Representative trade unions of Telekom Srbija sent an open letter to Serbian President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic asking that the tender for the sale of a 51 percent stake in the state-owned company be declared unsuccessful, and announcing that if the sale takes place, the unions will file a lawsuit in a relevant court.

Head of Telekom Srbija's trade union Miroslav Joksimovic told a press conference that the giving of additional 15 days to Telekom Austria to improve their offer had put the company in an advantage over the other companies that had bought the tender documentation.

According to him, if a 51 percent stake of Telekom Srbija be sold to Telekom Austria, which was the sole bidder at the tender, the representative unions will file a lawsuit to challenge the legality of this kind of sale.

Joksimovic stated that the minimum price for the sale had not been explicitly noted in the tender documentation, despite the fact that the Serbian government had reached a decision not to sell the company's majority stake below EUR 1.4 billion.

Commenting on the Austrian operator's bid, according to which the company would invest EUR 450 million in investment over a three-year period, Joksimovic stressed that Telekom Srbija itself planned to invest EUR 230 million in the current year alone.

If Telekom Srbija continues to evolve, its price could even reach several billion euros, said Joksimovic.