CorD Magazine No.60 by CorD Magazine

CorD, MAY 2009

13 POLITICS & DIPLOMACY

CONTINUED ISOLATION

Comment By Čedomir Jovanović, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party

CRISIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY

Interview: Aleksandar Radosavljević, FIC Chairman and CEO of Carlsberg

Srbija

CRISIS UP TO 2011

Zoran Petrović, Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board of Raiffeisen bank a.d

GROUP OF 192

General Assembly agrees on terms of UN summit on ﬁnancial crisis

COERCED MEASURES

Interview: Vladimir Gligorov, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies

MANAGING DIRECTOR Tatjana Ostojić, t.ostojic@cma.rs EDITOR IN CHIEF Vladan Alimpijević, v.alimpijevic@cma.rs EXECUTIVE EDITOR Mark R. Pullen ASSOCIATE EDITOR Richard Wordsworth, r.wordsworth@cma.rs ART DIRECTOR Tamara Ivljanin, t.ivljanin@cma.rs EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Jelena Jovanović, Ljubodrag Stojadinović, Sonja Ćirić, Jelena Mickić, Irina Marković, Vanja Mekterović, Dejan Jeremić PHOTO Marko Rupena, Slobodan Jotić, CorD Archive, Fonet TRANSLATORS Snežana Bjelotomić, Milenko Pećanac, Milica Kuburu, Momčilo Drakulić, Jelena Gledić EDITORIAL MANAGER Tanja Banković, t.bankovic@cma.rs PROJECT MANAGER Janja Gnjatović, j.gnjatovic@cma.rs SALES EXECUTIVE Marija Urošević, m.urosevic@cma.rs, Biljana Jocović, b.jocovic@cma.rs SALES MANAGER

4 CorD 60 / May 2009

KOSOVO EU BOUND, ALONGSIDE SERBIA AND BOSNIA

Interview: Azem Vllasi, future Ambassador of Kosovo in Montenegro

EMOTIONAL INVITATION FOR A SUMMER HOLIDAY

Global crisis & tourism in Montenegro

HOW TO COMPETE AND WIN

ITALY’S WESTERN BALKANS EIGHT-POINT PLAN

STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

Interview: H.E. Alessandro Merola, Italian Ambassador to Serbia

BUSINESS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

Interview: Dr. Philip Kotler, “father” of modern marketing

Where your online business dreams are made

SOCIETY

JOB LOSS FEAR GRIPS THE GLOBE

The G20 summit failed to dispel the fear caused by the global economic

crisis

BANKING SECTOR IS THE MOST STABLE SEGMENT

Draginja Djurić, President of the Executive Board of Banca Intesa

Ivana Paripović i.paripovic@cma.rs GENERAL MANAGER Ivan Novčić, i.novcic@cma.rs FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Ana Besedić, a.besedic@cma.rs PRINTING Rotografika d.o.o DISTRIBUTION / Futura Plus CorD is published by: alliance intrenational media Knjeginje Zorke 11b, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Phone: +(381 11) 308 99 77, 308 99 88 Fascimile: +(381 11) 244 81 27 E-mail: cordeditorial@cma.rs www.cordmagazine.com ISSN no: 1451-7833 All rights reserved alliance international media 2009

This issue is audited by

ABC Serbia

FACES & PLACES

Minister Milutin Mrkonjić opened the Belgrade International Construction Fair

SPORT

FRIENDSHIP THROUGH SPORT

The Belgrade Banca Intesa Marathon

CULTURE & ART

EVERY NIGHT IN A DIFFERENT TOWN

Interview: David Albahari, author

EXIT FESTIVAL 2009

Stay tuned

SPEED 2

Belgrade Design Week 2009

comment

Continued isolation

“This is the only pro-European government that adopts its economic measures in total isolation, without consulting the key ‘players’ that will actually implement those measures”

he government of Mirko Cvetković is the only government on the planet that presents its economic measures to its people at random press conferences with journalists that are not given an opportunity to pose appropriate questions. This is the only pro-European government that adopts its economic measures in total isolation, without consulting the key ‘players’ that will actually implement those measures. This government was the last in Serbia to comprehend that it was necessary to reach an agreement with the IMF, though it then used this agreement as an opportunity to find a new culprit for everything that hasn’t, but should have, been done in the country. People are now under the impression that their salaries will not go up; that they are going to lose their jobs because of the IMF; that pensions are not going to be any higher and that we won’t be able to implement projects because of others and not us. It looks like the IMF is also to blame for the previous two governments not being competent enough to use the best five years in the global economy to the country’s advantage. The State displays a complete lack of readiness to change its dayto-day existence of seeking explanations to use as an excuse for not achieving results and failing to develop a society that is actually in control of its everyday life. Although this is an overly harsh definition of today’s Serbia, it is the only right definition. We cannot close our eyes to all the negative features of this government that has forsaken the interests of its citizens in favour of satisfying its own. There is no clear political vision, no courage to tell the country the truth about the current situation and no aptitude to share the responsibility for running the country with its citizens. It seems that we are under the impression that cutting back on MPs’ per diem allowances and having fewer and cheaper meals in the parliament’s canteen will solve all the country’s problems. Simultaneously, our in economy is deteriorating because of missed opportunities. The privatisation process has halted; there is no partnership with those who work. The government addresses the nation from Kopaonik Mountain and poorly directed events, but has no courage to face those that ought to create things. The government needs to demonstrate its willingness to become more efficient and this cannot be done by transferring the burden of crisis onto budget beneficiaries. The first prerequisite for finding the right response to the crisis is having an EFFICIENT SERBIA. An efficient Serbia has 12 ministries, unlike the current coalition government that seemingly has as many ministries as its various political parties desire. The second mechanism is to establish new regional partnerships and find a regional reaction to the challenges we face. Today, we are at odds with all of our neighbouring countries: we have cut off diplomatic relations with Montenegro and Macedonia, while Croatia is the only country where our economy can count on generating 6 CorD 60 / May 2009

a surplus. We have closed Kosovo for our products. A state cannot properly exercise economic policy while ignoring something as important as that. The crisis is not going to be resolved by putting the middle class, i.e. the healthiest section of the society, under pressure. The crucial element is helping the middle class to develop. Tycoons are not interested in changes – they feel just fine as things are – while those who are below the middle class want things to go back to the old ways. We need to protect SMEs and the workers unions that have been ignored by this government. We need to say that taxes will be reduced and that we are going to stimulate export by not constricting the borders of our country. We want the government to give us 100 days for Europe. This is what we asked for in November last year – 100 days of the European Agenda in Serbia, 100 days of efficient adoption of laws that are actually going to be implemented By Čedomir and not the laws that are going to Jovanović, end up in someone’s drawer, 100 leader of the Liberal days to develop institutional life Democratic Party (LDP) in the country. Along with reforming policies, we want to create a NEW ECONOMY! We need to insist on the expansion of economic measures and defining this country’s political moves and priorities, where reforms will make sense again so that Serbia can become the country that its citizens voted for on 11th May last year. A set of economic measures needs to be extended to include precisely defined and designated measures to support our economy, as opposed to merely promoting savings measures. This essentially means that we need to re-define the way we calculate and collect VAT. At the moment, the economy is funding the state budget by paying VAT in advance, i.e. when a company delivers goods to a buyer it has to immediately pay VAT and than wait for the buyer to pay for the delivered goods. In this time of crisis, when everybody is late with payments, only the state is collecting taxes in advance. This has to be changed! Furthermore, for the past two years we have been proposing a twocurrency system that would enable our economy to operate in a more rational financial manner and would provide more stability and security. Economic and political measures need to be implemented simultaneously. We need to speak openly about the European agenda and offer an efficient plan for expediting the European integration process and unblocking Serbia’s admission to NATO. We should not be an isolated and desolated island in the middle of Europe.

INTERVIEW |

Aleksandar RadosavljeviÄ&#x2021;, CEO of Carlsberg Srbija & FIC Chairman

Crisis as an

8 CorD 60 / May 2009

opportunity The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) is one of the biggest and most prestigious business associations in Serbia

s of this year, the CEO of Carlsberg Srbija is also the new Chairman of FIC, following the departure of Telenor’s Stein-Erik Vellan. In an interview conducted by CorD’s editor-in-chief, Aleksandar Radosavljević talks about the postcrisis that will come period with notable optimism. Talking about the possibility of transforming the crisis into an opportunity for the country, Radosavljević points out that now is the time to continue the reform process that will provide a successful exit from the crisis.

There are reports that certain foreign investors are backing down from plans to invest in Serbia. Is this a result of the crisis taking hold in their native countries or the fact that they simply don’t trust the Serbian market? Generally speaking, the crisis has gripped almost all countries and spared nobody. Most companies that are operational in Serbia have branched out to other countries too, aside from operating in their ‘native’ countries – if such a term really exists in today’s business world: multinational companies no longer have a homeland country. New investments are assessed according to the location of the business or the invest-

ment, as opposed to being assessed according to where the capital originates from. The crisis in our native countries doesn’t have a decisive influence on investing in Serbia. Certain countries have reacted differently to the crisis and the crisis has manifested differently in these countries. We can see that Western Europe, due to the wealth accumulated there, has a range of tools to fight the crisis in a more creative manner. In Eastern Europe, though, things are somewhat different and Serbia is reacting to the crisis in accordance with its economic strength. We are gravitating more towards the East and the countries that have taken their first development steps. The possibilities of responding directly to the crisis are quite limited in Serbia. The measures that foreign companies apply do not strictly relate to their general business operations, but are rather adapted to the tangible situation in Serbia. Do you have any knowledge of concrete examples of new (greenfield) investments being postponed or companies giving up on existing investments all together? Both are on a standby at the moment, but I have to say that greenfield investments are always more demanding, since they represent an entrance onto a market and, globally speaking, companies are more cautious with

I N S TA B I L I T Y

F I C

“ W H I T E BO O K ”

During the fourth quarter of last year we faced certain instability in the banking sector.

At FIC we always look at the broader context. We don’t work on a case-bycase basis...

The FIC recommendations to the state have been more concrete than those of domestic companies. CorD 60 / May 2009 9

INTERVIEW |

We have often heard people say that the dinar is not high enough or is higher than it needs to be, but I think that it is more important to keep exchange rate fluctuations at bay

new investments, aside from being decidedly prudent in their estimates. Quite a few investors have already arrived in Serbia and all of them plan to invest long term. On the other hand, you have to consider the way a market develops and gauge the level of your investment according to that. Bearing in mind that CEFTA has been signed in the meantime, the Serbian market now has a completely different demographic – one that is larger than Serbia itself – and very often the aforementioned investments in Serbia actually cover the entire region. Serbia is still working on amplifying its trade relations – primarily with Belarus, the Ukraine and Turkey – and this is how you increase the potential of your investments. It is true that some investments planned for this year have been postponed. According to data released by the FIC, between $700 and $800 million worth of investments en-

THE MAN BEHIND THE FIC

leksandar Radosavljević was born in 1969 in Milan, Italy. He graduated from the London School of Business. His professional career started in Allied Domecq (Pernod Ricard), where he held several middle and top management positions. In 2007, he took over the position of Deputy CEO of the Carlsberg Srbija Group (Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro) and since February 2008 Aleksandar has been the CEO of Carlsberg Srbija. He has been the President of the International Advertising Association since June 2006. 10 CorD 60 / May 2009

visaged for this year have been postponed. Now we are waiting to see which direction both the market and the crisis will take. This is not about companies giving up on investing all together, but rather merely a deferral. Investment plans have already been devised and credit lines needed for their implementation secured. Simply put, now is just not the best time to implement these investments, since demand has reduced markedly. The assumption is that we are going to have a much clearer picture of the whole investment cycle come autumn, since by then we will know more about how long the crisis might last and how intense it will be. Has the FIC carried out specific analyses of the anticipated next wave of crisis? There are many different companies in the Council. Some members saw demand for their products and services reduced long before others; we all have different experiences on the same market, as well as different experiences in the companies that we come from. The good thing is that we can exchange these experiences and present each other with measures that companies can apply. We are all going to have to change the way we behaved. Productivity, efficiency and all other postulates associated with business development need to be applied in a stricter fashion. According to one theory, during times of crisis a company should concentrate on reducing costs and even laying off employees, while finding a more complex solution to the crisis is very different. Some companies were faced with a situation where they just had to lay

off a certain number of their workers, but the FIC members generally see redundancies as the last resort to changing their company’s business performance. We also think that investing in new technologies and acquiring new technological processes yielded visible results several years back. We have been investing a lot in personnel and improving their skills: when I say “we” I mean both domestic and foreign investors. This is probably the most precious capital that a company can possess, since it is easy to get machines and technologies, but to train people is much harder and requires time. Hence, redundancies are not the first thing that comes to mind, since nobody wants to lose the capital value they bring. What is your view of the economic measures devised by the Serbian government and in which way will these measures affect the way foreign companies operate? There are virtually three levels of government measures. Actually, all companies, whether domestic or foreign, have had to deal with expenditure issues. Just as we had to cut back on our expenses, so the state has to do likewise for a very simple reason: the expected revenue will not be sufficient enough to cover state expenses. This was expected and both the economy and citizens of Serbia ought to salute these measures. When it comes to income issues, there have been certain suggestions on how to increase it. The general problem is that in order to increase income you need to impose a heavier financial burden. For example, increasing taxes on phone calls is a burden that will be shared by companies and consumers alike. However, I’m not clear as to how this system is going to be implemented. What could happen is for telecommunication service providers to become confused and uncertain about what to do. The state will have to provide some kind of rational explanation soon about how is all of this going to be car-

The annual FIC White Book is presented publicly each year and attracts leaders of business and politics in Serbia. Here PM Cvetkovic speaks at the 2008 launch

ried out, since the rules that have been applied so far are going to be drastically changed. With regard to taxes – and there are several kinds of them mentioned in this set of measures – the overall opinion is that they should be applied as late as possible. It would be better to work on existing tax revenues, since relevant officials claim that tax collection is unsatisfactory. Companies and citizens could show solidarity in this matter in terms of being socially responsible by paying their taxes. We should not put additional pressure on domestic and foreign companies that pay their taxes regularly, while those companies which have been failing to pay their taxes continue doing so. Operating under equal conditions should be fully implemented now and we need tougher control of budget income. The state still hasn’t come up with the amount owed in back taxes and I am quite certain that this amount is by no means negligible. So, this is what should be collected first and then a decision should maybe be taken in favour of imposing additional financial obligations. There is also the so-called luxury tax, which has more of a political dimension than an economic one. This is something that it is unimportant for the biggest investors, since it is not

RANGE OF TOOLS We can see that Western Europe, due to the wealth accumulated there, has a range of tools to ﬁght the crisis in a more creative manner.

Serbia will continue attracting investments in the future too, primarily because this country is no longer treated as a market unto itself, but rather as a regional investment hub really relevant to the business sector.

lack of time or consensus.

Do you think that the crisis can be viewed as an opportunity? The crisis not only presents a chance for individual companies, but the society as a whole. At times when we need to change they way we operate and maybe even live, this is an excellent opportunity to carry out reforms in a much deeper and stricter manner. Now is the time to reach an overall consensus about reforms. We have a chance to conduct more serious reforms and to finish what was started after the year 2000. This is a chance to come out of the crisis with altered economic predispositions and performances. This crisis will subside, there is no doubt about that, but the question remains how long it will last. Now is the time to contemplate what we are going to be like after the crisis, both in terms of the state and individual companies. We should not waste any time and delay things that can be done now but weren’t done before due to a

What is your opinion about measures applied by the National Bank of Serbia, particularly those regarding the maintaining of the stability of the foreign currency exchange rate? I have one word for you: stability. This is what the economy needs. During the fourth quarter of last year and the first two months of this year, we’ve been faced with certain instability that has transcended the banking system and resulted in the emergence of very negative projections. The fact remains that the banking system in Serbia is solidly put together. Banks have shown great understanding for this situation, though it is undeniable that the foreign currency exchange rate is not stable enough and that is actually something that the economy wants. We have often heard people say that the dinar is not high enough or is higher than it needs to be, but I don’t think that is crucial for businesses. It is more important to keep

DENMARK There is disproportion between the size of the country and the strength of Danish companies that have been achieving remarkable results.

POST-CRISIS ERA This crisis will subside, but the question remains how long it will last. Now is the time to contemplate what we are going to be like after. CorD 60 / May 2009 11

INTERVIEW |

the exchange rate fluctuations at bay, which is what has been happening lately. Does the government heed suggestions made by foreign investors? The first White Book was written in 2003 and the book has been updated every year since. Some topics have appeared in several editions, since nothing has been done by the Government following these recommendations. On the other hand, Serbia has achieved remarkable results in some areas. In terms of current developments, we have been actively communicating with the government in the last three weeks and have been under the impression that things have been moving towards simplifying administrative procedures within the process widely known as the regulatory guillotine. Analyses have been carried out and we expect these talks to yield results soon. How would you evaluate Carlsberg’s business results in Serbia during the first quarter of this year? We have never been content with the current situation, since our aspirations are extremely high. The first quarter of this year was somewhat different than the period when we first came to this market. Our company, along with the entire beer industry, has achieved exceptional development results during recent years. Carlsberg has invested over US$160 million in Serbia so far. This is a typical example of how the whole industry performed and proof that this market has a future. Beer consumption did drop in the first quarter of this year, which is partly a result of the crisis and partly because demand for beer is always weaker in this period. The beer industry in Serbia is in the hands of three big companies that have an 85% market share, which means that this market is a quite consolidated. We have a large competitor that holds 50% of the market, but their position and the way they addressed the crisis differed greatly from us. When Carlsberg acquired the Čelarevo Brewery we had a seven per cent market share, but now we hold a quarter of the market. Our response to everything that has been going on and our plans are different to our competitors’. There is also a third challenger and that is Heineken, which completed its acquisition last year. They have been investing heavily in this country and we are going to see this through new brands and portfo12 CorD 60 / May 2009

spirit. There is quite a disproportion between the size of the country and the strength of Danish companies that have been achieving remarkable results.

We should not put additional pressure on domestic and foreign companies that pay their taxes regularly, while those companies which have been failing to pay their taxes continue doing so lios. They acquired much needed production capacities via a purchase, so their strategy is going to differ from ours. So, all of us are going to react in various ways, but the rest of the beer industry will have some trouble trying to catch up with the plans of the three biggest breweries. The fact remains that demand has fallen by 10%, there are problems with trading and distribution so the “game” that have been “played” for some time now are going to become even tougher. Danish managers are among the most renowned and best paid managers in the world. Carlsberg originates from Denmark and most managers are Danish. If you have a look at Denmark’s economy parameters you will see that the country does take a high position, since they view competitiveness as being much more important than economic performances. Denmark is a small country, but when it comes to economic competitiveness it takes fourth place worldwide. Such a result was achieved not because Denmark has a lot of highly educated people, but because it nurtures a specific lifestyle and entrepreneurial

Can you look at the situation in Serbia from a bystander’s point of view, bearing in mind that you were born, educated and lived abroad? Have you managed to fit in here? For the past 20 years I have been working in Serbia, but I did get my first job in England. This first encounter with work was an entirely different experience. I had been lucky to find a job in a large alcoholic beverage producer in 1997, which decided early on to come to Serbia. This is the first time I saw the corporate way of doing things, where I complied with certain work ethics and employer requirements. There are many good companies that have been raising the level of management quality in Serbia. In the beginning, most companies bring in an ex-pat to put a foreign division on its feet, as well as to recruit new gifted managers that will take over the work once they leave. Now we have quite a few local managers that are carrying out the most responsible tasks in multinational companies. As Chairman of the Foreign Investors Council, do you think that there is a difference in the way domestic and foreign companies are treated in this country? Everybody should receive the same treatment. Regardless of the origin of the capital, we are all domestic companies with capital that is actually international. Such distinctions, globally speaking, are very argumentative. None of us should have privileges and I am certain that foreign investors have none. What we are trying to do is to give recommendations that are, after all, written in the White Book and to transfer the know-how we gained on the basis of experiences we had in our parent companies. As an association, we always have to look at a broader context. We are not working on a case-by-case basis, but rather a general business environment. We are trying to bring things to Serbia that have proven good in other countries in a very concrete and fair way. We are always aiming to implement these beneficial elements throughout the entire business system, to Serbia’s benefit.

financial comment

Crisis up to 2011 The global crisis is still progressing and there is no light looming on the horizon yet

he main field of the crisis has switched from the banking industry to the real sector of economy and decrease in aggregate demand. Prospects for the world economy are gloomy. IMF projected global economic growth to contract by 0.5% to 1% in 2009. It is expected that advanced economies will shrink from 3% to 3,5% on an average annual basis, while emerging European economies could drop by 2.5%. Emerging economies are facing sharp decrease in external demand, tighter financing conditions and plunging commodity prices.

One of the main challenges for Eastern Europe is ﬁnancing the current account deﬁcit while foreign direct investments and cross-border loans have dried up. The situation in Serbia is relatively stable The industries most affected by the crisis are the auto industry, construction industry, and other closely associated commodities (steel industry, etc). Some positive indicators have been noted in the US economy,

C urrencies to EUR 1 0 . 0 4 . 2 0 0 9 0 1 . 1 0 . 0 8 to 1 0 . 0 4 . 0 9 Serbia (RSD) 93,8889 -1 8 , 4 2 % C roatia (HRK) 7,3747 -3 , 6 3 % C zech (C ZK) 26,4546 -7 , 3 9 % Hungary (HUF) 290,3100 -1 6 , 5 9 % Poland (PLN ) 4,3673 -2 2 , 2 4 % Romania (RO N ) 4,1319 -9 , 2 2 % Rusia(RUB) 44,1103 -1 8 , 0 7 % Ukraina (UAH) 10,5528 -3 2 , 2 3 % N ote: In calculations we used last price on day whilst for RSD it is N BS' s daily average rate Prices on April 10 are cut at 16:20

but they are very limited and have emerged in specific zones. Consequently, the indicators are far from optimistic and are not definite signals of the crisis’ ending. The freshest projections have confirmed that the close of the crisis could be expected in 2011. One of the main challenges for Eastern Europe is how to finance the current account deficit while foreign direct investments and cross-border loans dried up. The situation in Serbia is relatively stable. The M1/M2 are covered with a solid amount of foreign currency reserves and there is a high probZoran Petrović, ability that foreign banks will comDeputy Chairman of mit to continue keeping exposure the Managing Board to Serbia. The agreement with foreign banks will leave more room Raiffeisen bank a.d for further monetary policy easing. In comparison with the other countries in the region, the main characteristic is a highly capitalised banking sector, due to the restrictive monetary policy and low level of citizens’ indebtedness. The dinar has depreciated versus the euro, but if one compares that percentage with the level of depreciation of other currencies in the region, he will come to the conclusion that it is a regional trend. Of course, the devaluation has caused the increase of 2 0 0 9 ytd the rate of default payments, but the rate -5 , 6 3 % is still very low, even in comparison to EU 0,00% countries, especially in the consumer 1,32% banking sector. -8 , 5 5 % Raiffeisen banka is well known for its very -5 , 0 3 % professional and, to a certain degree, -2 , 4 7 % conservative risk management. -3 , 4 4 % Thanks to such a credit policy pursued 3,32% in the past, Raiffeisen banka now has a portfolio of very good quality. The increase of the rate of default payments is below average.

CorD 60 / May 2009 13

ECONOMICS |

General Assembly agrees on terms of UN summit on financial crisis

GROUP OF 192 The UN will convene a global summit in June to assess the impact of the world economic crisis on development

ith global economic misery escalating, the United Nations General Assembly called for a global financial crisis meeting in June that it hopes will in-

volve the leaders of all its members. The General Assembly approved the plans by consensus in New York. Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann appealed to all leaders of the 192 member states to come in

person instead of sending lower ranking representatives, according to his spokesman. The first priority of the conference from June 1 to 3 is to discuss the effects of the global financial crisis on poor countries.

GROUP OF 20

UN CONFERENCE

STIGLITZ

Leaders from the Group of 20 leading economies which just held a summit in London are slated to meet again in September.

The ﬁrst priority of the conference from 1st to 3rd June is to discuss the effects of the global ﬁnancial crisis on the world’s poorest countries.

Joseph Stiglitz has stated that international ﬁnance structures must be drastically overhauled in the face of the economic crisis.

14 CorD 60 / May 2009

THE END OF U.S. DOLLAR Leaders from the Group of 20 leading DOMINATION economies (G20) which just held a summit in London are slated to meet again he summit of the heads of U.N. memin September, after the annual General ber states, that is scheduled to take Assembly session in New York normally atplace in June, is probably going to questended by all leaders. The United Nations tion U.S. dollar as the top reserve currenwill convene a global summit in June to ascy” - a high U.N. official says. “There is the sess the impact of the world economic crisis whole problem of the creation of special on development. drawing rights and perhaps doing away “In the midst of the most serious economic with the dollar as the currency for interna- and Russia have called for a sweeping downturn since the Great Depression, we now overhaul of the global monetary system tional reserves,” the president of the U.N. have the opportunity and the responsibility to General Assembly D’Escoto says. “I am sure that would enhance the use of the special drawing rights, an international reserve assearch for solutions that take into account the that that will be one of the things that set created by the International Monetary interests of all nations, the rich and the poor, heads of state will want to discuss at the Fund in 1969 that has the potential to act the large and the small,” Assembly President summit,” he said, adding that many countries had lost their trust in the dollar.” China as a global reserve currency. Miguel D’Escoto stated after the 192-member body adopted a resolution on the 1 to 3 June summit. In addition to the impact of the crisis on Reforms of International Finance and flationary effects of the massive accumulation on development, the conference will also fo- Economic Structures. of reserves that countries believe are necescus on ongoing discussions on reforming and Chaired by Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the sary to brace themselves against global instastrengthening the international financial and 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics, the nearly bility. Such a system would offset the risk of a economic system and architecture. two dozen-member body stressed that many drop in value of a major reserve currency. A Commission of Experts appointed by poorer countries lack the resources necesThe creation of a new international credMr. D’Escoto and chaired by Nobel laure- sary to tackle the crisis, and developed na- it facility, under the aegis of the World Bank, ate Joseph Stiglitz has stated that interna- tions should not attach inappropriate condi- would provide additional credit to developtional finance structures must be drastical- tionalities to such funds. “The nature, the se- ing countries without pro-cyclical conditionly overhauled in the face of the current glo- verity of this crisis has really opened up op- alities, and the governance of such an entibal economic crisis. International fity would represent both new donance structures must be drastically nor countries and take into account The creation of a new international overhauled in the face of the current concerns of developing countries. credit facility would provide additional global economic crisis, a panel of exAt last G-20 meeting in London, perts convened by the United Nations the world’s leading industrial and credit to developing countries without General Assembly said late march, developing economic powers prompro-cyclical conditionalities calling on wealthier nations to direct ised $1.1 trillion for lending to less one per cent of their economic stimwell-off countries. They promised ulus packages to help developing countries portunities for change for reform that I think major efforts to clean up banks’ tattered baladdress poverty. would not have been conceivable even a few ance sheets and get credit flowing again, to A coordinated approach – bringing to- months ago,” Mr. Stiglitz told. shut down global tax havens and to tighten gether not just the so-called Group of Eight The experts also called for the International regulation over hedge funds and other finan(G-8) or even Group of 20 (G-20) nations, Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase the availa- cial high-flyers in the U.S. and elsewhere. but the “G-192” representing all members of bility of funds for hard-hit nations. A new gloD’Escoto, a Roman Catholic priest from the Assembly – is needed to pull the world bal reserve system must be put into place to Nicaragua with openly leftist views, stressed out of the recession, according to the recom- promote economic stability and equity, the the importance of including all countries mendations of the Commission of Experts Commission said, as this would ease the de- in the search for solutions to the most serious economic downturn since the Great Depression. The Group of 77, which repre$65 BILLION NEEDED sents 132 mainly developing countries and China, has already pledged full participation Nearly $65 billion worth of investment is required next year for population profor the June summit, assembly spokesman grammes to combat poverty, promote development and slash maternal death rates, Enrique Yeves said. according to the United Nations Commission on Population and Development. A commission of experts chaired by Nobel One-third of this sum, or $22 million, will come from international donors, while the rest Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is will be in the form of domestic investments by developing nations. providing recommendations on international The $64.7 billion figure for 2010 is an upwards revision of the $20.5 billion that was financial structures and practices in preparaadopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) tion for the summit. in Cairo, marking the first time in 15 years that cost estimates have been reviewed.

CorD 60 / May 2009 15

INTERVIEW |

Vladimir Gligorov, Economist of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies

COERCED

Alternative principles for organising economic, political and social life are still nowhere to be seen

ladimir Gligorov, a former researcher of the Belgrade Institute of Economic Sciences has been working for the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW) since 1994 as an expert for transition and Balkan economies. One of the first and foremost liberal critics of the communist system, Gligorov is one of the founders of Serbia’s 16 CorD 60 / May 2009

Democratic Party, which he subsequently left, and the brains behind the Liberal Democratic Party’s economic programme. You have said that the Serbian government’s budget review would not be enough and that Mirko Cvetković’s government should consider another review come autumn. What is wrong with the impending review; is it the measures stipulated or the

understanding of the situation? These measures are coerced to a large extent. It would be better if public spending, at least investment spending, wasn’t reduced during the recession. However, the state cannot raise taxes on a whim. We’ve seen just how unpopular that can be. The state also cannot take on more loans, since nobody is ready to provide these loans (the IMF’s funds should not be spent on covering budget ex-

MEASURES penses). So, the only thing left to do is to find a way to save, though I am not so clear on whether that is feasible. If the state succeeds in saving – bearing in mind that real growth will be lower than planned, i.e. the recession will be more pronounced than originally envisaged – another budget review is probably going to be necessary. Then you have next year’s budget review, which should be a really improved review, so to speak, and a blueprint for the country’s economic policy.

By implementing saving measures and cutting back on expenses, the government is trying to find justification for the existence of a large and inefficient administration. How much is such a policy likely to reduce demand and lead to a further decline of economic activities? Well, what we are talking about here is relatively weak demand: only three per cent of the national GDP. Since no core changes have been made to the tax system so far, the burden on the economy will not become any lighter. This could lead to almost the same drop in GDP and lower imports, which will lead to a new decline. It is difficult to say just how high this is going to be, but if we consider that imports are equivalent to almost a half of GDP, we can roughly calculate that an additional contribution to the recession will be somewhere in the region of 1.5% of GDP. Who are these government measures protecting exactly: debtors or creditors? It is very difficult to make a distinction here, since their interests are completely op-

Serbia could become more stable next year, but in order to start recovering an extensive reform is needed – both in institutions and economic policy posed. If creditors are those that stand to lose it will translate into higher interest rates for debtors, while if debtors are on a losing streak it will mean less profit for creditors. At a moment like this, the state is urging creditors not to take their money abroad, which is actually the aim of the standby arrangement with the

BUDGET

RECOVERY

BANKS

If the state succeeds in saving, bearing in mind that real growth will be lower than planned, another budget review is going to be necessary.

