CorD magazine 72 by CorD Magazine

CorD, JUNE 2010

6 THE EXTINCTION OF SERIOUS MEDIA

Dragan Bujošević, Editor in Chief of Politika, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Press Council

DIPLOMACY IN THE FUNCTION OF ECONOMY

Filip Vujanović, President of Montenegro

H.E. Alexander Konuzin, Russian Ambassador to Serbia

“HEMO-GRAD” – A PLACE TO BE PROUD OF

Miodrag Babic, President, Hemofarm Group

WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO

TOWARD A LIBERALIZED TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET

BUSINESS NEWS FROM SERBIA

NETWORKING SERBIA 2010 Conference

HOMEPORT FOR HIGH-END TOURISM

Oliver Corlette, Managing Director of Porto Montenegro

COALITION CHEMISTRY

BUREAUCRACY – AN OBSTACLE TO BUSINESS

H.E. Mr. Fawzi Abdulaziz Ahmad AL-JASEM, the ambassador of Kuwait in Serbia

Comment by Andrej Ivanji, Editor at Vreme Weekly

BORDER ARBITRATION

Slovenia update

DENTAL DIPLOMACY LINKS BALKAN NEIGHBOURS

Greece and Macedonia update

SHINAWATRA LEARNS MONTENEGRIN

HOW TO ASSIST UNSUCCESSFUL COMPANIES

26 GERMANY-ISRAEL 30

FACES AND PLACES

Leaders opinions

45 years of diplomatic relations

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Tatjana Ostojić, tostojic@cma.rs EDITOR: Vera Didanović, v.didanovic@cma.rs ASSISTANT EDITOR: Philomena O’Brien, p.obrien@aim.rs ART DIRECTOR: Tamara Ivljanin, t.ivljanin@cma.rs ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT: Ilija Petrović, i.petrovic@aim.rs CONTRIBUTORS: Jelena Mickić, Jelena

4 CorD 72 / June 2010

Montenegro update

44 Jovanović, Ilija Despoović, Tatjana Tagirov, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Marija Vidić, Snježana Dragaš PHOTOS: Slobodan Jotić, Darko Cvetanović, Časlav Vukojičić TRANSLATION: Tibor Strak, Goga Purić, Snežana Bjelotomić EDITORIAL MANAGER Tanja Banković, t.bankovic@cma.rs PROJECT MANAGER: Vesna Vukajlović, v.vukajlovic@aim.rs; Marija Savić, m.savic@

48 BUSINESS NEWS FROM THE REGION

52 THE WORLD FOOTBALL CUP KICKS OFF

Marketing Games on an Epic Scale

A BURNING DESIRE TO WIN,

The 2010 International Fine Art Project

CULTURE NEWS & CALENDAR

62 TESTED VALUES AND NEW IDEAS

Dr Milivoje Mladjenovic, Director of the Sterijino Pozorje Theatre Festival in Novi Sad

A TOUCH OF ISTRIA

aim.rs; Snežana Terzić, s.terzic@aim.rs FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Ana Besedic, a.besedic@cma.rs GENERAL MANAGER Ivan Novcic, i.novcic@cma.rs PRINTING Rotografika d.o.o., Segedinski put 72, Subotica CorD is published by: alliance international media Kneginje Zorke 11b, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Leisure

Phone: +(381 11) 308 99 77, 308 99 88 Fax: +(381 11) 244 81 27 E-mail: cordeditorial@cma.rs www.cordmagazine.com www.allianceinternationalmedia.com ISSN no: 1451-7833 All rights reserved alliance international media 2010 This issue is audited by

ABC Serbia

comment

The Extinction of Serious Media

Economic dependency leads to the tabloidization of the media, and the drastic punishments threatened by the Public Information Act are nothing but an undercover enactment of censorship

edia, money and the law are key problems of media in Serbia. Let’s start with the last one first - the Public Information Act. It is true that some media in Serbia have lied through their teeth, or in other words, they have not been able to support their claims with facts; such behaviour has caused substantial damage to the media and journalists. That is why it is in the best interests of those media and journalists who respect the rules of the profession, that those who break the codes of journalism be punished. Of course, they did not ask for this law which threatens to abolish the media, but they did demand that the already existing punishments be given to those who break the law and the journalistic code. There wasn’t any problem with the fact that there was no law which sanctioned journalist lies. The problem was that the legal proceedings were postponed until they were outdated and the fines could not be collected. Instead of solving those two problems, the ruling majority has created a third one by adopting the Public Information Act, with its punishments directly leading to media extinction. The existence of such draconic punishment is an undercover enactment of censorship. For journalism, just as damaging is the influence of the climate in which this law was enacted. “All journalists are liars,” is the echo which has resounded in Serbia’s public arena for a long time. Just as damaging are the other two convictions which were spread around: that the medium annoying you could be stopped by way of punishment, and that from an unintentional mistake by a journalist a multi-decade salary could be earned. The government has stated between the lines that it would not reach for rigorous punishments from the Act, but it does not solve the problem because anyone else can do that. The other two problems - money and media, are connected. In Serbia there is an abnormally high number of media organizations. It is simply impossible that in a country of this size and economic power, five national television stations are operating and making a profit. This is why most of them are retreating to entertainment and neglecting the information sector, which is obligatory for getting an operating licence.

In Serbia there is an abnormally high number of media organizations There are too many local television stations. There are too many newspapers. If the laws were obeyed, many media would be closed down for financial irregularities- some of them for not paying taxes, other because a forced debt collection would be executed on them. 6 CorD 72 / June 2010

Economic dependency is the weakest link of the media. They would have to use their unprofessional silence or just as unprofessional spinning to benefit their sponsors from the government or the business elite. Should the number of media be reduced, should those who cannot survive economically be extinguished, the share of cake for the media left would substantially grow - which would only fortify their economic independence which, as we all know, can never be absolute. Economic dependence is pushing the media into the world of light sensational stories, cheap scandals, incoherent superficiality, idiotic frivolousness, especially nowadays when even death is turned into entertainment. This leads to the tabloidization of By Dragan Bujošević, all media, or to the drawn Editor in Chief of Politika, and out death of serious media and “cretinization“ of Chairman of the Board of the public. Directors of the Press Council The superficial public needs no media. It is a truth many journalists in Serbia do not know, especially those who have accidentally found themselves in this profession. In times when it is easier to start a newspaper, radio station or television station than it is to safely cross the street, many people who do not know what to do with themselves apart from wanting to be famous, have entered editorial offices not having the slightest clue about journalism, and particularly about the ethics of the job. Because they don’t care or they do not have the time or they don’t not want to train and educate those passers-by, the media has created a problem for themselves. They do not have enough quality people, enough dedicated people; they have large number of easily corrupted people and a large number of people whose ignorance, superficiality and lack of interest is frightening. These problems do not mean that in Serbia there is no good quality media and journalists who fulfil the highest standards of journalist professionalism and ethics. There are. That is why in Serbia there are no topics which can be hidden from the public eye. The fact that for only one out of the seven newspapers with the biggest circulation, can you easily say that they belong to a certain political party, goes in favour of this claim. If I had to mark the Serbian media on a scale from one to five, the average mark would be somewhere around three.

INTERVIEW |

Filip Vujanović, President of Montenegro

DIPLOMACY IN THE FU Natural and economic resources are by all means an excellent means for continuing and intensifying investment ventures and economic partnerships, and thus, for the general progress of Montenegro

By Ilija DESPOTOVIĆ

n the fourth anniversary of Montenegrin independence, the president of the country, Filip Vujanović, does not conceal his satisfaction with what has been accomplished. “The state of independent Montenegro has been fortified and I think of it as eternal,” he states in his interview for CorD magazine, where among other things, he talks about the hurdles crossed so far, his plans for the future and regional relations.

8 CorD 72 / June 2010

NCTION OF ECONOMY What is the priority in your role as president? What is the most significant issue in regards to international contacts? The priorities of Montenegro are European and Euro-Atlantic integrations, as well as the promotion of Montenegrin values and resources. During the process of joining the EU, the visa regime has been liberalised and significant activities relating to gaining EU membership candidate status have been accomplished. This year will be dedicated to the continuation and intensification of those activities, with a realistic chance of gaining candidate status by the end of the year. It was crucial that all EU member countries rat-

I am convinced that even those who thought that the federation was the future now value the advantages of an independent Montenegro and are open to the aspirations which the country has ified the Stabilization and Association Agreement, which gave us the opportunity for rapid integration. As part of the process of NATO integration we have gained membership to MAP, an initial step toward NATO and a major acknowledgement and an encouragement to speed up this process. In terms of promoting Montenegro, I have dedicated numerous diplomatic activities to presenting Montenegro as a harmonious, multinational and multi-religious community committed to good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation. We wish to affirm the reality of a being a good example and as a result, to contribute to the stability of the region. Natural and economic resources are by all means an excellent means for continuing and intensifying investment ventures and economic partnerships, and thus, for the general progress of Montenegro. Realistically, diplomacy is becoming a way of economic promotion and I am glad that it is inherent in the diplomacies of all the countries in the region. Nowadays, can we talk about Montenegrin diplomacy in a

A GOOD EXAMPLE

CLOSENESS

The beautiful old town of Kotor consistent way, as a strategy? What is its primary defining feature? I am very satisfied that, after proclaiming independence, we have formed a serious and responsible diplomatic network with a clear direction for action and valuable successes. We are presently part of leading international organizations, representing ourselves as a responsible and reliable partner. We have been diplomatically

CRIME

We wish to afďŹ rm the reality of

Montenegro and Serbia are two

Just like all other countries in the

a being a good example and as a

close countries and we should

region, Montenegro is fully dedi-

result, to contribute to the sta-

set an example of closeness both

cated to the ďŹ ght against crime

bility of the region.

regionally and globally.

and corruption. CorD 72 / June 2010 9

INTERVIEW |

promoting the interests and values of Montenegro at the highest of international levels, and we have stated our dedication to intensive cooperation in the function of stability and development of the entire region.

both the West and East of the consistency of its politics? I am sure that we are trusted, and that there are no conflicts between these integration processes. The standards of these processes are similar, and according to the rules, membership to the EU was preceded by the membership to NATO, especially in the case of the latest enlargements. During numerous contacts with officials in Russia and China, the respect for the sovereignty of Montenegro to decide upon its membership in NATO has been distinctly stated. I am convinced that it will be a constant in the politics of Russian and China toward Montenegro.

On May 21st, Montenegro celebrated the fourth anniversary of renewed independence. What are the main diplomatic successes that have been accomplished since the referendum, and how do you perceive the current diplomatic position of Montenegro? The most important successes are by all means related to the rapid acknowledgement of Montenegro’s How do you perceive interindependence, membership to innational relations in the region? ternational organizations, and other There are indications that in a important integration results. The way, Montenegro is a stability international community respects factor in the region. Could you highly the clear democratic characclarify such a stand? ter of our referendum, seeing it as I am pleased with such remarks, powerful proof of political maturity and I am convinced that the dedicaand a fine example in the region. tion and affirmation of the region’s Numerous bilateral awards and good example has been recognized membership to international organand justly valued. The policies of izations are the best possible conaffirmation of harmonious internafirmations of success. Of course, tional and inter-religious relations, they also obligate us to a continued maintaining peace and stability, dedication to democracy and develavoiding war during the dissolution opment, as well as contribution to of former Yugoslavia, as well as regional and global values. the democratic process of gaining We are pleased with the prinindependence, should clearly be ciple of joining the EU. It is recognized as valuable standards, highly valued in the process of and treated as fine examples which European and Euro-Atlantic inteshould be followed. Definitely, the grations, which gives each counprimary credit for this belongs to try the opportunity to evaluate “It was crucial that all EU member the citizens of Montenegro, who, its successes, and at the same the dissolution of Yugotime motivating the less successcountries ratified the Stabilization and during slavia, were aware that maintainful ones to intensify their inteing peace would guarantee stabilgrational activities. The best exAssociation Agreement, ity and a developmental future for ample of this is the liberalisation which gave us the opportunity Montenegro. Shared amongst all of the visa regime which has adthe countries in the region is the ditionally stimulated Bosnia and for rapid integration” aspiration for integration, as well Herzegovina and Albania to, folas the willingness to speed up those integrations by cooperation. lowing Montenegro‘s footsteps, fulfil the required standards. Considering the commitment to EU and NATO membership, and at the same time, to maintenance of good relations with Russia and China, has Montenegro managed to convince 10 CorD 72 / June 2010

What would be the shortest description of relations between Montenegro and its neighbours? The full affirmation of fine neighbouring relations and the be-

lief that they are the requirement for good relations and the success of foreign politics. I am extremely pleased that we have sent two significant messages for reaching an agreement from here. We have reached a Belgrade Agreement with Serbia, which was crucial for gaining the independence of Montenegro. It is an agreement marked by the EU and the entire international community as evidence of political maturity and the democratic capacity of Montenegro and Serbia, which was the reason why the results of the democratic referendum were instantly recognized. There is also the agreement with Croatia on the temporary regime of the Prevlaka Peninsular. We demonstrated that the delicate matter of territory could be resolved between friends and that it could be the reason for bringing people closer to each other, not setting them further apart. How do you perceive current relations beBudva Fair tween Montenegro and Serbia? Has the time passed when those relations changed, so to The state independence of Montenegro has been fortified and I say, in a cycle, depending on certain decisions and moves? I agree with the comment that our relations with Serbia have think of it as eternal. been changing in a cycle. We had two negative cycles after the The period after the proclamation of independence showed the recognition and foundation of diplomatic relations with Kosovo. true value of independent promotion in the international comWe have invested maximum effort to comprehend the painfulness munity, and that our future is up to us. By renewing statesmanof the Kosovo matter for Serbia, but we also followed our, above ship we have also confirmed respect for our history, which by asall things, integrational interests, piring for independence and by which would not have been so Realistically, diplomacy is becoming a way the reputation of Princedom and dynamic without the recognition Kingdom Montenegro, has subof Kosovo. The expectations of of economic promotion and I am glad that stantially overgrown the size of numerous partners in the EU and it is inherent in the diplomacies of all the our territory and the number of NATO that Montenegro should inhabitants. It has shown that countries in the region share their politics towards Koreputation does not depend sovo were stated loud and clear. on size, but on the values of a Such diplomatic formulation was utterly unsuspicious and obvicountry. I am convinced that even those who thought that the fedous in the fact that the application for membership to the EU and eration was the future now value the advantages of an independNATO would not have made any sense without the recognition ent Montenegro and are open to the aspirations which the counof Kosovo. The reaction of Serbia, which followed its own state try has. politics and interests, lowered the level of our state relations. CurI feel great joy that Montenegro left such division behind, and rently, we are renewing substantial and intensive communications, I regard the mission of contribution to overcoming those diviand ministerial visits to give a realistic tone to the remark that sions to be a major part of my presidential obligation. We must soon we would form relations full of real values. I will repeat what turn to one another. We are closest to each other. Let us maintain I have said numerous times before - Montenegro and Serbia are two close countries and we should set an example of closeness I am certain that the most difficult both regionally and globally. We are obliged by our past, current common interests and future interests. period is behind us, and that How do you deem political relations in Montenegro? There are views that in the referendum Montenegro voted for sovereignty, and that in fact, its state independence has not been fortified?

the second half of this year, and particularly the following year, will be a period of economic revitalization CorD 72 / June 2010 11

INTERVIEW |

relations with those who are near us outside Montenegro, but be aware of the fact that we are closest to each other.

tional police organizations recognize and adequately merit this Montenegrin resolution. The success of this struggle will be better quality of life, and we have to be fully committed to it, above all, because of our citizens’ interests. Committed as a society because common actions are the conditions for success, and committed with full openness which implies the readiness of expert help of the international community in all areas relevant for this activity. In all diplomatic contact, I point to the openness of Montenegro by stating my expectations that the experts from the international community will help in the fight against organized crime and corruption, and that they will also be a witness to the condition and success of this fight. It is the best way to promote the authentic image of Montenegro which is also important for success in the fight against organized crime and corruption.

Even the advocates of independence are criticising those What are your estimations of the capabilities of Montenegro in power, saying that they have not been decisive enough in to deal with the consequences of the economic crisis and to solving some identity matters. You have also been reproached move on to faster development? for your stand on some matters which allegedly are not the Without a doubt, the global economic responsibility of the head of the state, for crisis slowed the development of Monexample the matter of the church. Is this Montenegro and Serbia are tenegro. It has had an especially negative a question of your patience or your principle? two close countries and we impact on the restraint of the banking sys In respect of the Constitution, it is clear tem whose support was necessary, both for should set an example and shares the greatest civilized values large companies and for entrepreneurial the distinction between the country and the of closeness both regionally development. The aluminium and iron inchurch, and of mutual obligation of non-industry which are particularly important for and globally terference. I have been consistent and clear Montenegro have gone through a major in my stand on the matter of separation of crisis on the international market, which the state and the church, and I believe it has been recognized by resulted in negative consequences in Montenegro. I am certain everybody. It is important to be patient and to know that relevant that a good and consistent programme of government support has goals can be jeopardized by your own impatience. produced the maximum amortization of the global crisis’ negative consequences. There were no large companies shutting down, no Do your foreign interlocutors raise the question of crime mass lay-offs of employees, and no outstanding payments for soand corruption in Montenegro? cial and pension fund budgets. Just like all other countries in the region, Montenegro is fully I am certain that the most difficult period is behind us, and that dedicated to the fight against crime and corruption. This dedicathe second half of this year, and particularly the following year, tion implies close cooperation with neighbouring countries, counwill be a period of economic revitalization. This has been contries in the region and international police organizations. firmed by the previous weeks which have shown a growth in em Numerous reports of the EU, European Council, and internaployment and an increase in credit support to our economy.

WALKING WITHOUT SECURITY

ujanović has been the head of the state since May 11th, 2003. Prior to this he had held numerous positions in Montenegro including Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Justice, Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairman of the National Assembly of Montenegro. He is an attorney by vocation, who passed his bar exam and ran a 12 CorD 72 / June 2010

practice for over ten years. Part of his working career has involved dealings and functions in judicial bodies. Vujanović was born on September 1st, 1954 in Belgrade, where he finished law school, and worked until 1980. He is married and has three children. His political profile, in addition to a prestigious official career, has an obvious unofficial

air which sets him apart from classical politicians. Vujanović is very relaxed when communicating with people, and in Podgorica, he lives in an apartment which is not located in any particularly special area and quite often in the evening, he can be seen strolling around the city with his friends, without any members of security accompanying him.

The GREEN Panel (June 2) will deal with issues such as energy efficiency in architecture, healing spaces, socially influential buildings and other related topics. The REALISED Panel (June 3) deals with modern experiences in planning, realisation and presentation of projects. This includes the realisation of buildings that include modern demands produced new urban landmarks in a large number of cities and simultaneously raising new standards in architecture, interiors, technology and materials. The BLO(C)KED Panel is envisaged as the symbolic panel of the conference with two different interpretations. On one side there is BLOKed, where conclusions, recommendations, concepts and ideas are given and where the goals of this year’s conference are defined. On the other hand, due to the mortgage loans crisis which influenced financial markets in all countries of the world, the investments in civil engineering were drastically decreased. The Blo(c)ked panel deals with changes in investments, planning, designing and construction organization approaches despite unfavourable economic circumstances. The AFFORDABLE HOUSING Panel discusses the issue of affordable housing at the BLOK Conference, from the perspective of space. Half a century after mass flat-building in Serbia, a need for affordable housing has appeared and has marked residence and housing affordability conditioned by price, social reasons and distribution. The NEW TENDENCIES Panel discusses new tendencies, ideas, forms and research studies in architecture. The development of software and information technologies inevitably produced new ways of thinking about construction systems, forms and space. This panel deals with the potentials of planning hardware and software while focusing on advanced computer geometries and software development.

Projmetal Cvijićeva 127, Beograd Republika Srbija Mob.: +381 63 382 264 Tel.: +381 11 3314 422 Fax: +381 11 3295 929 www.projmetal.com

The exhibition of the projects of participants-instructors and Projmetal’s presentation of the Trosarina Shopping Mall project, was opened at the Zira Centre as an announcement of the upcoming BLOK Conference. The exhibition will be open for all visitors during May and June 2010. Detailed information about the programme of the conference and instructors can be found at www.blok.rs. Visitors can send an on-line application for the conference.

INTERVIEW |

H.E. ALEXANDER KONUZIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO SERBIA

BUREAUCRACY – An Obstacle to Business Despite a certain number of bad experiences had by Russian companies in Serbia, the Ambassador believes that economic cooperation between the two countries is improving. Relations have become more dynamic after the visit of Russian President Medvedev to Belgrade, the Ambassador says By Katarina MILOSAVLJEVIĆ uring his two years in Belgrade, the Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Konuzin has shown on several occasions that he is happy to speak his mind, regardless of whether the issues he is commenting on are economic or political. Amongst other things in his interview with CorD magazine he explains what kind of obstacles Russian investors face in Serbia, and also why Russia has closely followed the statements of Serbian leadership concerning joining NATO.

The Serbian Finance Minister, Diana Dragutinovic, and deputy Finance Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Vladimirovich Pankin signed an agreement for a 200 million USD loan in Moscow, given by the Russian Federation to 14 CorD 72 / June 2010

Serbia in order to support its budget and finance the deficit. Are there conditions that Serbia has to fulfil in order to successfully continue and finish the negotiations? The next, and third round, of the Rus-

sian-Serbian workgroup for credit-financing and investment cooperation should take place at the beginning of June. We need to consider Serbia’s request for financing of the railway traffic project (which was pro-

posed in the Serbian Finance Ministry’s letter on November 25th, 2009), and also to take into account the technical study prepared by the Russian Free Holding Company “Trgovinski Dom - Russian Railroad” regarding the possibilities and feasibility of its fulfilment. The main condition for its achievement is to have access to all project estimation documentation for each proposed project. The other important factor is the level of participation of Russian

Negotiations on the loan started in October last year. Why have these negotiations taken so long? Russia’s agreement to provide credit to support the Serbian budget was signed on April 7th, 2010 in Moscow. I can also add that the Russian side has already finished interstate procedures necessary for its validity and Serbian side was informed of this on April 20th, 2010. We are now waiting on the announcement from Serbia.

the information. The general register of property of “NIS” is still not determined up to this moment. There is a list of undisputed property that has more than four thousand items, and some one thousand have been taken over. A special permit from the Serbian government is required every time. On the other hand, as far as disputed premises are concerned, the issue still has no final solution. With such a slow pace, the takeover of a company can last for years, which can, of course, create additional

In the conditions of the unfinished process of transformation of the alliance, technical expansion of the block is not an adequate reaction to modern challenges; it does not strengthen the security of new members, nor NATO, nor Europe as a whole As far as the other part of Russian credit is concerned – that to be directed to infrastructure projects - the Serbian side is unfortunately stalling on giving us additional material necessary for preparing the technical agreement on all proposed projects. This has led to a postponement of the deadline for the next round of negotiations. You were present at the Economic Forum in Kopaonik and you warned Russian investors to be cautious if they wanted to invest in Serbia. What was the reason for such a warning? The warning was very much connected with the bureaucratic and often formal approach to issues and problems that Russian economic operators are faced with. The purchase of the majority share holding of “NIS” by Russian “Gazprom Neft Company” brought about the paradoxical situation where neither seller nor buyer had a clear notion of the terms of the contract, and where the authorities that dealt with the privatization had no responsibility for

companies. I think that we will manage to achieve answers to all existing issues during the negotiations, and progress the discussion to the terms of the loan for the agreed projects.

complications for the company’s operations and have a negative influence on the value of the shares of the company. The situation with “AD Lukoil - Beopetrol” is similar. Local authorities have threatened the company with court action due to the allegedly illegal reconstruction and building of the gas pump in Zemun. This is not the only problem that Russian economic operators have here. All this forces us to seriously think about doing business in Serbia. What can Serbia do on short notice to stop the influence of your warning? Doing business transparently with Russian companies, finding continuous solutions to the pile-up of problems - which are practices in the business world - and to look upon Russian companies as interested partners. What is the pace of work on the construction of the underground gas storage facility “Banatski Dvor”? Has the joint company of Gazprom and Srbijagas started to operate?

