Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said at Mount Kopaonik Tuesday that he and the coalition partners had just reached the final agreement on government reshuffle.

The government should have less than 20 ministries with more that 20 members, including the prime minister, Cvetkovic pointed out.

“It is not only about personal changes but also about structural change of the government,” the prime minister stressed.

More will be known about the governmental changes by the end of the week, he said, refusing to go in more detail.

Cvetkovic said that he had discussed the matter with all the coalition partners and that the agreement they had reached was final.

Prime minister Cvetkovic pointed out that the first step would be amending the Law on government, after which he would come out with a proposal for new members in the three ministries which had until recently been led by ministers from the ranks of the G17 Plus and which were now led by coordinators.

Parliament speaker: Parliament works according to schedule until government sends reshuffle proposal

Parliament Speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic has said that the parliament will work according to schedule on Wednesday until Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic sends a formal proposal for a government reshuffle.

The parliament expects official information about the reshuffle, so the members could prepare to discuss a change to the number of ministries, she told Tanjug.

If any ministers are replaced, the new ones will have to take an oath before the parliament, she explained.

German ambassador: Government reshuffle would benefit Serbia

German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas said Tuesday he was pleased an agreement had been reached regarding a government reshuffle, adding that it showed the country's benefit was above everything else.

Any delays in reaching the agreement or suspense in terms of Serbia's political stability would hurt the country's image, Maas told Tanjug.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zaitung published a whole-page article about Serbia's economy some ten days ago, which had a positive tone, Maas noted.


PUPS supports government reshuffle

Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) whip Momo Colakovic said Tuesday the PUPS, as a member of the ruling coalition, supported the announced government reshuffle and thought it should be done as soon as possible.

It is good that the reshuffle will happen, Colakovic told Tanjug, adding that the PUPS had insisted on it in order to reduce expenditures and gain a more efficient government.

PKS president expects government to boost its efficiency after reshuffle

President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) Milos Bugarin expressed expectation on Tuesday that the government would become more efficient and start paying more attention to the voice of economy after the announced reshuffle.

Bugarin qualified as positive the fact that the government reshuffle has been announced and that ministries in charge of it have been determined, adding that it is important for the entire economic community that the government should be efficient, bring in fresh energy and help strengthen and intensify the dialogue between businessmen and ministries in charge of economic matters.

DSS: Problem is government policy not number of ministries

Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) spokesman Petar Petkovic said Tuesday that reducing the number of ministries in the Serbian government can bring nothing good to the state, as the problem lies in the government policy not the number of ministries.

Commenting the announcement by Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic that the government will be reshuffled by the end of the week, Petkovic said this was an attempt to cheat the citizens as the reshuffle can bring nothing new.

If Cvetkovic decided on the reshuffle after three years in power, it is clearly only a story for the media, Petkovic told a press conference.