The recovery period in the U.S. is expected to happen at the end of this year, while it will probably be at the beginning of next year in the EU.

The banking system in Europe is faced with signiﬁcant problems. we cannot expect banks to continue granting loans with low interest rates.

IMF. We should expect the central bank’s key interest rate to decline further in order to facilitate the position that debtors have found themselves in. The saving measures do not directly apply to the financial sector, apart from the state having to take out fewer loans on the domestic market and, thus, is not pushing retail loan users aside. What role does the central bank play? The bank claims that it has been successfully maintaining macro-economic stability and that the current value of the national currency is realistic. I think that the bank actually claims that the value of dinar is formed on the market CorD 60 / May 2009 17

and that it [the central bank] is here to stop the currency from fluctuating too much. The central bank should maintain a low inflation rate and not the foreign currency exchange rate. This is a job for the official monetary policy. In practice, Serbia’s central bank has failed to secure the stability of the national currency or freeze the inflation rate at a low level, for that matter. So, one cannot say that the bank has contributed to the country’s economic stability. Serbia is actually a typical example of a country that has no macroeconomic ‘anchors’, i.e. a policy that yields stability. Fiscal policy is the worst and is now

being counterbalanced through public finances going bankrupt. The income policy is nonexistent, since salaries are growing faster than productivity; there is no such thing as monetary policy, since the inflation rate is either in double digits or is close to that; there is no exchange rate policy, since the dinar has a fixed value one minute and the next it appreciates or significantly depreciates, as is the case at the moment. The central bank is only getting by, nothing more or less than that. Some government members and experts have said that in order to finally confirm

that a recession has arrived we need to see the first quarter results, but you say that Serbia is already in recession. Why is it so important for the government to claim that a recession still hasn’t arrived? I don’t know. Maybe they think that bad news should be ‘administered in small doses’. The Serbian public is being kept in the dark and has become pretty inert. In this situation, it is politically much cheaper to change evaluations and forecasts on a daily basis, since the public will simply give up on trying to comprehend what is going on, hence it will become easier to manipulate. This could be

REMEMBERING AND HOPING

“N

ot even Krkobabić [Serbia’s aged deputy PM] remembers such a crisis.” This might be true, but not because we haven’t seen a crisis worse than this one. The one from 1991 to 1994 was far worse (hyper-inflation, a huge drop in production, the banking system going bankrupt, suspension of foreign debt, sanctions). It is quite understandable that the oldest member of the Serbian government (Krkobabić) has a failing memory. However, it is not quite clear why younger government members seem to be forgetting too. We haven’t heard any economic experts in Serbia or abroad warning us about this, the state’s president says. I cannot really understand what the purpose of such arrogance is? Firstly, such things are not expected from someone who holds a public office and, secondly, it is just not true. Actually, maybe it is true that they haven’t heard, but that is only because they haven’t listened. There have been warnings: both in Serbia and elsewhere in the world, both about Serbia and the world. Memory, however, is not that important in this matter. A more important issue here is why our government didn’t foresee this or warn us about it? No memory is required for that. All they needed to do was to ask the following question: what will happen if loans become more expensive or completely unavailable? There were plenty of reasons to pose that question. Let’s put the Serbian economic experts who have been asking this question aside. Who needs to listen to them? Many foreign economists, including those of the IMF, have been alerting us to the crisis and calculating how much it will cost for the economy to adjust to a reduced availability of foreign money. The forecasts have shown that what was needed to be done was exactly what 18 CorD 60 / May 2009

needs to be done now: cutting back on spending. Why do we even need to ask this question? Because of the growing current account deficit and foreign debt that cannot be maintained any longer. What does ‘to maintain’ exactly mean? It means that debts have been growing faster than GDP which, after all, is burdened by this precise foreign debt, which, in turn, means that at a certain point in time nobody will be able to finance their debt. And that moment could come even sooner than anticipated if interest rates go up, i.e. the debt becomes even more expensive to finance or the dinar depreciates because the GDP expressed in foreign currency drops. So, what about expectations? If we are talking about the payment balance being sustainable, it is not important what we remember, but what we expect to happen. Surely, we weren’t hoping that such foreign exchange trends will continue forever? Surely, we weren’t expecting the dinar exchange rate to remain stable and even appreciate, regardless of the fact that our foreign financial obligations have been growing faster than our capacity to meet them? So, we should have expected the dinar to depreciate, interest rates to grow and foreign debt to increase. Our central bank should have warned us about this. It should have urged us to reduce spending – both private and public – in order to meet the increasing financial obligations. Our finance ministry should have also done that. All of this means that we are going to have to face a recession after all. Source: Peščanik.net, 1st April, 2009

the reason. After all, the government promised a better life and now it is advocating saving and abstinence. The recession can be foreseen, you know, and there is no need to wait for it to come in order to confirm that it exists. The banking sector appears to be holding on and there are no announcements that certain banks and other financial institutions might go bankrupt. Is this kind of situation sustainable in the long term? It is difficult to say, since I am not very clear on what the situation in the banking system is really like. Banks have reached some kind of agreement to continue providing corporate loans to Serbian businesses, but it remains to be seen whether they are going to be able to actually secure the money for that. The banking system in Europe is faced with significant problems and it is really unnecessary for a Serbian bank to have a problem in order for the crisis to rear its head: the crisis can originate in another country and just spill over into Serbia. Nevertheless, we cannot expect banks to continue granting loans with low interest rates, as was the case before. Serbia has been reducing grants to the economy, but several large companies have been appearing as direct or indirect investors, such as the Mining and Smelting Basin Bor (RTB Bor), Zastava, Petrohemija, etc. Is this really necessary? I think that nothing, or very little will, come of that – especially if you bear in mind that the state will assume the debts of public enterprises that are in a difficult situation through transforming the debt of these companies into state securities. The privatisation of public companies like JAT Airways, Telekom Srbija, Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) and other large public enterprises has been

period of economic stagnation. Can you see the end of this crisis and when do you think Serbia will overcome it? The recovery period in the U.S. is expected to happen at the end of this year, while it will probably be at the beginning of next year in the EU. Serbia could become more stable next year, but in order to start recovering an extensive reform is needed – both in institutions and economic policy.

The danger here in Serbia is that only short-term measures are being applied postponed. What is your take on this government decision? Most of these companies don’t have a buyer. If a buyer were to be found, the offered price would probably be too low. Finally, in some cases, like EPS, there are ideological objections to the sale, since some members of the ruling coalition oppose it. How can Serbia benefit from this crisis? There are no benefits. There are only challenges. The crucial issue here is whether the Serbian government and opposition will be discerning enough to devise measures that are going to bring good mid-term results. They ought to start doing that while preparing next year’s budget. The danger here is that only short-term measures are being applied and that the country is entering a long

What are the political consequences of the crisis and is Serbia facing bankruptcy or the return to a group of countries that are considered poor? Practically speaking, Serbia is already undergoing a process that is emblematic of crisis: the IMF loan, reprogramming of debts and search for creditors supports this theory. If that is not done, the state will have no money for budget beneficiaries (even on this new, reduced level), or to fulfil its financial obligations towards creditors. With regard to poverty, this is a realistic situation. Political consequences are a bit more difficult to anticipate, since Serbia still isn’t properly democratised so surprises are possible. Is the global economy going to look differently or be founded on different principles after this crisis subsides? As things are at the moment, the financial sector and overall financial globalisation are both set to shrink. If global trading continues to grow, reductions in the financial sector are not going to hold any significance. However, if the reliance on global trading diminishes then changes in developing countries’ regimes are possible. We shouldn’t, though, expect substantial changes to be made to the social and economic systems of developed countries. For now, alternative principles for organising economic, political and social life are still nowhere to be seen.

PRIVASITATION

DEMOCRACY

TAX SYSTEM

Most of these public enterprises don’t have a buyer. If a buyer were to be found, the offered price would probably be too low.

Political consequences are a bit more difﬁcult to anticipate, since Serbia still isn’t properly democratised so surprises are possible.

Since no core changes have been made to the Srbian tax system so far, the burden on the economy will not become any lighter. CorD 60 / May 2009 19

INTERVIEW |

AZEM VLLASI, FUTURE AMBASSADOR OF KOSOVO IN MONTENEGRO

Kosovo EU bound, alongside Serbia CorD interviews Tito’s former youth activist, a communist leader, a prisoner of the Milošević regime and one of the most celebrated Albanians in the former Yugoslavia

20 CorD 60 / May 2009

By Jelena PETKOVIĆ Photo Stanislav MILOJKOVIĆ

t’s been a year since Kosovo enthusiastically declared its independence and so far a total of 56 of the 192 UN member states have recognised the fledgling country. Serbia, how-

ever, still considers the territory as its own and is playing on the fact that only a small number of countries have offered their support to the newly formed state. The Priština government is not too worried about Serbia’s stance and tactical approach and Kosovo officials have been buzzing about the “European perspective for Kosovo” and “successes in establishing bilateral relations with powerful European countries and the U.S.”. This month we talk to Azem Vllasi, the as-yet-unaccredited Ambassador of Kosovo to Montenegro, a lawyer known to the wider public as a former high official of Kosovo and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Considering the slow recognition of Kosovo’s independence, what are your expectations when it comes to Kosovo being recognised as a sovereign UN member state? The most important thing is for Kosovo to consolidate internally and start functioning as a normal democratic state. After that we can contemplate the issue of becoming a UN member. The countries that haven’t recognised Kosovo’s independence to date are going to do so in time, since they will realise that Kosovo will never go back to being a part of Serbia and recognition will ensue. Let me note that out of the 56 states that have recognised our sovereignty, 22 of them are EU members, in addition to the U.S., other powerful western countries and Japan, which comprise 60 to 65 per cent of the global economy. UN membership will come naturally, in the near future, as a result of Kosovo’s consolidation and development. Nobody, with the exception of Serbia and Russia, wants to see Kosovo as an isolated haven in the middle of Europe. Is the division of Kosovo a viable option, as a way of overcoming the problems associated with the slow recognition process and Kosovo’s status in the UN? Dividing Kosovo, which is a subject Serbia

sometimes talks about, will bring no good to anybody, including Serbs and Serbia. If this happens, the issue with the Preševo Valley will become even more pronounced and will open another Pandora’s box. Nothing will come of the division! The downside of delaying the full integration of the northern part of Kosovo is being felt by Serbs living there, since this has become a grey area, rife with crime, despair and hopelessness. The people who have suggested that Kosovo be divided are not thinking about just how much the position of Serbs living in other parts of Kosovo would deteriorate – and 60 per cent of Serbs live in the southern part of Kosovo. We should not forget the fact that only 40 per cent of Kosovo’s Serbs live in the north part of Kosovo. How would you describe Kosovo’s European future? Kosovo has a bright European future. Europe has been present in Kosovo for ten years. The European Union has invested and continues to invest a lot in order to create a European future for Kosovo. So, Europe doesn’t play a humanitarian role in Kosovo, but rather has a clear agenda for Kosovo to become a normal small European state. Everybody knows that Kosovo has had a difficult heritage; that it needs to start from scratch. Kosovo is a completely new state. Serbia ruined everything that we had had up until 1999 and left us in a difficult post-war situation. However, Kosovo should not be considered a hopeless humanitarian problem. What reputation do Americans and other non-Albanians have with the locals? Can you sense a certain discontent with their presence and a desire for them to leave? Kosovars are used to having foreigners around. They are welcome and feel alright here. Of course, we don’t need them now as much as we needed them immediately after the war, since most domestic affairs are now

TENNIS

S E PA R AT I O N

D O N AT I O N S

Some of us who speak Serbian watch Novak Đoković play and younger guys are more interested in Ana Ivanović.

Dividing Kosovo, which is a subject Serbia sometimes talks about, will bring no good to anybody, including Serbia.

Kosovo is becoming a self-sustainable society. We are not going to be a poor state, dependent on foreign donations.

Vllasi was a favourite of the late Josip Broz ‘Tito’

“Just as Serbia is aspiring to have closer or special relations with the part of Bosnia called Republika Srpska, because Serbs live there, so Kosovoa and Albania have the same plans” firmly in our hands. They are no longer considered an authority like the UNMIK mission was in the past. This is why the Serbian authorities are so adamant that UNMIK remain and maintain the same role stated in the UN Security Council’s resolution. Serbia is always advocating some foreign authority in Kosovo. This has been the case for a long time. However, we do need foreigners here and we have always viewed them as friendly support. The European Union is present here via the Eulex mission, which is in fact an EU mission. Do you feel awkward not having Serbs living in Priština anymore? I remember Priština as a city were Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Bosniaks, Roma and other nationalities lived in a peaceful co-existence until 1989. What followed after that was the period of Milošević’s occupation that lasted all the way to June 1999. During that time Albanians were second-class citizens, expelled from public life. The authority and all public municipal organisations were managed by minority Serbs. Since there weren’t enough of them, people from Serbia were brought CorD 60 / May 2009 21

INTERVIEW |

in. This time was reminiscent of the colonial period in Africa. I was surprised that Serbs were okay with this and were convinced that that would last. Even to this day they believe that this was the right solution. Then, in the spring of 1999, Albanians and other citizens of Priština were violently expelled from their homes, with only plastic bags in their hands containing the little food they managed to take with them. Many of their Serbian neighbours, now in uniforms and carrying weapons, took part in these raids. All of this soon came to an end. Following the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement stipulating the withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosovo and the engagement of international peacekeeping corps, the first to arrive was a Russian battalion from the direction of Bosnia, where they were engaged in another mission. Serbs in Priština staged a real celebration following their arrival, firing guns all night and killing a few more Albanians in the process that just happened to be there after hiding like mice in basements for three months. They started pillaging and loading trucks with stolen goods! They were certain that they were going to manage to stay in power with the help of the Russians. However, the Russians stationed themselves at the airport in order to see what was happening with the military jets they had sold to Yugoslavia, i.e. the Yugoslav National Army, in addition to some other things. Only then did the Priština Serbs come to their senses and started leaving the town. My neighbours followed suit. If I hadn’t seen all of that with my own eyes, I would have probably felt awkward for not having the normal Priština any longer and my Serbian neighbours like in 1989. You see, wars change everything. There was no war in Belgrade, though Belgrade is the place where everything originated from; where all the wars on the territory of the former Yugoslavia were orchestrated from. Today’s Belgrade is not what it used to be. Back in 1989, close to 75,000 Albanians lived in Belgrade. Today, there are only 1,000 or 1,500 of them.

peace and normalise relations with somebody who has caused you great harm and who insists on continually exercising the policy that caused that harm in the first place.

“Now young Kosovo Albanians have the same opinion about Yugoslavia as Serbs have about the Ottoman Empire” What are relations between Kosovo Albanians and Serbs like at the local level? Milošević’s reign and the war spoiled the good neighbourly relations that Albanians and Serbs had enjoyed before. However, time heals all wounds and the distance and tension are now gone. Relations are slowly starting to return to normality. Neighbours are talking, albeit not as they used to, and Albanians don’t look askance at other nations willing to co-habit with them in Priština. I think that they do want to be integrated. Also, I’m under the impression that Albanian and Serbian business people are more often in contact and co-operating together. I believe that reconciliation and neighbourly relations between Albanians and Serbs would normalise even better if the Belgrade authorities were to stop pressurising Kosovo Albanians into not accepting the new reality and the state of Kosovo. You know, it is much harder to make

KOSOVO AS AN EU MEMBER

deeply believe that Kosovo will join the European Union together with other countries in the region, i.e. at the same time as Serbia and Bosnia. This will bring closure to the difficult relations between Serbia and Kosovo and turn a new page in our relations. The European future is a lifesaving solution for all Western Balkan countries, including Kosovo and Serbia.

22 CorD 60 / May 2009

Is there any nostalgia for the former Yugoslavia among Kosovo Albanians? Older generations do have some fond memories of the time when we thought we were equal to other nationalities in Yugoslavia, but ever since Milošević rose to power and promised to set the Albanians 50 years back (at the various political rallies held by the Socialist Party of Serbia), he caused so much harm under the pretence of “defending Yugoslavia” from us. When we see that even his successors are continuing with the same policy when it comes to Albanians and Kosovo, what nostalgia could there be? There is no nostalgia whatsoever, but the feeling of being disgusted with the policy conducted in the name of “defending Yugoslavia” and even the name of our former country provokes feelings of abomination in us. We should not forget that younger generations of Albanians remember Yugoslavia in the context of Serbs doing a lot of evil things. They think that Serbs were behind the demise of the country with the goal of creating the Greater Serbia out of its ashes. Aside from the Bosniaks, the Albanians suffered the most. Now young Kosovo Albanians have the same opinion about Yugoslavia as Serbs have about the Ottoman Empire. Do you think that Kosovo and Albania could become a single country one day? It is more realistic to expect Kosovo and Albania to come closer together, which is considered a normal part of the European integration process. So, there is no formal altering of state borders, no special understanding about unification, no conflict or tension because of borders, while the process of the two countries becoming closer and cooperating is quite natural. Just as Serbia is aspiring to have closer or special relations with the part of Bosnia called Republika Srpska, because Serbs live there, Kosovo and Albania have the same plans. Of course, this is where any similarity between the two ends – since this entity, inadequately named Republika Srpska, is actually a part of Bosnia & Herzegovina, while Kosovo and Albania are both sovereign countries. The founders and high officials of Republika Srpska would like to secede half of

NOSTALGIA

o you miss somebody or something from Belgrade? For now I’m okay; I don’t miss anything. The Belgrade I knew, i.e. the capital city of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, no longer exists. This is a Belgrade that I have fond memories of, the city of my youth, where I used to work and spend a lot of time; the city where I met my wife Nadira, who came there from Bosnia as a student, and the city where my children were born. You see, that Belgrade is long gone. It was killed by those who also killed people in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo... They had no idea that they were killing Belgrade, its residents and soul in the process. This is exactly what they did. For now, Belgrade is a city that was the origin of evil, massacres, genocide, murders, looting, destruction and the ethnic cleansing of smaller and weaker nationalities living in the former state. That is truly horrible!

Bosnia’s territory and bring this as a dowry to Serbia. Although Kosovo and Albania are two separate countries that have the closest possible relations, they have no plans to change their borders. The closeness with Albania will certainly not harm relations with Montenegro and Macedonia, as two neighbouring states, and maybe one day with Serbia too. What is your view of the situation in Macedonia? Macedonia will have to survive as a state, since there is no other alternative. The key factor for Macedonia’s survival as a state is the Albanians living there. If the Macedonians and Albanians, as the two biggest nationalities in Macedonia, continue to build a society that both of them are going to be happy with, then Macedonia will have a future. Historically speaking, only Albanians, i.e. Albania and Kosovo, have never hesitated to recognise Macedonia as a sovereign state and Macedonians as a sovereign nation. Macedonia also did the same for Kosovo. Macedonia also needs to survive for the sake of the stability of the region and Europe as a whole. Whenever Macedonian Albanians raise their voices, even in 2002 when the armed conflict ensued, they never question the sovereignty of the state, but only demanded to have equal status as citizens. Now they are included in the political processes in the country and are able to seek to achieve the rights and equality they want.

ALBANIA Although Kosovo and Albania are two separate countries that have the closest possible relations, they have no plans to change their borders.

Do you have a problem representing a country which has a really bad reputation for crime and corruption? There is no country in the Balkans that is crime and corruption free. Unfortunately! I would probably be more comfortable in Denmark, Sweden or Norway in that respect.

Are Kosovars interested in sporting/ cultural/economic events in Serbia; how isolated are cultural/sporting events in Kosovo? Some of us who speak Serbian watch Novak Đoković play and younger guys are more interested in Ana Ivanović, because she is a pretty girl and a good tennis player. Some people watch a series called “Bela lađa” (“White Ship”) that is aired on Radio Television Serbia (RTS) on Sundays. We are all glad to see Zdravko Čolić and some like Đorđe Balašević [singers]. There are people who remained good individuals despite wars. People can be forgiving when it comes to music, but definitely

Which kinds of companies are operational in Kosovo and can you tell us something about Kosovo’s economic potential? There are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises in Kosovo. In other words, these are family businesses where mostly relatives work. The dominant sectors are services, construction and agriculture. Unfortunately, production is sparse and ex- “Nobody, with the exception of Serbia and port remains low. However, Russia, wants to see Kosovo as an isolated Kosovo does haven in the middle of Europe” have quite good natural resources, primarily in the energy sec- not when it comes to politics. You can see tor and agriculture. Kosovo has young people for yourself what is happening to Čedomir willing to work and live in their own country, Jovanović. Kosovo’s culture and sport are as well as those who are willing to come back slowly making their way across the border here with their knowledge and money. This too. Of course, they are completely unfamilis our wealth! In time, these resources will iar in Serbia. be utilised even more. Kosovo is becoming The only thing that is noted is that Serbian a self-sustainable society. So, economically representatives in some international sportspeaking, the country is not going to be a ing associations are protesting against Kostunted and poor state, dependent on foreign sovo’s athletes taking part in international competitions. donations.

MACEDONIA Macedonia will have to survive as a state since there is no other alternative. The key factor for Macedonia’s survival is Albanians living there.

YUGOSLAVIA We should not forget that younger generations of Albanians remember Yugoslavia in the context of Serbs doing a lot of evil things CorD 60 / May 2009 23

INTERVIEW |

H.E. ALESSANDRO MEROLA, ITALIAN AMBASSADOR TO SERBIA

Italy’s EightWhat exactly is the Italian plan, launched by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini at the recent meeting of EU and U.S. ministers in Prague? Ambassador Alessandro Merola, who is set to leave Belgrade for Rome soon, gives us the lowdown By Slobodan ALEKSENDRIĆ Photo Slobodan JOTIĆ

here is no way that FIAT will withdraw from Serbia, not only because we are talking about an ‘old love’ here, but because the carmaker from Turin came back to Kragujevac to stay; to make cars. I recently spoke to the Director of FIAT Automobili Srbija and he told me that everything is going according to plan, despite the economic crisis. They are currently negotiating with Serbian car parts manufacturers and spare parts for the Punto will be produced in Serbia - so said Italian Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Alessandro Merola, speaking in what he referred to as “a farewell interview” for CorD. Ambassador Merola is leaving Belgrade mid-year for Rome. We began our interview with Ambassador Merola by discussing the so-called Italian Initiative for the Western Balkans, aka “the Eight-Point Plan”, which was launched by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini at a recent meeting between ministers from the EU and the U.S. in Prague. “We do care about expediting the Euro-

THE INVESTMENTS The political situation is stable, but investments have reduced due to the economic crisis gripping almost every country in the world, including Serbia. 24 CorD 60 / May 2009

Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans, which is why we are sending this proposal to the European Union,” notes Ambassador Merola. The plan has eight points: 1.) A visa-free regime – Italy wants the European Commission’s report to be completed by the end of May and for the visa-free regime to be established by the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010 at the latest, with Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia considered as priorities. 2.) Italy wants the Commission to start preparing a technical report about Montenegro’s application for EU candidacy by the end of May, followed by Albania and Serbia. 3.) The aim of the Italian plan is for Croatia to become an EU member by 2010. As such, in that respect Italy supports the EU Commission’s road map. 4.) Italy is asking Europe to be more efficient in supporting Bosnia & Herzegovina. 5.) Italy wants an interim agreement between the EU and Serbia to be unblocked by June 2009 and Rome also wants Belgrade to fully co-operate with The Hague Tribunal, welcoming the upcoming arrival of Serge Brammertz to Belgrade. 6.) Italy wants the no-win situation over the official name of FYR Macedonia to be resolved in order to commence talks about the country

CEFTA The joint venture SerbianItalian company is left with a very large and interesting market. Aside from Serbia, this includes the CEFTA countries.

joining the EU and NATO. 7.) When it comes to Kosovo, Italy stresses the importance of economic support. “Together inside, together outside” is the principle the international civil and military presence should abide by. 8.) Italy is calling for an EU – Western Balkans summit, with the participation of the U.S., to take place in the first half of 2010. “In nutshell, these are the topics and deadlines suggested by Italy,” Ambassador Alessandro Merola explains. Asked whether all eight points would be accepted, Ambassador Merola responds optimistically, saying: “I believe that, in the case of Serbia, a positive solution will be found when it comes to the visa-free regime. Official Belgrade has done a lot to fulfil the conditions stipulated in the road map. Of course, you need to be aware that we are talking about a process that both sides have been taking part in and that, in addition to the growing number of countries that favour abolishing visas for Serbian citizens, there are some that are simply not yet ready to do so. It is important, though, to note that even the EU enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn, advocates Serbia’s inclusion in the visa-free regime.”

BALKANS The United States has every political interest in collaborating even if they are, quite rightly, asking Europe to take the lead on the Balkans.

-Point Plan

Do you think the EU’s borders will finally be open to Serbian citizens, in visa terms, and if so when do you realistically think will this happen? “I think it will have happened by the end of this or the beginning of next year. Anyhow, this is something that the Commission, the EU Council and the European Parliament are deciding about. This is the required procedure.” I presume that before the release of the Eight-Point Plan Italy consulted with other EU partners in Brussels. Is that true?

There is no way that FIAT is going to withdraw from Serbia, not only because we are talking about an ‘old love’ here, but because the carmaker from Turin came back to Kragujevac to stay, to make cars “This is an independent initiative launched by Italy and it is no coincidence that it has been launched at this time.” What does that mean? “By proposing the aforementioned plan, Italy is trying to expedite the process which is currently looked upon favourably by many.

If the proposals made by Minister Frattini are given political support from EU foreign ministers and a new European Parliament, which is going to be elected in June, then the plan will not be overlooked.” Speaking in an interview with the same journalist upon his arrival in Belgrade three years ago, Ambassador Merola commented CorD 60 / May 2009 25

INTERVIEW |

VISA ABOLITION FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS

on the long and difficult negotiations between Serbia’s political parties on formation of a new government, saying: “Serbia should finally announce what it would like to be when it grows up”. Back then, just before the formation of a Vojsialv Koštunica-led government, there was much talk about Montenegro, Kosovo and the European Union. Now, with much having changed with these three issues, Ambassador Merola gives his opinion about the situation in Serbia. Acknowledging Serbia’s orientation towards European integration and the fact that the country has definitely become pro-European one, Merola goes on to outline a certain paradox: “Back then, Serbia’s economic situation was relatively solid, unlike the political situation. Back then, investors were ready to bring their capital to Serbia, but they hesitated because of the ambivalent political situation. Today the opposite is the case. The political situation is stable, but investments have reduced due to the global economic crisis gripping almost every country in the world, including Serbia. We could have had a situation where both factors – political and economic – could have been good, but that failed to materialise because of the global crisis. That said, I can tell you that the interest shown by Italian investors for investing in Serbia is bigger than you could imagine,” adds the ambassador. Bigger in what sense exactly? “During the first three months of this year, several quite notable business delegations came to Serbia. They visited Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, etc. Business peo26 CorD 60 / May 2009

ple came, together with political representatives from different Italian provinces. Italy’s Economic Development Minister, Claudio Scajola, also came to put some final touches to a plan for co-operation in the energy sector, while officials from the regions of Friuli and Lombardia, Messrs Tondo and Formigioni respectively, held talks with government members and potential business partners in Serbia in an effort to uncover the possibilities of launching new joint initiatives.” Did they conclude any concrete business deals? “Negotiations will certainly continue and the results, I hope, will follow. I think that the arrival of FIAT in Serbia sent positive signals to Italy’s business people. Large Italian banks are also in Serbia, which provides a good foundation for encouraging a greater number of Italian companies to establish co-operation with Serbian partners. By mid-2009, the presidents of Italy, Serbia and Romania are to meet in Serbia, and economic co-operation will be one of the foremost topics up for discussion. This obviously supports the belief that we have trust in Serbia,” Ambassador Merola outlines. Asked about his experiences during ‘the time of uncertainty’ – when Montenegro broke away from its union with Serbia and, later, the estranged province of Kosovo declared its independence unilaterally - Ambassador Merola pondered that history would always take its course. He acknowledged how painful these issues had been for Serbia and also praised Belgrade for its restraint and political wisdom in these matters. “With regard to Montenegro’s separation

oreign Ministers of Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have sent a joint letter to the European Commission confirming the progress made by Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries in meeting visa liberalisation criteria and urging for a speedy removal of the Schengen visa barrier. “In our assessment, progress has been achieved in all four blocks identified in the road maps. Major reforms have been launched in the areas of justice, freedom and security,” reads the joint letter of the eight foreign ministers sent to EC Vice President Jacques Barrot, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and the Czech EU Presidency, MIA press agency reports. “We believe that the necessary decision on the visa free status should be made without delay once the countries fulfil the benchmarks and the criteria laid down by the EU Council. The decisionmaking process should be accelerated, taking into consideration the European Parliament elections and nomination of the members of the new European Commission,” the letter continues. The eight foreign ministers urge the EC to prepare assessment reports on the Western Balkan countries’ achievements by the end of May. In the case of a positive assessment, the Commission should make a proposal to the Council on the abolishment of visa obligations without delay. Moreover, Italy fully supports the Czech Presidency’s priority of keeping the issue of visa liberalisation high on the agenda and achieving tangible progress by this summer. The eight foreign ministers believe that the procedure on the abolition of visas for the Western Balkan countries will be concluded by year’s end, with the visafree regime to be implemented in 2010.

from Serbia, this is an issue between the two countries. To me, it resembled a marriage that was going through a crisis with one spouse, i.e. Montenegro, wanting to get out of it.” Although he didn’t specifically say, the ambassador implied that he believed it had been “an amicable divorce”.