P L A N S

O P T I M I S M

C O N TAC T S

There are plans for cooperation in agriculture, an agroeconomy complex, as well as tourism.

We look forward with optimism and we have no intention of decreasing the intensity of our cooperation.

The development of contacts between the Ministries of Interior Affairs is especially consistent. CorD 72 / June 2010 15

INTERVIEW |

grade sticks to the same conservative policy in crediting citizens in the local market. The banks management has not set goals to offer the maximum quantity of small credits at any cost. The market is carefully studied, risks are assessed, and the list of services offered will be in accordance with the demands of the local market, and thus, the bank’s policy in developing such business is created. At the moment, the bank has started the realization of new credit programs.

Regardless of unstable political conjecture, large agreements worth several billion USD are being realized in accordance with set plans The work on the foundation of the joint company was finished on February 8th, 2010. On the Russian side, the founding company is “Gazprom - Germany”, and on the Serbian side it is “AD Srbijagas”. The first session of the management board was held in Belgrade on March 25th, 2010. There we discussed several organizational issues, such as the acquisition of the license for commercial business, which should be granted in the beginning of May 2010. The draft of the property transfer of “AD Srbijagas” to the new company, “Underground Gas Storage Facility Banatski Dvor” is being considered by the Serbian government. The company has already started the filling of the buffer gas received from “DOO Gazpromexport” on lease conditions. The start of delivery of the main volume of gas to the underground gas storage facility is planned for September, 2010.

MOSCOW BANK Moscow Bank has invested more than 200 million USD into the Serbian economy in the last six months, and that is a very signiﬁcant ﬁgure. 16 CorD 72 / June 2010

Moscow Bank announced last year the start of operations in Serbia. However, compared to other banks with aggressive media campaigns, the bank is still not being noticed by the Serbian banking market. Are there some problems or is this the policy of the bank? As far as I am aware, Moscow Bank has invested more than 200 million USD into the Serbian economy in the last six months, and that is a very significant figure. Thus, there is no need to talk about the inactive position of the bank on the Serbian financial market. The bank started its operations from scratch, and that is the usual practice when directing the main focus on development of corporate credits during the first couple of years, and then developing credits for citizens. With a very conservative approach to risk management Moscow Bank is one of the leaders of this type of crediting. Moscow Bank Bel-

SOGAZ The founding of an insurance company, with the involvement of the largest universal insurance company “SOGAZ”, is almost completed.

Are there any changes in relations between Russia and Serbia after the visit of President D. A. Medvedev last autumn? Relations are more dynamic. Seven agreements were signed during the visit, which created a legal basis for inter-governmental cooperation in new areas. The development of contacts between the Ministries of Interior Affairs is especially consistent. Three representative delegations of the Russian Interior Ministry have visited Serbia since December, 2009. We are establishing a constructive dialogue regarding expert services, as well as in other directions. We are also working on the fulfilment of a project creating a humanitarian centre in Nis. Research has shown us that this region needs mobile, well supplied operations particularly in emergency situations such as fighting forest fires and during floods etc. On a practical level we are preparing and implementing the “Days of Spiritual Culture of Russia and Serbia” programme which should happen in autumn. The visit of D. A. Medvedev occurred on the Liberation Day of Belgrade from fascist occupation, and President Boris Tadic was present at the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9th. We actively worked with local authorities, conducting the ceremonies of wreath-laying and honouring the veterans of the battle of liberation in Yugoslavia with jubilee medals saying “65 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945”. A number of new bilateral agreements is

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Our economic cooperation in general continues to grow and it can be characterized, especially in the energy sector, as a strategic partnership.

AGAINST NATO EXPANSION

being prepared for signing. Our task is not only to additionally extend the relationship on a contractual and legal basis, but foremost to work on a more direct realization of documents’ clauses. All this is being established simultaneously with the realization of our joint economic projects. And thus, we look forward to the future with optimism and we have no intention of decreasing the intensity of our cooperation. How do you assess economic cooperation between the two countries? Our economic cooperation in general continues to grow and it can be characterized, especially in the energy sector, as a strategic partnership. Regardless of unstable political conjecture, large agreements worth several billion USD are being realized in accordance with set plans. The accomplishment of the construction project of the main “Southern Stream” gas pipeline will enable Serbia to become one of the largest European transition points of natural gas to Western Europe. Realization of plans for development of the joint “Underground Gas Storage Facility Banatski Dvor” will transform it into one of the major supply centres of “blue fuel”, not only in the domestic, but also in the regional market.Although there are certain difficulties, the business of the Serbian “NIS” company is developing with the input of capital from “Gazprom Neft”. The modernization of “NIS” that is currently being implemented will make the Serbian company, led by a Russian manager, into one of the largest players in the oil and gas sector in the Balkans. The Russian company “Lukoil” also holds a significant position and its total volume of investments in Serbia today is at 375 million USD, of which 20 million USD was invested in 2009. Russian financial structures are also present in the Serbian market, primarily “Moscow Bank”. The founding of an insurance company, with the involvement of the largest universal insurance company “SOGAZ”, is almost completed. The work on large infrastructure construction projects continues, primarily railway projects. There are plans for cooperation in agriculture, an agro-economy complex, as well as tourism. As I mentioned before, the creation of the “Russian-Serbian Centre for Humanitarian Action” is planned for this year and its main goal is to act operatively in all

possible emergency situations and technical disasters in Serbia and the Balkans. At the international conference held in February, 2010, the region supported this Russian-Serbian initiative. I hope that work on the technical issues will be finished by summer. All these projects offer the potential to say that joint operations in the trade-economy sector represent one of the important factors of the strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia.

ussia’s stand regarding NATO is well known. I wish to warn you about the appropriate formulation included in the latest Russian military doctrine. Among other things, it says that the risks for my country are created by the tendency “to give global functions to NATO potential, which through their realisation breaks international laws, and of the military infrastructure of NATO countries nearing Russian borders, also by the expansion of this block.” In the conditions of the unfinished process of transformation of the alliance, technical expansion of the block is not an adequate reaction to modern challenges; it does not strengthen the security of new members, nor NATO, nor Europe as a whole. I am convinced that the changed nature of the new threats and risks for security (namely international terrorism, organized crime, the growth of weapons of mass destruction, drug smuggling) demands a union of efforts of all countries and international organizations. Expansion of the alliance however, does not strengthen the collective approach, but just the opposite - it leads towards the fragmentation of the unified security territory in Europe. Admission of new members to NATO devalues the crucial principle, which is founded in the initiative of the Russian president about reaching a new treaty on European security which says: Do not strengthen your own security at the expense of the security of others. The final decision will undoubtedly be Serbia’s. Russia carefully monitors the announcements of the Serbian leadership that NATO membership is not an issue.

How do you interpret Austria joining the “Southern Stream” project, considering that this country is also supporting the “Nabucco” pipeline project - a rival to the “Southern Stream” project? Austria’s association with the construction of the “Southern Stream” pipeline represents the reflection of the growing interest of European countries in this project. Very recently, in November 2009, France also joined it. That means that “Southern Stream” is growing in importance in Europe. The decreased demand for gas in European

countries, which is the consequence of the world economic crisis, is just temporary and experts agree that by 2015, when “Southern Stream” should become active, the usage of “blue gold” in Europe will be significantly increased. Thus I do not think that the “Southern Stream” and “Nabucco” projects are in competition. It is more probable that these two pipelines will be complementary. As far as the search for free gas volumes in the Caspian Sea is concerned, in order to start the “Nabucco” project, that is a separate issue and its solution will demand serious work.

Russia carefully monitors the announcements of the Serbian leadership that NATO membership is not an issue

CorD 72 / June 2010 17

INTERVIEW |

Miodrag Babic, President, Hemofarm Group

“Hemo-Grad” - a pl During the first fifty years of the company, Vrsac-based Hemofarm has had a huge influence on the development of its hometown. It has also spread its business all over the world; the company is currently operating in the markets of Europe, North America, the Middle East and Northern Africa By Dunja ILIĆ emofarm marked its 50th anniversary with a gala-concert of the world-famous violinist Stefan Markovic in the Sava Centre in Belgrade. This concert was not organized by chance - Stefan was also one of the participants in the 25th anniversary of Hemofarm as an eight-year-old “wonder-boy”. In the meantime, the talented violinist has developed a worldwide career and Hemofarm has grown into a multinational company. How this was achieved and what the company’s plans are for the future are just some of the subjects Hemofarm president, Miodrag Babic, discussed with CorD magazine.

18 CorD 72 / June 2010

Which stages in development of your half-century-old company would you assess as crucial ones? One of the stages would certainly be the construction of the factory 35 years ago outside the city, in an open space - when we started the production of infusion solutions in cooperation with the German company Fresenius. We have preserved the wonderful park created in that period up to today, and we have also constructed four new facilities. Last year we reconstructed the infusion facility, which is now completely automated and this launched Hemofarm amongst the five largest European producers of infusion solutions. We have not just spread our capacities in Vrsac – we now also have factories in Podgorica, Dubovac, Banja Luka and

Obninsk, Russia. We have achieved the total capacity of the facility and we sell 200 million packages of different pharmaceuticals every year. I must also emphasize a great business move by Fresenius, one of the leaders in the field of infusion and dialysis, who signed a contract with us in order to establish a joint company at the time of the UN sanctions. However, they had to ask their government for permission to do this. Another really important stage was the formation of our own company in Frankfurt in 1991, just before Yugoslavia dissolved. Nikola Stankovic, who is the vice-president of Hemofarm and a member of the management board today, took over managing that company, which was very significant for He-

ace to be proud of mofarm during the sanctions. In the spring of 1992 we started construction of a facility for the production of pharmaceuticals in solid form, that covered 13.500 square meters. The construction process lasted for almost five years, but we made it, even though it was during the period of hyper-inflation and factories were closing everywhere. Hemofarm did not sack its employees or send them for compulsory holidays. We quickly compensated for a couple of years of decreased production and reached record production in 1991 of 35 million packages and from here we continued to grow. These 35 million packages are less than one quarter of our production today. However, the Serbian economy has failed to return to that level of 1991. That is Serbia’s greatest problem. You started the process of privatization in 1989, but that did not last long. The laws were changing. The percentage of participation of small shareholders, where the significant part belonged to the employees, was dropping after the revisions. Shares were bought using loans. There were cases where people sold their real estate in order to buy shares. Hemofarm emerged on the Belgrade Stock Exchange in 2002 and the experts say that the stock market lost a lot when, after the acquisition by STADA Group, the company disappeared from it four years later. But the shareholders won. And the company won. In the process of globalization, it was very important that we achieved a friendly takeover, in order to give Hemofarm a respectable place within the STADA system, and to put Hemofarm’s

FDA CERTIFICATE

potential into the context of further joint development.

You cannot expect that someone will run after local officials in order to invest in a certain area, start a business or employ people. When you look back, what really makes you proud? A few figures will tell you plenty. Twentyeight years ago, 300 people used to work for Hemofarm. Today this number is ten times higher. We used to produce eight million packages per year, and now we produce that amount in two weeks. When you arrive at Vrsac from Belgrade, you can see the entire Hemofarm complex

MODEL

with a huge park in front of the company, and that looks impressive. Hemofarm has marked the development of the city. More than 1.500 citizens of Vrsac are employed here, more than half of the municipality budget is secured through taxes paid by Hemofarm, a significant number of small companies lean on Hemofarm as suppliers and service providers, and these facts really tell you a lot. Hemofarm’s compound, which citizens of Vrsac call “Hemo-Grad” (or Hemo-City), has become a model of urban approach that has been implemented in other parts of the city. The company has initiated and we have invested in significant city projects, starting from the city core, with construction of the Millennium Centre, to the concept of a technological park and investment into the pilot company as the basis of the park with Italian partners. In addition to the basketball club we took over 18 years ago, we have also

EXPECTATIONS

Hemofarm expert teams, sup-

Hemofarm’s compound, which

We cannot expect that someone

ported by relevant scientiﬁc

citizens of Vrsac call “Hemo-Grad”,

will invest here only because the

institutions, really applied a lot

has become a model of urban ap-

workforce is cheaper.That is not

of skill and effort in order to

proach that has been implemented

enough and we have seen that in

acquire the FDA certiﬁcate.

in other parts of the city.

the last couple of years. CorD 72 / June 2010 19

INTERVIEW |

We must change our way of thinking and our approach, and that will lead us to positive changes, and a positive way of working and functioning founded the Dositej Obradovic Foundation in cooperation with Matica Srpska, a Serbian Culture and Education Association, and the Literature and Arts Institute. The foundation was created in 1993 and it gives a valuable contribution to society through its humanitarian actions, support to the development of education, health and arts. We have also

provided scholarships for 1.200 faculty and high-school students in the last 15 years. I am proud of all that and I am proud of my associates. Of course, I will also make it personal. I am proud of my family, my wife Jelena, who has been the head of the Hemofarm Foundation over the last 10 years and I am also proud of my sons Vladimir and Aleksandar, who are building their own careers. You do business in the markets of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and last year you acquired a license to export pharmaceuticals to North America, which is not very common for companies from this part of Europe. What are the results of your presence in the North American market so far and what are your plans for the future? Hemofarm expert teams, supported by relevant scientific institutions, really applied a lot of skill and effort in order to acquire the FDA certificate. We did not organize a press conference in the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts (SANU) by chance in October 2008. This was not only a success for Hemofarm and The STADA Group, but also a success 20 CorD 72 / June 2010

for Serbian science and the Serbian economy. While we were working on a copious number of procedures to acquire the certificate, we founded a firm in Washington and our associates there worked hard to prepare our position in the market. We established cooperation with one of the largest American suppliers of hospitals, Hospira Company, which sold our pharmaceuticals to American hospitals. The first delivery of our products to be used in hospital therapy occurred last May.We believe that everything will become much faster and simpler after this. We are now familiar with the procedures, and we are creating pharmaceuticals of a very sophisticated form. We have a lot of plans, but we will talk about them after we achieve them. How hard was Hemofarm hit by the global economic crisis? Did you preserve your number of employees? I do not know if there was anyone undamaged by the economic crisis. If I tell you that we sold more than a half of our production last year, while the economic crisis was at its peak, it would seem to you that the economic crisis did not touch us. However, this is not the case. We faced many problems with liquidity, just like everybody else did. Verifying the claims became the crucial problem. There are a lot of situations where we have no power to react. I am afraid that the hints of the economic crisis were taken too lightly in Serbia. In the beginning it was even disputed whether the crisis would miss us. Instead of making strategies we waited to see

what would happen and that was ridiculous. Then there were stories about a package of measures, but there were no signs of anything being put into practice. I belong to a group of businessmen that have insisted on the creation of economic strategy for years now. Serbia cannot be a desert island unaffected by the global situation, nor can Hemofarm be a desert island within Serbia, unaffected by domestic weaknesses...especially when you bear in mind that we still have a guided regime of prices for pharmaceuticals with relaxed importing restrictions and that the domestic market still covers 45% of our total income. With all rationalizations, decreased budgets and expenses, it was very hard to keep the same number of employees, but we did it. We have had a group of temporary staff for years now and we try to give better status to the best of them. I have not had this experience, but I believe that it is very hard to sack people, regardless of the necessity in some situations. You started an initiative in order to sign a pre-contract between Vrsac municipality and the German Fresenius Medical Care company that will invest over 20 million euros in a technology park and employ more than 500 people. Can we expect more similar news? Well, yes. We refer to Fresenius a lot. A cooperation that has lasted so long and with such mutual benefit can never be completely stopped. That is what has happened in this case. You always turn to the ones who knew you first; to the people that have a certain level of trust in you and where there is a mutual respect. I am glad that Fresenius found it in their interest to grow their business in Vrsac. It is clear that their previous experience was crucial when they made that decision. I often try to keep the interests of the city in mind, and thus I negotiated and agreed with my friend and the owner of Croatian Atlantic Group, Emil Tadeski, to locate their project

I believe that Vojvodina has a little bit of an advantage, exactly because of its faster change of approach and its higher level of flexibility

in our technological park. Some friends of mine from Italy are also interested. However, until the contracts are signed I can only speak about the negotiations and chances. The media were full of headlines about the “invasion of investors” to Vrsac. What should other municipalities do in order to improve their development, in your opinion? There is no such thing as an invasion these days; those headlines were a bit too strong, probably in an attempt to increase their circulation. Everyone wants his share of the market, even the media. But seriously, I think it is very important for local self-government to take the right approach; to be ready to change the bureaucratic approach to the responsive servicing of citizens and the economy, especially investors. You cannot expect that someone will run after local officials in order to invest in a certain area, start a business or employ people. I believe that the way of thinking is the most important issue. Local self-government must create teams of experts that will implement the agreed strategy operatively. Good strategy is not worth much if there is no one to realize it, and the team of individuals is not worth much if they lack a clear goal. We must forget that “civil service” way of working in order to get a guaranteed salary. No one needs an official who just waits for a lunch break. They should be replaced by diligent and efficient people. Young people who are fluent in foreign languages, who can prepare a presentation and project in no time in order to apply for different developments and to access funds. We must change our way of thinking and our approach, and that will lead us to positive changes, and a positive way of working and functioning. Is Serbia open to big investors? What are the options of Vojvodina and Vrsac in this area? I do not wish to criticize too much, but we did very little about basic things such as infrastructure in the past. Good roads, strong energy supplies and other elements are the pre-requisites of an investor’s decision to invest. Our legislation is lacking, and this causes a lot of problems, especially in the area of ownership. We failed to get rid of the bureaucratic approach to administration. These are important elements in my opinion. We cannot expect that someone will invest here only because the workforce is cheaper. That is not enough and we have seen

that in the last couple of years. Large foreign companies have been interested in buying what was healthy in the Serbian economy. The halt in investments occurred exactly because of the above-mentioned reasons. I believe that Vojvodina has a little bit of an advantage, exactly because of its faster change of approach and its higher level of flexibility. I believe that the construction of the bypass road around Vrsac, and construction of the Belgrade-Timisoara motorway will additionally help us, and I believe that technology parks and industrial zones will start spreading in the next five years. Do you think that the results for new investments would be better if the local self-governments were more autonomous in negotiations with foreign investors? The right measure of autonomy will give you no headaches, unless you do not know what to do with it. More authority and greater responsibility of the selfgovernment, the right of the self-government to behave like it is a part of an industrial environment and a better service for investors - these are the conditions we need for the successful re-industrialization.

role of the Vojvodina region and other regions in Serbia in the EU association process, considering the fact that not a single Serbian region has opened its mission in Brussels? I think that regionalization is the future, but I am not an optimist that this process will be finished in the expected period, considering all the problems we are dealing with at the moment.

Good strategy is not worth much if there is no one to realize it, and the team of individuals is not worth much if they lack a clear goal

What do you think about the idea that successful businessmen should help unsuccessful state-owned companies? This idea seems good initially, but it is a very complex issue. Or should I say a slippery and squeamish issue. The whole concept should be carefully worked out in order to achieve positive outcomes. I believe there are no universal solutions for the problems and that the assistance may be useful if we are talking about similar industries or two companies who are connected by a cluster. You are one of the founders of the “Vrsac Region – European Region” movement, which is a member of the ruling coalition in the city. How do you see the

Does the government and do government institutions, listen to the opinions of successful businessmen in Serbia? This is an old problem that we have been discussing for years now. There have been some moves in the right direction lately, but I think that we have lost a lot of time already and a lot of good results that could have been achieved if they only they had accepted the hand offered to them by businessmen gathered in the Privrednik Club. That sort of cooperation would have prevented some of the bad decisions of the government or initiated some good ideas. Sometimes our government follows the “do not shake the boat” system, which is not good, except for their own internal relations between parties and coalitions. CorD 72 / June 2010 21

INTERVIEW |

H.E. Mr. Fawzi Abdulaziz Ahmad AL-JASEM, the ambassador of Kuwait in Serbia

We have a lot Kuwait and Serbia signed an agreement of cooperation in numerous areas in November last year. It takes a lot of hard work and time for the realization of general agreement By Vera DIDANOVIĆ Photo: Slobodan JOTIĆ e interviewed H. E. Mr. Fawzi Abudlaziz Ahmad Al-Jasem, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Serbia, in the hotel room he temporarily uses for work while awaiting the move into his new official and private premises. The Kuwaiti Embassy in Serbia reopened in October 2009 after an absence of 17 years and the Ambassador is satisfied with the results he has achieved so far. It is not his first time in Belgrade however. The ambassador was one of three people, who opened the first Kuwait Embassy in Belgrade in April, 1973. He spent almost eight years in the capital of Former Yugoslavia.

During the recent visit of the Serbian Defence Minister, Dragan Sutanovac, to your country, Serbia agreed to undertake the overhaul of 150 M-84 tanks, which former Yugoslavia exported to Kuwait in 1991. Could this be a sign of a re-establishment of the excellent economic relations that Serbia, as a member of former Yugoslavia, had with Kuwait in 1980s? Kuwait and Yugoslavia used to have a lot of cooperation in different areas - economic, commercial, investments and many others. One of them was the military. After the collapse of former Yugoslavia there was a new Serbia, and of course this didn’t mean that we stopped the cooperation. We want to continue this and we are focused on maintaining a good relationship with Serbia.

