Serbia Budget Revision 2026: Mali 980.6M, Vucic 968M

The revision projects public debt at 43.8% of GDP at the central government level, or 44.2% at the general government level. On August 21, Mali cited a current figure of 43.7% of GDP, which refers to the present level rather than the year end projection. The government also said it had revised its projection for average inflation in 2026 downward, to 3.4%, explaining:

“More favorable price movements since the start of the year have created room for a slight downward revision of the average inflation projection,” the government said in its statement.

Who gets the money

Alongside the revision, the government also finalized a draft law on mitigating the effects of the energy crisis and rising living costs, which sets out one time financial support and a one time cash payment. Retirees whose August 2026 pension was up to 31,092.11 dinars will receive 35,000 dinars; those with pensions between 31,092.12 and 56,822 dinars will receive 27,500 dinars; and retirees with pensions above 56,822 dinars will receive 20,000 dinars. Mali said this payment would begin on September 14.

Recipients of child allowance, cash social assistance and veteran allowance will receive 25,000 dinars each, while veterans who are not veteran allowance recipients will receive 10,000 dinars. All adult citizens of Serbia will also receive 6,000 dinars: according to Mali, the payment is scheduled for September 22 to 25, and anyone who does not receive it automatically will be able to apply online through the Treasury Administration portal between September 7 and 21. Mali stressed:

“It is important that all citizens of Serbia, all adults, receive that money, as we promised,” the minister said.

The revision also allocates nearly 30 billion dinars more for healthcare, including for rare diseases, innovative medicines, the Tirsova 2 project, the University Clinical Center of Vojvodina and the clinical center in Kragujevac. Social protection receives 25 billion dinars, mainly for the Alimony Fund and implementation of the law on parent caregivers.

Revision also reaches parliament

The same morning, at 10 a.m. on August 21, the draft revision also reached the Committee on Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy of the National Assembly, at its 23rd session in the House of the National Assembly on Nikola Pasic Square. The committee reviewed a report on the work of the Ministry of Economy, and a ministry representative said the revision includes funds for Belgrade’s public transport, support for building a new bus station, and additional funds for the Expo 2027 project, entrepreneurs and business infrastructure development.

Individual measures from the aid package, such as the one time payment to retirees, have been reported on before. This is the first time the full value of the revision and its macroeconomic projections have been laid out in full, and the first time the official figures for its value have differed depending on who is citing them.