“When it comes Kosovo, this is an entirely different matter for Serbia and it is quite understandable that it could remain a very sore point. If the situation in Kosovo becomes more stable, with a lot of help from the international community – primarily the UN and the EU – I do believe that everything will be resolved in a mutually agreeable way. Serbia reacted very wisely in the case of Kosovo and everybody acknowledges that; most importantly, Serbia was not coerced into any violent reactions to Kosovo’s independence declaration.” A lot has changed in Serbia since your appointment as Italian Ambassador here: on the cultural side, Italy gained its own Palazzo Italia institute premises on Knez Miloš Street, while on the economic side several larges banks and insurance companies arrived in Serbia, not to mention FIAT. How would you sum up these developments? “I will have to say that I’m pleased, but I think that we could do more and we could do it better. We have created the conditions for that. Today, we are all dealing with the global economic crisis, which, of course, has hit Italy too. Nevertheless, my country is continuing to invest in Serbia and investments will grow when the crisis subsidies. “After the initial positive experience, we are going to renew a credit line of €60 million granted by the Italian Co-operation to Serbian businesses.”

After the initial positive experience, we are going to renew a credit line of €60 million granted by the Italian Co-operation to Serbian businesses Is there any truth to speculations that FIAT is regretting coming here in the first place and even plans to withdraw from Serbia all together? “I have heard no such thing. There is no way that FIAT is going to withdraw from Serbia, not only because we are talking about an ‘old love’ here, but because the carmaker from Turin came back to Kragujevac to stay, to make cars. “I recently spoke to the Director of FIAT Automobili Srbija and he told me that everything is going according to plan, despite the economic crisis. They are currently negotiating with Serbian car parts manufacturers and spare parts for the Punto will be produced in Serbia.” Ambassador Merola insisted that the Italian carmaker is in a better position than other carmakers in Europe and around the world, thanks to an extensive production programme and technological innovations. “This position will improve even further if the company starts collaborating with American Chrysler, which is almost a done deal.” According to Merola, the fact that Puntos will not be exported to Russia is not much of a predicament for FIAT Automobili Srbija. “The joint venture Serbian-Italian company is left with a very large and interesting market. Aside from Serbia, this includes the countries covered by CEFTA, as well as Belarus, Turkey and certain EU countries. If we are talking about FIAT’s investment plans for the Zastava factory, I have to say that although they are still very much on the agenda, they’ve been postponed because the crisis has been particularly hard on the car industry.”

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CorD 60 / May 2009 27

INTERVIEW |

learning Italian has been witnessed in the Serbian city of Kragujevac, where comany FIAT’s local operations are based. Speaking about his time in the country, though remaining diplomatic and declining to open up, Merola says: “I can tell you that time has just flown by during my stay in Belgrade. Still, when I look back at everything that’s happened I can get the sense that I’ve actually been living here for a full three and a half years. I really did have a wonderful time here. I made lot of friends, met many interesting people and, in short, I feel good in Serbia.”

Cultural relations between Italy and Serbia are also developing well. Italy was recently the guest country of honour at the popular Belgrade Book Fair, while ever-increasing numbers of Serbian publishers have been releasing books by Italian authors – thanks largely to the substantial financial support of the Belgrade-based Italian Culture Centre, lo-

cated in Palazzo Italia for the last three years. “The interest people have shown in learning Italian has been great indeed. We simply cannot manage to give every single interested person an Italian language course in the Culture Centre,” Ambassador Alessandro Merola admits. Similar and perhaps greater interest in

What are your parting impressions of Serbia? “The first thing I have to say is that Serbia should not be reduced to (only) Belgrade. I have travelled back and forth across Serbia and had a chance to see most of it. The situation in the south of the country is dramatically different and other countries, mine included, have the same problem: the south is the poorest and most undeveloped part of the country.” It seems that Ambassador Merola has heard of the Serbian saying “the further south, the grimmer it gets”.

FRANCO FRATTINI: BETTER TIMES FOR SERBIA

he new U.S. administration, with President Barack Obama at its helm, “is more open to Serbia and could significantly contribute to the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans,” Italian foreign minister Frattini told Trieste daily Piccolo in early April. Minister Franco Frattini also announced that ICTY Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, would come to Belgrade from The Hague to review Belgrade’s co-operation with the tribunal and, thus, clear the way for the EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia to be unblocked. In the Piccolo interview, entitled “Obama’s Diplomacy is Geared towards Serbia’s EU Integration”, the daily conveyed the minister’s opinion – subsequently reinforced at the recent EU-U.S. summit – that “Obama’s America” is in favour of opening the doors to Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo as soon as possible. It was precisely this that Frattini advocated in his eight-point plan proposed to EU partners during Obama’s meeting with EU chiefs in Prague. Frattini believes that the support of “Obama’s America” is based on the “very positive reaction of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who fully shares the Italian standpoint.” Asked to outline the key differences in foreign policy towards the Balkans between the Obama administration and that of predecessor George W. Bush, Frattini explained that he saw “continuity in American foreign policy, but with the stress on greater openness towards Serbia, which I really value.” “I sense a cohesion in the aim of gradually integrating Belgrade not only into the EU, but also into co-operation with the Atlantic alliance,” he said, though noting that NATO integration was a sen-

28 CorD 60 / May 2009

sitive issue in Serbia and that “it is well known that there is no united public position on this issue in Serbia and it is not frequently discussed.” “We give priority to Serbia’s EU integration,” Frattini added. Asked about the Dutch veto on implementation of the SAA with Serbia, Frattini said that it was “still important to abolish visas by the end of the year, for which the time has come.” “The Hague Tribunal’s Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, will be visiting Belgrade [in late April or early May] and I’m sure that President Boris Tadić will give him all the information needed to demonstrate Serbia’s full co-operation. Once that information has been obtained, there should be no more obstacles to implementing the EU–Serbia agreement,” Frattini said. “We’ve asked for the final decision on the enforcement of the treaty to be made by the end of June,” the Italian foreign minister revealed. Asked about reactions to the Italian road map for the Balkans (which includes a solution to the dispute between Slovenia and Croatia, visa liberalisation, the Kosovo issue, etc.), Frattini said that he had received a “very positive” reaction from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in full agreement with the Italian position. Clinton also agreed that it was necessary to accelerate the Euro-Atlantic integrations of the Western Balkans. “The United States have every political interest in collaborating even if they are, quite rightly, asking Europe to take the lead on the Balkans,” Frattini said.

QUOTATIONS President Boris Tadić has to have the highest salary in Serbia, followed by Prime Minister, Mirko Cvetković and the National Bank of Serbia Governor, Radovan Jelašić who ought to have the same salaries.” Diana Dragutinović, finance minister

At the Kishinev protests, we registered nine people from Serbia and several Romanian agents present. They wanted to use this opportunity to launch an operation that would bring about some kind of “the colour revolution”. We are going to arrest and prosecute them.” Vladimir Voronin, President of Moldova

Serbia failed to secure money for the expropriation of land along the Corridor 10 route. When the state budget was put together, the amount needed for the expropriation was mistakenly expressed in dinars, hence the problem.” Milutin Mrkonjić, infrastructure minister

We are buying cheap food, discounted cars and household appliances. Germans are living in a golden cage. There are still no lay offs, but we have shorten working hours.” Werner Zielberg, head of market research and development in Dertura

The book is a solid evidence that everybody who claims that there is no unregulated construction on the park’s territory on the

Tara Mountain is lying. The truth is that unregulated construction was stopped last year, with 140 facilities illegally built on the mountain.” Emir Kusturica, director of the Mokra gora nature’s reserve and a film director, after releasing the White Book

Our response will be to release the Black Book containing all illegal activities, construction and otherwise, carried out by Emir Kusturica on the Mokra gora. In order to build a ski slope he cut down 25 hectares of forest and we are wondering where did 15,000 cubic metres of wood end up.” Milomir Stanojčić, representative of the residents of Kremane, Bioska, Tara and Vrutak, who are outraged by Emir Kusturica’s behaviour

What can the state expect from the Pravda, a newspaper with a lousy circulation figures which is under absolute control of Aleksandar Vučić.” Slobodan Maraš, an MP from the Liberal Democratic Party, talks about the state spending 6.5 million dinars on advertisements in the Pravda daily

Have the IMF and Serbian Government concocted a secret plan to replace dinar for euro?! Is the problem with high foreign debt going to be resolved by indebted countries giving up on their national currency and is this a prerequisite for Serbia being granted 3 billion euros by the IMF?” Jorgovanka Tabaković an MP from the Napred Srbijo parliamentary caucus

If there is a government minister who broke the law, than he or she ought to be prosecuted. If somebody falsely accused ministers of breaking the law, and ministers knew nothing about it and actually haven’t done anything wrong, than whoever spread this lie ought to go to prison. In my case, I knew nothing about these passports, let alone took part in all of that.” Mlađan Dinkić, economy minister apropos newspaper reports that 280,000 of new Serbian passports were forged

I have no problem with homosexuals like Dolce and Gabbana investing money in Jagodina. Money has no colour. They can create new jobs here and be kind to their buyers, just as long as they don’t make love in front of everybody.” Dragan Marković – Palma, mayor of Jagodina

I admit, I am bad at dancing and I proved that in ‘Dancing with Stars”. On the other hand, Čedomir Jovanović is an excellent dancer. He dances to criminal tunes.” Aleksandar Vučić, deputy president of the Serbian Progressive Party

I am ready to talk about reducing the number of ministries, but nobody so far has talked to me about that issue, except via newspapers. If the government

had only 12 ministries, there wouldn’t be enough room for each political party that makes the government.” Ivica Dačić, deputy prime minister and minister of interior

The government is not thinking about overcoming this crisis, but only how to maintain the ratings. At this moment, there is no single measure that would benefit Serbian economy.” Nenad Popović, head of the Democratic Party of Serbia’s Economic Council

When joining NATO, a country is securing both its safety and political stability. NATO “has surrounded” Serbia, and, once Montenegro becomes a NATO member, this organization will be present on all outer borders of Serbia. This means that the country will have a neutral attitude towards its borders and the military force that is present at those borders. I think that the phrase about neutrality is actually a smoke screen for anti-NATO and anti-European policy in Serbia.” Vuk Drašković, president of the Serbian Renewal Movement

There is nothing restrictive about this. This is a decent government and even with 13 ministries it will be big enough. If we were to save more, than we ought to be much more restrictive.” Vladan Batić, an MP from the DemoChristian Party of Serbia (DHSS), apropos his party submitting a proposal for government to reduce the number of its members to 14 CorD 60 / May 2009 29

ECONOMICS |

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Rome on 4th April to demand concerted government action to combat the economic downturn.

The G20 summit failed to dispel the fear caused by the global economic crisis

JOB LOSS FEAR

GRIPS THE GLOBE “Both rich and poor are sharing the same destiny; ﬁrst the ‘ship’s captain’ will fall and then the others will have to ‘row’.” By Slobodan ALEKSENDRIĆ

ome US$5,000 billion is to be spent on the recovery of the global economy. The wealth of some has simply evaporated, while those that will truly pay

30 CorD 60 / May 2009

the price of the global financial meltdown are those that actually had nothing to do with it: the poor and the impoverished lower middle classes. “The first collateral victim of the global financial and economic crisis will be a high-

er mortality rate among children in the countries of the third world, mainly in Africa and Asia,” the UN says. “Each year from now until 2015, between 200,000 and 400,000 children will die as a result of the economic crisis.” Furthermore, estimates show, close to

100 million jobs are in jeopardy because of the crisis, which in turn means that the living standards of those that are to be laid off will fall below the poverty line. The recent G20 summit in London failed to provide appropriate and calming solutions to many of the current crisis issues. According to president of the World Bank, Robert Zoelick, special attention and assistance should be given to the poorest countries, since leaving these countries to their own devices will ensure that they are not be able to successfully deal with the crisis. There are at least 40 poor countries with economies that are especially vulnerable. Even the deputy president of the World Bank, Danny Leipziger, warns about the exceptionally difficult position that poor countries have found themselves in. After last year’s crisis with food and oil, which led to the emergence of millions of new poor and needy people, this global crisis will lead to an increase in the number of people living below the poverty line, which is almost 100 million people already. Data compiled by the World Bank clearly shows that almost a third of developing countries are exposed to increasing poverty levels as a result of the global economic crisis and 62 per cent are “moderately exposed” to development slowdown that will result in more pronounced poverty. Bearing all of this in mind and seeking way of overcoming it, the World Bank is warning about constant reductions in the number of development funds in poor countries and is inviting wealthier states to keep the word they gave at the presentation of the Millennium Development Goals, i.e. to set aside 0.7% of their GDP for poor countries. The imminent danger comes from the fact that in the following few months and years there will be an enormous and a virtually unstoppable increase in migration from the poorest countries to the wealthiest ones, which could seriously put global political and social stability to the test.

Italian Economy Minister Domenico Siniscalco’s statement about the global financial and economic crisis was especially interesting. He said: “After a whole year, the crisis is now entering a more complex stage. In the U.S. and Europe, the financial crisis is intertwined with inflation and restrained spending. In such a situation, both investors and authorities wonder how long this negative cycle will last. “Such a question comes naturally to economic and financial decision makers. However, there are reasons to believe that this crisis is not periodic, but rather structural, and that the economic and financial system will never go back to the way it was, but will rather undergo a wholesale transformation. Historically, economic systems have been profoundly changed after each great crisis, with new company hierarchies and markets now operating differently. If that is the case this time, then we need to abandon mental patterns of the past and at least anticipate which direction changes are likely to take. The problem is not how to withstand the crisis, but how to anticipate certain changes.” The problem of unemployment has been gripping the world. With the exception of China, which will again record economic growth of between six and seven per cent this year, all other countries are going to pay the price of the crisis. If the overall global economy will have a negative growth rate of between 1.5 and two per cent, then some developed countries, like Italy, will see this percentage reach as high as even four per cent. Due to falls in production and export levels, coupled with reduced purchasing power, the world’s army of unemployed is set to grow even bigger. During the first two months of this year, 500,000 Italian workers were left without jobs. The number of unemployed and homeless is growing all over the U.S. More and more Americans are being left without their possessions after failing to repay their loans.

TAX HAVENS

GERMANY

FRANCE

The International Monetary Fund and some other international institutions insist that so-called tax havens should be abolished.

Germany, “The motor of the EU economy”, is heavily stricken by the crisis and is trying to recover, but the process is not easy.

French factories are being closed down on a daily basis, leaving many people without jobs. Two huge protests have been held so far.

Already, though, the economic crisis has taken a dramatic toll as unemployment has shot up in the U.S. and elsewhere. Pictured is a tent city of the newly homeless outside the Californian city of Sacramento.

President of the U.S., Barack Obama, and, UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown

The plight of carmaker Opel has grabbed the most headlines as its parent company GM threatens to go bankrupt in the US

CorD 60 / May 2009 31

ECONOMICS |

Despite China’s opposition, the British leader heralded an era of tougher sanctions against countries that failed to submit required information about bank accounts

Russia too is suffering, particularly as a result of plunging oil prices: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a plea recently to keep the national debt under control

Chinese President Hu Jintao recently hinted that the dollar should perhaps be replaced as the global currency.

The ‘lucky’ ones have managed to hang onto their cars, at least, which now serve as their place of residence. Just like during the Great Depression of the 1930s, tent cities have been emerging in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle… Some tents are nice and clean, some dirty and unhygienic. The new homeless that are residing in them are the very people who were once esteemed bank clients. They don’t have a job; they have no property to their name and live day by day, thanks to assistance provided by governmental and non-governmental organisations. In Sacramento, California – one of the U.S. cities hardest hit by the crisis – State Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger formally opened a tent city that houses 100 people in the city’s Fiera Park. The situation across the Atlantic is no better. Once the crisis subsides, the total number of unemployed people in the UK will have reached three million. The former backbone of the English industry, the North East, is going through the roughest time. Many are going through hell in Sunderland, Newcastle, Gateshead and Country Durham. In the first half of the 20th century, Sunderland had one of the world’s biggest shipyards, but that facility is now rusting. Coal mines have long since been closed down and nowadays the whole area is a testament to some better times. Life is difficult and the average salary in Sunderland is just £383 a week (around €400) – way below the British average. Thousands of former workers are now claiming income support benefit. The French are also hit by the crisis. French factories are being closed down on a daily basis, leaving many people without jobs. Two huge protests have been held so far, with over

DESPITE THE CRISIS, SOROS COMES OUT EVEN RICHER

ell-known American millionaire of Hungarian descent, George Soros, known as the man who accumulated his wealth as an enormously successful speculator on the British stock exchange, has faired well in this crisis too. While many billionaires lost tens of billions of dollars as a result of the crisis, Soros actually profited and managed to increase his personal wealth by over a billion dollars during the last year. Some 20 months ago he predicted that the general illiquidity of banks was going to turn into a global economic crisis, while last year he earned some US$1.1 billion – mainly through his Quantum Investment hedge fund. 32 CorD 60 / May 2009

3.5 million people taking part. This is certainly only the beginning, since the French are especially angry at their rich: more so than their counterparts in other parts of Europe and the U.S. They are also angry at the government and president Sarkozy, who, allegedly, is favouring the rich. Wealthy French people, just like in many other countries, have fewer tax obligations than the poor population. The richest among them, i.e. those with annual income exceeding €15.5 million, are protected by the so-called tax shield (“bouclier fiscal”). Out of the total taxes paid, 50% of it is returned to them, so each of the France’s 834 millionaires and billionaires receives a tax return averaging €368,261. This amount, by the way, would be sufficient to pay somebody a minimum wage for the following thirty years. All attempts made by trade unions, political opposition and the French public to stop the country giving the rich preferential treatment have fallen on deaf ears, since president Nicolas Sarkozy doesn’t agree with the call. He says that implementing a stricter tax policy towards employers and particularly the richest people would cause great damage to France as it would inspire the country’s wealthiest people to redirect their investments to other countries. Managers in state-owned French companies are going to be stripped of their bonuses, while other employees in public enterprises will have their salaries reduced. Amidst the upheaval over executive salaries, news broke confirming that once the CEO of Societe Generale Bank decides to retire he will get an annual severance pay of nearly a million Euros. Societe Generale CEO Daniel Bouton has been working in the bank for the past 20 years. Germany is also heavily stricken by the crisis and is trying to recover, but the process is not easy. “The motor of the European economy”, as the country has been called in the past, is visibly in trouble: exports have dropped dramatically, industrial production is declining and unemployment is growing, while the anticipated annual drop in economic growth is almost five per cent. Some companies that have been known for generating huge profits in the past are now facing incredibly high losses. The incomes of some

German executives, such as Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann, have been reduced by some 90%. Siemens, BASF and renowned carmakers like BMW and Daimler have fared the same. Unlike managers and executives in other countries, who are opposing plans to cut their salaries and reduce bonuses if their business results are unsatisfactory, German managers have even initiated the reductions of their salaries – on condition that they stay in their positions. Some of them are now receiving salaries that are half the wage they received before. This is the case of the holder of a majority stake in Bertelsmann publishing, who gave up exactly half of his salary. The CEO of Postbank, Wolfgang Klein, even agreed to receive a salary in the amount of a single euro, which goes to show that Germans are proving that money isn’t everything. Russian authorities have also had problems with their domestic bank executives. After providing financial assistance to many privatelyowned Russian banks, thus saving them from bankruptcy, the Russian Government recently warned both bankers and Russian businessmen to behave in a responsible manner. The warning came directly from the chief of state, Dmitry Medvedev, in the form of reminder of the case of Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, the proprietor of Alfa Bank, and his friendship with Oleg Deripasca, the owner of Basic Element. The first failed to provide financial support for the latter, thus putting Basic Element at risk of a bankruptcy that could have resulted in tens of thousands of workers being laid off. The money the Russian government spent on helping private banks is now starting to be spent on other things, such as buying foreign currency, as opposed to financing the domestic economy. The aforementioned warning ensued when the Kremlin realised this. Bankers took note without even a whimper of protest. Following the assumption that everybody “would try to clean their own yard first”, rep-

The British PM Gordon Brown announced that the up to US$5,000 billion of financial stimulus to be provided by 2010 is to be spent on helping the global economy recover resentatives of the 20 biggest global economies, led by U.S. president Obama, met in London on 2nd April with the aim of reaching certain decisions that would help bring the global financial sector and the world’s economy back on track. At the G20 Summit it was decided that $5,000 billion would be set aside as a stimUS ulus to the global economy until the end of 2010. Some US$1,100 billion will be given to the International Monetary Fund and some other international monetary institutions, while leaders of the world’s 20 strongest economies insisted that so-called tax havens should be abolished. Immediately after the G20 summit in London, the OECD released a list containing the names of countries and territories that are considered as the “black holes” of global financial currents. An agreement was reached about what needed to be done and an initiative was launched to form a council to deal with the global financial situation and monitor money flows. In order to put its money where its mouth is, another G20 summit is to take place in Japan next year to review the success of realising this year’s plans. “Global problems require global solutions”, said British PM Gordon Brown before going into detail about the agreements reached. “We agreed that we need to do everything necessary to repair the economic development and employment rates and thus prevent such crises from appearing again.” The British PM also announced that the up to US$5,000 billion of financial stimulus to be provided by 2010 is to be spent on helping the global economy recover. The G20 leaders also agreed to provide an additional US$500 billion

for the IMF, while this institution can count on an additional US$250 billion coming from “special drawing rights”. Moreover, another $250 billion is to be spent on aiding internaUS tional trading, while poor countries are to get $50 billion dollars. US Brown also announced tighter banking regulations and tougher restrictions on executive bonuses at a global level. Accordingly, CEOs in the financial sector are now going to be appointed on the basis of their expert merits and not political or other ties. The British PM also pointed out that the G20 will resolve to maintain planned tax expansions in order to salvage and create millions of jobs, as this is essential to achieving global growth of four per cent. One of the more controversial issues addressed by the G20 was that of so-called tax havens. Despite China’s opposition, the British leader heralded an era of tougher sanctions against countries that failed to submit required information about bank accounts. What is going to happen after all of this? If everything agreed upon at the 2nd April summit comes to pass, the world will start to recover in a year or two. However, the practice differs from the theory. In order to set and apply new rules, at least a year and maybe even longer is required. The question is where the money for the recovery of the global economy is going to come from in the meantime and whether it is going to be allocated exactly as agreed in London. We should not lose hope. Global leaders are at least on the same page when it comes to this issue, but now everybody needs to row to the best of their ability and in order to keep the ship afloat.

G20 SUMMIT

RUSSIA

TENT CITY

The recent G20 summit in London failed to provide appropriate and calming solutions to many of the current crisis issues.

The money Russia spent on helping banks is now starting to be spent on other things, such as buying foreign currency.

California’s governor Arnold Schwarzenegger formally opened a tent city that houses 100 people in the city’s Fiera Park. CorD 60 / May 2009 33

LEADERS INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS Klaus Priverschek, CEO of UniCredit Bank Serbia y taking part in compre hensive measures to support the Serbian population and economy, UniCredit has sent a clear signal that we want to be a part of the solution. Besides our active participation in the nationwide economic aid package for granting subsidised loans, we are also supporting one of Serbia’s top midterm priorities: the modernisation of the country’s infrastructure. UniCredit Group, upon the initiative of its local bank, has approved the granting of a €75 million mid-term loan to stateowned company ‘Putevi Srbije’. We are all aware that our business of commercial banking is built on trust. Today, more than ever, a bank’s financial solidity and its supportive everyday behaviour is what really counts for any bank customer. UniCredit in Serbia unites both of these key ingredients to forge long-standing mutually beneficial partnerships with its clients. We face the challenges in 2009 with realism and a set of appropriate policy responses. Even though risks in 2009 have risen, UniCredit Bank Serbia also sees this environment as an opportunity for us to continue to grow and attract more customers.’

BANKING SECTOR IS THE MOST STABLE SEGMENT Draginja Djurić President of the Executive Board of Banca Intesa f we are talking about the negative consequences of the global economic crisis, recent events support the opinion that the banking system is the best regulated system in our country. The crisis has hit all global financial centres hard, but, truth be told,

34 CorD 60 / May 2009

they have had a very limited influence on the domestic financial domain. This has been a difficult test for the domestic financial system to endure, especially during the fourth quarter of last year. We could see for ourselves once again that the banking sector is the most stable segment of our economy and that, following reforms initiated by the National Bank of Serbia (NBS), healthy foundations have been laid to build a stable banking system with a high capital adequacy and liquidity. A lot has been done to win back the trust Serbian citizens had in domestic banks and I would like to highlight once again that the acquired stability and trust need to be maintained, as this is of vital importance. The responsibility for reaching this goal lies not only on the shoulders of banks, but also on other market players – primarily the state, the real sector and economic experts also need to do their part. SERBIA LACKS CHOICE Laza Kekić Regional Director of Economist Intelligence Unit for Central and Eastern Europe e can call this a budget review, but Serbia will have to have a completely new budget. The state needs to rip up old projections of state expenses & revenue and start all over again. It needs to cut back on the number of people working in the state administration, forget planned salary increases, forget about promises given about the economy’s growth being in the region of seven to eight per cent and, if needed, revise certain laws. Although the fear of social unrest and protests felt by the state authorities is quite understandable, the government will have to make the budget beneficiary face the harsh reality. In times of crisis it is quite accept-

“W

able for some kind of spill over from the wealthier to the poorer section of the population to happen. However, it all depends on the way this will be done. We don’t have fond memories of the communist ‘levelisation’ (socalled uravnilovka), as well as the state’s arbitrary attitude towards redistribution. Government proposals are facing strong opposition. People in Serbia obviously don’t trust their ‘fair and transparent’ implementation. Anyhow, this cannot be implemented as the primary measure for overcoming the crisis, a measure that is supposed to secure sufficient finances for social contributions. Serbia needs to secure enough funds from abroad in order to cover the deficit (both the budget and payment deficit, and the repayment of loans), in addition to reducing public spending. If that doesn’t happen, something will break.” INVESTING IN PEOPLE IS CRUCIAL Dragan Mićić Director of ICM Electronics lthough we produce robotic cells, people are actually our most important asset. No robot could function, be highly productive or be considered an economic investment if there weren’t any qualified engineers to operate it. Following the opening of a production facility in Platičevo, ICM Electronics has become a place where students are educated. The secret of our success is that we have excellent collaboration with various faculties, particularly the Novi Sad Faculty of Technical Sciences and the Belgrade Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Our strategic idea is that, along with carrying out a good market analysis, quality investments always pay off, bearing in mind the current situation in the economy. We spent around a million Euros to build the factory, which is a

result of our endeavour to provide the best in the field of robotics. This is a long-term investment which is yielding great results. This is our contribution to the Serbian economy and we think that investing in people is of crucial importance for development. AN EXIT FROM THE REGULATORY MAZE EXISTS Marija Oreški, Director of Colja, Rojs & Partners ne is faced with everyday obstacles, one after another, to such an extent that you don’t even pay that much attention to them anymore. Hence, my team has been recording everything in order to present these obstacles when requested to do so. For example, we have to go to a certain institution several times in order to carry out what is actually a very simple administrative procedure, thus wasting valuable time. Instead of being at the disposal of their clients, the staff members manning counters take their break all at the same time. Moreover, other departments only work during specific hours that tend to differ from department to department. For example, the Secretariat for Urban Planning is only dealing with clients two days a week, for two hours each day. This is really a great problem in Belgrade. Another problem is that everything takes so long to do. You don’t get the required information and often there isn’t even anybody to ask for this information. If you are lucky enough to find someone to give you an answer to your question, chances are that the answer will be incorrect. I can testify from my own experience, as well as those of my colleagues and friends, that the toughest time is to be had at the Tax Administration. With the exception of a few departments, the Administration is poorly organised and its employees are generally inadequate.

MAY 09. / ISSUE NO. 60

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Global crisis & tourism in Montenegro

EMOTIONAL INVITATION FOR SUMMER

Early this April, while Croatia was promoting its tourist offer for the coming summer season in Belgrade, the Montenegrins were presenting their hotels in Niš By Ilija DESPOTOVIĆ he Montenegrin tourism industry has never forgotten about Serbia, even after all these years neighbouring visitors are not taken for granted. As such, come spring Montenegrin tourism profes-

sionals always embark on a tour of Serbian cities, endeavouring to convince Serbian tourists to come to the Southern Adriatic and spend their summer there. This year, however, it seems that they ‘collided’ on the Serbian market with Croatians, who had travelled to Belgrade to invite citizens of

GOOD OLD TIMES

RUSSIAN INTEREST

“WILD BEAUTY”

In 2008, over a million tourists visited Montenegro, of those 37% came from Serbia, 21% from the EU and 12% from Russia.

According to some information, Russian tourists are not as interested in holidaying in Montenegro this summer.

The ofﬁcial Montenegrin tourism promotion clip, which lasts 60 seconds, will be aired 3,000 times on CNN, and Euronews.