We have signed approximately ten agreements and protocols covering such areas as civil aviation, health, economics, foreign affairs, culture and tourism In regards to the tanks, we want to renovate our tanks and Serbia is ready to do it. The matter is under discussion. We are looking forward to having cooperation between the VMA (Military Medical Academy) in Belgrade and our military hospital. We are going to have medical military training and education and exchange. Our people will be com22 CorD 72 / June 2010

of work to do What kind of goods would be attractive in terms of trade? The Kuwaiti market is completely open, so at this stage we cannot say what goods. We export from everywhere. It depends on the businessmen and what they want to bring into the market. What Serbians can’t offer we are ready to. At the end of June we may be having the first meeting of the Committee for Economic and Technical cooperation between the two countries. This will help establish the framework for ongoing cooperation. We will discuss everything, and from there we can go further and further in our cooperation. Of course this will need time.

ing here, possibly in June. There will be education for them and they will also possibly come here to see at what level we can work on this cooperation. We don’t have exact details right now. We have signed a memorandum for cooperation in general. This actual cooperation needs some time for exchanging delegations and then the time will come for more fruitful discussions between the two sides. How do you assess political relations between the two countries? We have a good relationship with Serbia. We maintained the Yugoslavian Embassy in Kuwait the entire time - even when it became Serbia and Montenegro, and then when it became just Serbia. We didn’t ever close the embassy in Kuwait. Of course we closed the Kuwait Embassy here (in Belgrade) at the end of 1992 because of the dramatic situation which was occurring in ex Yugoslavia at the time but we reopened the embassy once we saw the situation was calming down. We also opened a new embassy in Sarajevo. So, we maintain a very solid political relationship with Serbia. Your Minister for Foreign Affairs was in Kuwait in December 2009 and our Minister for Foreign Affairs is coming to Serbia in June. Your Prime Minister was in Kuwait in March and our Prime Minister was here last November. There is a standing invitation for your President to visit Kuwait and I think that this may happen in November this year and there is also an invitation for our Minister of Defence to come here, which he has accepted and I think this will happen this

I hope that we will see Serbian civil engineering companies back in Kuwait again year. It is yet to be confirmed but it is under discussion. So we have a very good relationship politically. The only thing I am not satisfied with is the level of exchange of trade, and I am looking forward to seeing how we can increase this. But of course this won’t occur in a matter of seconds or in a matter of days. We need some time to follow it up.

The Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic announced the increase of potential investments from Kuwait to Serbia after he returned from the visit to your country. In what areas would you expect this to occur? The visit of the Prime Minister was very fruitful and we agreed on two things. The first concerned investments. We are ready to discuss possibilities of investment in the local market here but we are waiting on the Serbian side to come to us with ideas. Our people can come to explore the possibilities of investment but without the ideas in advance they will be less willing to come. So we are waiting and I understand it takes time to prepare these ideas. The other matter involves the financing of infrastructure projects in Serbia. In fact

TRADE

MEETING

TOURISM

The only thing I am not satisﬁed with is the level of exchange of trade, and I am looking forward to seeing how we can increase this.

At the end of June we may be having the ﬁrst meeting of the Committee for Economic and Technical cooperation between the two countries.

The Bulgarians hold an exhibition in Kuwait about the Black Sea and their tourism offerings, but we don’t see this from Serbia. CorD 72 / June 2010 23

INTERVIEW |

we are currently in the process of preparing documents and contracts from both sides for this. It needs formalization but it will be accomplished. We have also signed many agreements. From November until now, we have signed approximately ten agreements and protocols covering such areas as civil aviation, health, economics, foreign affairs, culture and tourism. After signing an agreement for cooperation in the area health between Serbia and Kuwait, we are going to take relevant qualified professionals from Serbia including technicians, doctors and nurses, to Kuwait. We are very interested in achieving technical cooperation in the field of health. In the past, civil engineering companies from Serbia built numerous significant structures in Kuwait. Do you see the possibility of once again increasing the engagement of Serbian civil engineering firms in your country? I was based here, in Belgrade, when many companies of your country were working in Kuwait - Ivan Milutinović, Unioninženjering, Energoprojekt and many, many others. They built the ministerial complex in Kuwait, they built Kuwait Towers which have become very symbolic of Kuwait, and they built many other structures. Now, after what has happened in Yugoslavia, the huge companies that were once here in Serbia are not as huge as they were before. This doesn’t mean however that there is no opportunity for Serbian companies to come to Kuwait and to participate in the many projects under construction there. It is an open market and we have tenders available. Your embassy in Kuwait should follow the tenders and ask your Chamber of Commerce to find any company who wants to participate. There are forms available and they can fill these out and they can come to the tender. This is the way it is done now in all the big companies. I hope that we will see Serbian civil engineering companies back in Kuwait again. Maybe in cooperation with some other big companies? Why not? Maybe even as a sub-contractor. Slowly but gradually... 24 CorD 72 / June 2010

We are ready to discuss possibilities of investment in the local market here but we are waiting on the Serbian side to come to us with ideas Is there the possibility of cooperation between Kuwait and Serbia in the area of tourism? For tourism, most importantly, you need direct flights. We are working on this but unfortunately your local carrier JAT Airways is not in a good situation right now. Kuwait Airways is also suffering; we have old airplanes and we want to sell it to the private sector, but it has to go through parliament and this will take some time. That is why Kuwaiti Airways is not flying here. For tourism you also need facilities. You need good hotels and good transportation. You need touristic agencies here to draw attention to the area. The Bulgarians hold an exhibition in Kuwait about the Black Sea and their tourism offerings, but we don’t see this from Serbia. Maybe your embassy could arrange with the Chamber of Commerce here to hold an exhibition in Kuwait showing what Serbia has - Vrnjačka Banja, Novi Sad, Zlatibor, Kopaonik. There are many beautiful areas in Serbia. The people in Kuwait need to know about Serbia. But how do they find out? This is the job of the Serbian side - to help people in Kuwait to become acquainted with it and to tell them what you have.

Income from oil makes up a significant share of GDP in Kuwait. Your country quickly realized that your natural wealth is not inexhaustible and you decided to allocate ten percent of the total oil income to the Fund for Future Generations. How do you use this money at the moment and what are your plans for the fund in the future? This fund was created for the new generation as nobody knows when our oil reserves will be exhausted. So, the next generation needs to be taken into account and this was a concern for our very wise, late Emir who passed away a couple of years ago. The fund was his idea and our leaders also help take care of it. They created it and now we are obtaining the benefit of it by way of investments and for the coming generation. Another ten percent of our income we give to the Kuwaiti Fund for Economic Development which helps our friends all over the world, from China, to Russia, to Latin America, to Africa, to Asia and also we are now discussing how to assist with the infrastructure here in Serbia. So we benefit from having oil, but we also we never forget our friends, and we never forget the next generation.

QUOTATIONS For several years, we have not had protests because union members are asking for their daily wages. It is unthinkable in Italy or France. Over there, the unions do not pay even for travelling allowances. People simply walk out to the streets because they want to. They have the civil culture of protests. And here, when we call them, the first thing they ask about is how much money they will get” Branislav Čanak, President of the United Branch Trade Unions ‘Independence’

There were several reasons why the announcement (of the death of Josip Broz Tito) by Lazar Koliševski (the then president of Yugoslavia Presidency) did not go to plan. First of all, the presidency outnumbered the capacity of the hall in the Federation Palace, which had been prebooked for that situation and it was where our technical support had been installed. So Koliševski read the announcement in front of one of our cameramen who happened to be there on an entirely unrelated matter. However, the announcement was not aired because Koliševski cried while he was reading it and so it was not suitable for airing. And then they called me” Miodrag Zdravković, anchor at TV Belgrade

People should be able to live from their work, and considering the tough economic crisis

we really need some patience” Slavica Đukić- Dejanović, the Chairwoman of the National Assembly and Vice- President of Socialist Party of Serbia

The Tower of Avala, which was rebuilt after being torn down by the NATO bombardment, represents the symbol of the military neutrality of the Serbia” Vojislav Koštunica, President of Democratic Party of Serbia

I myself was present at some strip show. If somebody has the affinity for such a thing, what can I do about it?” Dragan Todorović, Vice- President of Serbian Radical Party

Privrednik” is a club of busy individuals who have been doing something their entire lives. If you hired us as janitors in the premises of the government, we would still be fixing something” Branislav Grujić, President of “Privrednik” club

From the body of 59 articles the daily press published, which dealt with the events from the National Assembly, 18 articles were about the arrest of the prostitute in the republic parliament” Dragana Nikolić Solomon, Head of the OSCE Media Department

In the touristic season, up to a million vehicles transit through our country, but their owners will definitely not fill their tanks with

Serbian petrol because it is currently the most expensive in the region, by 10- 15 dinars per litre” Slobodan Milosavljević, Minister of Trade

We had enough of the situation where the citizens of Belgrade eat meat, and we from other cities eat cabbage. We want to eat sarma” Bosko Nicic, Mayor of Zajecar

Nobody can slap me on the hands! They hold out the sticks, but I pull my hands away!” Tomislav Nikolić, President of Serbian Progressive Party

While piles of cash are pumped into some black holes, the number of citizens of Serbia who are starving reaches one million. Thus, Montenegrins are in a somewhat better position. They do not even have one million citizens.” Svetislav Basara, writer

I would certainly leave politics if, in a sixmonth period of us being in power, there are no visible signs that our country is moving forward. I keep my word” Aleksandar Vučić, Vice-President of the Serbian Progressive Party

The dialogue with the EU will show what we already know, and that is that we spend too much money on current expenses, salaries, pensions, and not enough on education, science and infrastructure. And that is the key of the competitiveness of our country in the future” Božidar Đelić, Deputy Prime Minister

Municipal officials would have to hire all of the City members relatives so that they would not flee to other parties. The season of political transfers will start, and football transfers are nothing compared to it” Rasim Ljajić, Leader of Social-democratic Party of Serbia

Serbia is a country of absurdity. If it had to be decided whether a plague should be imported to Serbia, 50% would vote for, and 50% against it” Aleksandar Jugović, Director of Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO)

Money is not a problem; we do not have the money. It seems that this line will be the platform for talks with the representatives of our authorities when the International Monetary Fund asks for a rise of salaries and pensions” Politika Dail

CorD 72 / June 2010 25

LEADERS

HOW TO ASSIST UNSUCCESSFUL COMPANIES More than 500 state-owned companies in Serbia operate at a loss. In order to recover these companies, the government has released a rule-book that will define the so-called management professionalization of state-owned companies. CorD asked some of the leading experts in the country the question:

“Should unsuccessful state-owned companies be offered to successful businessmen or should an international competition be held with appropriate conditions in accordance with the importance of the company and the expected results?” Dragica Pilipović-Chaffey, CEO Serbia Broadband A STAND FOR PROFESSIONAL MANAGERS AND RESPONSIBLE OWNERS It is my opinion that unsuccessful companies owned by the State, should not be offered for management to anybody who would do that as a volunteer or for some altruistic reason. There are many unsuccessful companies in Europe that are in transition, including in Eastern Germany, and there are a number of ways that these countries are tackling their problems. There is no need for us in Serbia to experiment with something nobody else has ever done before. Once again, we are trying to invent hot water, as the saying goes. Those companies have been butchered for years, and have also been stagnating. In addition to lacking good management, they also lack money for investments, as well as working capital. Most do not even have product which is of interest to the market. I think that often the problem in such companies is the fact that the owner, in other words the State, frequently has several goals in the management of the company, instead of focusing on a single successful goal. I remember a situation from the time I worked at EBRD, and the company was considering the financing of ‘Galenika’. This was the reason I talked to the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of ‘Galenika’ (who happened to be the director of Serbia Health Fund), and she told me that her primary goal was to ensure that people over here had cheaper medicines! Back then ‘Galenika’ did not have the funds necessary for getting all the necessary European certificates, without which it could not last long on the market. I completely understand this as the stance for a director of the Health Fund, but it should not be the stance of the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of ‘Galenika’.

There is no need for us in Serbia to experiment with something nobody else has ever done before Professional management, as well as responsible members on the Board of Directors, would certainly be a good solution in this case. 26 CorD 72 / June 2010

Management can be acquired on the labour market, however good management is often not a solution in itself - money and the owner’s clear vision are also necessary. That is why I stand up for professional managers, and even more so, for a responsible owner.

Jurij Bajec, Economic Adviser to Serbia’s Prime Minister and professor at the Faculty of Economy A CONTEST WITH CLEAR CRITERIA Among other problems, the global economic crisis has highlighted the problem of the bad business dealings of State-owned companies. This, so to say, forced ownership took place due to the fact there was no-one interested in their privatization, or the contract was terminated due to the unfulfillment of obligations by the private owner. Some of those companies have a large number of employees or are located in underdeveloped areas. There are estimations that a number of these companies have the po-

The idea is that the best applicant would be chosen in a contest open to domestic and foreign legal bodies and individuals, and a management contract would be signed with the successful applicant for a certain number of years tential to survive in the market; to manage certain material resources and a qualified work force, and that the main problem of their bad business dealings is the fact that there is no competent and motivated management. This is where the idea of the professionalization of management of state-owned companies came from. The idea is that the best applicant would be chosen in a contest open to domestic and foreign legal bodies and individuals, and a management contract would be signed with the successful applicant for a certain number of years. To make this process transparent, an individual or a company would need to provide some substantiation, for example, experience in man-

EACH MONTH,, CORD KEEPS YOU UP TO DATE WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES AT THE TOP OF BUSINESS,, POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY IN SERBIA

Toplica Spasojević, president of ITM Group THE NOBLE IDEA OF BUSINESS COMMUNITY The dilemma of the headline is a misleading one. Namely, the Serbian economy and its subjects are in such a bad state, they need all the help they can get. But, first things first. Transition in Serbia has lasted for 20 years and it is not over yet. Structural changes are still in their very early stages. State property is still dominant, together with state monopoly. The growth model which has been applied since 2000 is incorrect. It turns out that there was no development and hiring without industry. In the meantime, thousands of companies, and along with them entire regions, were devastated. In addition, the managerial structure of those companies which were removed from their positions by various political and populist purges is nowadays completely outdated. To make things worse, due to the isolation of the 90s, entire generations were excluded from the technology and information revolution. If we look at the current managerial structure in state, public and nonprivatized companies, it is most often unsuitable and partisan. The consequence of this is that Serbia is at the rear of the list of the 133 countries in the World Economic Forum (Davos) according to many performances. For example: Efficiency of Boards of Directors (119) Level of employees’ training (121) Brain drain (132) Relying on professional management (118) When we see this devastating data, it is clear that a profound action to solve this problem should be initiated, and it could go any of these ways: Professionalization and de-politicization of management in public and State companies. The selection of directors and their teams via contests, in which they would prepare business plans. Experts would evaluate their knowledge, potentials and references, and offer them managerial deals. These deals should be results-based, and apart from financial reward in the form of a salary, one could count on bonuses and shares of the company. A variation on this model would be bringing foreign experts or managerial companies which would, under a contract during a certain period of time, lead these companies. The reward could be a share in profit and a share in the ownership of the company - in the case that the value of the company increasing the share could be up to 20%. The second model originates from the Serbian business communi-

Branislav Grujić New president of Serbian Business Club Privrednik Mr. Branislav Grujic, President of PSPFARMAN Corp. Company in Moscow, was elected President of the Serbian Business Club Privrednik. Grujic was born in 1961. He attended elementary school in Germany and high school in Belgrade (IV Gymnasium in Belgrade). In 1984 he graduated from the School of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade, and shortly after that obtained an MA. As a graduate student he attended one semester at the University of Karslruhe. In January 1985 he became a teaching fellow at the School of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade and ran the course of Theory of Mechanics. In a short space of time (1992), he became the Director of Engineering Directorate with Jugodrvo Company, and in 1994 he moved into the world of private business. Grujic is also the vice-president of the Administrative Committee of the International Association of Commercial Chambers of Russia and Yugoslavia (IBA), president of Committee for Funding Small and Middle Size Enterprises and president of the Administrative Committee of Jugodrvo Company.

Đorđe Vlaijić New President of the Independent Association of Serbian Journalists (NUNS) Đorđe Vlaijić, a long-time correspondent at BBC, was elected as the new president of the Independent Association of Serbian Journalists (NUNS). Vlaijić was born in Belgrade in 1951 where he was schooled and where he graduated from the University of Political Studies (FPN) department of journalism in 1980. He began his journalistic career at TV Belgrade during his studies. From 1980 to 1984 he worked at the radio station, Studio B. Although best known as a ‘political’ journalist, Vlaijić also dealt with economic topics and had a weekly show titled, ‘Business Forum’. He transferred to Radio Belgrade where, among other roles, he was the editor of economy section. He reported on the SFRY Presidency just prior to the dissolution of the country, the overthrow of Nikolay Chaushesku in Romania, and the start of the war in Croatia. In the summer of 1991 he resigned as editor from the then Radio and Television Belgrade, as a sign of solidarity with his retrenched colleagues. He was punished for this act by being given less assignments, and in 1993 he was handed a forced vacation resolution. Subsequent to this he worked for BBC.

Alexander Sperl New Chief Commercial Ofﬁcer of A1 Telekom Austria Alexander Sperl was appointed new Chief Commercial Officer of A1 Telekom Austria, after three and a half years of successful business dealings as the President of the Board of Directors and CMO of VIP Mobile. Sperl will take over the office in August this year. CorD 72 / June 2010 27

APPOITMENTS

aging similar enterprises, a business plan, a certain financial guarantee, and so on. In return, the new management would have its share in the profit made, a share in ownership, etc. In these companies, the state could take over social programme duties and temporarily delay obligations relating to public incomes, instead of giving direct and indirect grants, which has been the case so far. I believe that by this method and similar models of management professionalization, (which should elaborate mutual obligations in more detail and more precisely), a number of state-owned companies would recover economically and find a strategic partner more easily, lifting a significant burden from the State and tax-payers.

APPOITMENTS

EACH MONTH,, CORD KEEPS YOU UP TO DATE WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES AT THE TOP OF BUSINESS,, POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY IN SERBIA Sperl was elected the best young Austrian manager in Central and Eastern Europe in 2009. Two times in a row he was proclaimed as one of the top ten most influential foreign managers in Serbia. Under Sperl’s guidance, VIP Mobile Company, to date the largest greenfield investment in Serbia, has achieved exceptional growth despite challenging business surroundings. In less than three years of commercial business dealings, VIP nowadays serves around 1.2 million users and holds 12% of the entire market.

Thanasis Katsiroubas President of the Board of Directors of VIP Mobile Thanasis Katsiroubas, a manager in the area of mobile communications, with extensive international experience, was chosen as the new President of the Board of Directors of VIP Mobile. Katsiroubas, Greek by origin, has been working for 15 years in the telecommunications industry, and gathered his extensive experience by working for several mobile operators in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Among other things, he was president of the Board of Directors at ‘Globul’ Company, the second biggest mobile operator in Bulgaria. Katsiroubas was schooled in the United States. He holds two degrees in technology from Boston University North-eastern, as well as an MBA.

Petra Stangl CMO at VIP Mobile Petra Stangl was appointed as the new CMO at VIP Mobile Company. She joined the Board of Directors of this mobile phone operator from the position of deputy CMO of Mobilkom Austria. Petra Stangl studied business administration at the University of Regensburg and social economic sciences at the University of Innsbruck. She started her career at Mobilkom Austria as a senior manager of the sector for relations with private users. Subsequent to this, she held numerous positions. In 2007 she became the head of the private users marketing sector. Since the beginning of this year she has worked as the deputy CMO of Mobilkom Austria.

Filip Šanović Economic Adviser of Serbia in Istanbul Filip Šanović was elected the Economic Adviser of Serbia in Istanbul. Šanović (born in 1971) graduated from the Faculty of Economy at the University of Belgrade, (department of finance, banking and insurance). He was a special adviser to the Agency for Privatization CEO, as well as the head of the credit department in the private business sector, and a senior expert associate in economic business sector of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank. Šanović has also gathered his experience as the project manager in the tender centre at the Agency for Privatization, and as an expert associate in the sector for small and medium business of Eskimbank. He was an associate in securities dealings at Beogradska Bank. 28 CorD 72 / June 2010

LEADERS ty and it relates to providing free help to companies undergoing the process of restructuring or bankruptcy. Companies from this group cannot have been sold or have come across various structural problems which have led them into bankruptcy. They will usually be in underdeveloped regions and their ruin will cause a desperate situation for the whole local community.

The Serbian economy and its subjects are in such a bad state, they need all the help they can get This model would require that business teams examine the situation in companies and regions, and according to the knowledge base and connection with similar companies, present a proposition for solving the problem. Preliminary studies and analysis would be free of charge, as well as participation on the Board of Directors. When the state commission accepts the business plan for the recovery of the company, they could discuss a motivational package for its recovery. There are many models, and generally speaking, they could be free of charge or they could be reduced to the first model. Of course, all of this demands a lot of understanding, goodwill and positive energy. This would mean the active participation of our famous experts in finding solutions to social problems and an affirmation of their social responsibility. Finally, you give help to someone willing to receive it, and according to the reactions of the public to this noble idea, we feel that our society is still divided and media-manipulated.

Nenad Popović, President of ABS Elektro and Vice-President of the Democratic Party of Serbia PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT REQUIRED I do not think that at this moment there are businessmen interested in taking over ruined companies, because I am certain that each one of them has enough problems and worries of their own. But, if any of them is ready for such a move and if there is the legal framework for that kind of engagement, I fully support that, because I feel that these successful businessmen, with their knowledge and experience, could help those ruined companies stand back on their feet. Apart from the ruined companies which are unwillingly owned by the State, there are some big public companies that are doing business unsuccessfully. There is a practice all over the world where large companies advertise positions for professional managers and managerial teams. I feel that this is a good way to choose professional management which

I feel that these successful businessmen, with their knowledge and experience, could help those ruined companies stand back on their feet can enable a public company to start working economically and viably. Such positions should be advertised in Serbia too, and both domestic and foreign managerial teams should be invited to apply. I believe that contracting professional management teams would cost the State and Serbian citizens much less than what they are paying now for the incom petent party management of public companies.

Exclusive Business Conference

„INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SECTOR IN SERBIA 2010“ June 4, 2010. Crystal Ballroom, Hyatt Regency, Belgrade

Organized by:

CorD 72 / June 2010 29

| | DIPLOMACY POLITICS

GERMANY

45 YEARS OFDIPLO DIPLO 45 YEARS OF

On 17th May 2010, the Embassies of Germany and Israel marked their 45th anniversary of H.E. WOLFRAM MAAS, The ambassador of Germany to Serbia

DRAW LESSONS FROM THE PAST The history of the ﬁrst half of the last century will forever haunt us irst of all, I would like to add my thanks to the Philharmonic Orchestra, to the artists Miss Talia Or, Miss Elena Rachelis, Mr. Ognjen Popovic and Mr. Ivan Aleksijevic as well as to the staff of our two Embassies who all contributed to make this evening possible. I am particularly grateful to my colleague, Ambassador Arthur Koll, that he agreed to this joint event.

