Radar: Minister Mali Bragging of Surplus While State Coffers Show EUR1 Billion Deficit

Sinisa Mali (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

The Serbian government has paid a part of an installment to France for the Rafale warplanes six months ahead of schedule and the deficit in Serbia’s state coffers at the end of July was 4.3 higher than in the first seven months of last year – almost RSD98 billion, or EUR833 million, the Radar weekly reported on Aug. 6.

“While Finance Minister Sinisa Mali was convincing the MPs and TV viewers during the special session of the Assembly of Serbia on July 27, that the single-payment assistance to the pensioners, veterans and other users of welfare, due on Sept. 14, and one to all adult citizens, due on Sept. 22, would be paid ‘from the surplus of money, because tax revenue in the first seven months of this year was almost RSD40 billion higher than planned,’ he knew very well that there is no surplus in the state coffers,” reads the report in the Radar weekly.

Just four days after that, it turned out that the deficit in the budget at the end of July amounted to almost RSD98 billion, or EUR833 million. Instead of the surplus that Mali spoke about, the deficit in the state coffers after seven months was 4.3 times higher than in the same period last year, the weekly wrote in the text titled “While Mali Brags of Surplus, State Coffers Show EUR1 Billion Deficit.”

According to the report, RSD58.7 billion was paid from the state budget on July 27, as part of the fourth installment in the procurement of 12 French Rafale warplanes, which has been arranged by President Vucic for a total of EUR2.75 billion. However, according to the commercial contract with the French company Dassault Aviation, the maker of the Rafale, the fourth installment of EUR686.25 million, or 25 percent of the total value, was due on Jan. 29, 2027, which means that Serbia had paid the major portion of the installment (73 percent) six months ahead of schedule and had to pay the remaining 186.25 million by the end of January 2027.