36 CorD 60 / May 2009

Serbia to return to Rovinj and other places in Istria, as well as the Dalmatian Riviera. News that Croatians and Montenegrins had decided to ‘charge’ on Serbia on the very same day demonstrated that the scramble for tourists has begun for what is likely to be one of the most precarious tourist seasons ever. Montenegro is no longer mentioning ‘high class tourism’, which was the talk of last summer. Montenegrin hoteliers are counting on the country’s geographic proximity to Serbia and calculating that Serbian tourists are going to come to Montenegro after all, since that is actually their short-

What will happen if Belgraders wish to go back to the Croatian coastline that they recall from way back when, leaving Montenegro to again become considered as nothing more than a poor man’s holiday destination est route to the sea. They are also presuming that tourists are going to be on the lookout for cheaper holidays. Though the two states have parted ways, Serbian tourists don’t need visas to come to Montenegro and the official promotional slogan for Serbian tourists is: “come to your friends”. This emotional tactic of drawing tourists in is something that Montenegro is still counting on and many Serbian tourists are expected to spend their summer holidays in the Montenegrin resorts of Budva, Herceg Novi and Bar because, Montenegro is “near” and they are coming to “their own”. This isn’t necessarily so. Certain surveys have shown that there quite a few Serbian citizens who are refusing to summer in Montenegro “out of spite”, i.e. those who are still very much under the influence of political relations between the two countries. Some probably even “don’t like Croatia” for the same reason, although, in the past, tourists from Serbia have tended more to go to the Croatian towns of Split, Makarska and the Istria peninsula, rather than Montenegro, which was considered “a poor man’s holiday”. Montenegro’s overall tourist offer is now much better than was the case two decades ago, but it is impossible to truly gauge how much the wars and everything else that happened in the former Yugoslavia has affected the choices of everyday tourists. There’s no doubt that Montenegro has certain advantages over Croatia when it comes to those happenings of the former Yugoslavia. Croatian tourism bosses are doing everything in their power to make Serbian tourists feel at home, but nobody can guarantee that their cars are not going to be vandalised just because they have Belgrade license plates. There is no such fear in Montenegro. That historic sentiment aside, another question is what will happen if Belgraders wish to go back to the Croatian coastline that they recall from way back when, leaving Montenegro to again become consid-

ered as nothing more than a poor man’s holiday destination? This would require a more subtle analysis of tourist wants and needs, of course, but the presumption is certainly not unfounded. What counts in tourism is the quality and cost of service. Just prior to the new summer season, Montenegro’s Ministry of Tourism announced very specific measures aimed at attracting tourists to visit the Montenegrin seaside - from Herceg Novi to Ulcinj. According to the ministry, its main aim is to make Montenegro as competitive as possible come this summer, particularly in comparison to other Mediterranean countries. In specific terms, this means lowering prices by up to 35%, depending on whether we are talking about pre-season, high season or late season. According to some announcements, there will be various benefits for those who decide to stay longer than originally planned. All in all, the calculations show that annual costs per hotel room will be reduced by over €1,200. This is how much cheaper the rooms are going to be. Just before the tourist season kicks in, a lot will be done to make the journey to Montenegro, whether by car, plane or train, better and safer. Passport control mechanisms at border crossings will be simpler and shorter, while the environmental tax will be reduced and only owners of certain cars will have to pay it. Tourists with better cars, i.e. those that are more environmentally friendly and have lower emissions, will gain significant discounts on the environmental tax. Close to €30 million is to be invested in road, airport and other maintenance works by 15th June. This is being done in order to bring more tourists in, but there remains an underlying fear of what the coming summer will bring. Bad news is coming from Russia. According to some information, Russian tourists are not as interested in holidaying in Montenegro this summer. The crisis is also gripping the country and Russian tourists are probably going to choose some des-

tination closer to home, such as Bulgaria, Turkey or maybe even Greece. All hopes are pinned on Serbs, who, as always, will be deciding about their summer holidays at the very last minute. We will know whether they are going to come in desired numbers at the beginning of July. In 2008, over a million tourists visited Montenegro, of those 37% came from Serbia, 21% from the EU and 12% from Russia. Last year, there were seven and a half million overnight stays, which generated €500 million of revenue. Even Madonna’s concert was profitable tourist wise, with a total of €6.5 million earned. Montenegro is also counting on tourists from Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Slovenia. The official Montenegrin tourism promotion clip, which lasts 60 seconds, will be aired 3,000 times on CNN, Euronews and the Travel Channel. Estimates say are that close to 40 million people will see it. Well, at least some of them will decide to come and see this “Wild Beauty”, which is how Montenegro presents itself to the rest of the world. CorD 60 / May 2009 37

ECONOMY |

Dr. Philip Kotler, “father”

HOW T

Professor Philip Kotler, the world’s foremost expert on the strategic practice of marketing, is coming to Belgrade in September 2009

hilip Kotler has been recognized worldwide as the “father” of modern marketing. More than Kotler’s 20 books, who continues to act as a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at the University Northwest, have been translated into over 20 languages, with sales exceeding 5 million copies in 50 countries. Some of his works as Marketing Models, Kotler on Marketing and Marketing Insights: from A to Z, are already considered classics. Mate Publishing House Belgrade and AmCham Seria, organized a lecture of Professor Philip Kotler, at September 28, in Madlenianum Theatre. Known as a brilliant lecturer at leading business school in the U.S, as an author of many books in areas of marketing strategy, planning and organization and international marketing, Professor Kotler will generously share his first hand marketing experiences.

Which megatrends do we have to consider for the future? The economic landscape has been fundamentally altered by technology and globalization. Companies anywhere can now compete anywhere, thanks to the Internet and more free trade. The major economic force is hyper-competition, namely companies are able to produce more goods than can be sold, putting a lot of pressure on price. This also drives companies to build in more differentiation. However, a lot of the differentiation is psychological, not real. Even then, a company’s current advantage doesn’t last very long in an economy where any advantage can 38 CorD 60 / May 2009

of modern marketing

O COMPETE AND WIN be copied rapidly. Companies must pay attention to the fact that customers are getting more educated and have better tools such as the Internet at their disposal to buy with more discrimination. Power has been passing from the manufacturer to the distributor, and now is passing to the customer. The customer is King. In your books, you have pointed out that globalization, hyper-competition and the Internet reshape markets and businesses. What effect are these dynamics having on marketing? All three forces act to increase downward pressure on prices. Globalization means that companies will move their production to cheaper sites and bring products into a country at prices lower than those charged by the domestic sellers. Hyper-competition means that there are more suppliers competing for the same customer, leading to price cuts. And the Internet means that people can more quickly compare prices and move to the lowest cost offer. The marketing challenge, then, is to find ways to maintain prices and profitability in the face of these macro-trends. No country’s industry is going to hold on to its customers if it can’t continue to lead in offering the most value. And the answer has to be: better targeting, differentiation and branding. At the same time, various world regions are becoming more integrated and more protective. The members of a region are seeking preferential terms from the other members of the region. But artificial trade preferences cannot last long against a substantial deterioration of value.

Philip Kotler in Sofia, seminar and press conference

Marketing and selling are almost opposites. Hard sell marketing is a contradiction. A company has only two basic functions: innovation and marketing What is Marketing? Marketing is the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires. It defines, measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and the profit potential. It pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services.

AMONG THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL BUSINESS THINKERS

hilip Kotler was selected in 2001 as the #4 major management guru by the Financial Times (behind Jack Welch, Bill Gates, and Peter Drucker,) and has been hailed by the Management Centre Europe as “the world’s foremost expert on the strategic practice of marketing.” In 2008, the Wall Street Journal listed him as the 6th most influential person on business thinking. Kotler has consulted many major U.S. and foreign companies, including IBM, Michelin, Bank of America, Merck, General Electric, Honeywell, and Motorola—in the areas of marketing strategy, planning and organization, and international marketing. He presents seminars in major international cities around the world on the latest marketing developments to companies and other organizations.

Marketing is often performed by a department within the organization. This is both good and bad. It’s good because it unites a group of trained people who focus on the marketing task. It’s bad because marketing activities should not be carried out in a single department but they should be manifest in all the activities of the organization. In my 11th edition of Marketing Management, I describe the most important concepts of marketing in the first chapter. They are: segmentation, targeting, positioning, needs, wants, demand, offerings, brands, value and satisfaction, exchange, transactions, relationships and networks, marketing channels, supply chain, competition, the marketing environment, and marketing programs. These terms make up the working vocabulary of the marketing professional. Marketing’s key processes are: (1) opportunity identification, (2) new product development, (3) customer attraction, (4) customCorD 60 / May 2009 39

ECONOMY |

company functions exist to support the company’s work in the customer marketplace. Marketing is too often confused with selling. Selling is only the tip of the marketing iceberg. What is unseen is the extensive market investigation, the research and development of appropriate products, the challenge of pricing them right, of opening up distribution, and of letting the market know about the product. Thus, Marketing is a far more comprehensive process than selling. Marketing and selling are almost opposites. Hard sell marketing is a contradiction. Long ago I said: “Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of what you make. Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value. It is the art of helping your customers become better off. The marketer’s watchwords are quality, service, and value.” Selling starts only when you have a product. Marketing starts before there is a product. Marketing is the homework the company does to figure out what people need and what the company should make. Marketing determines how to launch, price, distribute and promote the product/service offering in the marketplace. Marketing then monitors the results and improves the offering over time. Marketing also decides when to end the offering. All said, marketing is not a short-term selling effort but a long-term investment effort. When marketing is done well, it occurs before the company makes any product or enters any market; and it continues long after the sale.

er retention and loyalty building, and (5) order fulfillment. A company that handles all of these processes well will normally enjoy success. But when a company fails at any one of these processes, it will not survive. What would you consider among the chief misconceptions about effective marketing that are still operating in today’s companies. Who isn’t “getting” it?

Marketing is a terribly misunderstood subject in business circles and in the public’s mind. Companies think that marketing exists to support manufacturing, to get rid of the company’s products. The truth is the reverse, that manufacturing exists to support marketing. The company can always outsource its manufacturing. What makes a company is its marketing offerings and ideas. Manufacturing, purchasing, R&D, finance and the other

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

rofessor Kotler’s 700-page Marketing Management (originally published in 1967 and recently updated in a 10th edition) was named by the Financial Times as “one of the 50 top business books of all time” Kotler’s textbooks have sold over three million copies and have been translated into 20 languages 40 CorD 60 / May 2009

When did marketing first appear? Marketing started with the first human beings. Using the first Bible story as an example (but this was not the beginning of human beings), we see Eve convincing Adam to eat the forbidden apple. But Eve was not the first marketer. It was the snake that convinced her to market to Adam. Marketing as a topic appeared in the United States in the first part of the 20th century in the teaching of courses having to do with distribution, particularly wholesaling and retailing. Economists, in their passion for pure theory, had neglected the institutions that help an economy function. Demand and supply curves only showed where price may settle but do not explain the chain of prices all the way from the manufacturer through the wholesalers through the retailers. So early marketers filled in the intellectual gaps left by economists. Nevertheless, eco-

LIST OF SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES: Biotech (e.g., rational drug design, biometric measurement for security) Mobile phones (e.g., micropayments through the phone, wireless devices) Security (corporate and home security) Niche businesses (e.g., a bank for Latinos) Outsourcing Storage systems Automation (e.g., highway passes through toll gates) Health care and medical devices Robots nomics is the mother science of marketing. Marketing is more of a craft and profession than an art form. The American Marketing Association and the British Chartered Institute of Marketing are independently working on professional credentials for professional marketing. They believe that tests can be constructed that can distinguish between qualified marketers and phony marketers. At the same time, many people will originate brilliant marketing ideas who are not trained marketers. Ingvar Kamprad was not a marketer and yet his IKEA company is phenomenally successful in bringing good quality, low-cost furniture to the masses. Creativity is a big part of marketing success and is not limited to marketers. What is the mission of marketing? At least three different answers have been given to this question. The earliest answer was that the mission of marketing is to sell any and all of the company’s products to anyone and everyone. A second, more sophisticated answer, is that the mission of marketing is to create products that satisfy the unmet needs of target markets. A third, more philosophical answer, is that the mission of marketing is to raise the material standard of living throughout the world and the quality of life. Marketing’s role is to sense the unfulfilled

MARKETING Marketing is not the art of ﬁnding clever ways to dispose of what you make. Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value.

The economic landscape has been fundamentally altered by technology and globalization. Companies anywhere can now compete anywhere, thanks to the Internet and more free trade needs of people and create new and attractive solutions. The modern kitchen and its equipment provide a fine example of liberating women from tedious housework so that they have time to develop their higher capacities. You say that marketing must play the lead role in shaping business strategy. Do you think that business executives are fully aware of the role that marketing can play in helping the company succeed? CEOs tend to see marketing as a department that comes into play after the product has been made and the remaining job is to sell it. We argue instead that marketing must be seen as setting the strategic direction for the firm. Peter Drucker stated it well over thirty years ago: “A company has only two basic functions: innovation and marketing.” You have said that if a company’s marketing department can’t propose any new

CEO CEOs tend to see marketing as a department that comes into play after the product has been made and the remaining job is to sell it.

opportunities, they should be fired. But are there many good opportunities still left? Granted that the absolute number of opportunities in an economy will vary with the business cycle and the technology cycle. Opportunities will be scarcer during recessions and when new technologies have not yet emerged. But there are always opportunities! Just look at the new products that continue to appear in catalogs such as Sharper Image or Innovation or Fascination. Any company with a product or service should be able to think of new ways to modify it, combine it, offer different sizes, or add new features or services. Not only can an offering be reshaped for different markets but the offering can also be seen in a new context. I can only believe that some marketers lack the ability to see opportunities. Marketing doesn’t have to fail during a recession, only marketers fail who lack an imagination. source: www.kotlermarketing.com

CUSTOMERS Companies must pay attention to the fact that customers are getting more educated and have better tools to buy with more discrimination. CorD 60 / May 2009 41

BUSINESS |

Where your online business dreams are made

STAND OUT FRO American and EU companies are familiar with ways to capitalise on the power of the Internet in order to develop their business By: Jelena MICKIĆ

hree years ago, when passion for creating beautiful and functional websites was intertwined with dedication to making things work, Implementek, a web design firm and IT consultancy, was born. There is one memorable sentence of great American psychologist and philosopher William James that is very much true to its core. In this sentence he encapsulates the essence of success by saying that no matter what you do in life, it’s the passion that counts the most. Implementek’s founder, Belgrade born Nikola Mickic, has been making websites since his college years. “After I graduated from Harvard with a degree in Computer Science I got a job as a software consultant in IBM in Los Angeles, however I continued my passion for creating websites as a freelancer.” As the roster of satisfied clients grew larger, Nik reached the point when he either had to turn down new clients or open his own business. “I knew of a few talented web designers and programmers in Serbia and saw the opportunity to open up an office that could satisfy the highly-specified needs of US-based clients, while also serving the needs of the growing Serbian online market.” Soon after, Nik flew in from Los Angeles to make the final preparations for opening the company and appointed his friend, Uros Pajic, as the general manager. “People 42 CorD 60 / May 2009

OM THE CROWD couldn’t believe I trusted my business with someone so young, but if you ignore Uros’ age and just focus on the methods with which he tackles problems that arise in a start-up on a day-to-day basis, you immediately realize how business-savvy and mature he is”. Pajic (23) has recently graduated from the Belgrade University, Faculty of Organizational Sciences. “I’ve always been interested in business challenges that are involved with running a start-up. Getting a good team of people, setting up sound business policies and building a portfolio of Serbian clients from scratch was definitely a huge challenge for me personally.” Nik shares his views and adds: “From day one of our business, we dedicated ourselves to providing the best quality of work and services to our clients. We carefully planned out our business philosophy, starting from Implementek’s brand design, to creating efficient project-management procedures, to providing top-notch products for our clients. In a web development business, it is very important to create solutions that are not only visually appealing but function in a manner that exceeds the business needs of our clients. In not so distant past, merely having an online presence might have been considered as being ahead of the curve. Today however, it’s a whole new ball game. The online market is very competitive and the rate of advancement in web technologies is ever increasing. That’s why our designers, programmers and consultants have to keep a track of the latest developments and trends. The web business is a very dynamic and fast industry.” In the short time that the business has been running, Implementek has already made a name for itself with its web work. The websites that they created for their clients made them stand out from the crowd. In November 2008, Implementek won an internationally recognized Golden Spider award for its work on Litriocht.com, the world’s largest online Irish Language bookshop. Implementek’s Creative Director

In every business, especially in creative and visual industries, there are trends that come and go. The same is true for web design Ivan Aleksic and Senior Programmer Mirza Miletic created the new Litriocht.com site in record three weeks time, start to finish, sharing Skype calls and virtual pizza sessions as they worked round the clock with Litriocht’s project managers. According to one of the Golden Spider’s judges, there are 40 strict criteria that have to be met when judging a website. The Litriocht website has more than 6,000 pages and it was no small task to finish the job in 3 weeks, just in time to meet the

GOOD WEB DESIGN

he golden rule of a good web design is to create an intuitive user interface and not only focus on stunning visuals. All work has to be created with the user in mind. A website must get a company’s message across quickly, because most visitors do not go beyond what is in front of their faces.

Spiders deadline, even if that meant spending a night or two in the office. “One day we completely got carried away brainstorming, trying things out and searching for the best solution”, says Mirza. “We got so immersed in the creative flow that it was the bed time before we knew it. We completely lost track of time. In the end we simply decided to spend the night at the office. Luckily we have comfortable sofas here. When our colleagues arrived the next morning they could not believe we had spent the night in. Since then, this has become somewhat of an internal joke in the office. Give the two of them a project and it will be done over night “, concludes Mirza. “No wonder we got an award for this project”, adds Uros, ”but honestly if you have a good idea and believe in people that you work with, success is bound to happen.” The combination of Nik’s business experience and his Serbian-based creative reCorD 60 / May 2009 43

BUSINESS |

BUSINESS POTENTIAL

mplementek’s huge business potential hasn’t gone unrecognized. The company was selected for the skilltransfer program, TAM (Turn Around Management Programe) in EBRD, where TAM consultants work side-byside with colleagues at local companies bringing international experience and knowledge.

sources have provided Implementek with a long list of clients. “We work for overseas clients a lot, representing business interests throughout the EU and the US. We receive many emails and phone calls from companies and individuals who would like to work with us on a daily basis.” says Nik. “The US and the EU clients are familiar with ways to capitalize on the power of Internet in order to grow their business. We normally work with their PR and marketing departments to fulfill a pre-determined set of business needs. In Serbia, the situation is quite different. When working with domestic clients we often need to do a great deal of consulting in order to ascertain what the business needs and goals are, before we can actually proceed onto planning and ultimately deploying the right online business strategy.” Two years ago Implementek received another reinforcement. Dr. Mary Etna Black joined Implementek as a managing partner, bringing her international experience and strong will to the business. A fellow Harvard

HUMOUR & FREEDOM Working in such a creative industry is deﬁnitely fun. In a business like this you have to bring in a lot of humour, creativity and freedom. 44 CorD 60 / May 2009

alum, Mary is a force to be reckoned with. Implementek is located in Zemun, on a quaint street where the bells of the oldest church in town have been counting time for centuries, projecting sound over nearby waters of the river Danube. “We are lucky to work in the oldest part of Zemun, in a renovated architectural house that is so authentic and true to its original aesthetics and architectural style. The house has high ceilings along with the original water well in a cobbled courtyard in which we sometimes gather to brainstorm. We’ve got the original period tiled furnaces scattered around the place, which give character to our otherwise very minimalist workplace design. We’ve also got a pool table in the basement where we often enjoy a game or two after work or during cocktail parties that we throw for our clients’ says Uros. “Working in such a creative industry is definitely fun. In a business like this you have to bring in a lot of humor, creativity and freedom. The most challenging part though is striking the right balance between creativity and usability, while delivering everything within the budget and on time’, says Nik. “Users spend an average of 20-30 seconds reviewing your home page.” says Nick, “Every business must therefore encapsulate

SERBIAN CLIENTS Implementek’s team hopes to be able to work with more Serbian clients after the market slump ends and the local economy rebounds.

what it does in a very few seconds.” That’s why it is so important that your business message speaks clearly to your customers. Uros adds that in every business, especially in creative and visual industries, there are trends that come and go. The same is true for web design. You have to be very knowledgeable with which visual aesthetics are suitable for which industry. That is why professional web design companies understand the importance of simplicity and editing. You start with a good strategy and planning process, follow it with a flawless execution, then do lots of editing before you can finally hand a website over to the client. Very often “less is more”. Everyone in Implementek’s team hopes to be able to work with more Serbian clients after the market slump ends and the local economy rebounds. Clients in Serbia are already starting to invest more of their R&D budgets into online marketing and Internet activities. According to folks at Implementek, now is the moment to invest in your online business in Serbia. Wait too long and the market will become saturated with many serious players and the prices and the stakes will go up. If you’re an individual or a company that is new to the online business, now is the time to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and to be bold and brave. The Serbian online market is still in its early days of inception and is an excellent business opportunity that should not be wasted. Is being an entrepreneur a lot of hard work, we ask Nik. ”Not at all. Being an entrepreneur might seem like a lot of hard work to some. It definitely puts a lot of responsibilities on you in terms of having to account not only to your clients but also to the people you employ. But it’s not “all work and no play”. Entrepreneurship and the opportunity to create new ventures give you energy, motivation and freedom to make your dreams come true, and to do a job you actually like, all the while being your own boss. What else could I wish for? “

ONLINE MARKET The Serbian online market is still in its early days of inception and is an excellent business opportunity that should not be wasted.

The Referral Guide for Serbia

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CONNECT AND SHARE IDEAS WITH OTHER EXPATS Serbia’s premiere website dedicated to the expatriate community has been extensively overhauled and is back better than ever with a new domain, expat.rs Serbia, just like many other countries with a large expat population, has its very own portal which serves to provide expats with an intuitive community platform that provides useful and trusted information and with all of its new updates expat.rs hopes to continue with that objective.

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B2B |

PIRAEUS BANK LOWERS INTEREST RATES ON HOUSING MORTGAGES

iraeus Bank AD Belgrade has passed Piraeus bank branch office in 60, a decision to lower interest rates on Požeška Str, Belgrade housing loans indexed in euros, both insured and not insured with the National Mortgage Insurance Corporation. This decision is applied to all existing clients who already have loans, as well as to new clients, applying for a housing loan with Piraeus Bank. Interest rate for new clients for loans up to EUR 60,000, insured with the NMIC, has been lowered from 9% to 7.25%, i.e. from 9.50% to 7.75% for loans exceeding EUR 60,000. Interest rate for loans not insured with the NMIC up to EUR 60,000, has been lowered to 10.50%, and for loans above EUR 60,000 to 11%. Piraeus Bank, for all old clients, who already have housing loans in EUR, has also lowered interests on loans insured with the NMIC up to EUR 60,000 from 8.20% to 7.25%, and for loans exceeding EUR 60,000 from 8.95% to 7.75%. Interest rate for the existing clients for loans not insured with the NMIC up to EUR 60,000 has been lowered to 9.05%, i.e. to 9.55% for loans exceeding EUR 60.000. In the forthcoming period, Piraeus Bank will continue to monitor the market and find the ways to meet the customers needs as much as possible.

VIP WELCOMES 1 MILLIONTH CUSTOMER

ip mobile announced that it has reached 1 million active subscribers. Its market share grew to over 10% in only 20 months of operations. ’’We are very proud that as of today the Vip community has one million members.’’ said Alexander Sperl, Vip mobile CEO. ’’This means people have recognized Vip as a real and trusted alternative on the market. From the beginning the Vip team focused on satsifying customer needs and this milestone shows that we did a good job. It is also a big motivation to further improve in the future.” On March 30th the millionth customer walked in Vip center in Kragujevac. That is Bojana G. , 29, real-estate agent.

€1.5MILLION TO RAISE PRODUCTION CAPACITY FOR PUNTO

ompany Fiat and the Serbia Government will invest a further €1.5 million in the Kragujevacbased car factory to increase production capacities for the Punto car model, Belgrade daily Blic reports. According to Giovanni de Filippis, CEO of Fiat Cars Serbia, around 600 Puntos will be manufactured in Kragujevac during April. Their sale to domestic consumers began in mid-April under the Government-backed ‘Old for New’ programme. Currently, some 500 Kragujevac workers are engaged in the production of Puntos and, according to Filippis, the company plans to increase the number of employees to 1,000

DINKIĆ: WTO MEMBERSHIP BY 2010

erbia could become a member of the World Trade Organization by next year if all the necessary laws are passed, says Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić. “You can’t be an EU member if you’re not already a WTO member. That guarantees stability of conditions for doing business in a country that can’t subsequently be altered through political changes. Once you become a WTO member, that brings stability and predictability in adopting the relevant laws,“ said the minister. He reiterated that Serbia had been in talks with the WTO since February 4, 2005, stressing that membership of the organization was an important step towards EU membership. He said that membership of the WTO would also boost Serbia’s investment rating, and that investors would regard it as a stable country. Source: Tanjug

46 CorD 60 / May 2009

by September. Serbian Economy & Regional Development Minister, Mladjan Dinkic, said that his main task was to settle the issue of the factory’s communal debts accumulated over the last 19 years, which total RSD1.7 billion (around €18 million).At present, the Punto cars being produced at the Kragujevac facility are made exclusively from components and parts manufactured in Italy. However, Minister Dinkic insisted that about 15 domestic contractors will be included in the production of Punto parts in the second half of the year. Source: Blic

DELTA AGRAR INVESTS €8 MILLION

elta Agrar plans to invest seven to eight million Euros in production improvements. The company’s investments were four times higher in 2008. The largest part of investments is intended for the completion of the existing projects, especially in apple production and the construction of the cooling system. Delta Agrar employs more than 1,800 workers. The company’s network includes five agricultural estates and two farms, a meat plant, a bottling plant, pasta plant and a farming chemicals shop. Source: limun.hr

THE BMW 5 SERIES SALOON.

SUCCESS THAT CAN BE SEEN IMF: ALBANIA IN RECESSION he BMW 5 Series reveals even the smallest detail of its strong char-

“A

lbania’s economic growth in 2009 could stand at between zero and one per cent” – forecasts the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after one of its missions spent a week working in Tirana. Albania has registered vigorous growth over recent years, with GDP figures hovering between 5.5 and six per cent. “These levels are now a thing of the past,” said Gerwin Bell, head of the IMF mission. According to whom Bell, “Albania is still faring better than

the other three economies in the region, which should be bracing themselves for a recession”. The IMF has suggested imposing controls on spending by blocking wage rises and pensions and keeping taxes at present levels. However, the government of PM Sali Berisha, who is due to face fresh parliamentary elections in a few months’ time, has left wage increases and a lowering of welfare contributions on the agenda. Source: ANSAmed

acter. Every perspective displays a clear design language and is an expression of the highest aspirations. Powerful, sporty and, with slight modifications to the exterior design, now more elegant than before. Sophisticated driving technology, innovative chassis control systems, intelligent lightweight construction, optional active steering as well as powerful diesel and petrol engines with impressive traction, right up to the new inline six cylinder, with High Precision Injection, impart an exceptional driving experience. Innovations such as the lateral drift warning system, the Active Cruise Control with The new BMW 5 Series Security offers a perfect synthesis of advanced driving dynamics, exquisite comfort and uncompromising security technology (ballistic protection level VR4). You can find your BMW World wherever you’re living. Use your chance, open reppresentative office in Serbia and buy your BMW duty and tax free! BMW 520d from 30.670 euro duty and tax free.

MEASURES TO PROVIDE ECONOMIC STABILITY

he government’s latest package of measures for economic stability will help lower public spending according to Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic. Dragutinovic concluded that inflation in 2009 will not be higher than six to eight per cent, noting that the measures will provide stability for the dinar exchange rate. According to Dragutinovic, if something goes wrong with budget income there is also the possibility of adopting new savings measures. She pointed out that she strongly opposed measures which would exclude the judiciary, health and education systems, police and the army, noting that everyone being employed by the state should share the same fate. The Minister added that an increase in VAT would be the last solution to the crisis. Source: Večernje novosti

AMSTEL PRODUCTION BEGINS IN SERBIA

he production of Heineken’s Amstel beer started in Serbia on 31st March. The Dutch beer made in Serbia will also be sold in Montenegrol. According to United Serbian Breweries – established by the local merging in Serbia of Netherlands-based Heineken and Turkish Efes – Amstel will be produced by Novi Sad’s MB brewery, which was bought last year.United Serbian Breweries invested €15 million in Serbia in 2008 – mostly in production equipment – while investments in the production standardisation will amount to €50 million. Source: Beta

THE NEW BMW 3 SERIES

JUST AS AGILE AS YOU ARE

ven after 30 years, the BMW 3 Series is more than ever the original compact and sporty automobile. Four individual variants – the BMW 3 Series Saloon, the Touring, the Coupé and the Convertible – as well as a range of four and six cylinder engines that are just as dynamic as they are economical – and a six cylinder with High Precision Injection and Twin Turbo, too – fulfil your dream of BMW driving pleasure. Select from a unique range with an enormous choice of variants, engines and customising possibilities: experience with your own personal BMW 3 Series the perfect combination of dynamics, comfort and sophistication. Use your chance, open reppresentative office in Serbia and buy your BMW duty and tax free! BMW 318i, from 22.900 euro, duty and tax free. Special limited offer for company car, unique in the class, four wheel drive. BMW 320xd from 25.750 euro, duty and tax free. CorD 60 / May 2009 47

B2B |

NEGOTIATIONS WITH ‘ALPINA’ TO END WITH AR BITRATION

egotiations regarding the cancellation of a concession agreement for the construction of the Horgos-Pozega Highway will most likely end with international arbitration – said Walter Rueckercugl, ‘POR’ director for Serbia, speaking at a press conference in Vienna. “Unfortunately it seems that negotiations with the Serbia Government have definitely failed, although we are still awaiting their reply. The deadline for an agreement to be reach by our two sides is the end of April. If that does not happen we shall file the matter with international arbitration,” Rueckercugl said. The concessionary ‘Alpina-POR’ cancelled the concession agreement unilaterally on 16th December last year. Source: Blic

AROUND 13,000 MADE JOBLESS IN JUST A MONTH

CONSTRUCTION HALTED AT SREBRNO JEZERO

ilver Lake Investment company has announced the halting of a construction of a hotel on Srebrno Jezero (the Silver Lake), due to the global economic crisis. The four-star hotel was to cover an area of 30,000 square metres, while the planned investment was worth €40 million. In a press release submitted to agency Beta, the company said that it will continue investing in construction of infrastructure and amusement facilities. The investor and founder of Silver Lake Investment is businessman Slobodan Vucicevic. Source: Beta

INVESTMENTS OF OVER US$1 BILLION IN 2009

erbian Trade & Services Minister Slobodan Milosavljević expects the value of foreign investments in Serbia in 2009 to exceed US$1 billion. Following a meeting with members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Serbia,

48 CorD 60 / May 2009

Milosavljevic told press that in addition to investments of Gazprom, Fiat and “a Russian bank”, he expects one Greenfield investment. However, he did not wish to name the company in question. According to Milosavljević, one of the new investors this year might be Swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea. “I cannot guarantee for sure whether and when it will happen, but negotiations with Ikea are ongoing at the level of the Serbian government and the City of Belgrade,” Milosavljevic said. Milosavljevic stated that Ikea will make an investment in the field of trade and production, while it is expected that another 10 to 20 partners will arrive with the Swedish company. Source: Beta

erbia’s National Employment Service registered 749,691 jobless people at the end of February 2009, which is around 13,000 more than in the previous month. The number of unemployed workers in Serbia has increased by 31,000 in the past four months alone. Experts warn that the number of jobseekers in Serbia is larger than statistical data indicates, while officials on the other side claim that the situation is not drastic and that the crisis peak of unemployment is expected in the middle of the year. “The real number of jobless people is 400,000 and the unemployment rate is 14 per cent. This is date from the labour poll being carried out in accordance with EU standards,” said Velimir Ilic, director of the National Employment Service. Some economists, however, claim that statistical data actually does not give a real insight into the matter. Source: Blic

B2B |

GAS PRODUCTION LINE CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY

ustrian company Heat began construction of a new production line at Serbia’s Banatski Dvor gas storage facility on 13th April. The project comes after public company Srbijagas and Heat signed an agreement on the production line’s construction in Novi Sad on 11th April. According to a Serbian Government statement, the agreement is worth €5.5 million. Following the signing, Srbijagas Director Dusan Bajatovic confirmed that the construction will begin today (13th April) and will be financed from Srbijagas’s budget. Bajatovic explained that the work is to be completed in 233 days and will ensure that the Banatski Dvor facility will be able to produce five million cubic metres of gas per day. He added that the facility’s capacity will be 300 million cubic metres next season and

