Serbia Gives Belgrade 995.9 Million Dinars From Reserve

Serbia’s government decided on September 16 to transfer 995,875,000 dinars to the City of Belgrade from the current budget reserve, saying the funds were needed to cover obligations “for reasons that could not have been foreseen while the budget was being prepared and adopted, and which could threaten current liquidity.” The decision was published in the Official Gazette the same day. The very next day, the organization Belgrade in Motion said the move showed that Mayor Aleksandar Sapic had driven the capital into financial collapse, even though the city’s budget, after two rebalances this year, now exceeds 200 billion dinars.

Sources do not agree down to the last digit on the exact amount. Forbes Serbia, which published the text of the decision, cites the precise figure of 995,875,000 dinars. Belgrade in Motion, along with N1 and Nova, rounds that in its statement to 995.8 million dinars, while eKapija reports it as 995.9 million.

The money going to Belgrade was originally part of the Ministry of Finance’s budget, earmarked for covering court proceedings. Under a mechanism the government has used in previous years as well, the funds are first pulled from that line item and moved into the current budget reserve, then redistributed from the reserve, this time as a transfer to the City of Belgrade. As is usual in such cases, the decision itself does not spell out the specific reasons behind the liquidity shortfall, only the amount involved and who receives it.

Transfers of reserve funds to Belgrade are nothing new. According to an analysis by Forbes Serbia, cities and municipalities received around 32.1 billion dinars this way between 2019 and 2024, of which 21.4 billion came under this exact same justification: threatened current liquidity.

Belgrade’s 2026 budget originally stood at 190.2 billion dinars. By the end of February, after the first rebalance, it had risen to 193.1 billion, and by the end of June, after the second, to 202.15 billion dinars. The second rebalance was justified by an expectation that the city’s revenues would exceed initial projections, meaning those unforeseen revenues needed to be allocated among the city budget’s beneficiaries.

Belgrade’s financial position has also come up in a report from the International Monetary Fund, which flagged the capital’s finances as one of the fiscal risks to Serbia’s budget. According to the IMF, the government responded by hiring an outside consultant to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the city’s financial position, including key risks and projections for the next three years. The government told the IMF that the consultants’ initial report should be ready in September, meaning this month.

What Belgrade in Motion is saying

Against that backdrop came the statement from Belgrade in Motion. The organization’s representative, Ivan Komarica, argued that a city with a budget exceeding 200 billion dinars should not have to depend on the Republic’s help to cover its day-to-day liquidity.

“Belgrade is not a poor city. If the Republic has to provide money for the current liquidity of a city with a budget of more than 200 billion dinars, then it is clear that we have a serious problem with the way that money is managed,” Komarica said in the statement.

Komarica went on to demand that Sapic explain to Belgraders how the city was brought to this situation, where the money went, how much the city actually owes, what obligations were taken on, and who will be held responsible for them. From there he raised a political demand aimed not at the city government but at the republic authorities.

“That is why one of the first moves of the new Government after a change of power at the republic level must be to create, in accordance with the law, the conditions for introducing a caretaker authority in Belgrade and calling new city elections. A full review of all the City’s contracts, public procurements, debts and financial flows must begin that same day,” Komarica said.

He also said that, in his view, Belgrade does not need more money to paper over the consequences of poor management.

“Belgrade needs new elections, clean books and accountability,” Komarica concluded.

As of publication, the City of Belgrade and Mayor Sapic’s office had not responded to Belgrade in Motion’s claims, nor had they commented on the decision to transfer funds from the budget reserve.

What comes next

The findings of the consultants hired by the government at the IMF’s request are expected during September. That report, according to the government’s own announcement, is meant to show Belgrade’s actual financial position and the key risks for the next three years, a question neither City Hall nor the government has officially answered so far. Until then, every new transfer from the current budget reserve to Belgrade will be read the same way: as confirmation that a city with a budget of more than 200 billion dinars cannot cover its current obligations on its own, without help from the Republic.