National Bank of Serbia Governor Tabaković sets out inflation, stability and fiscal sustainability priorities at IMF–World Bank European outlook meeting

The National Bank of Serbia reported that Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković represented Serbia at an International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group meeting on the European economic outlook focused on Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Discussions covered how policy should respond to a changing global environment, with Tabaković pointing to a balanced macroeconomic policy mix as a medium-term priority to return inflation to target, preserve financial stability and open new trade opportunities. She also highlighted deeper European Union integration and national-level structural reforms as levers to raise productivity, incomes and resilience, and framed long-term fiscal sustainability as requiring fiscal consolidation alongside public sector reforms and growth-enhancing measures. On fiscal challenges, she argued that coordinated monetary and fiscal policy and implemented reforms left Serbia better positioned for the COVID-19 crisis than in 2008–2009, enabled fiscal stimulus while limiting increases in public debt, and helped return public debt to a downward trajectory from 2021, which she described as among the more favourable in Central and Southeastern Europe; she also pointed to cautious reference rate adjustments, relative dinar-euro exchange rate stability and record foreign exchange reserves as supporting disinflation and macro-financial stability. The European outlook meeting is held regularly during the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings and Annual Meetings.