BELGRADE – On Wednesday, December 23^rd, 2015, the Government of Serbia and NALED, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have presented the National Program for Countering the Shadow Economy, adopted by the Government of Serbia on December 17, 2015.  Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, U.S. Ambassador, Michael Kirby, German Ambassador, Axel Dittmann, and President of NALED's Managing Board Vladan Atanasijević opened the conference. 

According to NALED, the shadow economy deprives the Serbian budget of eight million EUR every day.  The State’s loses would be sufficient for every local government in Serbia to receive a new primary health care center (609 million EUR), reconstruct and equip all general and specialized hospitals (439 million EUR), finance the salaries of firefighters, police and doctors (963 million EUR), and cut the budget deficit in half.   

The National Program is the Government's first strategic document to recommend measures to reduce illegal business practices and informal employment. The development of the Program involved more than 100 stakeholders from the public and private sector, non-government organizations (NGO) and relevant experts.  Recommended measures include raising citizen awareness on the negative effects of shadow economy, better inspection systems, and more efficient processing of business violations and offenses.   

NALED through the Competitiveness Support Project in Serbia funded by USAID played a key role in developing the National Program and will continue to support its implementation.