Distinguished guests, Dear colleagues, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: No country is perfect! Some countries are difficult homelands! Germany is a very difficult fatherland! The history of the first half of the last century will forever haunt us. The atrocities of the Second World War and in particular the Holocaust have left an indelible mark on our history, our country and on our people. Even if guilt might be considered as an individual category, blame and shame will rest with us forever. No one can escape his country’s history. Denial or an attitude as expressed by the slogan “right or wrong – my country!” are definitely no options. To run away from your country’s history might help in individual cases, but it is no solution for a people. The only sustainable approach is to confront one’s past. In doing that there is no use in comparing with others. We had to exclusively focus on the atrocities committed in Germany’s name. To fully recognise the monstrosity of the crimes is the least which had to be done. 30 CorD 72 / June 2010

Every effort had to be undertaken to preserve the memory of the victims and of the crimes. Of course, it was the right thing to offer help, wherever help still could make a difference. But clearly there is no remedy to crimes like genocide. There had to be a clear and convincing policy to draw the lessons from the past, to commit ourselves to dedicate every effort individually and as a country to ensure that history will not repeat itself, to clearly turn the country and its policies around. To be truly convincing and genuine, all this had to be undertaken without any expectation to receive anything in return. All this had to be done not as part of a deal, but because we accepted our responsibility and realised that we owed it to ourselves to strive for a new beginning. Under these circumstances, it was a great gesture, which deserves our utmost gratitude that the State of Israel recognised the new beginning which was tried in Germany and was prepared to establish relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. The dramatic turn in the relationship between the State of Israel and Germany was very eloquently described in the speech of President Shimon Peres when he addressed the German Bundestag on January 27th, 2010, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He made reference to the stormy reactions in Israel which resulted from the decision to hold direct negotiations between Israel and Germany, agreed between David Ben-Gurion and Konrad Adenauer, in saying: “Ben-Gurion stood by his decision: There is a new Germany. With it we have to discuss the future, not only the past.” President Peres continued by saying: “The friendship that was established did not develop at the expense of forsaking the memory of the Holocaust, but from the memory of the dark hours of the past. In view of the joint and decisive decision to look ahead – towards the horizon of optimistic hope.” The establishing of diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany formalised the new beginning also in the diplomatic sphere. When we today look back at these 45 years

and at the same time look forward to the years ahead we do that in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, but also from the German perspective in deep gratitude for having found a partner who was prepared to give us a second chance and who was prepared to reach out to us, when we truly couldn’t expect it. Thus I think we have every reason to make an effort that this anniversary doesn’t pass unnoticed. Thank you very much!

ISRAEL

OMATIC MATICRELATIONS RELATIONS

establishing diplomatic relations, with a concert of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra H.E. ARTHUR KOLL, The ambassador of Israel to Serbia

MEMORY OF THE PAST, COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE The choice that we have made, by the nature of the relations that we have forged, is perhaps our small contribution to a better future of the human race

ou were invited here this evening for an unusual event. It is not part of protocol to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between any two countries year after year. After all, diplomatic relations are the norm. However in the case of our two nations nothing can be considered as the norm. 0n January 27th the world marked the International Remembrance Day for the vic-

tims of the holocaust. On that day, 65 years ago, silence finally fell on Auschwitz-Birkenau. The full dimension of the Nazi death industry was exposed in the camp that has since become a main symbol of Nazi horrors. The soil of Europe was mixed with the blood and the ashes of six million Jews, victims of an ideology of hate. The German nation and its national conscience were stained by what was to be revealed. This was a heavy burden to carry – for both sides. Maybe it would have been easier for Germany to enter a phase of denial. As for the Jews, it may have been understandable if the predominant choice of action was revenge. The New Germany and The State of Israel chose differently. For me, to represent the Jewish state this evening as its ambassador has also a personal dimension. I am the son of holocaust survivors. My mother survived the selection on the ramps of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the forced labor that followed. I occasionally imagine what could have become of my grandfather’s vast family –his 11 brothers, most of whose family members perished. I also think of my wife’s parents who were lucky enough to be evacuated from Germany to Britain on the “Kinder Transport” in 1938 with 10,000 other children and the fact that her grandfather, as a loyal German citizen, fought in the First World War, earning the iron cross for bravery – but that did not exempt his family from the destiny that the Nazis planned for the Jewish people. That is why we attribute such importance to Konrad Adenauer’s acceptance in 1951 of the German people’s responsibility for the crimes of the Third Reich against the Jewish people and that is why we appreciate President Horst

Kohler’s declaration in the Jerusalem Knesset that “responsibility for the Holocaust is part of the German identity”. Dear friends, The holocaust will forever raise the question: Where was the moral compass of mankind ? At the same time, the choice that we Germans and Jews, Germany and Israel - have made, by the nature of the relations that we have forged, is perhaps our small contribution to a better future of the human race. If there is a message beyond the boundaries of our two countries, and I believe that there is, that message is of responsibility on the one hand and of turning our back on revenge on the other. The message is that the memory of the past is essential, and likewise so is the commitment to the future. Memory, responsibility, commitment, education, dialogue, and cooperation – are all ingredients which followed the establishment of diplomatic relations 45 years ago and our mutual effort to constantly strengthen them. As President Shimon Peres said in the Bundestag in his speech to both houses last January 27th, “the bridge built across the ravine was built by pained hands and shoulders that were carrying the burden of memory”. Those pained hands have gradually created a reality of partnership, reflected by multiple exchanges, visits, joint government meetings and a whole array of activities. This is what we came to mark today. I want to thank the Philharmonic Orchestra for providing this venue and to thank you, ambassador Wolfram Maas and the staff of both our embassies for the effort you put into this evening, which is so meaningful to us and I believe to all gathered here today. CorD 72 / June 2010 31

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NETWORKING SERBIA 2010 CONFERENCE

TOWARD A LIBERALIZED TELE

Harmonization with EU regulations involves the liberalization of the market for telecommunication and postal services

By Snježana DRAGAŠ, Marija VIDIĆ he promotion of broadband internet access has great significance for the competitiveness and economic development of Serbia, the Minister of Telecommunications, Jasna Matić, said at the ‘Networking Serbia’ conference, held on 21st May in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade. The conference was organized by Business Dialogue. Key note speakers were Jasna Matić, the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, Nebojša Vasiljević, the Deputy Minister for Information Society and various representatives from large telecommunication and IT companies. It has been estimated that an increase of broadband internet access penetration by 10%

leads to an increase in gross domestic product by 1.3%, Jasna Matić explained. Matić stressed that broadband internet access was very important for the regional development of Serbia as well, and that it could raise the quality of life of people in underdeveloped areas in Serbia, as well as open doors for participation in the global market. Among the priorities of the Ministry of Telecommunications, Matić listed harmonization with the EU regulations. This involves liberalization of the market for telecommunication and postal services, and the support of scientific research and participation of Serbian scientists in European programmes. Matić said that the main strategies on which the Ministry had been working were the strategy of telecommunications development and the strategy of transfer from the analogue to digital television programming. He also mentioned that Serbia was running late compared to the rest of the region and Europe. Due to the overload, Serbia will need to make the transfer in a single day, and this day will be 4th May 2012. An important result is that of the electronic signature becoming active in Serbia. Now, there are three issuers of electronic signatures, and the process of instituting the fourth one is currently underway. Matić pointed out that on the anniversary of the beginning of work on e-administration, 11th June, the Day of Digital Agenda in Serbia would take place. The minister added that the new law on construction and planning enabled an easier construction of telecommunication infrastructure. The project in which the Serbian government and the Hellenic Plan are involved is also important, as it will allow the scientific and aca-

Goran Ćirić, Managing Director of PTT, announced that the company would continue developing their own new telecommunication infrastructure, and that the aim of PTT was to become a self-supporting company, regardless of the changes in the ownership structure of ‘Telekom’. 32 CorD 72 / June 2010

COMMUNICATIONS MARKET demic community to solve the matter of quality internet and full integration with the European scientific network over the next 15 years. The minister announced that we are awaiting the adoption of an electronic communications law. This law will strengthen the independence of regulators, put things into order and introduce inspection authorities. It also pays a great deal of attention to the protection of users, Matić explained. A step forward was made in the fixed line telephones where the CDMA license was introduced for wireless telephones, which will allow the rural population to get telephone lines. Matić said that until the end of this government term she expected a liberalized market of electronic telecommunications, where ‘Telekom Srbija’ would be able to freely do business, regardless of ownership structure. She said that

Iris Džeba: “It is important to talk about technology and to gather like this, because we need to optimize the digitalization which has already been taking place“ there would be no market disturbances. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Republic Agency for Telecommunications (Ratel), Jovan Radunović, said that the aim of this regulatory body was to secure the growth of the telecommunications market, to keep it open for everybody and to secure the protection of users. He said that according to the Ratel survey, Serbia is in 53rd place on the list of 159 developed countries when it comes to the advancements in informational communicational technologies, and that it is progressing toward the 50th position. Three key factors were taken into consideration in this calculation - possible access to the internet, usage of the internet and education. The conclusion was that the biggest problem is the usage of the internet, which means that new electronic services must be introduced. CCO Chief Commercial Officer at ‘Telekom Srbija’, Vladimir Lučić pointed to the impor-

MARKET LIBERALIZATION IS NEEDED

arko Parun, member of the Board of Directors of VIP Mobile, said that the further liberalization of the Serbian telecommunication market should be conducted, and that government support is necessary in the process. Janoš Žemberi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sat Tract, and Slobodan Đinović, Managing Director of Media Works Company, also pointed to the lack of market liberalization and the need for speeding that process up. Dragan Šolak, chairman of the Board of Directors of SBB, said that it was questionable whether there was a desire to wire Serbia. To do so, the regime of licenses should be substituted by the regime of applications, for licensing of telecommunication services was an outdated solution and it led to withholding the business, Šolak said. “It is also necessary to use all already existing resources” Šolak stated and gave the example of SBB which has a network suitable to service as much as 95% of fixed-line telephone users.

tance of development of broadband internet access in Serbia, and he made the comment that in the next 10 years mobile telephony would be the generator of broadband internet development. As an example to support his claim, he stated that ‘Telekom Srbija’ now has 47,000 users who access the internet via a USB modem. The plan is to increase that number to 100,000 users by the end of this year. Lučić said that the income from that category of user was twice as big as the income from an ADSL user. “Our assessment is that by the year 2014, at MTS alone, there will be three million users of mobile internet via smartphones and USB, which will be three times more than the number

of fixed internet users,” Lučić said. In the second part of the conference, topics covered included: how far we have progressed ICT (informational communicational technologies) development, what problems there are and where to go from here. Speakers were the heads of Belgrade offices of leading international companies - Hewlett - Packard, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, and of domestic companies Sat Tract and NES Communications. Apart from Nebojša Vasiljević, Deputy Minister for Information, who was the moderator of the conference, the representatives of the Republic Institute for Informational Technology and Internet, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, gave short presentations.

THE STATE IS NOT GIVING UP ON SELLING TELEKOM

asna Matić, the Minister of Telecommunications, said that the Serbian government would start direct negotiations with ‘Citigroup Global Markets’, the only bidder for adviser for selling the state shares in ‘Telekom’, and that it intended to proceed with the privatization. The government decided to stop the tender for election of adviser due to technical omissions in the documentation. According to Matić, there are no reasons to debate over the conflict of interests of the only bidder for privatization adviser, because the work ‘Citibank’ does for ‘Deutsche Telekom’ has no effect on selling ‘Telekom Srbija’. She said that the price of 0.2% maximum of the selling price of ‘Telekom’ shares, which is determined by the tender documentation, was ‘quite reasonable’, but also that there have been remarks it was too humble and that it was the reason for the lack of interest of bidders. Vladimir Lučić, CCO Chief Commercial Officer at ‘Telekom Srbija’, said that the privatization did not affect the dealings of that company and that the management was putting to action their business plan, while the privatization was a separate process. CorD 72 / June 2010 33

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Vladimir Lučić: “Our assessment is that by the year 2014, at MTS alone, there will be three million users of mobile internet via smartphones and USB, which will be three times more than the number of fixed internet users” Franz Scherz: “A lot more people will use ICT in the future, and children should use them too.When we talk about technology nowadays, we do not talk about hardware, but about the possibilities to work with technology and how it could assist us in our work“ Janoš Žemberi: “Each city has different regulations relating infrastructure construction. The state administration is weakly educated, but the situation is nevertheless improving“

Klod Kolaro: “People in our business focus on having the lowest prices, instead of focusing on having the best quality“ Slobodan Nedeljković: “The protection of data and safety are the crucial matters in introducing new electronic services. New services should be put at the disposal of citizens, but only after we have made sure they will be completely safe“

Damir Baralić: “Electronic administration can be used by anyone who has a qualified certificate issued in the Post Office or at MUP. We wish to increase the number of digital services provided by the state administration on the e-administration Internet portal“ Vladimir Popović: Serbia should not be looking for its advantages in statistics and be proud of it. We cannot represent ourselves that way, and this is why: China’s number of talented students equals the total of students in the USA 34 CorD 72 / June 2010

“Two days ago the European Commission adopted the new strategy of ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’. The aim of this agenda is to provide economic and social benefit based on ultra-fast internet. This illustrates the increasingly tighter relations between the internet, ICT and the economy, and it is closely related to the topic of our conference, since it all boils down to recognizing the importance of ICT for the competitiveness of the country,” Vasiljević said. Damir Baralić, the Director of the Republic Institute for Informational Technology and Internet, presented one of the projects which could significantly contribute to the development and mass application of ICT. He demonstrated to those present at the conference the internet portal of e-administration at the address www.euprava.gov.rs where the general public and companies can obtain a great deal of personal and business documentation and data, as well as to keep up with the latest news related to the usage of electronic services and the electronic public debate about laws and other regulations. Slobodan Nedeljković, Assistant Minister, and Head of Sector for Analytics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies, said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) could promise a great engagement in the area of ICT to the citizens. Nedeljković revealed several pieces of information that are potentially interesting to all citizens, primarily those related to personal documents. First of all, vehicle certificates with a chip will be issued from September this year. Besides that, MUP has significantly improved its ICT capacities in the last seven years, Nedeljković added. He singled out as an example the issuing of biometrical passports and stated that Serbia was among the first European countries whose passports have fingerprint data. “We introduced the digital certificate onto ID cards, which is a key factor for access to digital systems for citizens and portals,” he commented. Having been asked by the audience how many ID cards containing the chip had been issued so far, Nedeljković said that out of 1,800,000 new ID cards around 75% had a chip. Finally, answering another question of the audience on when institutions would get readers of new personal documents, he explained that it was the obligation of bodies and companies to acquire them, and that the police were providing the readers’ software for free. Franz Scherz, Regional Director of HewlettPackard, compared the situation in Serbia with

the situation in other countries, and mentioned several areas of ICT which could use an improvement. ‘I have been observing the market for a long time, as well as the support to ICT provided by the government. It is my impression that finally something is happening and that the level of support has grown. It has not been the case in previous years,” Scherz said. Comparing Serbia with Austria, his mother country, and with other countries in which he was acquainted with ICT development, Scherz concluded that in Serbia the question of progress was not so much related to only the technology, but to how it was applied and how that technology worked for us. “Five years ago Microsoft opened a development centre in Serbia, where products sold all over the world are made. Around 40 people work there and we are very proud of them - they have shown and proved their quality, and they have survived in a time of crisis. I think that Serbia is not using that kind of visibility enough,” Vladan Živanović, Director of the Serbian office of Microsoft, said while recalling their beginnings and the development of the company thus far. Talking about the way in which Serbia could be viewed, he pointed out that the representatives of the company he heads were frequently talking to potential investors who were considering coming to Serbia. “We are constantly trying to raise our level of visibility. As one of the numerous ways to promote Serbia as a technologically advanced country, there is a technological contest for young people, where our representatives are always highly ranked,” Živanović said. Iris Džeba, IBM General Director, agreed with the other speakers at the conference that successful societies have to rely on the economy, security and ICT. “We wish to use the good experiences. We have abandoned the idea of static infrastructure and the idea that technology is the thing which should provide services- it should provide solutions. Our strategy is a dynamic infrastructure. IBM has vast experience in the world and in the region, and that is why I feel that we should not settle on technological solutions before we see other people’s solutions and before we test them’, Džeba stated. Nenad Saković of NES Communications listed several effects of ICT on the economy. He reminded everyone that ICT has a significant share in gross national product, but the for-

SECOND FIXED TELEPHONY OPERATOR

epresentatives of ‘Telekom Srbija’ and ‘Telenor’ said they expected the Republic Agency for Telecommunication to reach a decision on the conditions for using Telekom infrastructure for fixed-line telephones as soon as possible. It is stated in Ratel that the deadline for reaching the decision is 60 days since the submission of the documentation, but that they expected the decision to be made before that. Goran Vasić, Executive director of corporate affairs of the company ‘Telenor’, said that ‘Telenor’ would start providing the services of fixed-line telephones on time, should all the obstacles, like using the infrastructure under market conditions, be resolved. Vladimir Lučić, CCO Chief Commercial Officer at ‘Telekom’, said that ‘Telekom’ wanted the competition to use their infrastructure and that he expected the fastest possible solution to obtaining permits and great investments of ‘Telekom’ into fixed-line telephones. eign-trade exchange in this area has negative score because Serbia does not export informational technologies, unlike other countries, and we mostly trade within our country. “It is one of the answers to the question as to why we are not recognized in the world,” Saković said, adding that the indirect effects of ICT on the economy are even less visible. He stated as an example the data he had heard several years ago from representative of Siemens, that in Germany about 55% of productivity growth could be associated to ICT. Klod Kolaro, Managing Director of the Serbian office of Oracle, world leaders in the area of databases, mentioned several problems which the IT sectors in Serbia faced. He said that Serbia has the newest technologies and that all large world companies are already present on this market. “We are making the first steps in informational technologies, but the key ones are yet to happen,” Kolaro said. He also said that in Serbia not much is known about the application of technologies

and that we should work on raising the level of knowledge in the ICT area. Kolaro said that, unlike Microsoft, Oracle had missed the chance to make something like a development centre in Serbia. Giving an explanation for the reason of Oracle setting up a large office with over 1500 employees in neighbouring Bulgaria, and not in Serbia, he stated that the level of mastering foreign languages was much higher in Bulgaria. Vladimir Popović, Director of SAP Company which produces the so-called ERP solutions for managing business processes, listed examples of successful companies which are using such solutions, such as ‘Hemofarm’ and PTT, and explained how applications can raise the competitiveness of a company or a country. Janoš Žemberi, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sat Tract Company, which deals in the entire region, also gave a short presentation about his company. Talking about his experiences in infrastructure construction, more specifically, optical cables, he noted that one of the obstacles for business in Serbia is the weak ed ucation of state administration.

Nenad Saković: “I suggest that the Serbian government starts generating ICT investment credits for companies. That is how the government could indicate the significance of these technologies“ Vladimir Živanović: “For future ICT dealings and development, we should stop thinking only about whether we have met the hardware requirements, and start thinking about the best possible solutions” CorD 72 / June 2010 35

INERVIEW |

Oliver Corlette, Managing Director of Porto Montenegro

HOMEPORT FOR H Montenegro is ideally located in the middle of what has recently become the most popular cruising area between Corfu and Venice ty and tax-free fuel bunkering, provisioning services, sport and leisure facilities and a favourable tax environment. The main investor behind the project is Peter Munk, a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. Other investors include British finance family the Rothschilds, Bernard Arnault of France and Oleg Deripaska of Russia Geographically, Montenegro is extremely well located in the Adriatic and offers easy access to numerous ports of call. Was this always your first choice of country? Montenegro is ideally located in the middle of what has recently become the most popular cruising area between Corfu and Venice. Moreover, the fact that it’s based in the middle of Europe makes it very accessible for anyone from London to Moscow. Accessibility to all major chartering routes means people can go to the Eastern Mediterranean, the Western Mediterranean or the Adriatic. So, if you own a yacht – especially a large one – you are really at the centre of the universe here. Moreover, Tivat International Airport has direct services to London, Paris, Rome, Copenhagen, Vienna, Frankfurt and Moscow for the entire summer, and two additional airports Dubrovnik and Podgorica, are also in close proximity making our location very accessible.

By Philomena O’BRIEN n this issue CorD talks with Oliver Corlette, the man behind one of the largest development projects in the Adriatic. His goal is to materialize the Montenegrin government’s declaration

36 CorD 72 / June 2010

of developing high end tourism. The vision of the project is to become the premier home port in the Mediterranean for yachts of all sizes, with the spectacular cruising grounds of the Adriatic as a backdrop, they will offer , a range of berths up to 150m in length, du-

The Bay of Kotor has long been a mainstay in the world of sailing? Has this had anything to do with your choice of location? The Bay of Kotor has always been at the crossroads of the world of sailing. Its strategic position, natural beauty and deep waters definitely attracted us to this location. Nowadays yachts will choose Tivat and Montenegro not only because of the extraordinary beauty but because of the world-

IGH-END TOURISM class marina facilities, and repair and maintenance facilities on offer. Apart from the remarkable scenery, we are building Porto Montenegro on what used to be a former Austro-Hungarian naval port from the 1880s that had been expanded for the Yugoslav navy. The existing marina has some of the longest and widest docks in the Mediterranean with water deep enough to berth submarines and warships, and therefore yachts of any size. So, really we were fortunate to start with an incredible infrastructure and location, and to avoid many of the risks and environmental concerns associated with dredging. Is the Montenegrin government considering targeting high-end tourism or should they keep with the current policy? How do you see Porto Montenegro influencing a change in this strategy? The Montenegrin government has declared the goal of developing of high-end tourism rather than the mass-market budget tourism embraced by other countries. Here at Porto Montenegro we are creating the infrastructure for this fresh approach that will transform Montenegro into the yachting hub of the Mediterranean. Our vision is to become the premier home port in the Mediterranean for yachts of all sizes. With the spectacular cruising grounds of the Adriatic as our backdrop, we will offer a range of berths up to 150m in length, duty and tax-free fuel bunkering, provisioning services, sport and leisure facilities and a favourable tax environment, Compositeworks refit and maintenance facilities, residential and retail units and an

country’s small population. It will elevate Montenegro’s reputation to one equal with the best European tourist destinations.

