Only in December 2025 in the budget of Serbia a deficit of 1,63 billion euros was made, Vlada has broken all previous records in spending money. Such data, although not yet officially published, was obtained by "Radar".
In the same month, National Bank of Serbia defended the exchange rate of the dinar, intervened on the foreign exchange market and extracted 825 million euros from the foreign exchange reserves.
And while there are no official data on budget expenses for December, Ministry of Finance announced recently that from the beginning of January to the end of November last year, the deficit in the state coffers was only 79,6 billion dinars and that "it is 114,4 billion dinars better than the budget plan, given that the planned deficit is 194 billion dinars".
However, when the December data are added to that, the picture will be completely different.
Why did it cost so much?
An economist explains to "Vreme" that these are the usual expenses for the end of the year Saša Đogović.
"These are payments that were prolonged until the last month of last year for certain capital investments, especially in connection with Expo. We are talking about delays and prolongation of the payment, and generally, as a rule, this is transferred to the penultimate and last month of the year. There was no extraordinary allocation of funds, but no payment was made in the past part of the year and those funds were paid in the last month of 2025," says Đogović.
The data, which looks pompous, actually shows the essence of the economic policy of this government - it is late with obligations for capital investments, while previously relatively good data are presented.
When it comes to the previous period of 2025, that is, the data announced by the Ministry of Finance, these are artificially good results.
"There were no payments, they were postponed until the end of the year, and then when the balance is settled, the true state of affairs is obtained," says Đogović.
And where did the foreign exchange reserves go?
Foreign exchange reserves were spent to stabilize the exchange rate - it is also clear National Bank of Serbia and profession.
According to the NBS report, 825 million euros were withdrawn from reserves in December, of which 45 million euros were sales contracted in November.
The sale of EUR 780 million was contracted and completed by the NBS in December, and the main reason for this was the intervention on the domestic foreign exchange market.
As they answered for "Danas" from this financial institution, about the reduction foreign exchange reserves primarily influenced by the interventions of the NBS on the domestic foreign exchange market in order to preserve the relative stability of the exchange rate of the dinar against the euro, in the amount of 825 million euros.
"When it comes to movements on the domestic foreign exchange market, the increased demand for foreign exchange in December was partly of a seasonal nature, due to the increased demand for foreign exchange from domestic companies, primarily energy importers, as well as for the payment of dividends to non-resident owners of domestic banks and companies", they explained in the answer to "Danasu".
The economist and former governor of the NBS believes that the reserves were used precisely for those purposes Dejan Soskic.
"Imbalances in the current part of the balance of payments are covered by borrowing, asset sales and foreign exchange reserves in order to maintain the exchange rate. If the exchange rate were allowed to form at an equilibrium level, it is a way to close the deficit. When you have a fixed exchange rate, as it is in Serbia, then it has to be financed from somewhere. The price of a fixed exchange rate cannot be avoided, it can only be more or less visible, and it is fundamentally solved by a competitive economy," he explains. Soskic.
Such situations are also covered by foreign direct investments, but they were in record decline last year.
Why was the exchange rate destabilized?
The exchange rate came to an unstable position in December, followed by sanctions against the Serbian oil industry and a higher demand for euros.
That is why foreign exchange reserves were invested in the defense of the exchange rate, says economist Saša Đogović.
"With direct interventions on the domestic foreign exchange market, the National Bank of Serbia influenced the increase in the supply of foreign currency and thus prevented a significant slippage in the value of the domestic currency when there was an increased demand for foreign currency and due to the psychosis that was created in the public, but also due to the increased purchase of energy sources, i.e. oil derivatives", says Đogović.
Of course, there was an outflow due to debt relief on the basis of loans and other obligations, but most of it went to stabilize the exchange rate.
The outflow, he adds, would have been even greater if there had not been an influx of guest workers and tourists for the New Year.
"They increased the inflow of foreign currency in the last week of December," Đogović concludes.
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