MAT, JAT SIGN AGREEMENT ON DEBT PAYMENT

erbia’s national carrier, JAT Airways, and F.Y.R.O.M.’s MAT have signed an agreement to find the best business solution that will enable MAT to pay off the total debt, plus interest, which JAT is demanding. The agreement was signed in Belgrade by JAT acting director Sasa Vlaisavljevic and President of the MAT Board of Directors, Zlatko Petrovski. According to an MAT press release, the two sides both showed interest in establishing various forms of co-operation in technical and commercial aspects, as well as possibly reconstructing MAT’s ownership structure. The press release says that by improving the companies’ partnership, JAT Airways is once again confirming its goal to become a regional leader and showing its willingness, with its presence on the market, to improve services for passengers from F.Y.R.O.M. The F.Y.R.O.M. market has attracted the attention of companies from the region for several years and in 2008 the country’s main airport in Skopje serviced around 660,000 passengers. Source: Balkans.com

VOJVODINA  HUNGARY BUSINESS FORUM HELD

D Serbia will have a 60-day supply of gas in the case that a new gas crisis occurs. In conjunction with the Serbian government and the Ministry of Mining and Energy, Srbijagas will draft a plan to construct another gas storage facility and, thus, ensure that Serbia has a six-month supply of gas, Bajatovic confirmed. Serbia and Russia are currently discussing the possibility of setting up a joint enterprise for the modernisation of Banatski Dvor, in accordance with the energy agreement forged between the two countries. Bajatovic added that Srbijagas will set aside around €2 billion in order to take over construction of Banatski Dvor–Gospodjinci. Wilhelm Huber, owner of company Heat, said that his company will endeavour to meet all the deadlines specified for construction of the facility’s production line. Source: Balkans.com

espite the general economic crisis, Vojvodina remains a favourable region for foreign investments, with a series of comparative advantages compared to other parts of the region – this was highlighted at a Vojvodina-Hungary Business Forum, jointly organised by Hungarian company IDT-Hungary and the Vojvodina Investment Promotion Fund (VIP). Hungarian Consul General in Subotica, Ferenc Nagy, confirmed the readiness of the Hungarian Embassy and Consulate in Serbia to serve as a link for business deals, underscoring that representatives of the two countries meet regularly at various levels. President of the Vojvodina Assembly, Sandor Egersi, welcomed the participants of

the meeting, noting that the businessmen of Hungary and Serbia may find the right paths for future development by joining forces. According to President of the Vojvodina Executive Council and Co-Chairman of the Mixed Serbia-Hungary Business Committee, Bojan Pajtić, the province is a good place for investment even at a time of crisis. Source: Tanjug

OZREN MARKOVIC NEW CEO OF “SLOBODA ČAČAK LTD.”

he session of the Managing Board of “Sloboda Čačak ltd.” arms factory which was discontinued on 16 April 2009 was held 22nd april. It was unanimously confirmed that the to-date CEO Mr. Radomir Ljujic ends his term and Mr. Ozren Markovic is appointed the new Acting CEO of the factory. CorD 60 / May 2009 49

B2B |

GREEK ALAPIS EYES SERBIA’S GALENIKA

MORE POWER AND LESS FUEL CONSUMPTION

olvo Cars sharpens the company’s diesel offer. Two entirely new five-cylinder, 2.4-litre turbo diesels give the customers the attractive possibility to combine more power with class-leading fuel consumption and CO2-emissions: the high-performance, twin-turbo D5 with 205 hp and 420 Nm of torque; the medium-performance, singleturbo 2.4D with 175 hp and 420 Nm of torque. Both engines are available in the Volvo S80 and models V70, XC60 and XC70 from the spring of 2009. The performance and driveability requirements in D5 engine have been solved with twin turbochargers of different sizes that operate in sequence to provide added power within a broader rev range. The result is alert response and rapid acceleration at all speeds, with very smooth power delivery between the turbo ranges. Advanced fuel injection technology uses piezoelectric fuel injectors provides precise distribution of the atomised fuel in the combustion chamber, resulting in efficient combustion and low emissions. This technology creates a pleasant sound bearing a closer resemblance to the elegant note of a six-cylinder petrol engine. The high-tech solutions contribute to the excellent fuel consumption (EU Combined) figures, par example, 6.2 litres/100 km in the S80. The single-turbo 2.4D has been optimised with low fuel consumption in sharp focus. The injection system features another type of piezoelectric fuel injectors than in the D5, aiming to cut consumption through extremely rapid and precise injection sequences. Upgraded 2.4D engine gives a fuel consumption of 5.8 litres/100 km in the S80.

reek chemicals company Alapis is interested in buying Serbian state-owned pharmaceutical and chemical company Galenika, local media have cited industry sources as saying. Galenika is the largest Serbian pharmaceuticals company, controlling almost a third of the local pharmaceuticals market. Serbia plans to launch a tender to sell a 70 per cent stake in the pharmaceutical company in the second half of the year, State Secretary at the Economy Ministry, Nebojsa Ciric, has said. According to sources, Vrsac-based Hemofarm, part of Germany’s Stada, Habit Pharm and two consortia led respectively by French banks BNP Paribas and Rothschild & Cie, are all interested in Galenika. Galenika Fitofarmacija reported a 34.7% rise in its net profit to 355 million dinars (€4.5million) in 2007. The company’s headquarters are located in Belgrade and Galenika produces herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rat poison and other chemicals. Source: Reporter.gr

RUSSIA RENEWS CLAIM OVER BULGARIA’S BULGARTABAC COMPANY

ussia intends to take back a number of foreign-based companies that were once the property of the former Soviet Union, including Bulgarian cigarette maker Bulgartabac. The plan was confirmed on 9th April by Vladimir Kozhin, head of Russia’s Presidential Property Management Department. “We are investigating ... and if we find out that the company was once ours, but in a not very legal way has come into foreign hands, we will launch a procedure for its return,” Kozhin said. Russia has repeatedly raised the question of Bulgartabac’s ownership, which the Soviet Union acquired as part of reparations after World War II. Source: SEtimes.com

INCREASING COUNTRY COMPETIVENESS

inister of Trade & Service Slobodan Milosavljević met with representatives of the largest foreign and local companies in Serbia, members of American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham). “The Government of the Republic of Serbia is determined to maintain macroeconomic stability, as well as to support all companies on the Serbian market through practical and direct incentives, with the aim of maintaining their market position in the country and abroad,” said Minister Milosavljević, addressing AmCham members in Serbia. In his speech at the April AmCham business luncheon, Milosavljevic said: “In these times of crisis in particular, we expect foreign investors to contribute to keeping jobs, increasing production, exports and the overall development of our country through their engagement.” Source: EMportal

50 CorD 60 / May 2009

SERBIA RECEIVES US$6.1 MILLION FROM SPANISH FUND

he Spanish Fund for Achieving Millennium Development Goals granted Serbia $6.1 million for a youth employment and migration management programme on 6th April. The document on realisation of the programme was signed in Belgrade by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Mlađan Dinkić, Spanish Ambassador to Serbia Ignacio De Palacio Espana and United Nations Coordinator in Serbia Lenart Kostalainen. Dinkic said that Serbia had received help to improve youth employment in the South Banat region, Belgrade and Pcinja districts over the next three years. According to him, the programme is also aimed at making it easier for repatriated citizens, especially Roma who are returning to Serbia on the basis of the Readmission Law, to rejoin society. The Spanish ambassador emphasised that the Spanish government had set aside $700 million for the realization of the Fund and that the countries of the Balkans would receive a total of $54 million. “Serbia, as a particularly important country to Spain, will be among the most important beneficiaries of the Spanish fund’s resources and will receive a total of $12 million for three projects,” said De Palacio Espana. Source: Tanjug

SERBIA COULD BORROW FROM CHINA AND RUSSIA

Finance Ministry official says that “should the government measures prove successful”, the country will not need additional money. However, Slobodan Ilić also stated that should the need arise, Serbia “will negotiate with all the countries that could offer loans under favourable conditions, including Russia and China”. In a bid to overcome the economic crisis, the country recently made an arrangement worth €3 billion with the IMF, along with a commercial loan of €550 million, Ilić said. “As far as I’m aware, we already have talks with the Chinese and the Russians, but over some non-dedicated loans that are not related to covering the budget deficit,” Ilić revealed. Source: B92

EXCITEMENT CAN BE THIS EFFICIENT T

he new E-Class Coupé offers a very special combination of two attributes for which the Mercedes brand is known: fascination and efficiency. With its classic Coupé side aspect – no B-pillars and fully retractable side windows – the new two-door car is a particularly sporty interpretation of the E-Class’s dynamic design. The new Coupé offers all the technical innovations of the new E-Class series that one might expect to find in a sports-oriented luxury Coupé. These include selective damper control, drowsiness detection, preventive occupant protection and the Active Bonnet. As a feature specific to the Coupé, the Dynamic Driving package allows different suspension setups at the touch of a button. Adaptive Main Beam Assist, road sign recognition and an automatic emergency braking system are other features with which the new series sets standards in this vehicle category. The E-Class also takes on a pioneering role in the drive sector. The new diesels and direct-injection petrol engines combine efficiency with an effortless power delivery. The engine line-up includes two new four-cylinder models which deliver significantly more power and torque while consuming up to 17 percent less fuel. The best example is the E 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Coupé, which consumes 5.1 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres and emits 135 grams of CO2 per kilometre, making it one of the most economical vehicles in its class.

CorD 60 / May 2009 51

B2B |

DELTA MAXI SALES UP 27% IN Q1

etail chain Delta Maxi posted a 27% year-on-year rise in sales in the first quarter of 2009, the company said. Delta Maxi, which currently operates 350 retail outlets – including mini-markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets – has announced plans to make €200 million of investments in 2009. According to the company’s general manager, Dragan Filipovic, Delta Maxi also aims to raise its 2009 sales to €2 billion – up from €1.5 billion in 2008 and the company is projecting gross profit of €40 million in 2009. Source: Reporter

ALMOST 60 THOUSAND COMPANIES BLOCKED IN SERBIA

H.E. MUNTER MEETS SERBIAN MANAGERS

.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter has met with members of the Serbian Association of Managers. During the informal talks, members of the association, led by Chairman Slobodan Vučićević, presented their results, mission and goals to the ambassador, while the role of the government in weathering the economic crisis was also discussed. Munter also spoke with members of the Association’s board of directors, including prominent businessman Zoran Drakulić, Draginja Đurić, from Banca Intesa, and Bojan Radun from the Nektar company. The ambassador expressed support for the transparency and communication shown between the association and the government and economic policymakers, stating that it was important for success in overcoming the negative link between business and politics, as legitimately highlighted by President Boris Tadić. Source: B92

ational Bank of Serbia (NBS) Governer Radovan Jelasić stated that a total of 59,466 companies in Serbia were blocked on 10th April, while assets amounting to 234 billion dinars were frozen. Jelasic told the parliament’s Finance Committee that, in February, the number of blocked companies was 57,000, meaning that the assets of another 2,500 companies have been blocked in the past month and a half. Jelasic said that over one half of companies have been blocked for more than two years. He pointed out that the blockades were primarily initiated by the tax authorities, via the courts and bills of exchange, with the former amounting to 20% recently. Source: Tanjug

KONUZIN: RUSSIA WILL REALISE AGREED INVESTMENTS

n spite of the economic crisis, Russia will realise all agreed investments in Serbia, and it is also interested in additional projects, stated Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Konuzin. He explained that the talks with the Serbian Government are ongoing about the extending of investments. Russia is seriously considering engagement in the realization of the first phase of a project in view of the renovation of the gas storage in Banatski Dvor, Konuzin said. According to him, both governments wish to continue developing the economic cooperation on the foundation of good relations that are constantly improving. Source: EMportal 52 CorD 60 / May 2009

JAPAN, CHINA INTERESTED IN INVESTING IN SERBIA

eputy Prime Minister for EU integration Bozidar Djelic stated that Japan and China are interested in loan investments in Serbia, adding that favourable loans from these countries will help construct the Zemun-Borca Bridge in Belgrade amongst other things. Djelic said that Japan and China are aiming for a greater presence in central and Eastern Europe, adding that further investment by them in Serbian products would be beneficial to them because of Serbia’s free trade agreements with the EU, Russia and other countries. He noted that favourable loans imply rates of 2–3%, with a 20 to 30 year repayment period and long grace periods. Djelic said that Japan is most interested in the desulfurisation project at the Nikola Tesla power plant, which will help clean up the environment as well as enable the construction of a plaster factory. Source: RTS

SERBIAN SIDE CONFIRMS NEGATIVE ANNUAL BAL ANCE SHEET FOR NIS

he annual balance sheet of Serbian petroleum company NIS’s business dealings will be checked in detail by an auditory body before the end of April, said Nikola Martinović, a member of the NIS Management Board. According to Martinovic, the annual balance sheet showing a 3.8 billion dinar loss is approximately correct and will be adopted at the meeting of ‘NIS’ vshareholders, which is scheduled for 21st April. “Since operations in the last year were negative, there will be no money transfer into the budget. Further negotiations between the Serbian and Russian side will be held to decide how much money will be transferred into the budget when NIS’s results are positive,” Martinovic said. According to the annual balance sheet made by the Russian side that took over ‘NIS’, the company generated losses of about 3.8 billion Dinars in 2008. Source: Blic

ATEC ONLY CONTENDER IN NEW RTB AUCTION

AUSTRIAN ATLAS INVESTS EUR 15 MILLION IN ZORKA

ustrian A-Tec will be the only company able to bid at the tender for the sale of the RTB Bor copper mine, says the Privatisation Agency. The agency informed Beta that A-Tec was the only company to have bought the tender documentation on time. A-Tec won the last tender for RTB, bidding $466 million, but failed to cough up the cash on time, which led to the tender being abandoned. The deadline for bids in the new tender expired on 3rd April 3 and the Austrians will have to submit their bid by 21st April, together with a guarantee of $10 million. Eligibility to compete at the last tender was limited to companies in the copper produc-

tion and processing business with minimum revenue in 2009 of $500 million. At the previous tender, held last November, a 67 per cent stake in the company was on offer, requiring a minimum investment of $300 million. The Economy Ministry’s decision to change the tender conditions was dictated by the fall in copper prices on the international market as a consequence of the economic crisis. Source: Beta

DRAFT REBALANCE OF THE BUDGET ADOPTED

he S erbian Government has adopted the draft rebalance of the budget, which envisages the income of 649.4 billion dinars and the expenses of 719.9 billion, so the deficit will amount to 70.5 million dinars confirmed Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic. She said that comparing to the original plan, the income will be decreased for 7.1% and the expenses for 3.9%. The deficit has grown for 20.5 billion dinars, since originally it was planned to 50 billion, specified Dragutinovic. According to her, the rebalance of the budget was made on the base of estimation that the GDP be 2% lesser than in 2008, and the inflation will reach 10%. The highest sum in the state administration will be limited to six-times average republican salary, i.e. approximately 190,000 dinars. The new measures will not apply to those employed in education, health protection, culture, social protection institutions, army, police and judiciary. The Government expects to save some 85 billion dinars over next 10 months that way.

tlas invested EUR 11 million in the Sabac plant and EUR 3.5 million in the Kocelj plant. Sabac-based tile maker Zorka Keramika and Kocelj-based brick maker Zorka Opeka received new assembly lines, thanks to EUR 14.5 million investments by Austrian Atlas Holding. Atlas invested EUR 11 million in the Sabac plant and EUR 3.5 million in the Kocelj plant. Atlas managed to increase the production capacities from 1.2 million square meters of tiles to 6 million square meters of tiles. Source: limun.hr

CEMENT MAKER SCRAPS INVESTMENT

H DELTAZEXTRA HOPE FOR EXTENSION IN BOSNIA

he Delta-Zextra consortium has asked the Rebublika Srpska government to give a 90-day extension to the deadline for meeting commitments specified in the contract for the purchase of Boska Department Store purchase. The consortium signed the sales agreement for a 58 per cent stake in Boska Department Store in October 2008. Boska was sold for €3 million, while the consortium committed itself to investing a million Euros and paying three outstanding salary installments to the workers of Bosca. Source: limun.hr

olcim Serbia has announced that its plans to invest €83 million have been abandoned. The company, part of the Switzerlandbased global cement giant, was to spend the money on expanding its Novi Popovac plant’s capacities. The decision came as the company is cutting expenses and introducing saving measures in order to counter the financial and economic effects of the crisis. Holcim said that this will not affect the current production facilities, nor its ability to deliver cement to the Serbia market. Holcim, which has operated in Serbia since 2002, has so far invested over $90 million in its Serbian operations. The Novi Popovac operation in eastern Serbia employs 456 people, while Holcim also opened its ready-to-use concrete plant located near Belgrade in 2006. Source: Beta

NBS CUTS KEY POLICY RATE

aving reviewed current economic developments, the NBS Monetary Policy Committee has decided to cut the key policy rate by one percentage point. The new rate, applicable as of 23th april, is 14 per cent. CorD 60 / May 2009 53

FACES & PLACES |

Serbian Deputy PM and Minister of Economy & Regional Development, Mlađan Dinkić (right), Spanish Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Inigo de Palacio Espana (centre), and incumbent UN co-ordinator in Serbia, Lennart Kotsalainen (left), jointly signed the programme entitled “Support to National Efforts for the Promotion of Youth Employment and Management of Migration” on 6th April.

Belgrade Mayor Dragan Đilas formally opens the summer season in Belgrade’s ‘Bohemian Quarter’ of Skadarlija on 19th April.

Greek pharmaceutical company Alapis acquires Šumadijalek. At a meeting held at Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel, Alapis Director John Georgakopoulos announced the company’s plans to invest in Serbia in the future.

Representatives of the Serbian subsidiaries of the three biggest tobacco companies in the world - Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International - held a press conference on 15th April following amendments to Serbia’s customs and excise policy. Pictured: Skip Bornhuetter (PM), Luiz Heeren (BAT) and Branislav Vukosavljević (JTI).

Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Serbian National Parliament, MP Dragoljub Mićanović, and LDP MP Vesna Pešić welcome a delegation of the Finnish parliament to Serbia on 21st April.

54 CorD 60 / May 2009

A major VIP party is held in Belgrade club Superspace to mark the launch of the production of Amstel beer in Serbia. The event was attended by many Serbian celebrities, Amstel executives and representatives of the Dutch Embassy in Serbia, while entertainment was provided by the rappers of Beogradski sindikat (pictured).

A Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) delegation meets with the European Parliament’s observer for Serbia, Jelko Kacin, on 6th April. Pictured: LDP president Čedomir Jovanović and Jelko Kacin.

Belgian Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Denise De Hauwere (right), accepts the Grand Prix on behalf of the director of the ﬁlm “Good Night”, Valerie Rossier, at the 56th Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival.

Head of the International Civilian Ofﬁce (ICO), Peter Faith, and Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister, Hajredin Kuqi, open an ICO regional ofﬁce in Gnjilane on 21st April.

The wife of the Indonesian Ambassador to Serbia, Mrs. Sri Rahayu Dalimunthe (centre), played host to a Coffee Morning gathering members of the International Women’s Club on 7th April. The event included presentations of traditional Indonesian dancers and music. CorD 60 / May 2009 55

FACES & PLACES |

A delegation of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) meets a delegation from the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) of Republika Srpska, led by Mladen Bosić, in Belgrade. Pictured: DSS President Vojislav Koštunica (second left) and associates.

The Italian Cultural Centre opens an exhibition entitled “Changing Faces of Italy” on 2nd April. The exhibition, which includes oil paintings and graphic art from the private collection of Flaminio Farensi, will be open until 4th May.

Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Alexander Konuzin, welcomes French Ambassador, H.E. Jean-François Terral, and Mrs. Terral to a festive concert and cocktail reception at the Russian Embassy in Belgrade on 7th April. The concert saw the performances of Marko Kalajanović (baritone) and Jelena Ðajić (piano). 56 CorD 60 / May 2009

The Mayor of Niš, Executive Director of NGO Protekta and the special Italian government commissioner for repossession of property gained through criminal activities appear at a national conference entitled “Organised Crime – Dossier Serbia”, which was held in Niš on 21st April. Pictured: Miloš Simonović, Milan Stefanović and Antonio Maruccio.

Clothing brand Monsoon Lady stages a fashion show at the Belgrade Jakobs Fashion Selection in the Hyatt Regency Hotel on 5th April.

Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) announces the conclusion of its sponsorship contract with the Partizan basketball club on 4th April. On the occasion, NIS donated Payway cards to the Divac charity organisation. Pictured: Celebrated basketball player Predrag Danilović and Director General of NIS, Kirill Kravchenko. Labour and Social Policy Minister, Rasim Ljajić, is joined on 22nd April by representatives of the Serbian Army and the Jewish community, former concentration camp prisoners and their families to lay ﬂowers and wreaths at the monument to honour those killed in the Staro Sajmište concentration camp in Belgrade. The wreath-laying marked the National Remembrance Day of the Victims of WWII Genocide.

President of the Executive Council of Vojvodina, Bojan Pajtić, meets Czech Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Hanna Hubackova, in Novi Sad on 22nd April.

Hellenic Ambassador to Belgrade, H.E. Dimosthenis Stoidis, hosts an ofﬁcial reception marking the National Day of Greece at the Greek Ambassadorial Residence on 25th March. Pictured, far left, is Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić.

Easter Midnight Mass at Belgrade’s St. Sava Temple, conducted by Serbian Bishop Amﬁlohije.

CorD 60 / May 2009 57

SPORT

FRIENDSHIP

THE BELGRADE BANCA INTESA MARATHON

THROUGH SPORT

The Belgrade Marathon was hold on Saturday, 18th April 2009 for the 22nd time. This is Serbia’s biggest sporting events

ithin the organisation of this year’s Belgrade Marathon, the 42nd Military World Marathon Championship was held. The 22nd Belgrade Banca Intesa Marathon has been marked by the foreign and Serbian athletes, Belgraders, who in their capacity of the spectators formed an important part of the event, officials of the Belgrade City and the Republic of Serbia and journalists. We do not wish to add anything to their opinions. But we feel obliged to express our gratitude to all the people who have contributed to the success of the Saturday’s event. Primarily, the Belgrade City Council and its public services, the Ministries of Youth and Sport, Defense, Foreign and Internal Affairs, and the Belgraders – both for contributing to the mass participation at the 22nd Belgrade Banca Intesa

58 CorD 60 / May 2009

Marathon and for supporting the athletes in their attempt to achieve good results, and simply for being patient with the competitors and us for making it difficult for them to move around the capital. The participants pointed out that one of the strongest impressions was the warmth with which they were greeted along the course.

OLIVERA JEVTIĆ

ocal hero, Olivera Jevtic won the half-marathon for the sixth time, in 1:12:20. And pronounced herself reasssured after two months of injury that she could successfully compete in the Mediterannean Games, here in Belgrade in June, and then the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August.

SUCCESSFUL HUMANITARIAN ACTION “CORD CHARITY MASTERS” - SUPPORT FOR SAFE HOUSE

In organization of the Ministry of Defense and Serbian Army, the 22nd Belgrade Banca Intesa Marathon hosted the 42nd World Military Marathon Championships, the biggest military competition so far held in the country. Under the motto of the International Military Sports Council (CISM), “Friendship through sport”, soldiers from 27 nations from four continents, running on the streets of our capital. Victor Kigen of Kenya won the Belgrade Banca Intesa Marathon on his debut, just as his mentor Paul Tergat suggested he would. Bright sunshine and temperatures rising to 20C (68F) persuaded the leaders to race conservatively, and it wasn’t until the last 10 kilometres that Kigen’s surge broke up the pack of a dozen men, which included several contestants from the concurrent World Military Marathon Championships. But Kigen had looked in control all the way, and the military men made no impression on him, as the 25-year-old surged away to victory in two hours, 13 minutes, 28 seconds (2.13.28), taking close to a minute out of his pursuers over the last five kilometres.Kigen was followed home by two colleagues, Sylvester Cheboi in 2.14.25, who just got the better of Julius Korir in 2.14.28. Ahmed Moustafa (originally Patrick Cheboto of Uganda) running for Qatar was fourth in 2.16.22, thus winning the military title, and leading his colleagues to the team prize. The influence of Tergat on the marathon, like that of his erstwhile rival, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia continues to be felt. The leading distance runners on the track throughout the 1990s, first Tergat then Gebrselassie took the marathon World record into another dimension. But whereas Geb is still running at the highest level, Tergat has dropped down a notch, but is contributing to the development of new Kenyan marathoners. One of his charges, Paul Lekuraa broke the Athens Marathon course record last November. And now Kigen, who comes from the same Baringo District as his mentor, has blossomed after five months under Tergat’s wing in the camp at Ngong outside Nairobi. Anne Kosgei, also of Kenya won the women’s race, in 2.34.51. It was her second victory in five marathon outings.

or the fifth year in a row, CorD magazine organized its “CorD Charity Masters” five-kilometer humanitarian race. This year about one hundred representatives of some large domestic and foreign companies took part. For each kilometrer run, 500 dinars were collected for humanitarian purposes. Since 2005, the date of CorD’s first anniversary, within the Belgrade Marathon is also run “CorD Charity Masters,” a humanitarian race on a five kilometerlong track. The goal of this race is to allow a large number of people to run as many kilometers as possible. For each kilometer run, the participant pays a certain sum of money. This year for “CorD Charity Masters,” our traditional friends and partners from companies we have been working with for the past 5 years entered. For many, this was their second or third participation. We saw a whole group of people wearing “CorD Charity Masters” t-shirts at the starting position of the 22nd Belgrade Marathon. This year we collected altogether dinars earned by friends from Henkel, Coca Cola, AmCham CorD, and individual participants. In cooperation with CORD as the organizer, this money has been divided into for several humanitarian actions: Counseling Against Family Violence and “School without Violence” programme in Serbia. You can make a contribution for the “CorD Charity Masters” through bank account number: 265-110031000393869 Raiffaisen bank, Beneficiary: Savetovalište protiv nasilja u porodici (Counseling Against Family Violence) or through their bank account number: 290-5765-17, Univerzal banka Beograd. It has been noted that a few participants of “CorD Charity Masters” ran even farther than 5 kilometers. In 2010, we hope to have an even greater number of participants in our “CorD Charity Masters” humanitarian race, and to collect a bigger sum of money to help those who need it.

CorD 60 / May 2009 59

CULTURE INTERVIEW: DAVID ALBAHARI, AUTHOR

EVERY NIGHT IN A DIFFERENT TOWN

Serbian writer David Albahari became the recipient of this year’s Golden Sunﬂower (awarded by company Vital) for his collection of short stories entitled Every night in a different town, published by the Srpska književna zadruga

By Jelena JOVANOVIĆ

ccording to the Golden Sunflower jury, Albahari became the 13th winner of this annual award because he uses “the manner of an exquisite story teller” and “speaks of our world, time and the people that surround us in a tradition of contemporary, suggestive and sensible story telling”. President of the jury, Jovan Zivjak, noted that Albahari has been present on the Serbian and global literary scene for almost three decades, adding that he is one of the most powerful narrative voices of contemporary Serbian literature and one of the most frequently translated Serbian writers. Albahari was born in Peć, Kosovo, in 1948. His literary debut came in 1973 when his collection of stories, entitled Family Time, was published. To date, Albahari has authored ten books of short stories, thus setting new standards of Serbian prose in the short story genre. He has also authored twelve novels and three books of essays. Albahari is the recipient of many literary awards – for his novel Bait he 60 CorD 60 / May 2009

was awarded the NIN award in 1996; he was also the recipient of the Andrić Award, the City of Belgrade Award, the Stanislav Vinaver Award and the Branko Ćopić Award. Albahari’s books have been translated into 16 languages. For the last fifteen years Albahari has been living and working in Canada. Last year, aside from the recently acknowledged collection of short stories, he published his latest novel, The Brother, a book of essays, Diaspora and Other Things, and a children’s book, Emma and the Disappearing Hedgehog. How long did it take you to complete the collection of short stories Every night in a different town, which, as you said, was inspired by many literary nights spent in various European cities? What message does this book send? Most of the stories came about in the last two years. My main intention was to show that human destiny is the same regardless where a person lives, whilst the place where someone resides makes this destiny somewhat specific in terms of the way in which the person ends his or somebody else’s life. These stories also pay respect to various writers that influenced me, so you will see that there are stories written in a certain manner or reminiscent of Bernhard, Salinger, Tisma or Updike, among others. How did you react to the news that you are this year’s recipient of the Vital Award? Do you look forward to receiving awards or view them as a new incentive and added responsibility? Or do you agree with Dragan Velikić, who

CONTEMPORARY WRITERS

he writers I have learned a lot from by reading their books, regardless of what generation they belong to, i.e. authors like Haruki Murakami, Ian McEwen, Jose Saramago, Peter Handke, et al.

said in an interview that when a renowned writer receives an award it is he who honours the award and not the award that honours him? I do look forward to awards, but I don’t find them binding. You don’t write with an award in mind, but because of some inner or outer impetus. Velikić is right to a certain extent, but if we are talking about award mechanisms than they are the same all over the world. One ‘rule’ says that ‘big’ awards are given to ‘big’ authors or a new literary name that has already proven his quality. ‘Small’ awards go to younger and ‘lesser’ writers, with the ‘size’ of the award often connected to the amount of money you get. Of course, this is not always the case, because there are some awards that bring a symbolic amount of money, but the influence they exert on the reading public is so great that the writer compensates what little money he gets with new editions of an awarded piece. In the end, we do have to admit that even the most renowned writers can write a bad book, can’t they? If the book is given an award, than we can talk about what Velikić is saying. If the book is good, than the benefit is mutual, so to speak, with the readers actually grading the work’s quality. They are not going to read a book just because it is an award winning one, even if we are talking about the Nobel Prize for literature.

I have chosen some sort of literary solitude, but I make up for it by often taking part in literary events around Europe. At the promotion of your book Diaspora and Other Things, during the 2008 Belgrade Book Fair, you said that while you’re in Canada you stick desperately to the Serbian language and that one of the downsides of living abroad is that you are in jeopardy of losing touch with the language, reality and literature you belong to. How do you fight this? I try to keep on top of current events in our literature and culture and I am also in touch with many of our writers. The Internet has made it all easily accessible and I am aware that everything would be more difficult without the Internet. Also, I take new books by our writers to Canada with me and I am an avid reader of several literary magazines from Serbia. However, every immigrant needs to reduce his or her contact with our whole reality, since the reality here, this life, imposes its own demands that one needs to meet. Hence, there is a constant feeling that one’s balancing on a thin line between two worlds, which is not always the most pleasant of feelings.

