports to exceed EUR1.6bn this year. Although domestic demand is forecast to remain moderate in the coming years, the current-account deficit is still forecast to average about 7% of GDP in 2013-17.

  March 11, 2013

• Forecast

  Serbia: Country forecast summary

  Country forecast overview: Highlights

  • The Economist Intelligence Unit expects the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to increase its political leverage in the government that took power in July 2012, at the expense of its main coalition partners, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the United Regions of Serbia (URS). The party's leader, first deputy prime minister Aleksandar Vucic, is emerging as the dominant figure in the government, at the expense of the prime minister, Ivica Dacic (SPS).
  • The government has a comfortable parliamentary majority and is expected to remain in power in the short term. If Serbia were to receive a date to open EU accession talks in 2013, the SNS might be tempted to exploit the opportunity to go to the polls and increase its share of the vote.
  • The government faces tough economic policy challenges, particularly the need to consolidate state finances and reduce public debt. Unemployment is high and living standards have fallen, exposing Serbia to a heightened risk of social unrest. Serbia is vulnerable to fallout from the euro zone crisis.
  • We do not expect drastic political or economic policy changes under this government, although its inclination towards growth stimulus measures may cause difficulties in negotiations with the IMF.
  • Serbia will not recognise Kosovo, and will continue to campaign against further international recognitions. Serbia will continue its pursuit of EU membership, but demands for a normalisation of relations with Kosovo will present an obstacle to its integration. In 2013 Serbia may be given a date to start accession talks, but negotiations, once they begin, will be protracted, and accession before 2020 is unlikely.
  • We expect the government to sign a new stand-by agreement with the IMF for 2013-15 (the 2011-13 precautionary arrangement is in abeyance). Provided that the government addresses budget and public debt concerns, and tackles structural and business environment reforms, a new programme will get under way, helping to underpin foreign investor confidence.
  • The dinar will remain subject to volatility in 2013, but we forecast a modest real appreciation (against a trade-weighted basket of currencies), assuming that economic conditions stabilise. Inflation will remain outside the central bank's target band in the first half of 2013, but will slowly moderate thereafter.
  • We estimate a contraction in real GDP of 1.7% in 2012, reflecting recession in the euro zone, and forecast a return to weak growth in 2013. GDP growth is forecast to average about 4% per year in 2014-17. After expanding in 2011-12, the current-account deficit will contract in 2013-17.

  

  March 08, 2013

View detailed map

Country Briefing

Total area

88,361 sq km (including Kosovo)

Population

7.1m (2011 census, excluding Kosovo); 9.1m (Economist Intelligence Unit estimate, including Kosovo)

Main cities

Population in '000 (2011)

Belgrade (capital): 1,639a

Kragujevac: 178a

Novi Sadb: 335a

Pristinac: 108

Nis: 258a

aFigures from the 2011 census in Serbia. b Capital of Vojvodina. c Capital of Kosovo. (This figure is from the 1981 census. Most Kosovo Albanians did not participate in the 1991 and 2002 censuses.)

Climate

Continental

Weather in Belgrade (altitude 132 metres)

Hottest month, July, 17-28°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, January, -3°C (average); driest months, February and March, 46 mm average rainfall; wettest month, June, 96 mm average rainfall

Languages

Serbian, Albanian (in Kosovo) and Hungarian (in Vojvodina)

Weights and measures

Metric system; a "wagon" of 10 tonnes is often used in trade figures

Currency

Serbian dinar (RSD) = 100 paras

Time

One hour ahead of GMT

Fiscal year

Calendar year

Public holidays

January 1st-2nd (New Year), January 7th (Orthodox Christmas), February 15th (National Day of Serbia), Orthodox Easter (April 13th, 15th and 16th in 2012), May 1st-2nd (Labour Day). May 9th (Victory Day), June 28th (St Vitus Day)

January 01, 2013