Finance minister denies he'll leave cabinet

Finance minister denies he'll leave cabinet

BELGRADE -- Serbian Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic has denied reports that he would leave the cabinet in an upcoming reshuffle.

He told the state broadcaster RTS late on Thursday that he intends to "stay until the end of his mandate," and added:

"It seems there are a lot of idle journalists who should perhaps be better off as our PR advisers in the government, instead of inventing stories. As far as I know, this is an obligation for three more years and that's how long I intend to stay in the government."

The Belgrade-based daily Danas on Wednesday speculated that ministries of finance and economy would merge, and that a Finance Ministry official, Nenad Mijailovic, would be appointed to lead the new department.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic also reacted to the report to say neither Vujovic nor Economy Minister Zeljko Sertic would be replaced.

He stressed that Vujovic was "one of his closest associates," and that he was satisfied with the minister's performance.

"I am embarrassed to even comment on how big an untruth that is," he told reporters in Kolubara, when asked about the media speculation.

He then said there was "no sense in denying such reports every day," and stressed that "world statesmen and international financial institutions supported the budget."

"There is nobody in the world, nobody in the country, no expert, who said anything against the budget. Just don't tell me (Dragan) Sutanovac, Borko Stefanovic and (Zoran) Zivkovic are experts, with their impressive vocabulary," he said, in reference to opposition MPs, and added:

"And now we're supposed to sack the finance minister, who has proven...