Porto Montenegro’s sales and operational success has exceeded all our expectations and validated our efforts and vision to create the premier home port for yachts in the Mediterranean international airport nearby. We are well on the way to achieve this vision. Furthermore, we are building a new industry in an undeveloped, but wonderful country that will eventually create employment and wealth for thousands of people. It will fundamentally change and radically improve the wealth and income of this

Are there any tax breaks in Montenegro that are beneficial to your development? Montenegro has a very favourable taxation system and there are constant efforts from the government to improve it further. These efforts are very important for attracting investors. Benefits include no capital gains tax, only 9% income or company tax, and duty and tax-free refuelling for yachts. Other benefits for investors in Montenegro are the fact that the EU has allowed Montenegro to use the euro, and also Montenegro’s adoption of European property laws. What sort of support do you get from the local government on the basis this will be a huge tourism draw-card? We have built excellent relations with our local partners. A project of this size cannot be implemented without the cooperation of a government that is stable and credible, forward-looking and progressive. This is a large project being implemented in a small country and it will enable the creation of many jobs. It will bring hundreds of yacht and apartment owners and I would expect that every responsible government would support it. Kotor has a long tradition in the maintenance of ships and shipbuilding. Do you foresee any future projects that could complement Porto Montenegro? We are building a home port here and have undertaken many projects to com-

NEW JOBS

IN ADDITION

LOCATION

This is a large project being implemented in a small country and it will enable the creation of many jobs

We are building a home port here and have undertaken many projects to complement our marina offering.

Its strategic position, natural beauty and the deep waters of Bay of Kotor deﬁnitely attracted us to this location.

CorD 72 / June 2010 37

INERVIEW |

plement our marina offering. We recently agreed on a strategic partnership to develop a full-service “super yacht” refit facility in Bijela, Montenegro with Compositeworks, the leading French operator that owns and manages a construction and refit facility for super and megayachts in La Ciotat, France. This project is building on an impressive maritime history and represents a major step towards our vision of bringing the superyacht industry to Montenegro and validates our vision for Porto Montenegro. Previously, many superyachts were discouraged from coming to the Adriatic because it was missing a reliable, top-end operator who understood the specific needs and challenges of today’s yachts. With the addition of a Compositeworks repair and maintenance facility, many more yachts and charter vessels will be based at Porto Montenegro and will enjoy the spectacular cruising area of the Adriatic. What are the key advantages of the Port Montenegro development, comparing it with other local ports and marinas? We are building a home port, with all the essential ingredients required by the yachting community. We are taking into account the types of yachts that exist today, whereas ports that exist in other parts of the Mediterranean were built at times when yachts of 30 metres were considered the very largest. These ports, in most cases, developed organically from former fishing villages and can’t provide facilities that today’s modern vessels require. Nowadays yachts can reach 120 metres, or more, in length. We offer facilities to support very large yachts and that gives us a definite competitive advantage. We also have our own shipyard within three kilometres and an airport within seven kilometres, as well having beautiful Kotor Bay as our backdrop, offering access to the cruising grounds of the Adriatic. This confluence of attributes is unique. Who do you consider to be your closest competition in Europe, and in the region? I don’t think of other marinas as competition, because in this business the more marinas that exist in a region, the more attractive that area is for cruising as well as charters, which means more business for the whole region. The south of France is very popular as the infrastructure is very good throughout the 38 CorD 72 / June 2010

Nowadays yachts will choose Tivat and Montenegro not only because of the extraordinary beauty but because of the world-class marina facilities region so yachts know they can cruise up and down the coast and there are many places to drop in and stay. This is about increasing the size of the pie, not how large each slice is. That said, Porto Montenegro will completely revolutionize cruising in the Adriatic by adding a whole new level of infrastructure, service and support to what is currently on offer. Who are the main investors behind the project? Where do they come from? And out of interest, are any of them sailors? The main investor behind the project is Peter Munk, a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. Other investors include the British finance-family of the Rothschilds, Bernard Arnault of France and Oleg Deripaska of Russia. They are all well respected business figures in their countries and will bring their experience, contacts and enthusiasm to the project. Some of them are yacht owners, some charter yachts, and this enables them to not only understand the needs and expectations of yacht owners but also the benefits of this project. The Port Montenegro residences are being built in three stages, and the first stage

sold out in a matter of weeks. Do you expect the same level of interest with subsequent stages? Porto Montenegro’s sales and operational success has exceeded all our expectations and validated our efforts and vision to create the premier home port for yachts in the Mediterranean. I expect interest to only grow as we build up our facilities. We sold the first residential stage in eight weeks last year. We are just now releasing the second stage of which we have already sold 40 percent at an increase of 30 percent in price. We expect to release the third stage in August which will be at a 25 percent increase on the second stage. I see Porto Montenegro has been made an “official port of entry” for Montenegro, meaning clients can clear customs there. Do you expect this to attract a higher level of investor interest? Official port of entry status will mean a hassle-free entry to Montenegro for all our clients. Any initiatives that contribute to an overall enhanced experience for boats coming into Montenegro will add to the attractiveness of this area.

comment

Coalition Chemistry How will the British public, unused to tedious coalition strains, endless negotiations and inevitable compromises, react when the ﬁrst problems start to show?

hen the last Conservative Party member was the head of the coalition government in Great Britain, he brutally promised “blood, toil, tears and sweat” to the British. The times were brutal too. Winston Churchill led the kingdom through World War II to the final victory. The triumphant wartime prime minister however, lost the first elections in peacetime. Seventy years later a Tory is once again at the head of the coalition government. And all comparisons stop here. Or maybe not? Of course, Britain is not facing existential destruction today; war in Afghanistan is far away and possible terrorist attacks do represent a collective shock, but this is only a personal tragedy for victims. However, the fact that it was a million times worse in the past and that millions of people were killed, is a weak comfort for the British, when hit with an economic crisis that swallows thousands of billions pounds, dollars or euros and when millions of people are left without a job. At the last elections the British were uncertain who would get them out of this crisis - as uncertain as they were about what they should do with Hitler’s Germany. This is the reason why the election result between Tories and the Labour Party was practically a draw. David Cameron is the “crisis” Prime Minister that has to deal with the record British deficit of 163 billion pounds (192 billion euros), and he is expected to overcome this crisis. It is completely irrelevant that the voters were not completely clear on why he was entrusted with this task, that he has to share the

The fact that the coalition-pair get along well is an advantage and for this reason the BBC has called them “Nick & Dave Show”. However, there are an ideologically different party bases behind them control with the Liberal Democrats and that he is leading a coalition government which to the British looks like “a two-headed calf” as someone wrote. The other head is Nick Clegg. At first sight it seems that the chemistry between the two of them is good. Their initial shared appearances have been relaxed and funny, sincere it seems, and not just for the media. They are both 43 years old, they both come from wealthy families, they

both went to elite schools and they both have small kids. The fact that the coalition-pair get along well is an advantage and for this reason the BBC has called them “Nick & Dave Show”. However, there are an ideologically different party bases behind them. Any coalition government comes with this problem, especially when the parties are ideologically more different than similar. The question is, how will the British public, unused to tedious coalition strains, endless negotiations and inevitable party compromises in order to remain in power, react when the first problems show up? Clegg wants to go to Europe, Cameron wants to go to America, Clegg wants to change the election system, Cameron does not want to change it, Clegg wants more even taxing in favour of the poor, Cameron is a conservaEditor at tive, Clegg does not beVreme Weekly lieve in God, Cameron goes to church at least once a month. What will happen when, based on “special connections”, America demands larger British support in Afghanistan, or support for some new war against terrorism or similar? For now, Tories and Liberal Democrats have agreed they will not join the euro zone, nor make such proposals and that a referendum should be called for all new authorities that Britain will transfer to European Union. They have agreed that public consumption should be decreased by six billion pounds this year and agreed to focus on the the reduction of expenses and not increase taxes - which was the idea of the Labour Party. The larger issues such as the “Europeanization of Great Britain” will come later. And considering the current condition of the EU, the choking of the euro zone, the decreased value of euro, the flight of investors to USA, the debt crisis that Brussels is struggling with ... maybe they will not.

By Andrej Ivanji,

CorD 72 / June 2010 39

REGION |

Slovenia

BORDER ARBITRA The citizens of Slovenia will decide, in a referendum scheduled for June 6th, whether an International Arbitration Court should be established in order to ﬁnd a solution for the twenty-year-old dispute between the two neighbouring countries By Tatjana TAGIROV

man and the two members. Under the terms Piran is Slovenian and that Slovenia allovenian citizens will make the of the deal, the decision of the court will ways had full control over it. Furthermore decision in a referendum on June be binding for the countries that signed the they claim that Istra is also Slovenian. 6th in regards to a long dispute agreement. This group includes the likes of Marijan with neighbouring Croatia conSlovenian prime minister Borut Pahor Podobnik, Danijel Starman, France Bucar cerning the borders between the opened the pre-referendum campaign and Spomenka Hribar, and the Croatian two countries. They will answer the follow- when he said that the leader of the opposi- press have made note that only Josko ing question: “Do you agree that the rati- tion and his predecessor ex-prime minister Joras, a Slovenian citizen who lives in fication of arbitration agreement between Janez Jansa (who is opposing the arbitrary Croatian hamlet of Mlini on the left bank government of the Republic of Slovenia agreement), was “jealous” of him. Pahor of Dragonje River, was missing. Joras has and government of the Republic of Croatia emphasized that the cause for Jansa’s jeal- flown a Slovenian flag over his house for enacted in the Slovenian Parliament should ousy was that “he (Pahor) had solved the years now and claims to reside on Croatian become valid?” problem that Jansa could not solve by sign- territory. This agreement establishes an ing the arbitrary agreement”. In a recent announcement, Janez Jansa International Arbitration Court, which will At the same time as the commence- called on his supporters to vote against the determine the border between Croatia and ment of the campaign, the Slovenian gov- ratification of the arbitration agreement Slovenia on sea and land, Slovenian con- ernment formed advisory committee of ap- in the referendum. Among other things, nection to the open seas and a usage regime proximately twenty individuals who are in- Jansa also claimed that arbitration over the of relevant marine areas. The document volved in the dispute between Croatia and border dispute would primarily be based was signed on November 4th on international law and not last year and it was ratified on the so-called principle of Jansa will not be happy if Pahor resolves by the Croatian parliament “righteousness”, which would in the same month and by the include the “historical and gethe dispute between Slovenia and Croatia that Slovenian parliament in April ographical” circumstances of has lasted for almost twenty years. this year. the Slovenian the claim. The agreement also preJansa and the Slovenian opJansa has won a lot of voters in Slovenia in the past scribes that the two counposition that support his claim tries should appoint a chairsay that the potential support years, precisely because of this dispute man and two members of the for the agreement in the refarbitration court (to be estaberendum would mean that lished experts of international law), by mu- Slovenia over the Gulf of Piran and the ar- Slovenia would “forever lose its territoritual agreement within fifteen days after the ea around Dragonje River. Members of the al approach to the open sea”. They fear the arbitration court is established. The list of advisory committee also include those who decision “will not be able to be reversed” candidates was created by the President are fiercely opposed to Pahor’s support of and thus, everyone should vote against it in and EU Commissioner for Enlargement. the arbitration agreement. Invited by the the referendum. If the countries are not able to reach an Slovenian foreign minister Samuel Zbogar, Croatian politicians have still not reagreement in that period, the chairman of this group also includes those who have acted to the pre-referendum struggles the International Court of Justice in The extremist views towards Croatia. in Slovenia. It was a very rough year in Hague will choose and appoint the chairThey claim that the entire Gulf of Croatian parliament last year. One part

40 CorD 72 / June 2010

ATION of the opposition â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including the current Croatian President Ivo Josipovic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; was against the ratification of agreement, but the parliamentary majority prevailed. In addition to the agreement, the Croatian government have also signed a statement, which maintains that nothing from the agreement could be viewed as Croatian consent to Slovenian demand for territorial rights to the open sea. However, the Croatian media have assessed that the result of the referendum will be a matter of prestige for the leader of the Slovenian opposition, Janez Jansa. He believes that he is the only true fighter for Slovenian interests. Jansa will not be happy if Pahor resolves the dispute between Slovenia and Croatia that has lasted for almost twenty years. Jansa has won

Borut Pahor (left) and Janez Jansa (right) a lot of voters in Slovenia in the past years, precisely because of this dispute. Nevertheless, considering this is a socalled supplementary legislative referen-

dum, the results will be binding for the Slovenian government, and Prime Minister Pahor has already announced that he will honour the outcome..

CorD 72 / June 2010 41

REGION |

Greece and Macedonia

DENTAL DIPLOMACY BALKAN NEIGHBOURS The long dispute over the name Macedonia has not stopped thousands of Greeks from crossing the border in search of bargains www. SETimes.com espite the glacial political relations between Athens and Skopje, residents of northern Greece are flocking across the border to find less expensive dental care, as well as other goods and services. The two Balkan neighbours remain at loggerheads over the name “Macedonia”, but that has not stopped ordinary citizens from practicing their brand of economic diplomacy. According to Greek dental associations, private practices have seen as much as a 50% drop in business due to “dental excursions” to Bitola, Gevgelija or Strumica. The influence of the ongoing economic crisis is hard to gauge, though it is a growing factor. Nor is inexpensive dentistry the only draw. Many also come in search of cheaper petrol, or for recreation and entertainment. A customs officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told SETimes that an average of 1,000 Greek citizens pass through the Evzoni border crossing on any given weekday, with the number doubling at the weekend. “It is the casino in Gevgelija,” he said, referring to one of the many gambling establishments north of the border. He added that 500 Greek citizens, per day on average, cross the Niki border post, further west. Georgios Xanthopoulos, president of Florina’s dentist association, has practiced dentistry for 27 years. He says the phenomenon of local residents making the 24km drive to Bitola for dental care began after 2000. “With the economic crisis in Greece, and especially with the situation in state-run dentistry here, people often sacrifice convenience for lower prices,” Xanthopoulos told SETimes. He said many residents of the prefec-

42 CorD 72 / June 2010

ture of Florina are insured by the civil servant’s health fund, including the Public Power Corporation’s large workforce. But the fund has frozen dental care reimbursements at 1994 prices. Although it costs around 50 euros to fill a tooth cavity, the state-run fund only pays beneficiaries seven euros, Xanthopoulos said. In Bitola, he noted, the same procedure costs around 15 euros. Similarly, a fitted denture costs between

According to Greek dental associations, private practices have seen as much as a 50% drop in business due to “dental excursions” to Bitola, Gevgelija or Strumica 1,000 to 1,200 euros in Florina and Kilkis, but runs as low as 300 euros in Bitola. A routine root canal procedure is only reimbursed to the tune of 20 euros by the public sector health fund, whereas a Greek dentist charges a mini-

mum of 150 euros. Among Florina residents who are not insured by the fund, there are “few to zero” instances of medical tourism, Xanthopoulos said. Foreign physicians can’t prescribe medications, treatments or further diagnostic/clinical tests that local funds will approve or reimburse. The president of the Kilkis prefecture’s dentist association, Charalambos Iakovidis, echoes his colleague’s assessment. Iakovidis said he has already given three television interviews on the subject, and agrees business is definitely down because of lower prices available elsewhere. “People are heading across the border even on foot, as well as in organised coach tours. The impact on our prefecture is 50% or more,” he told SETimes. Both dental association presidents insisted, however, that facilities are better in Greece and that Greek practitioners are more experienced. “CE certification exists here for equipment, something that is not required in the neighbouring country because dentists are not obliged to follow EU regulations and bylaws,” Xanthopoulos said. He acknowledged, though, that the cost of living in general is dramatically lower in Bitola compared to Florina. “That’s one reason that you’ll even see wedding parties now being organised over there, as there are a lot of people here with relatives in the Bitola region, he said. Aleksandar Ivanovski, owner of the Estadent dental practice in Bitola, told SETimes that medical visits by Greeks account for a large proportion of his practice, and he attributes the visits to a “combination of quality of service, lower prices and the economic crisis in Greece”..

Montenegro

SHINAWATRA LEARNS

MONTENEGRIN Giving citizenship to the former Thai Prime Minister was a reasoned decision, Podgorica authorities claim By Ilija DESPOTOVIC small Balkan-Adriatic country has increased its population in a rather unexpected way, with the former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, obtaining Montenegrin citizenship. Initial rumours in the media were later confirmed both by official institutions and Shinawatra himself. He was granted citizenship and a Montenegrin passport in mid-2009. The Montenegrin Government has previously emphasized that this action had “special importance for Montenegrin interests”. So far no one seems to know what is behind all this - specifically how Shinawatra managed to obtain such important Montenegrin state documents. It was Shinawatra himself who revealed the secret, at least in part. The former Thai Prime Minister who was, so to speak, “hiding underground” in Montenegro after obtaining Montenegrin citizenship, visited Podgorica and “introduced” himself to the local journalists. He was in the Montenegrin capital as a guest of Greek billionaire Victor Restis, owner of the First Financial Bank. As Shinawatra spoke with the media, they discussed possible investments in Montenegro. He was tacit about business interests and was more interested in talking about his impressions of Montenegro. “I am very happy here. The food, people and climate are excellent. I live in Budva, which is a beautiful city. The whole country is beautiful”, Shinawatra said. He also bragged about his Montenegrin citizenship by saying that he was proud to be Montenegrin. Shinawatra declared he would also make an effort to learn the Montenegrin language, “one step at the time”. However, Shinawatra does not always reside in Montenegro. He has been here on three occasions so far and has said that his in-

tentions are to come to Montenegro two or three times a year. He stayed at the luxurious “Milocer” hotel, near St. Stefan, which was renovated by Restis Group. Montenegrin media speculated that Shinawatra could be interested in investing in the reconstruction of the city-hotel “St. Stefan”, although Restis Group has denied this. Shinawatra has also allegedly planned to purchase land on St. Nikola Island, near Budva - a section of about 37.000 square meters, which was previously owned by Nenad Djordjevic from Serbia and then by Stanko Subotic, a businessman suspected of

Montenegrin media speculated that Shinawatra could be interested in investing in the reconstruction of the city-hotel “St. Stefan”, although Restis Group has denied this

the illegal trade of tobacco. According to comments in the media, Shinawatra has significant capital at his disposal. The London-based Times newspaper has previously reported that he was earning about one hundred million dollars per year from different businesses in various destinations around the world. It was also decided by the Thai court, that Shinawatra would be able to keep the 900 million euros which he earned before he became the Prime Minister of Thailand. Because of this, the Montenegrin media have been calling him “the richest Montenegrin”. The opposition in Montenegro also uses Shinawatra in their everyday political struggle with the Montenegrin government. The opposition “took a page out of Shinawatra’s book” during their preparation for the local elections in Montenegro. The leaders of that part of the opposition wore white shirts at a certain pre-election rally, no doubt influenced by the “red-shirt”, supporters of Shinawatra, who have been struggling for weeks now to get the former prime minister back to power after he was deposed in 2006 in a military coup. On one occasion, last spring, Shinawatra addressed his supporters in Thailand from Montenegro via a video-link. The Montenegrin Government, however, warned him that he would not be allowed to politically influence the events in Thailand from Montenegro. Podgorica has also announced that there were no grounds for the extradition of Shinawatra as his name was not among the Interpol’s red list warrants, and in view of the fact he was now protected by his Montenegrin citizenship. Time will tell what is really behind Shinawatra’s “Montenegriness”. In April, during his visit to London, the Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Igor Luksic explained why the former Thai Prime Minister was granted citizenship. He commented that this was a “reasoned decision” of the government and that Shinawatra would “bring us economic advantages”, and either invest himself or attract other investors. Shinawatra’s business “magnet” however, is stronger than his political one. At least unless Shinawatra, now officially a Montenegrin, comes back to power in Thailand due to the efforts of his “red-shirts”. Certain Montenegrin media made a joke about this potential situation, - claiming that this would lead to the formation of the “United States of Montenegro and Thailand”. CorD 72 / June 2010 43

FACES & PLACES |

Dutch Ambassador, H.E. Ron J.P.M. van Dartel and his wife at the wedding party of the Canadian Ambassador H.E. John Morrison and his ďŹ ancĂŠ Aleksandra on May 7th Director of the Tourist Organization of Belgrade, Jasna Dimitrijevic, receives the Golden Tourist Heart award

H.E. Mr. Luis de Almeida Sampaio, Ambassador of the Republic of Portugal to Serbia; Portuguese Agriculture Minister Antonio Serrano and his Serbian counterpart Sasa Dragin at the presentation of Portuguese wines on May 15th at Zodiac restaurant.

From left: Ana Bovan (Bovan Consulting), Olivera Kiro (Serbian Chamber of Commerce), Denise de Hauwere (Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium), Hugo van Veghel (President of Belgian Serbian Business Association) and Ryckman de Betz (Secretary of the Belgian Serbian Business Association) at the Belgian Serbian Business Association presentation held on 21st May, at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce 44 CorD 72 / June 2010

H.E. Marry Warlick, US Ambassador to Serbia and her British counterpart, H.E. Stephen Wordsworth, hosted a working breakfast on May 7th, during which the results of the elections in Great Britain were followed. Members of the diplomatic core and journalists were also present at the breakfast.

Seen at the promotion of general sponsorship of the Athletic Association of Serbia and the signing of the contract of individual support for athletes at the Continental Hotel on May 13th was, from left: Branko Radujko, CEO of Telekom Srbija; Mihail Dudas, member of Vojvodina Athletic Club; Ivana Spanovic, member of Vojvodina Athletic Club; Tatjana Jelaca, member of Partizan Athletic Club and Veselin Jevrosimovic, head of the Athletic Association of Serbia.

The Italian Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Armando Varrichio, opened the exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;Arte Povera - works from the collection of Mart Museum in Roveretoâ&#x20AC;? in the presence of the President of Italian Chamber of Deputies, Gianfranco Fini, Serbian Parliament Speaker, Slavica Djukic Dejanovic and Serbian Minister of Culture, Nebojsa Bradic at the Palace of Italy on May 10th.

French Ambassador to Belgrade H.E. Jean-Francois Terral awarded Mihajlo Crnobrnja, Headmaster and Professor of the Faculty for Economy, Finances and Administration (FEFA) in Belgrade an Academic Palm Medal on May 12th at the French Embassy in Belgrade. CorD 72 / June 2010 45

FACES & PLACES | Vincent Degert, head of the EU ofﬁce in Belgrade,welcomed distinguished guests, including Serbian President Boris Tadic and the leader of the opposition Serbian Progressive Party Tomislav Nikolic, at the “Day of Europe” reception at the Belgrade City Assembly on May 10th.

