pressoffice by households and businesses to make payments. digital central bank money would surely address the decline in the use of paper money without the complications of creating the protections required around stablecoins? yes and no is i suspect the answer. the question is a good one and should be considered ( and is being so ) but the answer is not in yet. it ’ s a very big question. offering a cbdc would allow broad access to central bank money in a digital form. but any launch of a cbdc requires careful prior consideration to fully explore all the issues and implications in order to make an informed decision, including ascertaining that there would be demand for such a thing. cbdc, whilst offering much potential, also raises profound questions about the shape of the financial system and the implications for monetary and financial stability and the role of the central bank. there are fundamental questions in play. what might a cbdc mean for monetary policy transmission – would it bring new tools and fuller, faster transmission of policy choices? to what extent would a cbdc ‘ disintermediate ’ the banking sector, and what impact would this have on the cost and availability of credit, and the resilience of banking business models and funding? and what services and infrastructure should a central bank offer as part of a cbdc and what might best be left to the private sector? the paper from brookings in july on ‘ design choices for cbdc ’ helpfully explored a number of these issues, as well as key technological points on the need for interoperability and connectivity between and among central and commercial bank systems for cbdc to function effectively. 8 such standards are even more important in a world where there might be a need for interoperability and friction - free movement between cbdc, private stablecoins and other payment mechanisms. we, along with international counterparts are considering these closely. the bank of england is exploring these issues and published its discussion paper on cbdc earlier this year, 9 setting out key considerations and an illustrative model based on a central bank core ledger and private payment interface providers offering overlay services to users. the paper received a wide range of responses. we are currently working through the responses, continuing to engage with stakeholders and look forward to setting out more information next year. we are also working closely with our international counterparts who are facing the same questions. stablecoins and cbdc are not necessarily mutually exclusive. depending on design choices, they could sit alongside

we project two - digit growth of the goods and services export in the coming years. chart 7 current account and fdi projection chart 8 budget balance and general government public debt ( in % of gdp ) ( in % of gdp ) - 2 - 4 - 5 - 10 - 6 - 8 - 15 - 20 2021 * 2022 * 2023 * secondary income primary income services goods current account fdi source : nbs. * nbs projection. - 10 2022 * 2024 * general government public debt ( l. s. ) maastricht public debt criterion budget balance ( r. s. ) source : ministry of finance. * * projection from the revised fiscal strategy for 2022 with projections for 2023 and 2024. as regards the fiscal balance, the projected deficit of 4. 9 % of gdp this year is more favourable than initially anticipated, as a result of faster economic growth and positive labour market trends. it is expected to narrow further to 3 % in 2022, and to turn into a surplus in the medium term, despite the fact that sizeable funds will continue to be channelled into infrastructure projects. this will put public debt on a sustainable downward path as of next year and contain it below the maastricht criterion. the ministry of finance estimates that public debt will amount to around 58 % of gdp at the end of the year. in the face of all challenges, the national bank of serbia has managed to increase fx reserves, as a guarantee of the domestic economy ’ s stability and resilience to external shocks, to record high levels. since the beginning of the year, gross fx reserves increased by eur 2. 8 bn, to 16. 3 bn at end - october, covering around six months ’ worth of the import of goods and services, which is twice higher than the reserve adequacy standard. ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, at the end of today ’ s address, i would like to conclude that numerous challenges from the international environment are ahead us and that the future will continue to put countries to test in terms of their readiness to face up to volatile and rather unpredictable global conditions. economic policies able to cushion the shocks arising from energy prices and significant volatility of primary agricultural commodity prices will continue to be required. overcoming the supply chain disruptions, as well as all transportlogistics circumstances that burden the global economy, will also be a challenge. what helped us a lot in navigating this crisis is that for