The civic watchdog organization “Belgrade on the Move” warned on Thursday that Belgrade has been pushed to the brink of financial insolvency, cautioning that continued mismanagement threatens to “completely wipe out” the city’s finances.
Oglas
The organization said that Belgrade’s projected 2026 budget deficit stands at 82.6 million euro, while outstanding loan obligations for principal and interest payments total 62.2 million euro.
“According to the initial budget structure, a staggering 82.5 percent of funds are allocated for operating expenses, leaving a meager 17.5 percent for capital investments. Belgrade no longer has a growth-oriented budget but a consumption-heavy budget that is struggling to bear the weight of accumulated liabilities,” the organization said.
Nikola Radin, the executive director of Belgrade on the Move, said that city leadership has managed to transform one of the largest municipal budgets in Serbia into a mechanism for its own political survival.
“By the end of the year, outstanding debts owed to suppliers by city-owned public utility companies will exceed 272.6 million euro, forcing the national government to intervene just to keep the city liquid,” Radin noted.
He added that critical infrastructure projects - such as a long-delayed wastewater treatment plant - are being shelved, but that millions are being funneled into projects of “highly questionable merit.”
“This is no longer a matter of poor priorities; it is a question of the city's fundamental ability to clear its debts,” Radin warned.
Teme