The wife of the British Ambassador to Serbia, Nichole Wordsworth, was a patron of the charity fashion show for Isidora S Fashion Company, held on May 19th at the British residence. Famous Serbian actors modelled fashions and donations were collected for the “Family for Every Child” feeding families program. The programme is an agreement between the Serbian Labour and Social Policy Ministry, the Centre for Family Accommodation of Children and Youth Belgrade and the British Save the Children organization. On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of victory over fascism, the Russian Ambassador H.E. Alexander Konuzin organized celebrations at the Russian Embassy in Belgrade on May 6th.

To celebrate the occasion of Queens Day on 29th April, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Ron J.P.M. van Dartel and Mrs Brigitte Wennemann van Dartel, organized a reception for diplomats, and representatives of the political and public scene in Serbia. 46 CorD 72 / June 2010

KURIR To mark the occasion of the seventh birthday of Kurir daily on May 19th, a celebration was organised at King Petar Villa in Belgrade

With the support of the Belgrade City Assembly, Attica Media publishing house and Grazia magazine organized the GRAZIA SHOPPING NIGHT, held on May 5th. The event was held in the Belgrade city centre and featured music and dancing groups.

Under the slogan of “Victory for All Recreationists”, the sixth Belgrade Coca Cola Bicycle Olympics were held on May 9th. More than ﬁve thousand cycling enthusiasts between the ages of 15 and 85 enjoyed riding the wellknown route from Trg Republike to the plateau at Usce Shopping Mall. One of the most popular sporting events in the city, the day was again organized by “Sports for Everyone” Association with the support of the Belgrade City Assembly and with the general patronage of Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Hellenic Srbija Company. At the end of the race, music, an entertainment program and a prize lottery were organized for all participants. The luckiest won bicycles, holidays and other interesting prizes. CorD 72 / June 2010 47

PIRAEUS BANK INTRODUCES LIFE INSURANCE AS PART OF ITS OFFER

n early May Piraeus Bank introduced the option of taking out a life insurance contract in branches of the Bank. The Bancassurance Agreement has been concluded with the joint stock company for life insurance Alico a.d.o. Belgrade. The first product within their life insurance offering, Death or Total Permanent Disability Insurance, is designed to protect the beneficiary and his family, and therefore it is symbolically called “The Protector”. This insurance is available to clients in a Silver, Gold and Platinum package and may be concluded for a term of one or several years. Minimum monthly payments, depend on the age of the insured and packages are priced from RSD 300 (Silver) to RSD 800 (Platinum). “The THE INSURANCE IS AVAILABLE Protector” pays to the beneficiTO CLIENTS IN SILVER, ary a disbursement of a monthly GOLD AND PLATINUM PACKAGE indemnity over the period of five

HENKEL: SUCCESSFUL START TO THE YEAR

n the first quarter of the year, Henkel Company achieved a profit of € 3,512 billion, which is an increase of 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. In organic terms, that is to say, after correction in exchange differences and investments, the growth was a significant 8.8%. This is significant growth compared to the same time last year. “Henkel started this fiscal year in a good way, with significant contribution in all of our business sectors. Despite constant market challenges, the washing powder and household chemicals sector, and the cosmetics sector have continued their successful upward trends from the last three quarters, while the adhesives technologies sector has also rescored a high growth rate in sales,” Kasper Rorsted, president of the Board of Directors of Henkel said.

SALES GROWTH OF 7.8% COMPARED TO THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR

years following the occurrence of the insured event. For example, monthly indemnity paid to beneficiaries in the over 60 months would be is RSD 15,000 for the Silver package, RSD 20,000 for the Gold package, and RSD 25,000 for the Platinum package. “Risk insurance is an exceptionally important life insurance product with strong a social dimension as it protects families against financial risks and bankruptcy. With this insurance, the insured provides reliable support to his family in the case of a distressing incident with only a few hundred dinars paid for the premium.” explained Mr. Zivota Tasic, Bancassurance Unit Supervisor.

DIRECT TO LONDON, DORTMUND, SARAJEVO, AND RIGA Belgrade is getting direct flights to four more cities- London, Dortmund, Sarajevo, and Riga

In the Europe-Africa-Near East region, sales have achieved an organic growth rate of 6% compared to the first quarter of 2009, by reaching € 2,139 billion, with the significant contribution of all three business sectors. Business in Eastern Europe has continued with single-digit growth. Western Europe, including Germany, has also maintained single-digit growth after the organic sales drop in the fourth quarter of 2009. The share of total sales of the group in this region has remained the same at 61%. Henkel anticipates further profit growth due to integration with the National Starch Company, and also due to strict expenses control.

ungarian low-cost company Wizz Air will commence flights from Belgrade to London on 20th June. Initially, two flights a week (on Wednesdays and Sundays), are planned from Belgrade’s ‘Nikola Tesla’ airport to ‘Luton’ airport in London. The Hungarian low-cost air company has also previously announced that it will launch a new route, Belgrade-Dortmund, on 12th June. BiH Airlines from Bosnia and Herzegovina, has introduced a regular flight Belgrade-Sarajevo. An ATR 72 aircraft, with the capacity of 66 seats, flies from Belgrade to Sarajevo six times a week, every day except Saturday. The planes depart from Belgrade airport at 1pm or 2pm, and at 11:30am from Sarajevo. Latvian national air company Air Baltic has commenced flights between Belgrade and Riga. Air Baltic will fly a Boeing 737 from Riga to Belgrade on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Source: Beta, Tanjug

48 CorD 72 / June 2010

BELGRADE IS GETTING DIRECT FLIGHTS TO FOUR MORE CITIES

ENERGOPROJEKT IS BUILDING IN NIGERIA

elgrade company ‘Energoprojekt oprema’, part of Energoprojekt Holdings, has signed a contract worth € 9.59 million. ‘Energoprojekt oprema’ and German company ‘Bilfinger Berger Nigeria’, together with their foreign entities ‘Energo Nigeria’ and ‘Julius Berger’, have closed a subcontractor’s agreement for building the first phase of infrastructure for a real estate project in Lagos. The investor of the project is the Retirement Fund of American Chevron Corporation, which deals with oil and gas extraction. The deadline for completion of the project is May, 2011, according to the announcement of ‘Energoprojekt oprema’ published on the Belgrade Stock Exchange web site. Source: Beta

THE LAGOS DEAL IS WORTH € 9.59 MILLION

RECORD BUSINESS RESULTS OF ‘TELEKOM SRBIJA’

Telekom Srbija a.d. made a profit of RSD 89.2 billion in 2009, which is a growth of about 5% on 2008.

MERCEDES BENZ: “FASTEN IT, TAKING OFF!”

ercedes-Benz offered an exclusive opportunity to all car enthusiasts to attend the unique event ‘Fasten it, taking off!’ on the NAVAK track Subotište from 13th to 16th May. Participants in this special training event enjoyed an exciting drive of the newest and most attractive Mercedes-Benz models, including the SL 500, E 500 Cabrio, SLK 350, S 400 Hybrid, ML 63 AMG, and G 500. This was the first A SPECIAL time such an event had been held in Serbia. TRAINING EVENT In addition to experiencing the COORDINATED BY most attractive Mercedes-Benz DAIMLER’S FINEST models, participants had the opINSTRUCTORS WAS portunity to see and drive the most attractive sports car in the world, ORGANIZED IN Formula 1 safety car - the fascinatSERBIA FOR THE ing SLS AMG. FIRST TIME The best Daimler trainers showed off the characteristics of the sports cars on the track, as well as the newest innovations and functions of the Mercedes-Benz safety systems, and the permeability of the Mercedes-Benz terrain vehicles on demanding areas. Over the four days, a limited number of attendees were lucky enough to participate in a training session. Over three hours they progressed through four training segments: ‘Interactive presentation’ (where all of their questions were answered), ‘Fascination test’ (driving a sports cars on a closed track), ‘Safety test’ (driving luxurious limousines on slippery ground with the assistance of Mercedes-Benz safety systems), and ‘Terrain vehicles test’ (where they easily overcome demanding areas and made impermeable terrains, permeable).

he best result in the company’s history was achieved, with RSD 15.5 billion in net profit, which is 193% growth compared to the previous year. Operative income also achieved growth of about 9% compared to the previous year, and is now RSD 19 billion. At the same time, the total liabilities of the company were reduced by 8%, and the coefficient of indebtedness is now more favourable than last year. This is mostly due to the payment of a part of the loan received from Citibank N.A. London, as well as by the increase in capital due to the gained net profit in 2009. of the internet and multimedia services. Services of the company The justification of the regional expansion of the company proved to are now used by 3.4 million fixed-line users and 7.7 million mobile be a good move in 2009, since the growth of business profit was scored phone users in three countries. An increase of 151,000 ADSL users on the level of the Group, which has daughter-companies ‘Telekom (total number 442,000) was achieved, while the number of IPTV usSrpske’ in the Srpska Republic, and m:tel in Montenegro. Total consoliers is 23,000. dated profit of the group in 2009 was RSD 113.9 billion. This data is a part of a single and consolidated financial report of ‘Telekom Srbija’ Group gained an increase in the ‘Telekom Srbija’, revised by an independent exTHE 2009 PROFIT total number of users in fixed-line and mobile terior reviser, and adopted at the shareholders’ phones, as well as an increase in number of users INCREASED BY 5% ON 2008 meeting. CorD 72 / June 2010 49

TELECOMMUNICATIONS INCOME REACHES 1.5 BILLION EUR

he total income from the telecommunication market in Serbia in 2009 reached 1.5 billion euros, which is 6.7 percent lower than 2008. The value of the telecommunications market in Serbia was assessed at 10 billion euros, and the share of that sector in the gross domestic product last year was 4.8 percent. Executive Manager of Republic Telecommunication Agency (RATEL) Milan Jankovic said that investments in 2009 reached 284 million euros, which was 21 percent lower than 2008. The total number of subscribers for landline telephones increased from 2.4 million in 2005 to 3.1 millions in 2009. Jankovic said that progress had been achieved in that sector and that digitalization had increased to 97 percent. The number of mobile telephone users increased from 5.5 INCOME IN 2009 million in 2005 to 9.8 million in 2009. The number of 3G usWAS 6.7 PERCENT ers increased from 250.000 in 2007, when the service was inLOWER THAN 2008 troduced, to 860.000 last year. The number of subscribers to cable services reached one million. There are 78 cable operators in Serbia. Jankovic said that RATEL was not pleased because strict competition was non-existent and because the operators were divided geographically. The number of subscribers to internet services reached 1.7 million. There are 199 internet operators. Jankovic said that the number of dial-up users dropped by 30 percent and that the number of ADSL users tripled. “In order to achieve further development of the telecommunication market, aside from improvements in telecommunication infrastructure, the standard of customers must also be increased so they are able to pay for the new services”, Jankovic said. Source: Beta

LAV PIVO  THE WINNER OF THE MONDE SELECTION “2010 GOLD QUALITY AWARD”

ALAPIS TO GIVE UP ON GALENIKA

AV beer in refundable 0.5l bottles has been granted the Monde Selection 2010 Gold Quality Award. The most popular of Carlsberg Srbija Group’s brands won the award in the light beer category, competing against 2,200 products from 80 countries. The award was granted at the international selection traditionally conducted by the Monde Selection Institute, aiming to reward products which maintain high levels of quality for three consecutive years. For almost 50 years, Monde Selection’s “International Institute for Quality Selections” has been developing a unique expertise to test and analyze consumer goods from all over the world in order to grant them an internationally renowned quality award.

50 CorD 72 / June 2010

lapis Company was one of companies interested in purchasing Galenika the pharmaceuticals company, but decided not to take part in the final process of privatization of Galenika. In their announcement Alapis emphasized that the Serbian market represented the priority in the company’s business plans and that it would be more consolidated and larger in the near future.

BLOK: A CONFERENCE ON MODERN CONSTRUCTION

he BLOK conference, which will gather together fifteen renowned architects and other experts in the field of planning, construction, real estate and design, will be held from June 2nd to June 4th in the Zira Centre Congress at Projmetal. Projmetal is one of the largest planning and construction companies in Serbia, whose portfolio includes almost all the large industrial complexes in former Yugoslavia, as well as a number of modern buildings (the Zira Complex, the commercial building in

THESE ISSUES ARE OF EQUAL INTEREST TO ARCHITECTS, INVESTORS AND THE REAL ESTATE MARKET Blok 23 in New Belgrade, Trosarina shopping mall as the first building in the region to apply for a Leed certificate, the reconstruction of other Beograd shopping centres, etc). They announced that the goal of the conference would be to promote quality, modern models of construction and the improvement of business in this area. These issues are of equal interest to architects, investors and the real estate market. Some of the most significant names in the world of architecture will be among the attendees at BLOK in June including Boris Podrecca, Chris Bosse, Sanjay Puri, Davor Katusic, Jeffrey Inaba, Tatiana Bilbao, Shuhei Endo, Alisa Andrasek, Stefan Pfefferle from Massimiliano Fuksasa Studio, Arturo Ortiz Struck, Minsuk Cho, Hrvoje Njiric, Dick van Gameren and others. An exhibition of the projects of the conference participants and Projmetal’s presentation of the Trosarina Shopping Mall project was opened at Zira Centre as an announcement of the upcoming BLOK Conference. The exhibition will be open to all visitors during May and June 2010.

| CORPORATE

A WIDE RANGE OF HIGH QUALITY SERVICES Considering the high-technology orientation of our firm, after we realized the possibility of entering the vertical market we knew from the start that with the wider range of services available, we had no alternative

he Sat-Trakt Company started its business with the distribution of satellite and landline antenna systems and backing equipment in the 1990s. In time, the focus of the business was transferred to the integration of multimedia applications and data transfer, and the name of the company became a synonym for a reliable partner in delivering equipment for cable-distributive systems (KDS) and the introduction of that technology to users. Today, SatTrakt wants to establish itself as telecommunication operator. We asked the general manager of Sat-Trakt, Janos Zsemberi, why he has decided to take this step and to give us a little information about the new services they offer.

Zsemberi: Modern telecommunications is advancing toward integrated services with the bundle offering. Considering the high-technology orientation of our firm, after we realized the possibility of entering the vertical market we knew from the start that with the wider range of services available, we had no alternative. In order to be able to offer quality and competitive services to our users the step was inevitable for us to enhance our offer and enlarge our investments. Current results give us good reason to look toward the future with optimism. However, the investment into infrastructure is a risky endeavour? The long-term orientation of the company is to offer a range of high quality telecommunication services and that makes investment in infrastructure inevitable. Things cannot be finished half way through if you want top results. Risk, crisis and danger is ever present - however, that is part of the job. Besides, the legislative regulations are changing in Serbia too. The rules change and Sat-Trakt must adjust to the new framework. The new law regarding construction is a huge relief and differentiates between the construction of telecommunication infrastructure and traffic infrastructure, as well as construction of commercial and residential premises. However, we are still waiting for implementation

of the law on all levels and in its full capacity. There are several large telecommunication operators in the market already. What are SatTrakt’s advantages? Sat-Trakt carries no burden of inherited problems. We have an optimized organization structure with a highly educated and young team of experts working with the latest telecommunication technology. Everything we do, we do with a lot of energy and knowledge. This approach required a larger effort at the beginning but it has given us a specific competitive edge, in that : Our infrastructure, embodied in the developed and well conceived approach network, optical framework with limitless capacities with contemporary projects for further development of all segments of the network. We have spent many years focusing on the needs of the final user, and are very comfortable now with their habits and requirements for the future.We have an international inter-connection built based on real problems and demands, not based on strategic orientations. Will the new services become your core business? The current income of Sat-Trakt is stable and it is based on cable TV and also segments in which we are operating as the system integrator for complex solutions in construction and managing service platforms. At the beginning of the year, we started a telecommunication platform that has enabled us to connect long-range locations between business users, to construct some of the most complex telecommunication networks, co-location services, and VPOP, L2, L3 VPN etc. This platform also gives private users an integrated entertainment offer (TV plus internet), telephone services, and also the option of advanced security surveillance of houses and flats, which for some time has been the successful business of our daughter company Alarm Systems. In the dynamic, high-technology sector in which we do business, Sat-Trakt must always work on the development of its systems and we must be ready to offer and implement new services. Stable income, high-profile employees and a clear strate-

WE FOLLOW THE NEEDS AND TRENDS OF OUR USERS AND WE ADJUST ACCORDINGLY gic orientation give us the right to believe in the further stable development of the company. Do your plans also include some form of recapitalization? We have started negotiations with several large European funds as we believe that we have exceeded the form of cooperation with business banks, who so far have given us support for our growth and development, with all the advantages and disadvantages connected with those loans. Modern telecommunications belong to “Capital Intensive Business” and the approach toward fresh assets represents one of the important preconditions for survival, not just advancement. With the crisis in the global finance market, and with the recent crisis in the euro-zone, we can say that the issue of financing and the approach to fresh assets for many companies becomes “to be, or not to be.” Sat-Trakt was not hit by the crisis in financial terms. Our business experienced stable growth last year, as well as EBITDA, primarily due to the fact that we are familiar with our users and we still monitor their needs in order to adjust to that. Our investments and plans are within our real cash flow and so our business risk is reduced to a minimum. If you were to ask us do we know where we would invest 1, 10 or 100 million euros, our answer would be YES. Down to the last euro. The profit rate that we offer is high above the highest interest rate that any bank in the region can offer us. CorD 72 / June 2010 51

SLOVENIA

HUNGARY

THE WORST IS YET TO COME

GREEN INDUSTRY COULD BOOST ECONOMY

The full extent of the crisis faced by the Slovenian financial system is only now coming to light, Slovenia’s central bank, Banka Slovenije, warned as it unveiled its annual financial stability report.

By STA he report highlights Slovenia’s heavy dependence on foreign financial sources and loan risks as the main reasons for this. Slovenian banks reduced their liabilities to foreign banks by 20% last year, paying back EUR 3.2bn in loans due. A further EUR 650m was paid back in the first quarter of 2010. Despite this process, Slovenia continues to be sensitive to lending conditions on international financial markets. The banks replaced most of the repaid loans abroad with refinancing options within the eurozone and with state deposits, made after the issue of EUR 4bn in state bonds. Bank deposits rose by EUR 2.1bn in 2009 over the year before. Banka Slovenije

ALBANIA

APARTMENT PRICES RISE

Apartment prices in Albania continued rising even in the first quarter of this year despite falling demand and activity of the construction sector, a recent report published by the Bank of Albania (BoA) has shown. The BoA monetary policy report said apartment prices in the first quarter of this year rose by 15.8 % compared to the same period last year. Some 40 percent of the price increase is estimated to have been caused by the depreciation of the Albanian currency, Lek. 52 CorD 72 / June 2010

Governor Marko Kranjec said the stagnation in loan activity in Slovenia was a result of banks adjusting their balance sheets and companies and households adapting their finances to the economic conditions. The companies and households are much more cautious in making decisions on investments and the banks are also more careful with deciding to give out loans. The central bank therefore expects loan portfolios of banks to continue deteriorating. Bad loans increased by 30% last year compared to a year earlier, while write-downs and provisions by banks rose by as much as 78%. Despite the current situation, Kranjec maintains that Slovenian banks have sufficient liquidity and capital (capital adequacy stands at 11.6% on average, remaining flat compared to a year earlier). While there are indications that the economic situation in a number of sectors, especially export-based, was improving, the central bank concludes in its report that the banking system is still relatively sensitive to potential shocks.

MTI-Econews

ungary’s environmental industry could triple its performance in the next five years and provide the country with 100,000 new jobs according to a package of steps proposed to the new government by KSzGySz, an association of environmental businesses. The association proposes steps to encourage re-processing in Hungary. At present the bulk of collected waste is exported. Net revenue of the waste management industry rose to HUF 253.7 billion (€915.7 million) in 2007 from HUF 96.5 billion in 2002, while the revenue of the environmental industry reached HUF 406 billion in 2008, the paper said. Executive director of the association Anna Székely said domestic recycling of waste could generate real added value and provide new jobs, thanks to a demand for byproducts

ROMANIA

STILL IN RECESSION

conomy Romania’s first-quarter gross domestic product fell 2.6% from the same period of last year, and 0.3% from the fourth quarter 2009. In gross the economy contracted by 2.6% in the Jan-Mar period from the previous year, while the seasonally-adjusted contraction was 2.5%. However, the GDP contraction is narrowly below analysts’ forecasts of 3.4%. The GDP dropped 6.9% in the fourth quarter 2009, after the 7.6% contraction in third quarter and 8% in the second quarter year-on-year. The National Institute of Statistics released the GDP data for the first-quarter as an indication and a more detailed report will be released at a later date. The local economy is in recession according to the opinion expressed by the members of the Association of Financial Banking Analysts in Romania (AAFBR) in a survey. The survey showed that GDP in Q1 2010 was reduced in real terms by 3.4% against the Q1of 2009 ( estimates vary between -2.2% and -4.0%) and by -0.5% ( data adjusted seasonly) against Q4 2009 ( estimates vary between -0.8% and 0.4%). IMF revised its estimate for economic growth in Romania from 1.3% to 0% or even a negative value of -0.5% but expected the resumption of economic growth up to the end of the year, the head of the IMF mission to Romania, Jeffrey Franks said.

AUSTRIA

ALPINE WITHDRAWN FROM GORNA ARDA PROJECT

ustria’s Alpine Bau has withdrawn from the construction of Gorna Arda hydropower project in southern Bulgaria, leaving energy firm EVN the sole partner of the majority owner, dominant state power utility NEK. This was announced by Austria’s EVN, which holds a 67% stake in one of Bulgaria’s three power distributors and serves clients in Southwestern Bulgaria. The company assured shareholders that

the overhaul will not delay the project and promised that it will press for speeding it up in a bid to secure green energy for its clients in the region. “Bulgaria has turned into a hotspot for the future development of EVN group. Gorna Arda project is a long-term and strategic investment not only for EVN, but also for the region,” says the company statement. At the beginning of September 2009, Bulgaria’s new government sealed a letter of approval for the construction of the hydro power project on the Arda river, known as Gorna Arda (“Upper Arda”). This was a requirement for wrapping up the sale of a 30.1% stake, owned by Turkey’s CCG, part of the Ceylan conglomerate, to an Austrian consortium of EVN and Alpine Bau.

The move was made after a trial in the International Court of Arbitration, in which Ceylan Holding filed claims for EUR 75 mln against the other member in the joint venture - Bulgaria’s National Electric Company NEK, was suspended for three months. The Turkish company was contracted to implement the project under an electricity-for-infrastructure swap deal Bulgaria and Turkey signed in 1998, during the term of the government of Ivan Kostov. The launch of the hydropower construction was delayed after the Turkish company ran into financial troubles. The Gorna Arda hydropower project is expected to cost around EUR 500 mln, which should be paid by the consortium. It is expected to have an electricity production capacity of 160 MW.

