March 30 (SeeNews) - Serbia's government plans to provide state aid to power utility EPS, flag carrier Air Serbia and Telekom Srbija to help them deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak, President Aleksandar Vucic said.
"We will strengthen Telekom Srbija, Air Serbia and EPS, which are the pillars of the Serbian economy. In the past, this was considered state aid and direct investment was forbidden as it was in violation of the European competition rules. There is no such thing anymore," Vucic said in a video file posted on the website of private broadcaster TV Prva on Sunday.
"We will do it through the subscription of a capital increase or the purchase of corporate bonds," he noted.
On March 19, Air Serbia suspended all passenger flights as the Serbian government banned international passenger flights at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade and closed the Konstantin Veliki airport in Nis in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease.
In 2013, Etihad Airways signed a deal to acquire 49% of then state-owned Serbia's JAT Airways. The Serbian government owns the remaining 51%.
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