According to the just adopted state budget for 2025, the budget of the Serbian Ministry of Culture will nominally be more than 2,5 billion dinars higher than in 2024, which is a percentage of 0,67 percent, i.e. less than this year - data from the Center for Empirical Studies of Southeast European Culture (CESK).
How is that possible?
This year's budget of the Ministry of Culture is 0,68%. Next year, the funds will be increased by 2.669,091,000 dinars (22,8 million euros), but the state budget has also increased by 422,3 billion dinars, which means that 0,67 percent has been set aside for culture. re-allocated far less than one percent,
In short, Serbia once again set aside less than one percent of the budget for culture.
UNESCO's recommendation, and the goal for which actors of the cultural scene have been advocating for years, is one percent.
In the last ten years, this has not happened even once, the most was set aside for culture in 2022 - 0,78 percent.
In the region, Slovenia is at around two percent, and Croatia is at 1,6 percent with a plan to go to two percent. In terms of money, these are amounts that are two or more times higher than ours, and we are talking about countries that are two or three times less. Even Montenegro is above one percent.
The Ministry of Culture of Serbia will give most of its 17.815.742.000 dinars next year to cultural institutions (64,7 percent), which includes the improvement of the cultural heritage protection system (7,468,750,000) and the strengthening of cultural production and artistic creativity (4,051,429,000).
The Ministry of Culture is also the holder of three projects that are included among the capital expenditures of budget users for the current and the next two budget years, so for the conservation, restoration and presentation of the archaeological site "Caričin grad" in the municipality of Lebane, 2025 million is planned in 166,65. dinars, 900 million is planned for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and adaptation of the former main railway station in Belgrade and the change of its purpose to the building of the History Museum of Serbia, and for the construction of a new 500 million is planned for the building of the Natural History Museum. All three projects belong to the program of improving the cultural heritage protection system.
Source: SEEcult