BULGARIA

IKEA TO BREAK GROUND IN JUNE

Construction works on the first IKEA hypermarket in Bulgaria will officially be launched on June 3rd.

assilis Fourlis, chairman of the Board of Directors of Fourlis Group, IKEA’s franchise holder for the region, announced the news and invited media to the groundbreaking event, which is scheduled to be attended by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Novinite reports. The project is expected to create 800 new jobs. During his visit to Greece at the end of last year, Bulgaria’s Regional Development and Public Works Minister Rosen Plevneliev announced that IKEA would have its first Bulgarian store in 2011. The company has announced plans to build two more stores in the country - in Varna and Plovdiv. The Swedish company IKEA, known for its cheap range of home furnishings, has 301 stores in 37 countries.

CorD 72 / June 2010 53

FROM THE WORLD PRESS $1,600 BO LISTED ON DISCLOSURE FORMS

HOW MUCH IS A CEO WORTH? Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. Treasury Dept.’s “pay czar”, recently reduced executive salaries at government-controlled American International Group and General Motors to reflect company performance. In much of corporate America no such realignment took place. Graef Crystal, a pioneer in compensation consulting, analyzed the 2009 pay of 271 chief executive officers. His findings? “Simply put,” Crystal says, “companies don’t pay for performance.” Although there is no standard method for analyzing compensation, Crystal, 76, developed the formulas he uses over the course of 30 years advising companies such as CBS, Coca-Cola, and American Express on their pay practices. In an ideal world, Crystal and many investors agree, stock performance and CEO pay would be closely aligned. But no matter how he parsed the numbers, Crystal discovered no relationship between shareholder returns and CEO compensation. At the outset, he found that the CEO’s average pay went down 4.7 percent last year to $9.95 million. The highest paid was CBS’ Leslie Moonves with $43.2 million, and the lowest was Citigroup’s Vikram Pandit with $128,751.

The highest paid was CBS’ Leslie Moonves with $43.2 million, and the lowest was Citigroup’s Vikram Pandit with $128,751

By Kendra Marr According to President Obama’s 2009 annual financial disclosure forms, that’s the value of the Portuguese water dog gifted by the late Senator Ted Kennedy and his wife, Vicki The forms – the upshoot of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which requires high-level federal officials to publicly disclose their personal financial interests – lists Obama’s entire assets including stocks, cheque accounts, mutual funds, treasury notes, inheritances and book royalties.

$1,600 is the value of the Portuguese water dog gifted to Obama

“Dreams of My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope” landed him cheques in the $1 million to $5 million range. In January, he approved a $500,000 advance against royalties for an abridged version of “Dreams of My Father” for middle school and young adult readers. Royalties will be 15 percent of the hardcover price, 7.5-10 percent of the trade paperback sales and 10 percent of mass-market paperback sales. Vice President Biden, meanwhile, reported that he was given a first-edition, signed copy of James Joyce’s “Anna Livia Plurabelle” by Margaret Spanel, of Hightstown, N.J., who the AP says has donated to Democrats. “Most of the information on both the President’s and the Vice President’s forms updates information that was disclosed on last year’s forms, which were made publicly available in May 2009,” Norm Eisen, the special ethics counsel to Obama, wrote on the White House blog. “We are continuing this Administration’s practice, begun last year, of affirmatively posting these forms online here in the interests of transparency.”

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO 10.6%

Crystal didn’t include any bonuses awarded in 2010 in his analysis. Crystal then created a “fair pay” model that redistributed the $2.7 billion aggregate payroll of all of the CEOs according to each company’s shareholder return, adjusted for company size. Under that model, Moonves would have taken a $28 million pay cut, while Google’s Eric Schmidt, who was the second-lowest paid last year with $245,322, would have seen an increase to $17.4 million. Frank Baldino Jr., the founder of Cephalon, was the most overpaid, according to Crystal’s algorithm: He took home $11.15 million, eight times more than what the model said he deserved. Crystal recommends awarding stock options with a strike price that’s the average of the last 90 days and can’t be exercised for five years to avoid “opportunistic” pricing. He also suggests reducing bonuses if incentive targets aren’t met. Some of Crystal’s former clients have called him a Judas for criticizing the system he used to be a part of. He prefers to be compared to Mary Magdalene. “Maybe I was a hooker,” he says. “But I’m hoping to end my life as a saint.” 54 CorD 72 / June 2010

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) Portugal’s unemployment rate rose to 10.6% in the first quarter, official data showed, highlighting the economic challenges the nation confronts at a time when it’s under pressure to lower its excessive deficit. The unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2009, Statistics Portugal reported. Compared to the same period last year, unemployment rose 1.7 percentage points. In the first quarter, the number of unemployed Portuguese surged by 96,400 to stand at 592,200 people from the same quarter a year ago. The jobless population rose by 28,900 compared to the last three months of 2009.

Last month, Lisbon outlined additional austerity measures, including pay cuts for top government officials as well as tax hikes

“This is significant,” said Carsten Brzeski, a Brussels-based economist with ING, who added that the numbers work out to unemployment rising in Portugal at 0.2 percentage points a month a hefty pace. “For the better-off Euro zone countries, we are only now seeing stabilization and a slight turnaround of the labor market, and then Spain and Portugal are the laggards in the current rebound or recovery. It will be late this year before we see the Portuguese market stabilized,” he said, adding that austerity measures from the government will also weigh on consumer spending. Last month, Lisbon outlined additional austerity measures, including pay cuts for top government officials as well as tax hikes. Portugal’s budget deficit reached 9.4% of gross domestic product last year.

SICILY TRIES TO SHAKE MAFIA INFLUENCE By Vanessa Johnston Sicily is a mafia stronghold, but underworld power structures affect people all across the country. A 2007 report revealed that organized crime constitutes seven percent of Italy’s gross domestic product (GDP). However, Libera Terra spokesman Francesco Galante contends that his organization aims to attract consumers not just for its anti-mafia message, but because of the high quality of their goods. “The quality of these products, of this clean economy, must be better than others and must be something people can prefer,” he said. ”It’s not charity - that’s not what pushes the consumer. It’s the quality.” Not long ago, it was taboo to speak out against the powerful mafia, and in fact, many Italians were murdered for doing so. But that changed in 2004 when a group of young people started rallying local businesses to stop paying protection money, or pizzo, to the mafia. Today they operate under the name Addio Pizzo, and Galante also volunteers for the group part-time. But, most Sicilian businesses still pay the pizzo, which costs on average 500 to 600 euros per month, according to Galante. It only accounts for around five percent of mafia income, but even so, it is important for them to retain it. If shop owners refuse to pay, they may be punished. For example, their buildings may be destroyed or they may receive death threats. “The other way to strike them is by isolating them, which has happened several times in small towns. They’re the only guys not in the right circle, which is even worse than inflicting damage,” said Galante. Although Libera Terra and Addio Pizzo have gained a lot of support, and public opinion of the mafia has decreased following a string of high-profile murders, they still risk mafia retaliation. Libera Terra recently visited the German cities of Bonn and Berlin to promote its products. “Germany is, in general, interested in these kinds of products because they are both fair and good – and organic, which is an added value,” said

Sicilian businesses who refuse to pay protection money risk violent reprisals

Galante. Meanwhile, the German Embassy has published a list of the 400 Sicilian businesses that refuse to pay the pizzo. The idea is to give tourists the option of shopping only at places that don’t line mafia pockets.

JOURNALISM’S WORST CLICHES Journalist Chris Pash has spent nine years scouring newspapers and websites to find the media’s favourite hackneyed phrases. And at the end of the day he has this to say: journalists must never again write the words “at the end of the day”. In the past 15 months alone, Pash says the term appeared in 21,268 articles carried by Dow Jones Factiva, a global database that collects the output of about 25,000 major newspapers, magazines, newswires and other written news sources. “I suspect at this point in history it is the most popular cliche in journalism globally,” he says. “It is all-pervasive.” Pash attributes the soul-crushing dominance of “at the end of the day” at least partly to its frequent appearance in direct quotes, particularly those given by politicians. “They use it almost as punctuation,” he says. Other over-tired terms Pash wishes writers would instantly consign to the vocab void are “split second”, “about face”, “unsung heroes” and “outpouring of support”. The Factiva database, which swells by about seven million new articles every month, is mostly used by Dow Jones clients to help build a profile of countries they want to do business in. Pash, an author and former journalist who is director of content licensing for Dow Jones AsiaPacific, quickly recognised it was also a journalistic treasure trove. While some cliches seem to have been around for ever (“last-ditch effort”, “concerned residents”), new ones are constantly being generated. A term that Pash first saw sprout as the global financial crisis began to ease was “green shoots”, as in: “The first green shoots of economic recovery have begun to appear.”

“ I know how hard it is to stay cliche-free. And some cliches are quite descriptive”

“Just after the peak of the GFC, that took off, but it has dropped off recently,” he says. “What happens is that somebody, somewhere coins a nice little phrase to describe something complex that is happening. Other people pick up on it and the first few times it sounds pretty good. But then everyone jumps on it.” Pash says he dislikes cliches less than he hates “meaningless corporate speak” such as “going forward” and “downsizing”. “I stick to the proposition that in reporting you should try to stay away from cliches . . . but I know how hard it is to stay cliche-free. And some cliches are quite descriptive,” he says. “I get more annoyed by corporate speak because it is not descriptive and often is designed to hide the real meaning. ‘Downsizing’ is just another way of saying someone’s been sacked.” The seven most overused cliches: 1. AT THE END OF THE DAY 2. SPLIT SECOND 3. ABOUT FACE 4. UNSUNG HEROES 5. OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT 6. LAST-DITCH EFFORT 7. CONCERNED RESIDENTS CorD 72 / June 2010 55

JAPANESE COUPLE MARRIED BY ROBOT Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue like robots so much so they didn’t want a priest or a judge to marry them, they wanted a robot. So, at a rooftop restaurant in Tokyo the two were joined in matrimony by Kokoro Co.’s I-FAIRY robot. Kokoro’s I-FAIRY is capable of generating natural-seeming movements like head nods and arm gestures based upon the speech it has been loaded with. The couple said that as robots had brought them together - they both work in the robotics industry - having one officiate over their wedding was a natural choice.

GRENADIER GUARD COLLAPSES ON HORSE GUARDS PARADE A Grenadier Guard collapsed whilst rehearsing on Horse Guards Parade for the Trooping of the Colour in celebration of the Queen’s birthday on Saturday June 12th. The Grenadier Guards had only recently finished a tour of Afghanistan. The soldier was stretchered off after being overcome by heat while wearing his traditional bearskin as temperatures peaked in London at 21 degrees.

DON’T MOVE, MING MING! A boy in China was saved from the certain death of an eight-storey fall when his head got stuck in the bars of a window grate after he fell through. Ming Ming, aged six, was only prevented from plunging straight through the grate to his death by his ears. Instead, he was left dangling high above the street, to the terror of passers-by below. His screams, audible at street level, alerted them to his lifethreatening predicament. Don’t move, Ming Ming! Firefighters worked to save the boy eight storeys up. Ming Ming appeared to be praying as workers fought desperately to free him. Emergency services raced to save him, worried the weight of his body might pull him through the bars or cause him to suffocate. They used a hydraulic pressure expander to force the bars apart and pulled Ming Ming back into his family’s flat. A large crowd gathered on the street below as they carried out the rescue.

QATARI ROYAL FAMILY PURCHASES HARRODS Mohamed al Fayed sold Harrods, Britain’s most famous shop, to the Qatari royal family for £1.5 billion. The deal, signed at the Qatari embassy, brings to an end Mr al Fayed’s colourful ownership after a quarter of a century in charge of the department store. Mr al Fayed will remain as honorary chairman but at the age of 77 has decided to retire and spend more time with his grandchildren. A source close to Mr al Fayed said that although he was suffering “pangs of parting” the offer was “too good to refuse”. He had been assured staff will not lose their jobs, said the source. Following the deal, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, the Qatari prime minister, was given a short tour by Mr al Fayed before holding a press conference in the fourth floor Georgian Restaurant. 56 CorD 72 / June 2010

CHINESE ART FESTIVAL China opened its largest national art festival, an influential platform for Chinese performers to showcase their latest creations, in southern Guangdong Province. The ninth China Art Festival, held in the provincial capital, was co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and the Guangdong Provincial government. Li Changchun, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said in a congratulatory letter that the festival would be “an art pageant of the people” and should contribute to the prosperity of socialist cultural development.

LEBANON WINS HUMMUS BATTLE A hummus competition between Israel and Lebanon has entered a new phase in the wake of Beirut’s production of the largest plate to date of the Middle Eastern dip. Around 300 Lebanese cooks joined hands to prepare a gigantic 10,452 kilogram dish of hummus , the size of Lebanon in square kilometers. It weighs more than twice as much as the plate of hummus Israeli cooks made back in January. A Guinness World Records representative has confirmed the feat. Lebanon has accused Israel of stealing traditional Arab dishes, including hummus, and marketing them as Israeli. Hummus, a popular dish in the Middle East, which is eaten with bread or vegetables as a dip, is made from cooked, mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini (a paste of ground sesame seeds), olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.

Belgian Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard CHRIST CAN CALM EVERY STORM In the wake of a case of sexual abuse by a bishop, the Catholic Church in Belgium has been “put to trial by sin,” Pope Benedict XVI told the country’s bishops. The pope prayed that Belgian Catholics “would not forget that only Christ can calm every storm” and that Belgian priests would find “new courage and strength to live a holy life in full fidelity to their ministry, to their consecration to God and to Christian witness.”

MISSION MARS Spartan living conditions may sound unappealing but that is what awaits six volunteers about to embark on a gruelling world first: a simulated flight to Mars and back. The experiment, called Mars 500, will get under way later this month in a mock spaceship housed in the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems in Moscow. The “lucky” volunteers will spend a minimum of 520 days together in a sealed fivecapsule metal unit measuring just 1,000 square feet. Daily life will be strictly regimented: eight hours for sleep, eight hours for work, and eight hours for leisure. Organisers say the joint Russian, Chinese and European crew will have to work hard if they are to ensure that isolation, claustrophobia and monotony do not get the better of them. Once the experiment begins, the crew will only have contact with mission controllers and with loved ones via the internet.

The candidates for a 520-day simulated mission to Mars CorD 72 / June 2010 57

SPORT |

World Football Cup Kicks Oﬀ

Marketing Games on an Epic Scale

Global brands prepare some of their biggest campaigns yet in anticipation of the world’s number one sporting event Global marketers such as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Nike are describing the 2010 FIFA World Cup as an event even larger than the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Adidas has an overarching theme called “Every Team Needs”

By Jeremy MULLMAN, ADVERTISING AGE

The marketer’s TV commercials, from Argentinean agency he scale - combined with the intensity of interest in the Santo, chronicle the history of goal-scoring celebrations. Coke has sport, the national pride of fans and the fact that it’s a 120-country, 17-language deal with YouTube to encourage viewthe first major global sporting event ever held on the ers to film and post their own goal dances, and it has even perAfrican continent - guarantees to sell a lot of sneakers suaded FIFA to condone the awarding of a fan-voted trophy for the and soft drinks. player with the best goal dance. There’s also a celebration-themed ON THE BALL: “It’s the number one event in all of sports,” anthem from Somali-born artist K’naan that is already charting on Trevor Edwards, Nike’s VP-brand and category management, reiTunes, and celebration-themed packaging and retail work, among cently told the company’s investors, adding that the World Cup will other things. be viewed by “half the world’s population.” BREAKING THROUGH And it’s why FIFA sponsors - a group to which Nike doesn’t be“Consumers today are so connected and brands are talking to long, by the way - spend up to $40 million for the privilege. them in so many ways,” said Emmanuel Seuge, Coke’s group direcCoke, for instance, says its campaign for the World Cup will be tor of worldwide sports and entertainment marketing. “We need to the largest in the compabe super-focused and suny’s history, as well as its per, super clear if we exAs the official partner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup... most integrated. The compect to break through the pany’s entire platform is Adidas will be the most visible brand in South Africa clutter.” built around the ebullient Mr. Seuge said the goal celebrations of soccer and is extremely well positioned to maintain its roots of Coke’s one-idea players, which Coke easily footing as the world’s most popular soccer brand,” approach stemmed from links to its long-held “Open a meeting between 13 Happiness” tagline. a spokeswoman said in a statement. agencies and Coke exec-

58 CorD 72 / June 2010

utives in South Africa in 2008, when executives presented the celebration concept and said they were only interested in approaches that utilized it. That’s a distinct shift for major sports sponsors, who traditionally assemble a myriad of programs around an event that sometimes have little apparent thematic connection to each other beyond the advertisers’ logo. Other marketers attempting to link their activities under a big, overarching idea this year include Visa and Anheuser-Busch InBev. Visa, a top-level FIFA partner, is conducting all of its activities under the same “Go Fans” platform it uses for the Olympics. Its World Cup plans include a mobile approach

onto the field. Some other major sponsors, such as Adidas and McDonald’s, are taking a somewhat more piecemeal approach. Adidas has an overarching theme called “Every Team Needs” that it’s emphasizing heavily in digital work featuring soccer stars describing different types of players, but it’s also investing heavily in new ball, footwear and apparel launches tied to the tournament that are under separate platforms.

Nike is rolling out a new campaign called "Write the Future," which it describes as an evolution of its "Next Level" soccer campaign that focused on improving as an athlete and getting to an even higher level that lets fans monitor the match schedule, track scores and standings, chat with each other and even connect with the FIFA store. The “Visa Match Planner” approach is part of a campaign that also includes TV, out of home, retail and social-media facets, all under the “Go” umbrella. Nike is rolling out a new campaign called “Write the Future” OPEN HAPPINESS: The Coke push revolves around goal celebrations. Anheuser-Busch InBev. (A-B InBev), for its part, is operating off a SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING platform called “Budweiser United,” which emphasizes the brand’s general ubiquity in sports while nodding to its new owners’ even ith the 2010 World Cup just around the corner, the hugely more global aspirations. One key component of A-B InBev’s effort, popular social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter which also includes extensive advertising, is a digital reality show are starting to use marketing strategies which involves connectthat will feature fans from all 32 participating countries living toing to fans on global and regional levels, as well as updates on gether in a “Big Brother”-style house. preliminary news and action. So with the biggest sporting event EPIC CAMPAIGN on the planet looming it is no surprise these social sites are getNike is rolling out a new campaign called “Write the Future,” ting in on the act. Football, or soccer in North America, is the top which it describes as an evolution of its “Next Level” soccer camparticipatory sport in 75% of the world. Follow the link to Jazzou. paign that focused on improving as an athlete and getting to an even com for more information and links to the Facebook and Twitter higher level. Mr. Edwards said that the World Cup represents the ulofficial World Cup pages. This year’s World Cup being hosted by timate level, and that all of Nike’s work around the event will reSouth Africa is the first since the explosive expansion of social mevolve around that idea. dia marketing. The 2006 tournament held in Germany was at a The campaign includes an epic TV spot from Wieden & Kennedy, time when these sites were nowhere near as big as they are towhich Mr. Edwards said is one of the best the company has ever proday. This summer’s tournament will be like music to the ears of duced, as well as a digital and mobile approach called NikeFootball the FIFA World Cup partners as they can expect thriving business Plus, which features some of the best players in the world offering this year due to the advertisement they will get. Partners include: tips on tricks and training to get better. Nike isn’t an official FIFA McDonalds, Budweiser, Sony, Visa, Coca Cola and Adidas. sponsor, but it sponsors several top teams and players, which gets it

CorD 72 / June 2010 59

SPORT | cast A-B as a villain. After the episode, FIFA now bans “commercially-branded clothing or accessories which are mass-distributed prior to the matches by commercial entities clearly targeting FIFA World Cup fans.” The 2006 tournament also saw its official sponsor airline, Emirates, ambushed by hometown airline Lufthansa, which painted soccer-ball patterns on the nose of its planes, leaving many travellers with the false impression that the German carrier was a World Cup backer. This year, however, FIFA’s lawyers struck quickly to prevent South African airline Kulula from touting itself as the “Unofficial National Carrier of the YouKnow-What.” The airline’s Twitter feed didn’t take to the news kindly: “Oh dear, letter from FIFA’s lawyers says we broke their trademark of the use of ‘South Africa’ and think our non-WC ad was about soccer. ... Even the use of our national flag was an issue. It’s absolutely outrageous. We’ve signed over our country, its symbols and our economy to one [FIFA President] Sepp Blatter. Nasty.” Not all cases are clear-cut ambushes of official sponsors. While Adidas is the games’ official licensee, it has to contend with rivals such as Nike and Puma that sponsor many of the individual teams and players, and run soccer ads (that don’t specifically allude to the World Coke has a 120-country, 17-language deal with Cup) in heavy rotation, all the while telling investors how YouTube to encourage viewers to film and post their crucial the World Cup is to their business plans. “As the official partner of the 2010 FIFA World own goal dances, and it has even persuaded FIFA to Cup... Adidas will be the most visible brand in South Africa and is extremely well positioned to maintain its condone the awarding of a fan-voted trophy for the footing as the world’s most popular soccer brand,” a spokeswoman said in a statement. player with the best goal dance of digital programs meant to encourage fan interaction. But, unlike CURRENCY CURBS WARNING Coke, McDonald’s is deploying its activities at the games differently in each market. Dean Barrett, McDonald’s senior VP-global marketing, said the housands of Europeans travelling to South Africa are at risk of company’s focus on utilizing the sponsorship in its stores trumps having money confiscated because they are unaware of the any desire to take a more homogeneous approach. “There are alcountry’s currency restrictions, a survey has shown. ways some things that we can do globally, and digital is something Non-residents are not allowed to take more than 5,000 rand (the that can be global,” he said. “But the reality is that the World Cup is equivalent of around 520 euros), in or out of South Africa. team-driven and local-market driven.” However three-quarters of people who are considering travelON THE LOOKOUT FOR AMBUSH ling to the country this year were unaware of the restrictions, acThe World Cup is the undisputed pinnacle of two things: One is cording to Sainsbury’s Travel Money. Around 36% of people who soccer, and the other is ambush marketing. are planning to visit South Africa said they intended to take more “There’s just so much passion behind soccer and such a large than 520 euros worth of rand with them, with people expecting audience,” explains Jim Andrews, a senior VP at sponsorship firm to have an average of 760 euros of local currency when they arIEG. “It’s irresistible.” rive in the country. He’s not kidding: According to FIFA, the 2006 World Cup, held One in five people said they planned to travel with more than in Germany, featured 3,300 “rights violations” in 84 countries, a ma1150 euros of rand. jor concern given the eight-figure amounts that FIFA’s six top-level The group warned that people are putting themselves at risk of partners and seven World Cup sponsors pay to officially align with having money confiscated when they enter the country because the world’s biggest sporting event. they are not aware of the currency rules. Who could forget, for instance, the 2006 stunt pulled by Dutch More than 460,000 people visit South Africa each year, and numbrewer Bavaria, which handed out thousands of pairs of Bavariabers are expected to be higher this year because of the World Cup. branded bright-orange lederhosen to fans of the Dutch national Scott Gorman, head of Sainsbury’s Travel Money, said: “Our reteam? FIFA, defending exclusive beer sponsor Anheuser-Busch’s search shows that thousands of people may be taken by surprise turf, ordered fans to remove the lederhosen before entering the staat the currency import restrictions in place when entering South dium, and many went on to cheer for their team in their underwear. Africa.” The story naturally generated global PR buzz for Bavaria and also McDonald’s, meanwhile are operating a dizzying number of programmes on the ground, including one sweepstake that lets kids escort their favourite players onto the field, and another that gives South African women the chance to be part of an on-field dance routine. There’s also a McCafé for the on-site press and a handful

