Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that VAT revenues totaled 80 billion Dinars on January 15, higher than the expected 68 billion but added that both the national gas supplier Srbijagas and electricity company EPS would need financial assistance soon.

Speaking live on the pro-regime Happy TV the evening before he left for Davos, Vucic said that Srbijagas owes 130 million Euro for gas and that the EPS is asking for another 3 billion Dinars (1 Euro – 117 Dinars) in aid. “We will cover that with a minimum rise in prices,” he said.

Vucic reacted to a story in the Nova daily about his mistreatment of associates who run late saying that he recently threw two ministers and some public company CEOs out of the presidency for being late. He said that some ministers always pass bad news on to him.

Vucic voiced concern over the possible withdrawal of investments, adding that “last year we had 4.416 billion Euro in foreign investments”. “I am worried about investments. I worry a lot. I saw how they pulled out of Russia where they had much greater interests than here,” he said commenting pressure to impose sanctions on Russia. He said that the important thing is for Serbia to remain on the path to the European Union.

He rejected claims that Serbia is the fourth poorest country in Europe saying that the data came from a “fabricated” agency not Eurostat.