Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Jovan Krkobabic stated that he opposes the raising of the pension age to 67 with 45 years of service, adding that he will defend this position before the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

At this point, Serbia is not in the same position as Germany or another economically developed country to be able to abruptly raise the retirement age and years of service, considering the standard of living of Serbia's population, Krkobabic stated for the Belgrade-based daily Politika Tuesday.

When asked about the reasons why the tightening of conditions for retirement was not stopped before the adoption of the amended Law on Pensions, Krkobabic said that he considers the reform of the Pension and Disability Insurance (PIO) system a finished job, as it was adopted by the Serbian parliament.

I honored all agreements, including the one with the IMF, Krkobabic said, adding that there is no continuation of the reform of PIO system at the moment.

We are doing our best to find additional funds for the payment of pensions to farmers, where all deadlines have been extended.

The inherited debt, which was the obligation of previous governments, is about RSD 7 billion in total, Krkobabic stressed.