I like to communicate with the reader and I don’t mind when they say they didn’t like my book

Last year marked 15 years since you moved to Canada. Today you are known as both a Canadian and a Serbian writer. Do you mind that and how do you view that status? No, I really don’t mind. However, my presence in Canadian literature is quite modest and there is a very simple reason for that: I don’t write in any of the official Canadian languages. Canadian cultural institutions are supportive of multiculturalism, including writing in different languages, but if you write in Serbian you really can’t expect to be known in Canada or any other country for that matter, except Serbia, of course.

What did life in Canada bring you and what did it take away from you, in terms of David Albahari the writer? It brought me the order and peace I need to write, but it took away that real writer’s life that I’d lived for over twenty years in Belgrade. In other words, in Canada I am a writer stuck in my writing room, while in Belgrade I was not confined to my work space. This doesn’t mean that I don’t frequent literary circles in Calgary, but I did not accept any of the usual roles played by writers in public life: I don’t participate in the creation of magazines; I don’t edit any issues; I don’t teach at the university. So I don’t do anything that writers here usually do.

You once said in an interview that an artist is actually an outcast, in a sense. Why did you say that?

Readers Readers often surprise me with their interpretation of what they’ve read and I never contest what they are saying CorD 60 / May 2009 61

Every immigrant needs to reduce their contact with our reality, since this life imposes its own demands my prose in a more subtle way. In terms of novels, I am still drawn to examining certain segments of our recent history and I am trying to figure out the essence of the relationship between an individual and history.

In order to create, an artist needs to take himself out of the society, so to speak. Objectivity requires impartiality which, in turn, requires distancing oneself from any form of attachment – whether we are talking about other people, political organisations or literary associations. An artist needs to be a lone wolf, otherwise he won’t be able to create. I am not talking about the public life of an artist, of course, but about creation. In those moments, you need to take yourself out of everything, since that is the only way you can see things for what they actually are. What is your biggest inspiration; what makes you write? What do you write about and what topics and ideas have been left far behind you? In terms of short stories, I am more prone to writing stories with a fable, which often implies condensing the main characters’ life stories. Such stories are dominant in my last narrative collection – Every night in a different city. Before that, my main topic was questioning the reality of the world I was writing about, i.e. I was writing about writing. This actually remains the focal point for me, but now I am introducing it to

Serbia The literary scene in Serbia is very much alive and quite interesting 62 CorD 60 / May 2009

Your books have been translated into 16 languages. Do readers in various countries differ; Do you have a contact with your readers; Do they guide you, surprise or lay out their expectations in front of you? Readers are the same everywhere, which doesn’t mean that they read in the same manner. You will always come across curiosity as to how a writer creates and how a book comes to be. Readers often surprise me with their interpretation of what they’ve read and I never contest what they are saying. Everybody’s reading their own book, which means that everybody’s feeling it in their own special way. Also, reading the book and the way in which a reader perceives it depends on the overall cultural context. The novel Bait was more popular in Europe than America, since a chain of information presented in that novel is familiar to a European reader, but completely uninteresting to an American one. I like to communicate with the reader and I don’t mind when they say they didn’t like my book. If I am free to say the same thing about a book by another author, why couldn’t the reader say the same about my book?! How much has your translation work affected you as a writer? I actually learned to write through translating. When you translate, you are somehow turning into the writer you are translating from; you start to think like him – you describe things in the same way, you see the world around you through his eyes. In other words, translation had to leave an imprint in my prose and I often used these influences as incentives for various literary games. Hence, you can see many authors being mentioned in my books, aside from the ones whose work I translated like Basara, Pantić, Updike, Singer and Bernhard. What is the difference between society’s attitude towards literature and writers in Serbia and Canada? Let me put it this way: Canadian society listens less to its writers, but helps out more, while in our country it is the other way around. Our writers are more present in public life than their Canadian counterparts, but the society’s response is not adequate. Some things that are an everyday thing in Canada, like assistance programmes for smaller publishers, scholarships for writers, fees for using books in libraries, do not exist in Serbia, as far as I know. In that respect, the Canadian experience can be beneficial when contemplating introducing such programmes to Serbia.

EXIT FESTIVAL 2009 - THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY

STAY TUNED T

Exit 09 will be held from 9th to 12th July 2009, as always at Novi Sad’s Petrovaradin Fortress his year’s Exit will offer many surprises to mark the 10th birthday of the best festival in Europe. Exit, originally a student uprising against the Milošević regime, has grown to become a world renowned festival visited every year by tens of thousands of revellers. After zero Exit, which was held on the banks of the Danube in Novi Sad and lasted 100 days in the historic year of 2000, Exit moved to the Petrovaradin fortress in 2001 and since then it has grown to become a serious festival with some of the biggest names in world music. Despite the transformation, Exit hasn’t lost its most important and renowned element: a phenomenal atmosphere. Music, as a tool for identifying and merging different cultures, coupled with thousands of young people willing to create and make the world better, as well as the strange fairytale environment of the medieval fortress and more than 500 musicians performing on

20 stages make Exit what it is today, ten years on. Behind us are such celebrated names as the Beastie Boys, Groove Armada, Robert Plant, Snoop Dogg, The Prodigy, Iggi Pop, Massive Attack, Moloko, Cypress Hill, Underworld, Fatboy Slim, White Stripes, Garbage, Stereo Mc’s, Slayer, Dive Size, Manu Chao, Paul Weller, Billy Idol, Morrissey, Primal Scream, The Sex Pistols, Richie Hawtin, Danny Tenaglia, Frankie Knuckles, Ian Pooley, John Digweed, Eric Prydz, Carl Cox, Eric Morillo, David Morales, Roger Sanchez, Timo Mass, LTJ Bukem, Sasha, Sven Vath, Deep Dish, Francois K, Tiga, Axwell, Laurent Garnier, as well as many social actions, such as initiatives for the abolition of visas and anti-trafficking co-operation with many NGOs. The first announcements of Exit 09 performers are expected soon, as are announcements of the competition for Exit, many ways to join and the start of ticket sales.

ERIC PRYDZ ALSO AT EXIT

he stars of world electronic music, DJs that have marked previous Exit festivals with their music, will also perform at Petrovaradin fortress this year. New exclusive names for Exit’s Dance Arena have been confirmed. These include DJs such as Eric Prydz and Adam Beyer, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso, Paul Woolford and Yousef, while Steve Lawler and Lee Buridge are also coming. This year, DJs such as Gui Boratto, Etienne de Crécy and Reboot will perform for the

first time, while the participation of the world’s best DJs in the exclusive form of the “back2back” programme have also been confirmed. Music will be played in pairs by superstar DJ Sasha and progressive house star John Digweed. The innovative Richie Hawtin and Dubfire, Ibiza star Sander Kleinenberg and electronica veteran Darren Emerson, then the experimental “Kissy Sell Out“ and Alex Metric, Heidi from Berlin and Justin Martin from California. CorD 60 / May 2009 63

CULTURE

Jovan Jelovac, founder and Chairman of BDW

SPEED

BELGRADE DESIGN WEEK 2009

“The concept of this year’s festival came about naturally – we saw what is happening elsewhere in the world and noticed that Serbia is quite unprepared for what is about to happen.” By Jelena JOVANOVIĆ

e have decided to give this event a title, a concept and a formula that will serve as some sort of alarm, a wake up call. If all themes and titles so far have been associated with some kind of plans for the fu-

64 CorD 60 / May 2009

ture, then this year is special because since this crisis is of historic proportions, hence the title Speed2 – says Jovan Jelovac, founder and Chairman of this year’s Belgrade Design Week (BDW). The annual BDW event was first held in 2006 and since then it has brought together top notch experts and professionals, stu-

dents, young talents and everybody who’s actually interested every May. So far, BDW (which world experts refer to as one of the ten most important annual creative events) has hosted some of the most renowned names from the world of design, architecture, branding, business, media and communications. Engaging international guest appearances and a carefully composed programme are just some of the features of this year’s BDW, which has been given the title Speed2 and will take place from 25th to 31st May. The plan this year is for the conference and all associated programmes to be held in the premises of the former Kluz Department Store in Belgrade’s Masarikova Street. “As a habitat, we have a terribly short deadline to pull ourselves together, change over quite quickly and respond to this crisis while seeing it as a new challenge that will help us to redesign ourselves, i.e. regrouping, organising ourselves as a country, a region and an economy. We have to do this in a way that is much better than before and offer our solutions to the whole world. This needs to be done super quickly, otherwise we are gone. This is why we chose the title Speed2“, Jovan Jelovac explains.

SITTING GREEN

n collaboration with USAID, this year’s BDW will see the launch of a competition for eco-furniture design called Sitting Green. Almost 100 people have already sent in their entries to participate and the idea behind this project is to link creative individuals with business people. USAID is to give an award worth $5,000 to be spent on producing prototypes of each of the three winning designs for a Serbian factory. There are three award categories: best overall design, best design by a student and best utilisation of sustainable materials. The international jury is comprised of international experts Tony Chambers, Konstantin Grčić, Shin Azumi, Branko Lukić and Brigitte Lohmann.

The essence of BDW is for people with an abundance of ideas to meet with people that have a need for these ideas, i.e. those with excess money and investments Jelovac is an architect, designer, one of the leading branding consultants in Eastern Europe and a creative director and a partner in company trans:east brandvertising. In 2005 he came up with the unique idea of the annual Belgrade Design Week event. “Creative industry is the starting point for everything: the industry comes up with solutions for new parts of a city, defines new production programmes and brings an economy back to life. The whole country can live off the creative industry and not from oil production or selling diamonds (since these are the two things that we actually don’t have).” The novelty of this year’s BDW is the so-called ‘Design Park’, which will be located in the currently disused and dormant space of the Kluz Department Store in downtown Belgrade (opposite the Beograđanka building). Last year, BDW was staged in the Hotel Jugoslavija and the year before that in the building of the former Federal Executive Council (SIV). “This year we needed premises of several thousands square metres to put up our new Design Park programme. During the last three to five years of explosive development nobody from the creative industry has had the time to show, present, or tell the

Jovan Jelovac, founder and Chairman of BDW Our wish is to bring the world’s best to Serbia and show the leading industry people what is best in Serbia CorD 60 / May 2009 65

CULTURE

story about themselves in a proper way, since we have all been so busy finishing up projects for our clients. This was a period of growth and progress; a time when Serbia and the region were opening up to European integrations. Now, when the recession has cut us off, is the time for the creative industry to look back, review what it has done and present it all,” Jelovac adds. “The essence of BDW is for people with an abundance of ideas to meet with people that have a need for these ideas, i.e. those with excess money and investments. We have decided that this was the right moment to set up the Creative Industries Fair (Design Park) in addition to holding our conference, in order to provide a two-way touch and feel factor. The Design Park is to be sectioned in four zones: the Object Zone will house the Furniture and Design Fair (innovations in creativity and quality), the Communication Zone will be for everybody who is engaged in the communications industry (advertising, PR and branding); while the Space Zone will be the meeting point for architects, urban planners and developers. “The fee that needs to be paid in order to take part in all of BDW’s segments is going to be used for holding a conference and a special segment called the Talent Zone, which is going to stretch over 1,200 square metres and will serve to present the youth of this region. These young people still don’t have enough money to finance their own presentations and they are significant and distinct in a creative sense. This section of the BDW will present all areas of creative industry: fashion, adver-

66 CorD 60 / May 2009

Creative industry is the starting point for everything: the industry comes up with solutions for new parts of a city, deﬁnes new production programmes and brings an economy back to life tising, industrial design, production, etc. The organisers’ idea is to establish various contacts via the Talent Zone, which will enable talented young professionals to sell their ideas abroad.” “Our mission once the Design Park finishes is to take this programme to international events. They are going to present something of ours and, in turn, we will present their work. Only a serious global festival with a good reputation can do something like that,” Jelovac says. The guests of the second day of the conference day will be two of the shining lights of the architecture world: Wolf Prix (Coop Himmelbau, Austria) and Ben Van Berkel (Unstudio, The Netherlands) who are authors of the two most spectacular projects in Europe at present: the museums of Mercedes and BMW, which are being erected in Munich and Stuttgart respectively. The third aspect of the conference is Speed 4 Belgrade, the

section that BDW organisers are most proud of this year. “We listened to the remarks we’ve received in previous years, which mainly saw people noting that we were not promoting domestic projects enough. So we took this as constructive criticism and this year the best development examples and schools of thought about Belgrade, Serbia and the region will be presented. These are projects like Luka Beograd (Port of Belgrade), MPC Ušće, Belgrade Department Stores (Robne kuće Beograd), the Hotel Townhouse 27, the bridge across Ada, Airport City, B92, East Point Development, the Speak Easy chain etc. The last one is a really fantastic example. We have all heard about foreign cafe bar chains like Starbucks or Costa Coffee, but Speak Easy is the result of Serbian intelligence: our people came up with the name, the concept, the interior layout and offer, creating a chain that we hope can be exported to Europe and rest of the world.” The BDW chairman also points out that the essence and mission of BDW is not to tell empty stories about wallpaper design that will be hip next year or about a meeting of business and creative aspects that will never see eye to eye, but rather to present examples that have yielded concrete results. “This happened, for example, with Luka Beograd. Last year Daniel Libeskind came to Belgrade for the very first time and held a lecture at BDW on the Saturday. Then, on the Sunday, he took a stroll along the Belgrade riverbanks with the people from Luka Beograd and later made a spatial plan for what will become the most beautiful development project that I have ever seen in Belgrade. Every year I make it my business to visit at least ten development fairs worldwide and I have had a chance to see what they look like in Buenos Aires, Sydney, Toronto, London, etc. What Libeskind did for Belgrade is much better, stronger, more attractive and more contemporary... There isn’t a single city in the world at the moment that has something like that. We did our part, since we brought the man here, but someone smarter than us “picked him up” the very next day and reached an agreement with him.” BDW’s organisers are especially proud of the fact that leaders of the global creative industry are coming back to Belgrade. After taking part in BDW previously, several of them have stayed in Serbia to work with a number of companies here. One globally renowned designer with an inter-

BDW’s organisers are especially proud of the fact that leaders of the global creative industry are coming back to Belgrade national career, Branko Lukić, became famous in Serbia after appearing at BDW as a mastermind behind brands like Voda Voda and Gorki List. Furthermore, after spending three years in Ljubljana, Slavimir Stojanović made a noteworthy appearance at BDW and then set up his own company in Belgrade (Futro). Jelovac underlines BDW’s success in facilitating meetings between dozens of young creative people and global industry leaders here in Belgrade, who later leave to work around the world and take part in various global projects and competitions. “Our wish is to bring the best from the world to Serbia and to show the leading industry people (and ourselves) what is best in Serbia and the region. This is an almost impossible task and I am not sure that we will succeed in achieving it year-onyear. That hinges on many factors. As always, the most important thing is to believe, then something will simply happen or it won’t.”

WILL BDW 2009 TAKE PLACE

ccording to Jovan Jelovac, staging Belgrade Design Week also depends on commercial sponsors that advertise and promote themselves via BDW, then on sold tickets (conference fees) and the assistance BDW gets from the City of Belgrade, the state, various ministries, institutions and embassies. The crucial factor is that we haven’t received a penny from this latter group – i.e. the City of Belgrade and the state – and we are already in April. We have been formal-

“

ly granted financial assistance in the amount we need via the public competition; this money has been promised to us, which just shows that the City, the state and various institutions recognise and support what we do. For example, this is the first time that the Serbian Ministry of Culture has given us support. This is a strictly non-profit project, so the question here is whether the City and the state think that this year Belgrade Design Week is necessary after all.”

“

CorD 60 / May 2009 67

FROM THE WORLD PRESS KOSOVO ALBANIANS CLING O OPTIMISM BY BLERTA FONIQI-KABASHI

OBAMA’S ECONOMIC MIRAGE April 13, 2009 By Robert J. Samuelson President Obama has made no secret of his vision for America’s 21stcentury economy. We will lead the world in “green” technologies to stop global warming. Advancing medical breakthroughs will improve our well-being, control health spending and enable us to expand insurance coverage. These investments in energy and health care, as well as education, will revive the economy and create millions of well-paying new jobs for middle-class Americans. It’s a dazzling rhetorical vista that excites the young and fits the country’s mood, which blames “capitalist greed” for the economic crisis. Obama promises communal goals and a more widely shared prosperity. The trouble is that it may not work as well in practice as it does in Obama’s speeches. What Obama proposes is a “post-material economy.” He would de-emphasize the production of ever-more private goods and services, harnessing the economy to achieve broad social goals. In the process, he sets aside the standard logic of economic progress. Since the dawn of the Industrial Age, this has been simple: produce more with less. (“Productivity,” in economic jargon.) Mass markets de-

Some people may gladly pay higher energy prices if they think they’re “saving the planet” from global warming

veloped for clothes, cars, computers and much more because declining costs expanded production. Living standards rose. By contrast, the logic of the “post-material economy” is just the opposite: Spend more and get less. What defines the “post-material economy” is a growing willingness to sacrifice money income for psychic income -- “feeling good.” Some people may gladly pay higher energy prices if they think they’re “saving the planet” from global warming. Some may accept higher taxes if they think they’re improving the health or education of the poor. Unfortunately, these psychic benefits may be based on fantasies. What if U.S. cuts in greenhouse gases are offset by Chinese increases? We clearly need changes in these areas: ways to check wasteful health spending and promote efficient energy use. I have long advocated a gasoline tax on national security grounds. But Obama’s vision for economic renewal is mostly a self-serving mirage. 68 CorD 60 / May 2009

April 10, 2009 Despite the high hopes of Kosovo Albanians for their country’s future, recent Gallup Monitor results warn the period of disparity between expectations and reality may be long and difficult. The 2008 Gallup Balkan Monitor, in partnershiap with the European Fund for the Balkans, published a report covering the Western Balkans. According to the report, Kosovo ranks the worst in the Balkans for corruption and organised crime, yet Kosovo citizens have the most trust in state institutions and are most optimistic about their future within the region.

Six in 10 of the Serbian residents said Kosovo’s independence would never be accepted

According to Ylli Hoxha from the Foreign Policy Club Pristina discussion of Balkan Monitor results, the Kosovo-specific findings should be read with caution. “The optimism of the citizens is not based on real findings … it is based on an evaluation of fulfillment of political aspirations that were expected for centuries. This is also reflected in our perception of life,” said Hoxha. The Balkan Monitor web site states “only 17% of the Kosovo Serbs said it would be possible to live peacefully with Kosovo Albanians; of the latter, seven in ten (72%) felt peaceful co-existence was viable. Six in 10 (61%) of the Serbian residents said Kosovo’s independence would never be accepted; a quarter thought this would be possible within 10 years.” The Gallup results indicate that Kosovo respondents “were upbeat about their lives and extremely hopeful for the country’s general and economic future” (59%).

“NORWAY INVEST” LAUNCHES WEBSITET AGAINST INVESTMENTS IN KOSOVO April 11, 2009. “Don’t Invest in Kosovo” is the name of a domain created recently as part of a campaign to discourage foreign investments in Kosovo. The campaign, launched by the Norwegian company Norway Invest is a response to what it calls “millions of euros of waste” in Kosova. Its founders claim that they have decided to launch this webpage in order to provide a non-political forum that would help Kosova improve itself The webpage www.dontinvestinkosovo.com has already been activated, although it still lacks documents and facts to prove how risky the investments in Kosova are. Meanwhile, Kosovo Government representatives say that it is not up to them to stop this campaign against investments in Kosova.

The campaign, launched by the Norwegian company Norway Invest is a response to what it calls “millions of euros of waste”

Government Spokesman Memli Krasniqi says that this campaign is being run by individuals from Kosova, who are trying to give a bad image of Kosova because of their personal interests. These individuals, according to him, will fail against the high number of those interested in investing in Kosova. Norway Invest attorney Betim Shala had anticipated that all relevant papers showing “how dangerous it is to invest in Kosova” would be published on this webpage.

UNREST IN GEORGIA, MOLDOVA REFLECTS PRECEDENT SET BY KOSOVO

dependence, to once again become a part of Moldova. How do events in Georgia compare with Moldova? Georgians have had enough. President Mikheil Saakashvili is a big-time gambler, but he has finally failed. By force of personality and taking advantage of circumstances, he pulled off the Rose Revolution of 2003. So what does Kosovo have to do will all of this? Most of the world’s population does not regard Kosovo as a state, but rather as an idea and inspiration for those who want to change borders and get away with it without complying strictly with international law. This is why the “Kosovo precedent” is haunting the international stage. Moldovans and the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are inspired by Kosovo’s so-called achievement of independence. That independence was forced upon the world by a small group of Western countries that claimed that Kosovo was an “exception.” This was a serious error-- one country’s exception becomes other countries’ rule. The recognition of Kosovo’s independence, however, constituted precisely such a unilateral change, and we are now witnessing the Kosovo domino effect.

BOSNIA’S FUTURE: A TEARING SOUND

April 10, 2009 By Peter Lavelle The streets of Moldova and Georgia are boiling with protest and anger, while Kosovo continues to grapple with its self-proclaimed statehood. All three situations originate in the departure from the Cold War-era agreements respecting borders. We are witnessing the repercussions of the “Kosovo precedent,” and they’re not pretty. What is happening in Moldova? Is it another so-called “colored revolution,” or simply an expression of rage by young people who demand to live better lives? It’s anyone’s guess. There are certainly specific individuals who are interested in stirring up trouble in Moldova, both within the country and in Romania. Some Romanian nationalists want Moldova to be merged with Romania. And some people in Moldova see unification with Romania as the easiest way into the European Union. Do the Moldovan protesters have a plan? If they do, it has been acted out in a very clumsy way. The charging and looting of government buildings showed sheer rage, not a plan to take control of the country or to bring about “regime change by force.”

Most of the world’s population does not regard Kosovo as a state, but rather as an idea and inspiration for those who want to change borders

The fact is that the Moldovan Communists are popular with the electorate. The April 5 parliamentary elections may have been flawed, but not to the degree the opposition claims. International election observers admitted as much, but at the same time they gave the election a passing grade. Many in breakaway Transdniester are watching the recent events in Moldova with satisfaction, in that the unrest and violence only serve as a further reason why they should not agree, in the wake of Kosovo’s in-

April 2, 2009 A joke doing the rounds has it that nothing can succeed in Bosnia, not even a crisis. Pessimists note that Yugoslavs used to tell a similar joke in the 1980s. One diplomat believes that Bosnia’s gridlock has got so bad, and the political atmosphere so poisonous, that for the first time since 1995 the unthinkable of renewed fighting is thinkable once again. This does not mean a new war is imminent. But conflict is now a distinct possibility. On March 27th Miroslav Lajcak, the new Slovak foreign minister, held a

For now all agree that there is no appetite for war among ordinary Bosnians

party for Valentin Inzko, his Austrian successor as the international high representative in Bosnia. He is the fourth man who is due to be the last in his job. Yet at least until the end of the year, his powerful office will stay open. After that Mr Inzko is meant to remain only in his capacity as the European Union’s special representative, with no legal powers. Much of the panic over Bosnia revolves around whether this switch from a powerful high representative to a weaker EU envoy is sensible. And not just that. After the end of the war in 1995 Bosnia was flooded with 60,000 NATO-led peacekeepers. Today there are 2,000 bored, EU-led ones. By the end of the year that number may have shrunk to 200. The pessimistic diplomat suggests that this is all horrible, an appalling mistake that risks sending the wrong signals at the wrong time. At Mr Lajcak’s party Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) greeted each other but then clustered in their own groups. Writ large, that is Bosnia’s problem. Its complex constitutional structure works well enough for day-to-day matters, but has ground to a halt on any issues of real significance. CorD 60 / May 2009 69

FROM THE WORLD PRESS

Bosniak leaders, such as Haris Silajdzic, one of the country’s three presidents, want the Serb entity in Bosnia, the Republika Srpska, to be abolished, saying it was created through genocide. His nemesis, Milorad Dodik, Republika Srpska’s prime minister, responds with the threat of a referendum on secession. In cafés and think-tanks there are suggestions that all sides are arming again, albeit discreetly through hunting clubs and security firms. There is no hard evidence of this. Indeed, Igor Radojicic, speaker of the Republika Srpska’s parliament, says that these “ridiculous” stories are spread deliberately by Bosniaks, who want to make sure that the high representative’s office does not close and to lure the new Obama administration to their side. Most Bosnian Serbs say secession is not realistic. They just want to defend the autonomy they won in the 1995 Dayton accords that ended the war. Bosniaks believe that, by blocking as much legislation as he can, Mr Dodik is following the example of Milo Djukanovic, the Montenegrin leader, when he set out to prove that the loose federation of Serbia and Montenegro could not work. Meanwhile, the Croat-Bosniak federation is teetering close to bankruptcy, with vast sums going to so-called war veterans, who constitute a powerful lobby. As the economic crisis worsens, Bosnian leaders will do what they do best, which is to play on fear. For now all agree that there is no appetite for war among ordinary Bosnians. But fear and anger could, if shaken up enough, turn into a deadly cocktail for their country.

Now a Professor Giorgy Bagaturiya from Moscow State University says China’s come the closest of any state to Marx’s end game of “wealth for all”. And the world’s first global economic crisis is pushing the West the same way. “China continues to increase the wealth of its people, even in a global recession. The takeover of the world’s economies by their governments will follow Beijing’s model.” In a year, German sales of Das Kapital are up seven-fold. Shanghai last month announced a Das Kapital musical to quote “help people understand why the financial crisis is happening.” Klaus Rohland, Russia director at the World Bank dismisses Marx’s modern relevance. “Karl Marx was a great thinker of his time, and it’s not surprising that at a time of uncertainty people look back to other thinkers. His recipes for economic development have turned out to be a disaster.”

WHERE EXACTLY DOES THE EU’S DEVELOPMENT MONEY GO? April 13, 2009 By: Matthew Elliott The EU is funding governments with lamentable records on human rights the european Union oversees a substantial aid and development budget. In 2007 it distributed over €8.5bn in foreign assistance, with rises planned over the coming years.

The EU is working with one of the largest aid budgets in the world. It needs to show that it understands the responsibility that comes with such impressive resources

GLOBAL CRISIS RETURNS MARX TO FASHION April 13, 2009 The world’s leading Marxist scholar has exposed passages by Karl Marx that predict the global financial crash and its outcome. Giorgy Bagaturiya claims the world is now shifting to China’s economic model.

Karl Marx also foretold taxpayers will foot the bill for blue chip fiascos

This is how Karl Marx predicted bank greed will self-destruct. “With adequate profit, capital is very bold. 20 per cent will produce eagerness. 300% and there’s not a risk it won’t run, even to the chance of its owner being hanged.” Karl Marx also foretold taxpayers will foot the bill for blue chip fiascos. “The losses of private capitalists are compensated at the expense of all society.” 70 CorD 60 / May 2009

It is vital that this budget is administered efficiently, so that it helps as many people as it can. It must also be done in an open and honest manner that reassures European taxpayers that their trust is not being abused. Critically, it must be administered effectively, with systems in place to prevent money financing the corruption, hate-filled propaganda and violence it is supposed to prevent. If politicians and officials cannot deliver on these simple standards, then they will vbe failing not only their constituents, but also the millions in need across the world. Unfortunately the evidence suggests the EU is indeed failing to deliver on these standards. Investigations by the EU’s fraud investigator – the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) – have uncovered numerous examples of development assistance lost to corruption. For instance 90 per cent of the money assigned to a water supply project in Paraguay was located in a bank account belonging to a foundation unconnected with the project. Declared sub-contractors did not exist and the director controlling the project owned a company contracted to carry out work. Closer to home, an Italian non-profit organisation (not yet been publicly identified) received €11m from the EU, and even more from the Italian government, to finance twenty-eight projects in the third world. OLAF

found that the organisation had sent fake or duplicate invoices and that only part of the money had gone to the specified projects. Under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument the Algerian government receives millions in EU support. Yet in 2008 EU member states were strongly urged by Amnesty International to cease deportations to Algeria on the grounds of its record on torture. In Syria, the EU is pledged to provide €130m between 2007 and 2010 to support the Government’s budget, despite democracy campaigners being sent to prison for “weakening national sentiment” (i.e. opposing the regime) and the suspected involvement of Syria in the assassination of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the EU needs to insist that the organisations it supports do not engage in or glorify terrorism. The EU is working with one of the largest aid budgets in the world. It needs to show that it understands the responsibility that comes with such impressive resources. European taxpayers will rightly be outraged if their money continues to find its way into the pockets of the corrupt or, worse still, ends up supporting the hatred and violence it is meant to resolve.

G20 - THE NEED FOR TRANSPARENCY April 10, 2009 Transparency International (TI) welcomes the Group of 20 decision to prioritise transparency as a means to curb systemic risks in the global financial and economic system and to provide a stimulus that also extends to the developing world. As the direction set by the G20 summit is taken forward, it is essential for the largest macro-economic stimulus in history to include effective safeguards, with transparency, accountability and integrity at the forefront, in all aspects, particularly related to the public management of taxpayers’ funds. The newly announced Financial Stability Board tasked by the G20 to provide an early warning mechanism, should have accountability, integrity and transparency at its core. Civil society participation on the FSB would be one of many steps required for its success. A reform of the “shadow banking system”, as UK prime minister Gordon Brown termed hedge funds along with credit rating agencies, would require a strong dose of transparency. A vital first step is legislation and tax treaties in line with OECD standards.

A reform of the “shadow banking system”, as UK prime minister Gordon Brown termed hedge funds along with credit rating agencies, would require a strong dose of transparency

Stabilising and reviving the global economy must be the short-term priority, but the bigger agenda - with broader opportunities - requires ensuring that the new regulatory order be rooted in transparency and ac-

countability. The G20 has taken initial steps to use that window of opportunity and TI looks forward to civil society involvement. The three aims of this G20 Summit: stabilising financial markets, strengthening the global and economic systems and setting a path for sustainable growth, cannot be achieved without addressing a key root cause of the current meltdown, namely a severe lack of basic governance measures, transparency and accountability.

