Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration Bozidar Djelic said today that the National Competition Council’s aim is to see Serbia on the World Economic Forum’s list of the 70 most competitive countries by the end of the present government’s term in office.

In a list of 133 countries, Serbia is in 93rd place, which indicates a low level of competitiveness, with only Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina from the region ranking even lower, said Djelic speaking at the Kopaonik Business Forum 2010.

The list is compiled by summing up various competitiveness factors and Serbia is at the bottom of this list according to the efficiency of its anti-monopoly policy and legal security, he explained.

The National Competition Council has drawn up a list of 38 measures which should improve Serbia’s position. These measures include the publication of administrative procedures and all kinds of application forms on the internet, the formation of a database on locations in Serbia where construction is possible, the resolving of problems concerning transport licensing and energy efficiency, explained Djelic.

The EU has designed a growth strategy up to the year 2020 and one of its basic elements is competition. Serbia is far from achieving the goals of this strategy. The current employment level in the EU is 69% and the target for 2020 is 75%, while in Serbia the current employment level is nearly 50%, Djelic said.

Speaking on the fringes of the Forum, Djelic said that the development model applied in Serbia prior to the global economic crisis is not sustainable any more because expenditure was being financed with loans, which led to an increase in imports.

Serbia’s development must be based on long term savings and a sound social policy. I am against a linear increase in budget allocations because this reduces scope for investment but I support further social welfare benefits for the most vulnerable social groups, he said.

Investment is required in sectors which can contribute to exports and we must try to build a knowledge based economy, Djelic said.