Serbia Chops 200 Regulations To Save Economy 200 Mln Euro per Year

“We calculated that by scrapping unnecessary regulations we save the economy some 200 million euro in pointless expenditures,” Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic told the news conference.

“Two-hundred and eight by-laws have been the first to leave our system. They mainly comprise statutes, but there are also many decrees and rulings that have ceased to have effect,” Dinkic said.

Dinkic, who launched the government's anti-red tape Operation Guillotine in September of last year, said at the time the number of laws that make life difficult for investors is in the four digits, some dating as far back as the 1970s.

“We are going to continue with cutting unnecessary red tape that chokes economy in the coming period,” he said, adding that about 600 more by-laws are slated to be either scrapped or modified in the coming weeks while the Operation Guillotine will be completed by the middle of next year.

Instead of filing financial contribution for entrepreneurs through three separate accounts, filling will be done through one, Dinkic said, giving as an example a mdification in a by-law.

Other by-laws that were abandoned as of Thursday include a ruling on hygienic and technical protective measures during work in hemp workshops, dating back to 1947, and a ruling on technical norms for the construction of structures for the production of sea salt enacted in 1978, Dinkic said.

($=0.6613 euro)