Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said Tuesday that if Serbia wants to move onto a new export-based development model, it needs to attract several dozen billion euros a year into production intended for export and not the domestic market.

At a conference dubbed "Serbia on the road to the European business standards," Djelic said that export should exceed 50 percent of the GDP, and that Slovakia has managed to accomplish this.

Djelic said that foreign investors looking to come to Serbia are interested in three big topics - construction, taxes and anti-monopoly policy.

He noted that Serbia has made progress in issuing building permits, reminding that it used to take 279 days and 20 difference procedures, and that today the procedure is much simpler and shorter.

The deputy prime minister noted that Serbia also needs to pass laws on public property and restitution, in order to complete the country's investment framework.

When it comes to taxes, he said that Serbia has attractive direct taxes, but there is still a problem with taxes and fees not covered by tax laws.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia Adriano Martins said that Serbia needs to lose excess bureaucracy and conduct a regulatory guillotine, as well as solve the issue of property and ownership.

He said it is important to carry out restitution, pointing out that the deadline (the end of June) by which Serbia should have made progress in many areas is looming, but also stressed that speed must not be more important than quality and that only correctly implemented European standards can improve the competitiveness of the market, and offer legal security to investors.

Ciric: Serbia needs annual GDP growth over four percent

Serbia's Minister of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric said Tuesday that the Serbian economy needs to record an annual GDP growth of over four percent in order to function without a deficit.

At a conference dubbed "Serbia on the road to the European business standards," Ciric said that the only way to make this happen is through re-industrialization and export-oriented production.

He said that Serbia's business environment has seen some progress, but that a lot more can be done.

Ciric said that the state needs to be more efficient in making payments. "There is a proposal for the government, ministries and local government to start regularly paying its bills from July 1, and to reprogram the old debts," Ciric said.

The minister said that the effects of Serbia's EU integration have been very positive so far, reminding that export has risen for the third straight year since the start of the implementation of the Interim Trade Agreement with the EU.

In 2010, export rose 32.5 percent, and import 8.2 percent, which is an indicator of certain systematic changes in the Serbian economy, Ciric said.

He said that the Serbian business environment is more attractive than that of countries in the region, as well as some new EU member countries, due to various incentives for investors, a productive and cheap workforce and good infrastructure around Corridor 10.

According to him, most investments into production in Serbia are export oriented, and recent investments are already yielding good results.

The minister noted that EU accession brings new rules of conduct and a new way for the state to be responsible and communicate with citizens and the business sector.

President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) Milos Bugarin said that export growth in the past year and this year has marked a positive trend in the Serbian economy, and pointed out that we need to work on the reform of regulations, promoting the rule of law and building effective institutions.

He said that exports to the EU have upped by one-third, adding that more and more producers of milk and meat are exporting to the EU market.

President of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) Kjell-Morten Johnsen said that Serbia has a lot of leeway to improve its economic environment, adding that there is a lot more work to do and that there are a lot of fees that should be abolished.