Brnabic: Serbia has become full EU member in digital sphere

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said on Thursday Serbia's ICT sector had become one of the three main drivers of economic development in the country in the past six or seven years and that ICT services exports had reached 1.3 bln euros in the first five months of this year, rising by 41 pct y-o-y.

Speaking at a presentation of a Digital Europe programme at the Science and Technology Park in Belgrade, Brnabic said 2022 had been a record year in that regard with ICT exports totalling 2.7 bln euros.

In this sphere, Serbia has practically become a full EU member state, Brnabic said.

"By signing the agreement on participation in the Digital Europe programme at the end of June in Brussels and with this day, which marks our first call to our companies, scientific institutes, faculties, teams and micro and small and medium-sized enterprises to apply with their projects for financing from the Digital Europe programme, we have practically become a full EU member state in this sphere," she said.

Brnabic said she was especially pleased with this as she had been pushing that agenda since 2016, recognising it as Serbia's biggest development potential.

"This is a huge chance for us because I think our talent, knowledge and people are not only not lagging behind EU member states but make us one of the best performers," Brnabic said.

She added that Serbia had a good chance of making use by 2027 of a major portion of 7.5 bln euros set aside by the EU as part of the programme.