THE CREDIT CRUNCH HAS STOLEN OUR SMILES April 18, 2009 By: Alice Thomson As George Bernard Shaw said: “The man with toothache thinks everyone is happy whose teeth are sound.” William Shakespeare felt the same: “For there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently,” he said in Much Ado About Nothing. But for the past 30 years gnashing about teeth has become unfashionable. Fluoride in the water made a difference and so did the introduction of initially free dentistry as a crucial part of the NHS in 1948. When Martin Amis wrote about his extensive dental treatment in his memoirs Experience, he was ridiculed; no one wanted to hear horror stories about teeth any more. Topsy and Tim had taught everyone to brush their teeth twice a day and visit the dentist twice a year. For a brief, glorious period, British teeth began to improve. We didn’t want Tom Cruise’s dazzle, but Kate Moss’s snaggle of teeth looked clean.

The contract enraged dentists who were paid the same for one filling as six, and who found it was more profitable to take a tooth out than to save it with complex treatments

Liam Treadwell, this year’s winning Grand National jockey, was teased by television presenter Clare Balding for his gappy teeth, when she told him: “You can afford to get them done now if you like.. He received huge support from his many dentally challenged fellow countrymen, but perhaps the most surprising aspect of her remarks was the casual assumption that only the rich and successful can afford decent teeth. Before Mr Blair became Prime Minister, only 6 per cent of dentists’ income came from private patients. By 2006 it was 58 per cent. Since the Government introduced its dental contract in 2006, designed to increase access to NHS dentistry, the number of patients seeing a dentist has actually fallen further as even more practitioners have gone private. The contract enraged dentists who were paid the same for one filling as six, and who found it was more profitable to take a tooth out than to save it with complex treatments. There are many unfortunate sides of the credit crunch. But even if we have to go running to the IMF for a loan, surely we British are not so poor that we must face this uncertain future with wretched tombstones. CorD 60 / May 2009 71

CULTURE NEWS

YUGOSLAV DRAMA THEATRE DAYS

The Belgrade-based Yugoslav Drama Theatre (JDP) marked its 61st anniversary by giving out its traditional annual awards on 3rd April. Actor Nikola Đuričko was the recipient of the special award given by the JDP, in collaboration with Raiffeisen Bank, for his role in Voltaire’s play “Candour or Optimism”, directed by Aleksandar Popovski. Other recipients of JPD’s annual awards are actors Dragan Mićanović, Boris Isaković, Milica Mihajlović, Nikola Vujović, Marija Vicković, Radovan Vujović and Lana Cvijanović. Dragan Mićanović was awarded for his performance in Molliere’s “Tartuffe”, directed by Egon Savin, while Boris Isaković got his award for his portrayal of Orgon in the same play. Nikola Vujović was awarded for his performance as Thomas in Robert Musil’s play “The Dreamers”, directed by Miloš Lolić, while Marija Vicković and Radovan Vujović were awarded for the main roles in the play “Švabica”. Švabica’s director, Ana Đorđević, and Miloš Lolić, who directed “The Dreamers”, were awarded for their “strong vision, expressed through individual poetics, while having a similar youthful energy”, said Branislav Cvejić, JDP manager.

British sculptor Richard Deacon and Serbian sculptor Mrđan Bajić, on devising a new pedestrian walk on the Belgrade Fortress, which is going to connect Kalemegdan with the promenade along the Sava and Danube Rivers (near the socalled Concrete Hall), via Vojvoda Bojović Boulevard. From 16th to 28th April, ULUS gallery and Belgrade City Hall welcomed Belgrade Days visitors and gave them an opportunity to see two exhibitions regarding this project (that the two artists were working on until July 2008). By implementing this project, two key city sites – the Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park – and two historic periods merged into a special museum connecting the city’s history with the Sava and Danube promenades. It took visitors to the exhibition just ten minutes to get from the open air museum (the history museum) to the closed museum of the Concrete Hall (Beton hala). Also as part of the Days of Belgrade event, a carnival was staged in Knez Mihajlova Street by Mimart Theatre; Arthur Martin held a jazz concert in the Music Pavillion and there was also a Ministry of the Interior concert held on the Kalemegdan, as well as bossa nova and Piccolo Orchestra concerts. There was a presentation of the “Guide through Skadarlija”, put together by the Belgrade Tourist Organisation, with a tour guide through the most famous bohemian street in Belgrade. An Easter concert was held in the St. Sava Temple to mark the end of the event.

MIODRAG DADA ĐURIĆ EXHIBITION IN FKC

BELGRADE DAYS The traditional annual “Belgrade Days” event took place between 16th and 19th April this year. One of the most important projects to be presented at the event was an exhibition entitled “Bridge on Kalemegdan”, showing the collaboration between renowned artists, like 72 CorD 60 / May 2009

An exhibition entitled “The Light of Darkness” by painter Miodrag Dada Đurić was

opened in the French Culture Centre in Belgrade in mid-April. The exhibition ran from 8th to 17th April and was formally opened by French Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Jean-François Terral. The exhibition showed etchings from the private collection of Lazar and Živa Vujić, the owners of the Viskonti Art Gallery in Ljubljana. Aside from 20 etchings that were created in the period from 1980 to 1982, six drawings and gouache paintings of 2.20 metres by 1.5 metres were also exhibited. The works show Đurić’s specific expression and sensibility, life as it really is and which Đurić paints in a distinguishing, personal and suggestive way. During the exhibition, a documentary was also screened showing different aspects of Đurić’s life, his personality and creativity. After completing his art education in Herceg Novi, Miodrag Dada Đurić (75) graduated from the Belgrade Art Academy in 1956, in the class of professor Marko Čelebonović. After graduation he lived in France, New York and Central Africa. Since 1960, his place of residence has been Eruval, France.

STERIJA’S THEATRE IN NOVI SAD This year’s Sterija’s Theatre, one of the most important theatre festivals in Serbia, is to take place in Novi Sad from 23rd May to 5th June. Seven plays will be staged during the festival, including Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, directed by Andras Urban and performed by the Niš National Theatre, Jovan Sterija Popović’s “Rodoljupci”, directed by Larry Zappia and performed by the Užice National Theatre, as well as the play “Švabica” by Laza Lazarević, directed by Ana Đorđević and performed by actors from Belgrade’s Yugoslav Drama Theatre. Actor and Hollywood favourite Rade Šerbedžija and his Brioni-based theatre “Ulysses” will also take part in the festival with a total of five plays. Audiences will be able to see Shakespeare’s “King Lear” on 30th and 31st May at Petrovaradin Fortress.

“Sterija’s Theatre is also a celebration of our drama writers that we, as their actors and directors, stand behind, to help them, to make the written word expand and resonate to everybody’s pride,” said Šerbedžija said, announcing his theatre’s guest appearance in Novi Sad. He added that he was very proud of the three Sterija Awards that he got as a young actor. During the six days in Novi Sad, along with “King Lear”, the Ulysses Theatre is going to perform a monodrama called “My Confrontation with Them” by Miroslav Krleža, directed by Dino Radojević, as well as a musical called “Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh” also by Krleža and directed by Darko Rundek and Rade Šerbedžija. The theatre will also perform “Romeo and Juliet”, directed by Lenka Udovički and dramatised by Tena Štivčić, with music from Nigel Osborne. On the festival’s last day, the drama “The Drunken Night of 1918” will be performed in honour of the recipients of the Sterija Award.

RED DOT 2009

Serbian designer Dušan Nešić is this year’s recipient of the prestigious global product design award – Red Dot 2009. He was awarded for designing a collection of lamps called Medico, produced by the BUCK company. The promotion of the award winning collection took place in the Belgrade Museum of Applied Arts on 9th April and was presented by the author himself, alongside director of the BUCK company, Darko Budeč, and Ivanka Zorić, the Museum’s director. The Red Dot award is the most renowned design award in the world and the first Red Dot was given out in 1955.

The award is given for product design, communications design and designer concept. Some 3,231 designers from 49 countries competed in 2008, with an expert jury deciding the winners on the basis of the level of innovation, functionality, ergonomics, durability and environmental compatibility. The awarded Medico lamps are installed in hospitals, above hospital beds, and are recognised for their visual comfort, a simple form, modularity and dimensional flexibility. By getting this award, the BUCK company joins a long list of winners so far – Maseratti, Trilux, Wever & Ducre, Artemide, Alessi, BMW, Coca Cola, IBM, Guzzini, Jaguar, LG, Modular Lighting Instruments, Nike, Nokia, Philips, Toshiba, Zumtobel and others. The Medico programme, along with other awarded products, is to promoted from 30th June to 26th July at an exhibition called Design on Stage in the Red Dot Museum in Germany. This museum, which exhibits over 1,500 products and stretches across 4,000 square metres, has the biggest standing exhibition of contemporary global design. Dušan Nešić (born 1963) teaches at the Belgrade Faculty of Applied Arts’ Department of Industrial Design. Since 1993 he has worked as an author, associate and co-author of over 30 industrial design projects. Since 1990, he’s been exhibiting on a regular basis and taking part in domestic and foreign conferences. He is also the recipient of several other eminent design awards and recognitions. Nešić has been collaborating with the BUCK Company on

the development of industrial design lamps and lighting for many years.

NIGHT OF MUSEUMS ON 16TH MAY

Along with Belgrade, the traditional “Night of Museums” event will also be staged in 34 other cities and towns in Serbia this year - Novi Sad, Šabac, Aleksandrovac, Bor, Čačak, Jagodina, Kikinda, Kladovo, Knjaževac, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Kruševac, Niš, Pančevo, Petrovac na Mlavi, Požarevac, Pranjani, Prokuplje, Ruma, Sirogojno, Smederevo, Smederevska Palanka, Sokobanja, Sombor, Sremski Karlovci, Sremska Mitrovica, Subotica, Užice, Valjevo, Velika Plana, Vrbas, Vranje, Vršac, Zaječar and Zrenjanin.

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CULTURE NEWS

Last year’s Night of Museums was held in 23 towns and cities across Serbia, with 450,000 people seeing the event. Belgrade’s edition of the event is to be staged at over 80 locations, in many of the city’s museums and galleries. At the same time, Night of Museums will be taking place in 40 countries around the world. Over 1,900 museums and galleries are going to be opened to visitors on the night of 16th May. The event is sponsored by the European Commission and UNESCO, while in Serbia it is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Belgrade municipalities.

restaurant Ekosfera, a magazine promoting environmental living culture and many others took part in the festival. Anybody who brought with them three empty plastic bottles and three empty drinks cans gained free admission to the festival. Bands like Dub Pistols, Rambo Amadeus, Bečej pop group Eva Braun, bands like Jarboli and Shiroko, as well as many DJs performed at the festival.

74 CorD 60 / May 2009

BELDOCS 09

MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV IN NOVI SAD

NEW ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIENCE – SUPERNATURAL FESTIVAL

For the third consecutive year, the Supernatural Festival took place in Belgrade, near the Hajdučka česma in Topčider Park, on 26th April. The festival was first launched in 2007 with the aim of making young people more environmentally conscious through music and art. What makes this festival different from other such festivals is that it takes place during the day, in the outdoors, in the clean environment of the Košutnjak forest, where young people can spend time in tnature, enjoying music, as well as other art forms and sports. This year’s festival focused on renewable energy sources and recycling, with the main festival stage operated on biodiesel. Just like in previous years, many environmental organisations presented eco problems and solutions at the festival via various workshops. Organisations like Futura, the Faculty of Applied Ecology, nongovernmental animal protection group ORCA, recycling fund Recan, organic food

for political asylum. Baryshnikov danced with many ballet troupes and, in the end, stayed with the New York Ballet. Later, he became the artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre, based in New York.

World-famous ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and ballerina Ana Laguna are to perform at the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad on 16th and 17th May, Director of the Belgrade Dance Festival, Aja Jung, has announced. Baryshnikov and Laguna will perform “Three Solos and a Duet”, which comprises of Mats Ek’s “Solo for Two” and “The Place”, Benjamin Millepied’s “Years Later” and “Fantasia”, by Alexei Ratmansky. Baryshnikov, who is one of the foremost ballet stars of today, is coming to this part of the world for the first time ever, following the Italian leg of his tour. Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshikov was born in Riga. He danced for the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, but during the 1974 tour he defected to Canada, applying

The second international documentary film festival, BELDOCS, closed on 13th April with a satire about contemporary Serbia called “Goodbye, how are you?”, as well as this year’s Oscar winner for the best documentary “Man on a Wire” by James Marsh, and the award ceremony for international and regional documentary films. The festival took place in Belgrade’s Dom kulture and Studentski grad. The awards in the category of international documentaries were given out by the jury, presided over by British documentary filmmaker Luke Holland. The award Belgrade’s Winner for the Best Long Feature Documentary Film in International Category (prize consisting of a plaque and a cash prize of €2,500) went to Japanese film “Campaign” by Kazuhiro Soda, while the award Belgrade’s Winner for the Best Long Feature Documentary Film in the Regional Category (prize consisting of a plaque and a cash prize of €1,500) was given to the film “Disappearance of a Hero” by Serbian filmmaker Ivan Mandić. The Živko Nikolić Award for creative contribution to an art documentary form (a plaque and €800) was given to Serbian film, “Caviar Connections” by Dragan Nikolić. The special jury prize in the international selection went to Nishtha Jain’s film “Lakshmi and Me”, which is an Indian/U.S./Finnish/Danish co-production. BELDOCS was officially closed with the U.S. film “Man on a Wire” by James

Marsh. This is a biographical feature film about controversial French trapeze artist Philippe Petite and his attempt on 7th August 1974 – after six years of preparations – to walk on a tightrope stretching between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, then the tallest buildings in the world. The International School of Film and TV Directing, EICTV (Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV) based in Cuba also gave a presentation at BELDOCS. The school’s founder and dean is famous writer and Nobel Prize Winner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Kostić, won first prize at the International Children’s Film Festival (ICFF), which was held in the Indian town of Laknau in April. The festival was sponsored by the international humanitarian organisation, Montesori. This is the ninth award for the film. The screenplay for Paper Prince was written by Vladislava Vojnović and produced by Luks Film. Radio-Television Serbia (RTS) plans to air a series Paper Prince, based on the film.

PHOTO-ALBUM OF THE BALKANS

PAPER PRINCE TRIUMPHS IN INDIA

The film “Paper Prince”, directed by Marko

“Light & Shadows in the Balkans” is the title of an exhibition staged in April to mark the opening of the new Hellenic Foundation for Culture in Belgrade at 14 Kneza Miloša Street. The first exhibition (with Magdalena Mihailidou as the curator) was staged in an effort to contribute to the promotion of intercultural dialogue, thus eliminating a widely accepted opinion of the Balkans being a “powder keg”. Eight photographers from the Balkan region aimed to show that living in the Balkans is no different to living anywhere else in the world, as life here is also full of fears and insecurities. Each photogra-

pher presents ten photographs demonstrating contemporaneous artistic activity and creativity. Photographer Stelios Efstathopoulos (Greece) says: “If reality could step back and let the unreal take over, then photography – as means of describing the real – wouldn’t be able to confirm that which exists.” Bevis Fusha (Albania): “I believe that doubt and questioning are the substance of photography and that its purpose is to pose questions and not offer answers about the world it is depicting.” Stanko Abadžić (Croatia): “Everything that surrounds us has its shadow. This is one of the reasons why I’m interested in shadows.” Milomir Kovačević (Bosnia & Herzegovina): “I’m discovering that the truth is not leaving the framework of photography.” Timourtas Onan (Turkey): “Small everyday stories are often missed by passersby.” Virgil Mlesnita (Romania): “My portrait photography is a slow process of discovering what I like and a small gift to those people that lent me their faces, smiles and stories.” Nina Nikolova (Bulgaria): “The world is unity of our personal worlds.” Imre Szabό (Serbia): “I am playing with light and shadows because I am a photographer and the only way to ‘draw with light’ is to play with these two elements.” CULTURE NEWS - By Jelena Jovanović

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CULTURE CALENDAR ANNUAL EVENTS MUSEUM NIGHT 16. May In Belgrade and 34 towns in Serbia

Museum Night is art production group whose aim is to gather eminent artists, art historians, sociologists, culturologists and everybody else who is somehow connected with culture in order to affirm universal cultural and artistic values through creative initiatives. Their basic activity is organisation and realization of the Museum Night manifestation which includes-exhibitions,concerts and performances. - In Museums, Galleries, Cultural Centres - More than 90 locations in Belgrade

Rock Festival on July 11th. Depeche Mode will play to over 1.3 million fans on this European leg of ‘Tour of the Universe 2009’. It’s their first since 2006’s ‘Playing the Angel’ tour, which smashed European sales records with 1.8 million tickets sold across 87 shows. The last date of the ‘Playing The Angel’ tour – August 3rd 2006 – was to take place at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park, but the band were forced to cancel due to the impending war. Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan Stadium thus provides a fitting stage for Depeche Mode’s spectacular live return.

DEPECHE MODE Tour Of The Universe 2009! 20. May 2009- Ušće, Beograd, Tuborg Green fest!

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ENRIQUE IGLESIAS NM Belgrade Arena / 22. May, 21:00h

LILA DOWNS Sava Center, Great Hall / 30. May, 20.30

POP & ROCK

Depeche Mode’s , just released, ‘Playing The Angel’, is 12th album of a glorious 28 year career in which they have sold over 75 million records. One of the world’s biggest and best live acts, ‘Tour of the Universe 2009’ will undoubtedly be the musical highlight of next year. Kicking off in Israel on May 10th, this will be Depeche Mode’s first ever stadium tour, taking in 28 cities across 22 countries before finishing at Porto’s Superbock Super

Lila Downs released an album of new material as well as a few cover songs, including I Envy The Wind (song) by Lucinda Williams and I Would Never by the Blue Nile. The album was released on September 2, 2008 and is called Shake Away. Downs also collaborates with artists like La Mari (singer) from Chambao (band) and Enrique Bunbury from Héroes del Silencio.

Lila Downs (born 1968 in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca) is a Mexican singer. She performs her own compositions as well as tapping into native Mesoamerican music of the Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya and Nahuatl cultures. In recent years, Downs and her band have toured widely in Mexico, South America, the US and Europe. She was also heard in the soundtrack to the movie Frida in a song, Burn it Blue, that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song and that she performed at the 75th Academy Awards. Other songs that she performed on the soundtrack are “Benediction and Dream,” “Estrella Oscura,” and “La Llorona.” Other movies with a Lila Downs song are Tortilla Soup, Real Women Have Curves and Fados by Carlos Saura. She was also invited to the Twelve Girls Band’s concert in Shanghai, where she sings in French and English. Downs is currently based in Coyoacán, a borough of Mexico City.

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (born on May 8, 1975), better known as Enrique Iglesias, is a Spanish singer-songwriter, model, and actor. Iglesias started his musical career with Maxican indie label Fonovisa, which helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Latino market in the United States, selling more Spanish lanquaqe albums than any other artist in that period of time. Before the turn of the millennium he made a crossover into the mainstream English lanquaqe market, signing a unique multialbum deal with Universal Music for an unprecedented $48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. In America, he lived the life of a typical Miami teen. Though his father’s career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. In 1993 he graduated from Gulliver Preparatory School and went on to study business at the University of Miami. Enrique did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career, and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. Borrowing money from

his family nanny he recorded a demo tape which consisted of one Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father’s former publicist Fernan Martinez, the two shopped the demo tape under the stage name ‘Enrique Martinez’ with the backstory of being an unknown from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed by a then small indie record label called Fonovisa. Dropping out of college he went to Toronto,Ontario for six months to record his first album.

AC/DC Partizan Stadium, Belgrade / 26. May

cessful and was their first album to reach number one in the United States. AC/DC declined in popularity soon after drummer Phil Rudd was fired in 1983 and replaced by future Dio drummer Simon Wright. Poor record sales continued until the release of The Razors Edge in 1990, the only studio album to feature Wright’s replacement Chris Slade. Phil Rudd returned in 1994 (after Slade was asked to leave in favour of him) and contributed to the band’s 1995 album Ballbreaker. Stiff Upper Lip was released in 2000 and was well-received by critics. The band’s most recent album Black Ice was released on 20 October 2008.

CLASSICAL MUSIC THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Prokoﬁev World Tour Sava Center, Great Hall / 10. May, 20 00

AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although the band are commonly classified as hard rock, and considered pioneers of heavy metal,] they have always classified their music as “rock and roll”.[ AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, High Voltage, in 1975. Membership remained stable until bassist Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams in 1977. In 1979, the band recorded their highly successful album Highway to Hell. Lead singer and co-songwriter Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group briefly considered disbanding, but soon ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson was selected as Scott’s replacement. Later that year, the band released their best-selling album, Back in Black. The band’s next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, was also highly suc-

Programme: RACHMANINOFF: Symphonic Dances / PROKOFIEV: Symphony No 5 Valery Gergiev conductor London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading orchestras. Its many activities include an energetic and ground-breaking education and community programme, a record company (LSO Live), and exciting work in the field of information technology. Over a century after it was formed, the LSO still attracts the best players, many of whom also have flourishing solo and chamber music careers. The LSO also draws on an enviable roster of soloists and conductors, starting with Principal Conductor Valery Gergiev, LSO President Sir Colin Davis, and Daniel Harding and Michael Tilson Thomas as Principal Guest

Conductors. LSO St Luke’s, the UBS and LSO music education centre on Old Street, continues to expand its artistic programme with top artists from diverse musical backgrounds, and LSO Discovery is facilitating music education using new technology, and building stronger links with the local communities. LSO Live is the best-selling orchestral own-label in the world and is regularly No 1 in the classical downloads charts on iTunes. Continuing the orchestra’s long association with film music, the LSO has recently recorded soundtracks for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The orchestra also features on radio, TV, computer games and in-flight music programmes. The London Symphony Orchestra is resident at the Barbican.

NEMANJA RADULOVIC,VIOLIN AND CHAMBER ENSEMBLE DOUBLE SENS Kolarac, Great Hall / 13. May, 20 00

Humanitarian concert All proceeds will be dedicated to the Institute for Oncology and Radiology in BelgradE. Programme- Vivaldi- Four Seasons

RUSSIAN NATIONAL ORCHESTRA Kolarac Hall, 22. May, 20 00

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CULTURE CALENDAR Conductor Mikhail Pletnev Soloist- Aleksandar Gavriluk Program Tchaikovsky Slavonic March (Marche slave, op. 31), Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Shostakovich , Symphony No. 11 The Russian National Orchestra has been in demand throughout the music world ever since its 1990 Moscow premiere. Of the orchestra’s 1996 debut at the BBC Proms in London, the Evening Standard wrote, “They played with such captivating beauty that the audience gave an involuntary sigh of pleasure.” More recently, they were described as “a living symbol of the best in Russian art” (Miami Herald) and “as close to perfect as one could hope for” (Trinity Mirror). The first Russian orchestra to perform at the Vatican and in Israel, the RNO maintains an active international tour schedule, appearing in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

ETHNO BORA DUGIĆ AND FRIENDS Sava Center, Great Hall 18. May, 20 30

Guetta (born 7 November 1967 in Paris) is a French DJ. He began mixing his first vinyls at home at the age of 13, and organised parties in his basement at 15. Two years later, he was working as a DJ in a club called ‘Broad’, based in Paris. This was effectively where he launched his career. From 1988 to 1990, he mixed house music at Radio Nova. In 2005, his single “The World Is Mine”, which contains a sample of Simple Minds “Someone Somewhere In Summertime”, topped European dance charts. The vocals for most of his singles are performed by singer Chris Willis, except on “Baby When The Light” where they were done by Cozi Costi. In 2008, he was elected as World DJ No. 5 and best house DJ by the British DJ Mag.

SPECIAL EVENTS CHINESE NATIONAL CIRCUS CONFUCIUS Belgrade Arena 16. May, 12 00

Bora Dugić (born June 10, 1949 in Đurđevo, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia) is significant Serbian musician and flautist. He had released numerous CDs with Serbian ethno music and presented unique sound on numerous concerts in Serbia and abroad.

CLUBBING DAVID GUETTA Belgrade Arena / 9. May 78 CorD 60 / May 2009

During the last 20 years, more than 8 million people across Europe have been thrilled by the Chinese National Circus. Their acrobatic fairy tales have become a universal trademark and their new production CONFUCIUS is very much in the same tradition. But what does an ancient Chinese philosopher have to do with a modern stage show? Well, the famous ‘sayings’ not only serve as an accompaniment to each breathtaking act, they also underpin them and help explain the artistes’ amazing performances. As the Confucian saying goes, “Before beginning, you must have your heart, hand and thoughts in all your muscles.” The artistes exercise an astonishing control over their bodies and all the body’s muscles, tendons, bones and joints. In its lightness, what they do is less a question of gymnastics, more one of art. What enables this apparent weightlessness is not the curve of bulging biceps, but an incredible discipline and a singular spiritual energy. In this way the show CONFUCIUS confirms the ancient wisdom, “Only the balance of forces leads to harmony.” A truly Confucian virtue!

THEATRE YUGOSLAV DRAMA THEATER, MAIN STAGE ’LJUBA TADIĆ’ Premiere in May U MOČVARI (BY THE BOG OF CATS) BY MARINA CARR Directed by Egon Savin Cast : Tamara Vučković, Vojin Ćetković, Jasmina Avramović, Jelisaveta Sablić, Mihailo Janketić, Dubravka Kovjanić, Vesna Stanković, Miodrag Radovanović, Ljuma Penov, Nikola Jovanović. The set and costume designs are made by Angelina Atlagić, the artistic associate is Božo Koprivica, while the texts have been done by Marina Milivojević-Mađarev. Hester Svein (Tamara Vučković) believes in love as the basic value in life and is not willing to compromise between her love and the man she loves Cartidge (Vojin

Ćetković) and the environment, who considers her to be an outsider. Is a tragic end of an ultimate love story a necessity today, as it has been in the times when the Greek tragedies were written? Dramas written by the Irish playwright Marina Carr (1964) often considers family tragedies placed in rural regions of Ireland. Her dramas are coloured with a black humour and physical brutality and are often influenced by Becket. The work of Marina Carr is specific also because a couple of her dramas contain clear allusions on the Greek tragedies or are, loosely, interwoven with various Greek myths. Other dramas by Marina Carr are: Portia Coughlan (staged in the Small Theatre „Duško Radović“), Low in the Dark, Mai, Woman and Scarecrow, On Raftery’s Hill, Ariel and others. The very first staging of the play In the Swamp was held on the Dublin Festival in 1998. The play By the Bog of Cats was translated by Marija Stojanović, while the adaptation and directorship of the drama is signed by Egon Savin.

ART ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS CHAOS GALLERY Dositejeva 3 Until 13. May

Until 17. May Exhibition presents visual production of renowned Serbian film director Slobodan Šijan.- works from 1968-1979. Paintings, experimental films, posters, photo collages, photographies, video works... Curator of the exhibition- Dejan Sretenovic After graduating film direction and directing a handful of TV movies in the late 1970s, Slobodan Sijan had caught a big break with his first full-length feature Ko to tamo peva in 1980. The enormous success of that film written by Dušan Kovačević led to the duo collaborating on another project - 1982’s Maratonci trče počasni krug, which also achieved considerable critical and commercial success. Over the coming years Šijan directed two more notable films - Kako sam sistematski uništen od idiota and Davitelj protiv davitelja. As of 2001, he is teaching at Loyola Marymount University film school.

OBSERVE AND REPORT Start: 7. May

Comedy directed by Jody Hill Starring- Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, Anna Faris, Jesse Plemons

ANGELS & DEMONS Start: 14. May Thriller based on the Den Brown`s novel Directed by Ron Howard / StarringTom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Carmen Argenziano

CLARE DE’L OBSCUR (LIGHT OF THE DARKNESS) Dado Djurić

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN Start: 21. May

Engravings, graphics French Cultural Center, Kney Mihajilova 31 Until 17. May

Comedy directed by Shawn Levy / Starring- Ben Stiller, Amy Adams Jonah Hill Owen Wilson Bill Hader, Robin Williams

FILM DUPLICITY Thriller directed by Tony Gilroy Starring- Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti Exhibition of drawings in various techniques and digital drawings by Serbian architects of various generations- Aleksandar Deroko, Bogdan Bogdanović, Mustafa Musić, Dejan Ećimović, Brana Mitrović, Aleksa Bjelović, Milica Maksimović, Dejan Mrđa. / Author of the exhibition- Savo Popovic, art historian and journalist.

EYE OF THE MOVIE Slobodan Šijan / Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art / Pariska 14

KNOWING Start- 28. May

Drama, thriller directed by Alex Proyas Starring- Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Lara Robinson, Nadia Townsend, D.G. Maloney CorD 60 / May 2009 79

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LUXURIOUS TEN MUST-VISITED EUROPEAN HOTELS

PLACES TO STAY

Trying to pick the top 10 luxury hotels in Europe is like trying to pick just one from a box of Fauchon chocolates. ou know anything you choose will be delicious, so it’s going to come down to very personal preference. Some people prefer nuts over jellies, the way some people prefer decadent thread counts over bathtub size. “There are 10 great choices in Paris alone,” says Misty Ewing, spokeswoman for luxury travel network Virtuoso. Still, if she had to pick one it would have to be the Four Seasons Georges V. What sets it apart from the ultra-posh pack? “All the flowers,” she says, referring to the artistic flower arrangements created by world-renowned floral designer Jeff Leatham. “They’re everywhere and they’re beautiful.”

Her colleague, Albert Herrera, vice president of hotels and resorts for Virtuoso, prefers the Ritz for the simple reason that “it screams Paris!” CHOICES, CHOICES Complicating things is the fact that the chocolate selection keeps growing. In Eastern Europe, for example, “hotel development is through the roof,” says Herrera. “In Russia alone, there are no fewer than 15 luxury developments in the works.” Five of them are in St. Petersburg and the rest are in Moscow, where the Ritz-Carlton just opened one of its most lavish properties yet. A “basic” room at the hotel, which offers jaw-dropping views of the Kremlin

and Red Square, start at $1,000. The opulent presidential suite, with its bullet-proof dining room windows, goes for $16,000 a night. Prague, he says, went from having no upscale hotels to having several - including properties by the Four Seasons, Rocco Forte and the Mandarin Oriental. Visit Budapest and you’ll find the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace. The sumptuous Art Nouveau details in the lobby alone will take your breath away: delicate wrought-iron vents, exquisite gold mosaic tiles, stainedglass windows and cupolas abound. The increased traffic is making hotels all over Europe “clean house.” They’re lightening up and in some casesand undergoing extensive renovations.

