The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that Serbia will have modest economic growth in 2012 totaling 1.5 percent, as three of the country's main trade partners - Germany, Italy and Bosnia-Herzegovina, will face recession and economic stagnation next year, IMF Resident Representative in Belgrade Bogdan Lissovolik has stated.

He underlined in an interview for the Sunday edition of the Belgrade daily Politika that the prognosis for Serbia's economic growth in 2012 is based on stagnation in revival in the entire eurozone and fractional recession in Italy.

However, if the eurozone had negative growth rates and recession in Italy was deeper than expected, the prognosis for Serbia would become too optimistic, the IMF representative underlined.

According to Lissovolik, the IMF will monitor the situation and analyze all developments.

It is important for the creators of the economic policy in Serbia to react adequately and keep the fiscal situation under control, he added.

The budget deficit in Serbia next year should be under 4.5 percent, which the maximum limit proscribed by the law, in case the economic growth is lower than expected, given that public finances have to be under control, Lissovolik said.

He noted that the level of public debt in Serbia is quite high, and therefore if the economic growth is lower than expected, we will have on one hand a formula which envisages an increase in deficit, and on the other a limit in financing and the level of public debt.

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