1 THE RITZ, PARIS

BEST BATHROOMS

he Ritz, former home of Coco Chanel, is famous for its royal beds and Louis XV décor, its Roman bath Health Club, its fawning service (the staff-toguest ratio is 3 to 1) and the legendary Hemingway Bar where the Sidecar was invented. But the bathrooms are divine. They have luxe toiletries, Titanic-size tubs, personal scales and fancy cords to summon maids and valets, and, of course, plush, fashion-forward robes that even Coco would have liked.

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3 FOUR SEASONS HOTEL GRESHAM PALACE, BUDAPEST

BEST LOCATION

ocated in downtown “Pest” the hotel is at the foot of the Chaine Bridge and minutes away from Vaci Street shopping and Budapest’s financial center. Don’t let The palace’s historic façade and the Art Nouveau details in the lobby fool you: Rooms offer the most modern amenities as well as views of the Danube and the rolling Buda hills.

2 THE BALMORAL, EDINBURGH

BEST WOOLY BLANKETS

ne of the grandest hotels in Britain, the Balmoral, with its famous landmark clocktower, recently underwent a major renovation. The sleek new rooms were done up in the colors of the moors, mists and heathers so evocative of Scotland. The blankets, gracing the end of every bed, are exclusively designed for The Balmoral by Johnston’s of Elgin. Perfect for snuggling up to that majestic view of Edinburgh Castle.

4 MILESTONE HOTEL, LONDON

BEST BOUTIQUE HOTEL

glass of champagne on arrival, Bentley car service, a 2 to 1 staffto-guest ratio, iPod docking stations, historical architecture and an ideal location in a Victorian town house across from Kensington Palace are just some of the reasons guests keep coming back to this intimate boutique hotel. Some of the rooms are themed, like the clever Savile Row room, which boasts pinstripe wall coverings, a tailor’s dummy and books on men’s fashion. Themed or not, most rooms boast fireplaces and king-size poster beds fit for a queen. CorD 60 / May 2009 81

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6 GRAND HOTEL EUROPE, ST. PETERSBURG

BEST FOR MUSICALLY INCLINED VISITOR

M 5 HOTEL HASSLER, ROME

BEST CITY HOTEL

oscow may be the world’s most expensive city, yet St. Petersburg also has a very pricey jewel in its crown: the stunning Grand Hotel Europe. The hotel opened its doors 130 years ago and has seen a number of significant figures stay here; Tchaikovsky chose it as his honeymoon destination while George Bernard Shaw dined together with Maxim Gorky. The hotel is situated on Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg’s most attractive avenue, and is near some of the city’s most culturally significant buildings. The Grand’s Executive Suites even boast a baby grand piano – perfect for the musically inclined visitor!

he Hassler in Rome stands above everything else, literally. Situated at the head of the Spanish Steps, it’s a perfect vantage point for enjoying panoramic views across the Eternal City. Here you can see almost all of Rome’s most famous landmarks; the Coliseum, the Villa Borghese, the Piazza Trinità die Monti and many of the city’s obelisks. The hotel is so highly regarded that it recently landed at number 21 in Travel+Leisure’s Top 100 World’s Best Awards 2008, making it Europe’s best city hotel! One top element is the newly renovated rooftop restaurant, Imago; with its lush marble flooring and relaxing music.

7 HÔTEL DE PARIS, MONACO

BEST LOBBY

rince Charles III of Monaco’s plan was to turn his city into a meeting place for blue-blooded hedonists and, since gambling was illegal in France at that time, Monte Carlo quickly established a reputation at the end of the 19th Century as THE place to be to go wild and enjoy life. The Hôtel de Paris was opened in 1863 and attracted the international elite: from Russian Tsars to the Duke of Windsor, many a world-famous name stayed here to enjoy the splendour of the hotel and the stunning views. The hotel has since enjoyed several renovations yet retains the charm and sophistication of its past. From the moment you step into the lobby it’s like taking a trip back in time.

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9 KEMPINSKI GRAND HOTEL, HEILIGENDAMM

BEST FURNITURE

he Kempinski Grand Hotel in Heiligendamm’s slogan is “A unique world, an unforgettable time” - certainly the best way to describe this luxury establishment. Even from the outside, looking at its impressive architecture rendered in chic white stone, it’s obvious you’re standing before a hotel where luxury and comfort are top priorities. The hotel boasts 215 stunning rooms and suites and all contain furniture and fittings that give each room an aura of casual elegance. Enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail in the Baltic Bar or a nightcap in the Nelson Bar, with live piano accompaniment.

8 GRAND HOTEL KRONENHOF, ST. MORITZ

BEST VIEW

o list of the world’s great hotels would be complete without a nod to St. Moritz – for years the favourite playground of the international jet set. The Grand Hotel Kronenhof certainly more than lives up the reputation St. Moritz has for opulence and luxury. Built between 1848 and 1900 both the interior and exterior of the hotel are protected by a preservation order making it one of the most culturally significant hotels in the Alps. Grand Hotel Kronenhof is located in the heart of Pontresina in private parkland and is a great base from which to enjoy skiing and winter walks. From the guest rooms and suites you can enjoy a view across a truly magical winter wonderland; the Engadine Valley with acres of pine forests and the Bernina glacier in the distance.

10 LA SCALINATELLA, CAPRI

BEST PRIVATE TERRACES

he name means “little stairway” and that’s how this hilltop hotel is built, on levels climbing upward much like the painterly bougainvillea along the hotel’s winding paths. Rooms at this dove-white Moorish hotel are vast, airy and bright with his-and-her baths and sprawling terraces that stare down the Mediterranean and the rock outcroppings known as the Faraglioni.

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FEEL TH

TOB, TOS AND CORD RECOMMEND

Minimum 1 person, maximum 5 persons Price: 20€, per person (winter season) 25€, per person (summer season) For all informations: www.kat.rs

BALLOONING – TOUCH THE SKY

CARTING – THE FASTEST CITY JOURNEY

f you are a speed admirer, and if you need to lose your negative energy, try the carting. Drive on limited paths but along with unlimited will, wish and satisfaction of winning. You do not need a driving licence, you just bring your patience and a goodwill. Duration: 10 minutes

earless, ready to see and feel the height above the vast city, are the right persons, absolutely ready for this adventure. Refresh your life, escape form the everyday crowd and enjoy in the perfectly shaped landscapes. All you need is a flight to sky. Duration: 60-90 minutes Minimum 5 person, maximum 10 persons. Price: 103€, per person For all informations: BALON CENTAR Joze Šćurle 11a, Zemun Telefon: 011/7129-476, 065/811-9110, 811-9119

BUNGEE JUMPING – JUMP IN TO DEPTH

e involved in one of the most extreme activity, touch the terminal border of your own capabilty, test your strenght and use the moment to forget all your worries and concerns, as the jump in the depth will leave you breathles. Price: 50€, per person, per jump Ada Ciganlija

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E ADRENALINE PAINTBALL – SHOOT THE ENEMY

ly great adrenalin action with an aim of survival. Duration: min 60min Minimum 6 persons, maximum 30 persons. Price: 20€, per set of 200 balls For all informations: office@magelan.rs

JET PLANE

his extreme game will take you to the army of color and adrenalin, targeting an enemy with a goal to capture the flag. If you want to shoot your friend, brother or maybe sister, do that on a little painless way, but without deadly epilogue. Duration: minimum 60min Minimum 6 persons, maximum 30 persons. Price: 20€, per set of 100 balls For all informations: paintbal@eunet.yu or 063 22 88 99

SPEED BALL – SURVIVE THE GAME

et plane tour is the key to the highest point of satisfaction, extreme experience and the view from another perspective, in this case from above. The program consists of synchronized actions of four jets type Galeb G2. The planes are one seated, along with the seat for the pilot. The planes were part of the Yugoslav Airforce as training jets for the Airforce Academy until 1999. All four pilots have great flight experience, reaching back to their airforce days where they acted as flight instructors. The mass of the fully equipped plane with fuel in inner and outer detachable fuel tanks and two crew members is 3950 kg. The maximum speed of the jet is 820 kmph/0,8 mach. Besides the Galeb G2 jets type, there is also a supporting plane type Duke B-60 Beechcraft. Duration: 45 min Price: 600€, per person (Duke B-60 Beechcraft ) Price: 860€, per person ( (Galeb G2) For all informations: office@magelan.rs

RAFTING

T T

his tactical game, similar to paintball is more than a game. The only difference is that you use rubber balls, but the feeling is the same. Use a good tactic and start a real-

ARA: Thanks to the closeness of Serbian border to Tara Canyon we have a possibility to provide you rafting in the Tara Canyon which is the deepest canyon in Europe. The adventure starts at a very peaceful part of untouched nature in a national park and then speeds up with more rapids downstream. The rafting continues on the Drina until it is reachCorD 60 / May 2009 85

LIFESTYLE & LEISURE

es the accumulation lake. Along the way we travel through Montenegro and Bosnia and Hercegovina. Another possible route is from Perucica to Bajina Basta. For all informations: www.raftingtara.com

BAR: The happy descent down the Ibar River is a manifestation that takes place every July and attracts more than 2000 visitors. It is a special experience because the rafts are handmade from various materials such as wood or old tress. Some river floats include a floating kitchen or floating trumpet orchestras.At the calm backwater of the Panonian rivers and marshes you will enjoy in the quietness and calmness of the beautiful nature which is ideal for fishing.

So, grab the opportunity and hike Serbia! Mountaineering Association of Serbia +381 11/ 3231 374

HORSEBACK RIDING

edigreed horse breeding has been a tradition in Vojvodina for more than 200 years. Horses can be ridden at ’’salas’’ like at the Salas 137 near the city of Novi Sad, The Cvetni Salas by the Palic Lake, at the Fantast Castle or at the Zobnatica Tourist Complex which has its own racecourse. The unique Museum of Horse Breeding and a blacksmith’s workshop are worth a visit as well. Many of these sites offer horse drawn carriage rides or sleigh ride. INTRODUCING:

Ljubicevo HIKING AND MOUNTAINEERING

he Ljubicevo horse farm is located on the right bank of the Velika Morava river, amid ancient oak trees. Visitors can tour the farm, watch highlights from the traditional Ljubicevo horse games, ride in horse-drawn cart or just ride on one of the Ljubicevo horses throughout the farm grounds. Sights: Vimanicium - Roman settlement, 1st century TOP tel 012 221 941;

Kelebija

erbia’s staggering mountain peaks and mysterious forests present a real challenge for alpinists, climbers or anyone who wishes to get a bit of fresh mountain air.And, for anyone who wants to get away, for at least a few days, from the wild pace of everyday life, Serbia’s mountains are an ideal place for getting to know quiet, provincial way of living, for making friendships and reviving one’s energy.

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he Kelebija horse farm is located 11 km north from Subotica. It offers a variety of ways to enjoy horses and horseback riding: • a beginners’ course • riding on 12 acres of farm grounds • riding through the Kelebija forests and the wilderness for those with more experience Sights: Palic Lake, Secession architecture in Subotica city www.lipicaner.com/

Karadjordjevo The Karadjordjevo horse farm, near Backa Palanka, with modern facilities, continues a long tradition of breeding some of the finest horse breeds. Karadjordjevo is located in the southwestern part of Backa, region in Vojvodina, 50 km from Novi Sad. A part of the Karadjordjevo complex is protected as a special natural preserve because it has a number of rare plants and animals on its grounds. Sights: Bac fortress, VI centuryBodjani Monastery, XV century Fruska Gora Monasteries - a unique cluster of 17 monasteries dating back to the period between XV and XVII century. Tel/fax: 021/765-254

fers special opportunities for bikers with its moderate hills, picturesque lakes or fishponds, shady forests, through the mountains, or along the bank of the Danube. Our carefully compiled routes show you the most famous natural and historical sights of Serbia. We take you along the Danube, climb up the mountains, visit small villages, including the rural parts of Serbia and experience the hospitality of the local people. You will see much more then you can by some other transportation . Bikers will have more fun during this activity then they can imagine. We can arrange bike rental.

BICYCLE TOURS THROUGH NOVI SAD

Zobnatica

obnatica is most famous for their horse breeding tradition which they have continued for almost 200 years. The town is about 60 km North of Novi Sad, next to the highway to the city of Subotica. Zobnatica offers horseback riding, riding school and hackney-carriage rides. At the Zobnatica Racecourse you may watch races of the most extraordinary horses, bred in the region. While in the area you may visit the Museum of Horse Breeding, a unique European museum. Conferences may be arranged at the well equipped Jadran Hotel. The lake at the complex provides opportunity for fishing or sailing. This beautiful setting could be a perfect solution for organizing a small seminars. Tel: 381 21 42 42 74 and 021 42 42 84

CYCLING

here are so many unforgettable sights in our country, so many people to meet. Take your bike and start exploring through magnificent landscapes. You can choose between tracks by the rivers of Danube, Sava, Tisaâ&#x20AC;Ś or paths on our lower or higher mountains like FruĹĄka gora, Tara, Kopaonik... Serbia of-

et to know Vojvodina by bike. As a sportsman, with family or with friends. Vojvodina & Novi Sad have an excellent signposted network of about 600 km of cycle paths. You will see much more then you can by some other transportation and you will have more fun during 4 hours then you can imagine.You will ride a bicycle through the center of Novi Sad, along the bank of the Danube where you can even swim if you want. The tour goes through main streets, you will explore wonderful places, old streets, where you will see impressive architecture. Commentaries of tourist guides about the rich history of Novi Sad cover all facts and details that will approach you to the spirit of this town. You will have the possibility to take many interesting photos, so bring your camera with yourself. The most interesting part of this tour will certainly be making a round of Petrovaradin fortress that resists and defies the time. Bicycle tours through Fruska Gora. For adventurers and lovers of nature we offer the possibility of moving around Fruska Gora in one or two days. This is a great opportunity to get into a forest by bike. If you are ready for challenge and action, Fruska Gora invites you and impatiently waits for you to take over its peaks and to show you all beauties hidden in its heart. Many lakes, monasteries, monuments of culture, fortresses and towers are part of Fruska Gora. We are sure that our interesting and unforgettable tours will fill you with a new experience. So, we suggest you not to miss the opportunity to meet with Novi Sad and its surrounding in a totally different way, where you will have the help of guides who are at the same time bicycle lovers. CorD 60 / May 2009 87

LIFESTYLE & LEISURE

CHARACTER AND CHARM M RESTAURANT REVIEW: MALI PARIZ

By Jelena MICKIĆ Photo Slobodan JOTIĆ

ali Pariz [Little Paris] was once a popular local gathering place which served as a home-from-home for middle aged male friends, a place frequented by visitors to Belgrade who had paper work to submit at

Only the name was retained Mali Pariz offers what is now called international cuisine 88 CorD 60 / May 2009

nearby embassies and even a haunt of students of the Medical school who’d drop in for a soft drink before leaving for their modest student accommodation to trawl through thick medical books. These bygone scenes are from the era when Mali Pariz was just a typical Belgrade kafana; another indescribable establishment lacking any particular and personal charzm, but one we tend to lament upon in this era of café culture, fast food and globalised lifestyle. A couple of years ago Mali Pariz was sold to a new owner and its look, purpose and clientele was completely changed. Indeed, only the name was retained. As one approaches the restaurant one will be struck by a stylish façade and some noticeably Belle Époque-style elements on the corner of Bircaninova and Svetozara Markovica streets above Slavija Square. Large bay windows enable visitors to enjoy life passing by while sipping a drink and chatting.The second section of the venue is a restaurant with approximately 12 tables served by massive outsized chairs. The whole in-

terior has been designed and realised in a turn-of-the-century (19th to 20th) style, including decorative chandeliers, wooden chests of drawers and lace net curtains. Our visit occurred early on a Sunday afternoon and the restaurant’s lunch crowd included many families, some with children. Mali Pariz offers what is now called international cuisine, which simply incorporates elements of Serbian restaurant tradition, such as barbecue and meat, with some more traditional French or Italian dishes. Unfortunately, Mali Pariz does not do French cuisine as such, with the menu reading: Serbian barbecue dishes, barbecue meats, Karadjordjeva, modest choice of fish, such as salmon, tuna, calamari and a standard choice of pasta dishes. We started with an aperitif of apricot and plum rakija, served in chilled rakija glasses. The fruit brandies were strong, but excellent.The courtesy bread course was a bit disappointing: a small basket of muffin like bread and plain butter; a modest serving for two. My companion ordered turkey breasts rolled in bacon, served with French fries. The bacon was too meaty and too salty, too well grilled, too crispy and, in the end, made the turkey meat too salty. The dish was screaming for some moisture and flowing juices. The French fries were standard Belgrade restaurant quality, though a little saltier than they should have been and lacking in crispiness, lightness, taste and looks. The traditional Šopska salad was made of unevenly chopped vegetables. Although it was a smaller portion, it was served in a bigger dish, which made eating it less aggravating than in most Belgrade restaurants, where the salad dish is filled to the brim and topped with a towering cone of grated feta cheese that requires skills and bravery to safely devour. My choice of dish was a salmon filet in a saffron and fennel sauce accompanied with grilled vegetables (a slice of aubergine, courgette, red and yellow bell paper and one button mushroom). The vegetables were slightly overcooked for my taste, but the salmon filet was delicious. Slightly pink and buttery soft, dressed in creamy yellow saffron and fennel sauce, the delicate sweet and salty tastes took turns tickling my palate. I don’t give compliments easily, but this salmon was phenomenal. The servings of both dishes were on the medium to large side. Mali Pariz’s dessert list includes glazed strawberries, Ganache and Tenaz cakes, chocolate soufflé or Lava cake, as they call it here. The prices range between 290-350 dinars. Having experienced an excellent ‘to die for and big enough for two’ chocolate soufflé in one of the newer café-restaurants not far from Belgrade’s Botanical Gardens, we were eager to compare Mali Pariz’s chocolate soufflé. Unfortunately, it came in a very small dish decorated with a very watery sort of cream on the side. This miniature soufflé, priced at 350 dinars, was

Mali Pariz does not do French cuisine as such, with the menu reading: Serbian barbecue dishes, barbecue meats, Karadjordjeva, modest choice of ﬁsh rock solid and tasted of artificial flavourings. Something obviously went wrong here! During our lunch we experienced fast, professional and polite service, though some waiters were more taciturn than others. The ventilation was good, which is important if you are a nonsmoker or plan on bringing children with you. Mali Pariz has a fair-sized street garden and, weather allowing, guests will certainly enjoy sitting outside and dining while overlooking the street. However, this is not an intimate restaurant. It is more of a venue for friends or larger groups, or as a business lunch spot during the day. The prices are in the higher mid range for Belgrade.

Venue for friends or larger groups Mali Pariz has a fair-sized street garden and, guests will certainly enjoy sitting outside and dining CorD 60 / May 2009 89

TECHNO TALK |

AUDEMARS PIGUET

ince 1875, the name “Audemars Piguet” has stood for horological tradition and creativity of the highest order. As in the past, today too this manufacture is directed by members of its founding families. The brand is renowned for unusual and precious items with perpetual calendars and tourbillons, repeater movements and sonneries, as well as for having created the world’s slimmest self-winding movements. The watchmakers in Le Brassus and Le Locle have built milestones in the culture of watches.

ROYAL OAK

CLASSIMA EXECUTIVES

Price: €51,100

Price: €4,500

UDEMARS PIGUET surprised insiders in the world of watches in 1972 with the debut of the first luxury-class sport watch in a steel case. Its unmistakable form with eight screws made it a distinctive trademark of this manufacture. No other model so harmoniously unites tradition, excellence and innovation.

MILLENARY

Price: €15,400 AUDEMARS PIGUET

ith its oval dial (inspired by the famous Colosseum in Rome) and its arcing hands, the men’s line affirms this collection’s classical style. Illustrated model: Millenary Deadbeat. 18 ct. rose gold. Hand-winding movement. AP escapement. Deadbeat seconds.

JULES AUDEMARS

Price: €38,200 AUDEMARS PIGUET

he greatest masterpieces of the watchmaker’s art are united under the names of the two pioneers of fine watchmaking and founders of one of the world’s most respected watch brands. The complicated watches of the Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet lines are dedicated to the admirers who delight in such precious ticking examples of horological artistry.

90 CorD 60 / May 2009

BAUME & MERCIER’S centuries-old horological know-how expresses itself in the Classima watches with their clear style and classically elegant appearance. The mechanical movements with small complications combine with skillful craftsmanship in Classima, where they artfully evoke the brand’s grand horological tradition.

CLASSIQUE

HAMPTON

Price: €13,700

Price: €9,950

BREGUET

BAUME & MERCIER

he vitality of a renowned watch manufacture expresses itself through its innovative abilities in the fields of mechanisms, design and marketing. The house of BREGUET has made it its goal to always remain several steps ahead of its time, while simultaneously taking into account its tradition of timeless elegance and frill-free simplicity.

radition and modernity mix with one another in the Hampton watch, which perfectly embraces the wrist thanks to slightly curved case. Contemporary retro design makes it a classic of our epoch. Illustrated model: 18 ct. gold. Quartz movement.

REINE DE NAPLES

Price: €24,700

he inspiration for this line was the very first wristwatch, which A.-L. BREGUET created for Caroline Murat. The modern line features refined and precise little treasures that epitomize femininity. These jewellery watches are astonishing in equal measure thanks to their modernity and poetry. Illustrated model: 18 ct. white gold with 128 diamonds 0.83 ct. G/vvs. Selfwinding movment.

GRANDES COMPLICATION

Price: €54,960

BALLON BLEU DE CARTIER

Price: €13,100 CARTIER

he expressively voluminous curves on the dial and the convex curvature of the front and back of the case artfully combine classicism and futurism. The glass is like a magical lens that enlarges the numerals and artificially distorts the time. Illustrated model: 18 ct. white gold with diamonds. Self-winding movement.

ith its impressive collection of complicated watches, PATEK PHILIPPE leads the world’s elite manufactures. For example, the manufacture celebrated its 150th anniversary by creating Calibre 89 with 33 complications – including such rare mechanisms as a secular perpetual calendar which won’t need manual correction until the 28th century – the world’s most complex portable watch. Illustrated model: 18 ct. gold. Self-winding movement. Perpetual calendar. Moonphase display. Retrograde date display.

CorD 60 / May 2009 91

TECHNO TALK |

SANTOS

Price: €4,250

ne of CARTIER’S first wristwatches, this timepiece combines artful aesthetics and comfort in a pure geometry with an unmistakable style. The model has a rectangular case with inset horns and a bezel mounted on the case. The bezel’s corners are rounded, thus further accentuating the refinement of the dial. Illustrated model: 18 ct rose gold with 125 diamonds 0.82 ct. Selfwinding movement.

ENGINEER

Price: €3,170

TANK AMERICAINE

Price: €8,100

WC’S pilot’s watches feel most at home in the air, its Aquatimer family is happiest in the water, and its Ingenieur watches prefer the element of solid earth. The Ingenieurs are optimally equipped to face every earthly challenge and every adventure on Earth. Numbering among IWC’s bestknown watches, they celebrated their comeback after a pause of 50 years in 2005.

CARTIER

he Tank Américaine, launched in 1988, is another variation on the historic “Tank models” from 1917. The characteristic features of the Tank Américaine, which are likewise found on all Tank models, are: parallel flanks, Roman numerals and a rectangular “chemin-de-fer” minute-circle. Thanks to its curved shape, the elongated case of the Tank Américaine fits perfectly around the wrist. Illustrated model: 18 c.t gold. Quartz movement.

DA VINCI

Price: €35,000 IWC eonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was not only a gifted painter, he was also a natural scientist, an ingenious design engineer of fortresses and waterworks, and an outstanding architect. Whereas time had previously been firmly in the grasp of the Church, which stipulated when to pray, work and rest, the geared clock inaugurated an empirically calculable measuring unit for time. Illustrated model: Kurt Klaus. 18 ct. rose gold. Self-winding movement. Perpetual calendar. Moon-phase display. Limited edition of 500 watches worldwide.

PORTUGUESE

Price: €8,130

he Portuguese watches were born on the world’s seas. The mythos of IWC Portuguese watch grew from the colourful history of a seafaring nation, whose mariners conquered the world’s seas and discovered new continents. Centuries later, in the 1930s, two Portuguese merchants motivated the manufacture in Schaffhausen to build the first Portuguese wristwatch. Illustrated model: Stainless steel. Self-winding movement. 7-day power reserve. 92 CorD 60 / May 2009

HERITAGE

DOLCE VITA

Price €3,070

Price € 1,740

he LONGINES Heritage collection stands for the many years of affiliation between this Swiss watch brand and the worlds of sports, aeronautics and pioneering aviation, as well as the elegant design of nostalgic models. Its models are distinguish by the finest horological and aesthetic qualities combined with absolutely consummate elegance in the mechanisms and the design. Illustrated model: Stainless steel. Selfwinding movement. Retrograde displays.

he cultivated and stylishly vivacious Italian feeling for life inspired Longines’ watchmakers to create the DolceVita, which inimitably combines the clear, nofrills style of the 1920s with the glamour of the Fifties and effervesces with a pure feel for the fine way of life. With its diverse forms, sizes and versions, the DolceVita is one of the most important watch lines for this traditional brand from Saint-Imier. Illustrated model: Classic. 18 ct. gold Quartzmovem

DE VILLE HOUR VISION

Price: €3,380 OMEGA

he unique sapphire crystal case is a revolutionary achievement in engineering. Thanks to four transparent openings on its sides, it offers improved views of the meticulously designed movement. Nonetheless, this wristwatch is shock-resistant and also water-resistant to 100 metres.

SPEEDMASTER

Price: €4,100 OMEGA

riginally designed for researchers, engineers and the world’s best athletes, the Speedmaster has always provided precision time measurement, even under the toughest conditions. Illustrated model: Stainless steel. Hand-winding movement. Chronometer. Chronograph. Enamel dial. Limited to 1,957 watches worldwide.

TWENTY - 4

Price: €21,600 PATEK PHILIPPE

he unmistakable design is based on the anatomically curved Gondolo case with its terraced bezel. The bracelet visually continues the inner, diamond-studded bezel and closes with a folding clasp that is adorned with an engraving of the Calatrava Cross. Illustrated model: 18 ct. rose gold with 34 diamonds 0.66 ct. and 1 diamond cabochon approx. 0.05 ct. Quartz movement. Rose gold bracelet.

CorD 60 / May 2009 93

HOW TO... |

... OBTAIN A POLICE CERTIFICATE TO PROVIDE WHEN APPLYING FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE If you live in Serbia you need to obtain an ‘Uverenje o nekaznjavanju’ (Certificate of non-conviction) from the police station in the city and municipality (Ministarstvo Unutrasnjih Poslova, Policijska Uprava.) where you live in the Republic of Serbia. You must submit an application form and present your identification card (licna karta). Application forms can be obtained at police stations. ...TRANSFERS MONEY TO SERBIA Whatever your reasons for sending money to Serbia and whatever the amount, www.sendmoneyhome.org can help. Over the past few years, this company compared all aspects of money transfers for Serbian communities living and working in the UK who send money to Serbia. They are also starting to add and compare money transfer services available to Serbian communities living and working in other countries. Just use the drop-down list to select a different country you want to send from. ...FIND A JOB IN SERBIA? Very useful website: http://poslovi.infostud.com/ You will see numerous job posts, from both international and local companies. Some ads are in English. On the same portal you will see a section “HR Agencies” where most important companies have created their own presentations. Unfortuantely, not all content is in English. ...APPLY FOR COURSES AND SUMMER SCHOOL OF SERBIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE (18 JUL. – 7 AUG., 2009, VALJEVO) You can apply for all courses and summer schools organised by the Serbian Language and Culture Workshop in three simple steps: STEP ONE – STUDENTS APPLY ON-LINE FOR THE PROGRAMME THEY ARE INTERESTED IN. The link “Application” on our Web page (www.srpskijezik.edu.rs) will take you to the form. It has to be completed carefully. Be careful when you type your name, surname, date of birth and permanent address. Make sure to choose the programme and the date carefully. STEP TWO – REGISTRATION After applying on-line the Serbian language and Culture Workshop will send you a few emails with the registration form in the attachment. Print it out, complete it in block capitals and sign. Be careful when you write your name, surname, date of birth and your address. You can write several addresses, but the official invitation will be sent to the address specified as ‘contact address’. You must pay the registration fee – it is a small amount serving as a guarantee for the place you book and is between 5% and 10% of the course participation fee. Send the completed registration form and proof of payment to the address of the Serbian language and Culture Workshop. You can fax or email them with the organisers’ consent. Everybody who pays the registration fee is guaranteed a place on the course. No selection is made. STEP THREE - CONFIRMATION Upon receiving the registration form and proof of payment, the organisers will confirm your registration by email and send you an official letter of invitation to your contact address (that is why it is important to be careful when stating your contact address). Then you can start packing your suitcases and start preparing for the journey (book a ticket, if necessary, apply for a visa for Serbia, etc.)

98 CorD 60 / May 2009

CROSSWORD

Solve this crossword puzzle and test your Serbian – the clues may be in English, but the answers should be entered in Serbian

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Across: 1 Measure of length (1,000m). 2. Initials of English playwright Wilde - review of a military unit, 3 River in Poland, affluent of VARTA calves [cattle] (collective noun), 4 Campaign fraud - name of singer Bekić, 5 Farmer – a part of furniture, table, 6 Athenian hero (Academy was named after him) - Measure of land area, 7 Tags for metre - Village near Gospić – symbol for energy, 8 Symbol for astatine – Spa in Switzerland, 9 English chess player, Jonathan - The name of film critic Munitić, 10 Serbian actor Milan – Measure of wood in France, 11 Roman poet, Publius Terencije – Nickname for Arthur, 12 Black Tropical hardwood tree - the symbol for cerium, 13 Partial central heating. Down: 1 Maneouvre undertaken to combat an enemy Maneouvre, 2 Sea fish, village near Valjevo - wooden fence, 3 symbol for litre - uniform movement - Nations, 4 Opus (adv.) - Student of the military academy - Name of singer Francis, 5 Final move in chess - student responsible for discipline in Class - Bird runner. 6. Greek god of darkness - Former footballer of “Maribor”, Jozo - Initials of painter Aralica, 7 Ancient philosopher - Larger pot made from tin, plastic, etc. - The label for tone, 8 Among the records (lat.) - a piece of a cheerful music composition, 9 Journalist of a radio station. By: BRANKO POLIĆ

Answers: kilometar, ov, parada, ner, telad, trik , Beki, ratar, sto, akadem, ar, m, medak, e, at, tarasp, nan, ranko, erak, ster, varon, art, abonos, ce, radijator.

How to...