60 CorD 72 / June 2010

2010 International Fine Art Project

A Burning Desire to Win Leading contemporary artists from each of the 32 countries that have qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, have been invited to participate in this project

arko Gavrilovic is a contemporary artist representing Serbia in the 2010 International Fine Art Project. He was selected along with Nikola Savic, Mrdjan Bajic, Selena Vickovic and Ljiljana Drezga to produce an artwork inspired “by the spirit of the World Cup, the world returning to Africa, and the pride of our country’s participation in the tournament”. His painting “Unbeatable” represents a force of eleven players and their burning desire to win, displayed symbolically in the body of a bull. Leading contemporary artists from each of the 32 countries that 2010 Fine Art Project is presently working and labelled as “Official Licensed Products of the 2010 FIFA World have qualified for the 2010 FIFA with gallery partners throughout Cup™”, signed in original by the World Cup South Africa™, have artist, and sold. been invited to participate in this South Africa, as well as in Honduras, The 2010 Fine Art Project is project, making the 2010 Fine Denmark, Germany, and New Zealand presently working with gallery Art Project one of the largest partners throughout South Africa, and most ambitious international as well as in Honduras, Denmark, Germany, and New Zealand. art collaborations in history. Two collections – 2010 International They have created a mutually-beneficial gallery relationship frameFine Art and 2010 African Fine Art – offer collectors, football fans, work from which galleries are able to sell the limited-edition prints and all lovers of great beauty, a unique opportunity to acquire for from Hors Commerce exhibition prints and electronic catalogues. themselves a piece of the excitement and passion of the 2010 FIFA An auction of the original works will take place at Melrose World Cup South Africa™, captured by some of the world’s greatArch, Johannesburg, South Africa, over a three-day period at the est artistic talents. end of June. From each original image a series of a further 210 (to link For more information visit with the year 2010) archival pigment-ink prints on cotton paper the official 2010 Fine Art site at www.2010fineart.com are being produced. Each of these prints will then be numbered CorD 72 / June 2010 61

DAY OF CELEBRATION AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM In the middle of May, the National Museum in Belgrade celebrated its 166 year anniversary

STUDENICA MONASTERY IS A

Studenica Monastery, one of the biggest and most beautiful monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church, is located 39 kilometres south of Kraljevo. The monastery is the memorial to Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, dating from 1190, and a mausoleum of the Nemanjić dynasty. Studenica Monastery has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1986, and it is known for its exquisite architecture, as well as for its collection of frescoes from the 13th and 14th centuries. The multiple roles and the great significance of Studenica as the burial ground of Stefan Nemanja, as a pilgrim destination and as a monastic centre, have substantially influenced the concept of the programme which tells the story of state independence and continuity, about spirituality and tradition.

2,500 square metres, and features over 400 objects from 25 collections. The four entities of the exhibition are Wheel-Machine-Engine, Communication, Man and Technology, and Measures and Numbers. The interior designer and creator of the exhibition is engineer Marko Jovanović. The depot of the museum is also open, and features over 300 exhibits. This area is

MEMORIAL TO GRAND PRINCE STEFAN NEMANJA, DATING FROM 1190, AND A MAUSOLEUM OF THE NEMANJIĆ DYNASTY

celebration was held in the atrium of the museum where plaques were presented to employees, and letters of thanks were awarded to donors and associates. In the Gallery of Frescoes, in Cara Uroša Street, a new exhibition of Bojan Popović’s, Studenica - Eight Centuries of Painting, was opened. The exhibition, which was a part of the Belgrade Night of the Museums, featured frescoes and casts of architectural plastics of the Virgin Mary Church, as well as accompanying documentary material. In the five rooms of the gallery, eight-century-old monastery paintings were on display.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE

fter last year’s opening of the new premises of the Museum of Science and Technique in Belgrade, this spring on the 14th of May, the museum opened its main entrance for the public at 51 Skenderbegova Street, and also presented part of its permanent exhibition

he exhibition titled 2nd Round is the second step toward the realization of the future permanent exhibition. The current exhibition is an excerpt of the concept of the permanent exhibition, and was set up by the curators as a part of the project for the reconstruction and building the museum. The fund for the permanent exhibition of the museum has been collected over the last 20 years. The 2nd Round exhibition is set over

THE FUND FOR THE PERMANENT EXHIBITION OF THE MUSEUM HAS BEEN COLLECTED OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. THE 2ND ROUND EXHIBITION IS SET OVER 2,500 SQUARE METRES, AND FEATURES OVER 400 OBJECTS FROM 25 COLLECTIONS a reconstruction of the ambience of an old printing-house and it conjures up the urbane Belgrade of the 19th century, before the advent of electricity. The exhibition is enriched with documents, photographs, and audio and video material from the museum fund.

BAJAC LAUREATE OF “KOČIĆEVO PEN” This year’s laureate of the ‘Kočićevo Pen’, writer Vladislav Bajac awarded for his novel Hamam Balkans, received his prize at an event at the Belgrade City Library on 21st May

literary award, the “Kočićevo Pen” is given four times a year to those authors who continue the tradition of the great literary opus of Serbian writer Petar Kočić (1877- 1916) and who celebrate the beauty of Kočić’s words. Vladislav Bajac’s novel, published by ‘Archipelago’ of Belgrade, is a thrilling and well thought out story set over two historic periods and covering heroes divided between two identities. The historic periods in the novel, Hamam Balkans are the 16th century and modern times. In 62 CorD 72 / June 2010

the novel, whose heroes are historical figures and our contemporaries, personal drama overlaps dramatic historical events. Bajac was also awarded the prestigious international literary award “Balkanika” for the best book published in the Balkans in 2007 and 2008, and the “Isidora Sekulić” award for the book of the year in Serbia. Hamam Balkans, has been published in four editions in the Serbian language to date, and this year it will be translated into Greek, Macedonian, German, Norwegian, Turkish, and Albanian.

VLADISLAV BAJAC’S NOVEL IS A THRILLING AND WELL THOUGHT OUT STORY SET OVER TWO HISTORIC PERIODS AND COVERING HEROES DIVIDED BETWEEN TWO IDENTITIES

SERBIA AS A FILM DESTINATION The Serbian Film Association (SFA) promoted Serbia as a film destination for shooting foreign production projects at this year’s film festival in Cannes

he SFA participated in the “Marche du Film” film market and in the “Production Network”, at the Cannes Film Festival. Prior to this promotion, the SFA, with the help of the USAID Competitiveness Project, has twice presented itself at the Santa Monica Fair, organized by the International Association of Film Commissions for the last 25 years. At the Cannes Festival, Serbia’s direct opponents were Jordan (where The Hurt Locker was filmed two years ago) and Morocco (where the filming of a hit sequel to Sex and the City has just finished). Countries from our region - the Czech Republic, Hungary, and for the first time Croatia - were also present.

DADO ĐURIĆ EXHIBITION An exhibition of drawings, skicen blocks and engravings of famous Montenegrin artist Miodrag Dado Đurić was opened on 11th May at the HAOS Gallery

ith this exhibition, HAOS Gallery marks its 15-year anniversary since being founded by art historian Borka Božović in 1995. The exhibition at HAOS is the second retrospective exhibition in Đurić’s lifetime. It was opened by the HAOS Gallery director, Borka Božović, ministers of culture from Serbia and Montenegro, and the artist’s daughter Janica Đurić. Miodrag Dado Đurić was born in Cetinje in 1933, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, and then in 1956 went to France, where he still lives and works. His works are found in major museums, galleries, and public and private collections. Đurić is one of the most significant painters of our times, and numerous art critics have compared him to the most original and most significant painters of today, and he is certainly among the most significant artists from this area. “The art of Dado Đurić is not seen enough in Serbia, although among admirers and professionals, the value of Dado’s signature style has been long recognised,” Serbian minister of culture, Nebojša Bradić, said at the opening.

Apart from presentations at the fair, the SFA organized meetings with producers of independent companies, and also with larger studios such as Universal, Fox, CBS, Walden Media, Columbia, and Dream Works. During its presentation at Cannes, the SFA tried to convey a clear and positive message about the film sector in Serbia, as a means to stimulate international production in Serbia. According to the SFA, there is a significant increase in interest in Serbia as a new destination. Last year, Serbia was visited by foreign producers looking for locations for projects worth over $360 million. It is expected the Serbian government will introduce measures to attract foreign film and television productions to Serbia, with the potential to employ more than 4,000 film workers and thousands more of those working in other areas of the economy which supports film productions, such as catering, the timber and textile industry and transport.

DURING ITS PRESENTATION AT CANNES, THE SFA TRIED TO CONVEY A CLEAR AND POSITIVE MESSAGE ABOUT THE FILM SECTOR IN SERBIA

ĐURIĆ IS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PAINTERS OF OUR TIMES, AND NUMEROUS ART CRITICS HAVE COMPARED HIM TO THE MOST ORIGINAL AND MOST SIGNIFICANT PAINTERS OF TODAY

Borka Božović pointed out that this smaller retrospective of Đurić’s opus presents works from several phases - from his earliest childhood and youth, from the time he left for Paris, from the 80s, and all the way to his most recent works completed before his release from hospital. “This exhibition should be nothing more than an inducement for a much greater and more significant one about this remarkable painter. Belgrade has not seen anything from his lavish opus. In fact, it has seen only what was offered by certain interested collectors, who organized smaller exhibitions without the artist’s consent. The French Cultural Centre organized a small exhibition titled The Light of Darkness, mostly of graphics borrowed from the Ljubljana gallery,” Visconti Božović said. An exclusive part of the exhibition at the HAOS Gallery is the series titled Crowned Heads, Đurić’s take on portraits of great men from French history books, represented in a humorous way. The painter used paintings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Catherine de Medici, Nicolaus Copernicus, Maria Theresia, to mention just a few. “In these works, he makes fun of all those who are considered great. This is the symbolism of Dado’s view of power,” Borka Božović said. The exhibition of Dado Đurić at HAOS Gallery (3 Dositejeva Street) will be open until 11th July.

CorD 72 / June 2010 63

RENAISSANCE ENSEMBLE

FILM PREMIERES SEX AND THE CITY 2 Sava Centre, Great Hall June 1st, 18.30 and 21.00

CLASSICAL MUSIC ROBERT SCHUMANN GALA CONCERT, BICENTENARY OF BIRTH June 8th City Hall, 20:00 Pianists: SARA VUJADINOVIĆ, JELENA DIMOVSKA Piano Duo: DEJAN SUBOTIĆ & TEA DIMITRIJEVIĆ

CONCERTS IN KOLARAC HALL Directed by Michael Patrick King Cast - Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, Chris Noth

WORLD MUSIC DAY CHOIR - KRSMNOVIC- OBILIC June 21st, 20:00 Conductor: Darinka Matic- Marovic

PRINCE OF PERSIA Sava Centre, Great Hall June 2nd, 20.30 Director- Mike Newell Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance Cast - Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Sheik Amar

TOY STORY 3 Sava Centre, Great Hall June 13th, 19.00 Directed by Lee Unkrich Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy Voices - Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton, Joan Cusack, Tim Allen, Whoopi Goldberg.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET Starts: June 17th

RUSSIAN SOUL June 27th, 20:30 Piotr Sergeivich Glubokij - bass Svetlana Efimova - piano Program - Russian songs

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA All concerts are in Kolarac Hall Great Hall at 20:00 June 4th, 2010 White Cycle Conductor: Lothar Zagrosek Soloist: Denys Proshayev, piano Program: R. Strauss: Don Juan R. Schumann: Piano concerto L. van Beethoven: Symphony No. 8

The City of Belgrade Prize Winner for 2009 Saturday, June 5th at 20:00, Kolarac Hall Middle Ages – Renaissance - Baroque

CONCERTS AT GUARNERIUS ART CENTRE TAKASHI NAKAMURA,TENOR AND MOTOKO KOIZUMI, (Japan) piano Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 20:00 SPIRIT OF JAPAN IN BELGRADE

WORLD MUSIC CRISTINA BRANCO June 10th, 20:00 / Kolarac, Great Hall Tour of the Album KRONOS Cristina Branco born in 1972 is a Portuguese musician. She was originally

BILJA KRSTIĆ & BISTRIK June 21st, 21:00 Sava Centre, Great Hall

June 11th, 2010

Directed by Samuel Bayer Horror Cast - Jackie Earle Haley, Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner

BACKUP PLAN Starts: June 24th Directed by Alan Poul Romantic comedy Cast - Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin 64 CorD 72 / June 2010

Blue Cycle Conductor: Daniel Raiskin Soloist: Daniel Muller-Schott, violoncello Program: P. I. Tchaikovsky: The Voyevoda A. Dvorak: Violoncello concerto C. Franck: Symphony in D minor

18th June, 2010 White cycle Conductor: Max Pommer Soloist: Radek Baborak, French horn Program: W. A. Mozart: Symphony No. 36 (Linz) R. Strauss: Horn concerto No. 1 J. Brahms: Symphony No. 4

World Music Day The music performed by Bilja Krstić is a fusion, blend of traditional ethno music, a-capella songs and ethno grooves with elements of improvisation and a modern music approach.

drawn to jazz and other forms of Portuguese music before finally opting for fado. Branco continues to work on her fado repertory, accompanied by Custódio Castelo on guitar and as composer.

ROCK & POP ROGER SANCHEZ June 5th / Kalemegdan Fortress

ERIC CLAPTON June 9th, Belgrade Arena Eric Patrick Clapton is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo performer, as well as a member of rock bands the Yardbirds and Cream. Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time, Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

MASSIVE ATTACK June 25th Belgrade Arena

Roger Sanchez (born in 1967, in New York) is a Grammy award-winning, American house music DJ who has scored many hits on the European and World Charts.

Massive Attack are a collaborative British music production duo from Bristol. Working alongside co-producers, various favoured session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be progenitors of the trip-hop genre.

ART

BOB DYLAN June 6th Belgrade Arena Bob Dylan is an American singersongwriter and musician. He has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was at first an informal chronicler, and later an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest. Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres, exploring numerous distinct traditions in American song - from folk, blues, country, gospel, rock and roll and rockabilly to English, Scottish and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing.

UŠĆE FEST June 19th-21st, Belgrade Billy Idol, Bajaga, Vlado Georgiev, Severina

women and mythological transformation. Directed by Aleksandar Popovski The cast: Nebojša Glogovac, Goran Šušljik, Nikola Đuričko, Radovan Vujović, Jelena Djokić, Tamara Vučković, Marija Vicković, Daniela Štajnfeld, Dalia Aćin, Luka Lukić Darko Bursać and Ana Dubljević.

MUSICAL MAMMA MIA Belgrade Arena June 29th – July 11th

DEJAN ATANACKOVIC: GERMAN CLASSES - Photography, Objects and Video The ARTGET Gallery, Belgrade Cultural Centre Until June 8th The photo objects, made in the technique of digital printing, then applied to wooden boards, represent the portraits of members of the German minority that lived in the former Yugoslavia. Dejan Atanackovic was born in Belgrade in 1969. He graduated from painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.

THEATRE YUGOSLAV DRAMA THEATRE OVIDIE - METAMORPHOSES Premieres in June Publius Ovid Nazon was one of the greatest poets of Roman literature. His main themes were love, abandoned

ELTON JOHN June 3rd, Belgrade Arena Sir Elton Hercules John, (born in 1947) is an English singersongwriter, composer and pianist. In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single “Candle in the Wind” from 1997 has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the best selling single of all time. He has more than 50 Top-40 hits, and has won five Grammy awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award.

Mamma Mia! is musical that originated in London and is based on the songs of ABBA - a Swedish pop/dance group active from 1972–1982 and one of the most internationally popular pop groups of all time, repeatedly topping the charts in Europe, North America and Australia.

ANNUAL EVENTS BELGRADE DESIGN WEEK 2010 May 29th - June 5th Belgrade Design Week (BDW) is set to bring over 30 of the world’s most noted design names, under the SMART2 conference part of BDW2010. Coming from fields of design, architecture, branding and advertising these leading global experts will share their knowledge with the BDW audience at the SMART2 days. PLUS workshops, exhibitions, parties... www.belgradedesignweek.com CorD 72 / June 2010 65

THEATRE DR MILIVOJE MLADJENOVIC, DIRECTOR OF THE STERIJINO POZORJE THEATRE FESTIVAL IN NOVI SAD

TESTED VALUES AND “It is necessary to internationalize our greatest and most signiﬁcant festival in terms of connecting our drama aspirations and thoughts with the world”, says festival director of Sterijino Pozorje

whom this festival represents his theatre-life and life as a whole in Serbia. Affirmation of domestic texts, that is, plays created using domestic texts, has been the mission of this festival for the past 55 years. Will this basic role of Pozorje be honoured in the future? Affirmation of domestic drama text is the primary and foremost role of Pozorje. I cannot agree with the objections of certain individuals that the mission of Pozorje has changed. Let me remind you, Pozorje is not just a festival – it is an institution – founded with the intent of supporting the development of drama literature. The evidence can be seen in the open competition for the domestic drama text that we run every year with a very tempting cash prize and we also facilitate the presentation of the winning play in one of our theatres. The theatre magazine Scena also supports domestic drama, and it publishes the work of our writers and it is issued in English each year during the festival.

By Zorica Todorovic MIRKOVIC

he Sterijino Pozorje Theatre Festival in Novi Sad is celebrating its 55th birthday. The audience of this year’s festival will have the opportunity to see seventeen plays: seven were selected by Ana Tasic for the national drama selection; five were selected for the national theatre by Aleksandra Glavicki; and five were selected by Nikola Zavisic for the “Other You” international programme. We talked about the mission and future of Pozorje with the director of this theatrical institution, Dr. Milivoje Mladjenovic, for

REPERTOIRE The selection of domestic drama consists of: “Barbelo, about Dogs and Children” (Biljana Srbljanović/Paolo Mangeli, Gavela Theatre, Zagreb); “Ship for Puppets” (Milena Marković/ Aleksandar Popovski, Slovenan National Theatre, Ljubljana);

66 CorD 72 / June 2010

“General Rehearsal of Suicide” (Dušan Kovačević/Nurulah Tunjer, Istanbul City Theatre); “Banović Strahinja” (Borislav Mihajlović Mihiz/Andras Urban, National Theatre from Subotica); “Orange Peel” (Maja Pelević/ Kokan Mladenović, Novi Sad Theatre – Ujvideki Szinhaz, Novi Sad); “The Waiting Room” (Branko

Since its foundation until today, the festival has changed a lot. Do you feel that the claims of some critics that Pozorje lost its identity are too exaggerated? The wider theatre public rejects the tendencies of certain important theatre authorities, who believe that Pozorje should exclusively be a festival of domestic drama. The identity of Pozorje has certainly not been violated. It has been tested on several occasions, first after the dissolution of Yugoslavia after Dimitrijević/Boris Liješević, Atellier 212, Beograd); “Sardiny” (Istvan Besedes /Andras Urban, “Kostolany Dezso“Theatre, Subotica). The selection of national theatre consists of: “Dundo Maroje” by Marin Držić, directed by Kokan Mladenović, Kruševac Theatre; “Hair“; “Drama about Mirjana

and Those Around Her” after the text of Ivor Martinić, directed by Iva Milošević, Yugoslav Drama Theatre; “Bahantkinje” a play from the Belgrade National Theatre, directed by Stefan Valdemar Holm; “Nora” after the text written by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Predrag Štrbac, National Theatre from Sombor.

NEW IDEAS it lost its title of the Yugoslav Theatre Festival. Then with the dissolution of the union between Serbia and Montenegro, the area for theatre activities was reduced to only the territory of Serbia. We concluded at this point that our drama literature was too small in volume to justify a seven-day festival every year, with seven attractive drama plays made after the texts of our writers.Thus we agreed that Pozorje should become the festival of the best plays of domestic theatres plus domestic drama texts. Then we added “Circles Selection” and former director Ivan Medenica clearly emphasized that the plays from this selection would directly deal with the problems that we share with our neighbours and Europe. It worked along these lines for two years. What happened then? The concept of Pozorje was violated last year by the former director and the festival was inappropriately presented on a much grander scale than was necessary. It tried to be spectacular and that bothered some theatre critics, and that is where the theatre identity was lost. We have returned Pozorje to what it used to be, and the main repertoire now includes only 12 plays, not 20 or more than that. Did Pozorje get closer to BITEF and to what degree? BITEF is a theatre festival of modern tendencies; however, it often happens that some plays by domestic writers exhibit the traits of new, experimental theatre and thus they show up in Pozorje and BITEF. It is possible that some people see a “bitefization” of Sterijino Pozorje through its connection with the rest of the world; however, we must realize that it is necessary to internationalize Pozorje, our greatest and most significant festival, in terms of connecting our drama aspirations and thoughts with the world. It is possible that the defenders of the traditional theatre model, those who only recognize conventional and traditional plays, see the “bitefization” of Pozorje in every variance of directing and production. However, this is just a matter of freshness because, today, even our national theatres are dictated to, to include works that are not the products of traditional theatre production.

FUTURE PLANS What will be the future of this festival? We are very ambitious. I dream and fantasize about Pozorje’s having its own production centre, hall and repertoire, just like BITEF. That would be the most important achievement of Pozorje and also a fulfilment of Jovan Sterija Popovic’s dreams (the man this festival was named after): to create in Novi Sad, a Serbian Athens, a theatre with a unique repertoire made exclusively from domestic works of drama. Sterijino Pozorje must reflect the theatre season – our authors, the theatres, new plays and our classic. How do you assess this year’s selection, considering that there have already been critics commenting that the national drama selection only includes a couple of plays in Serbian? The critics and “theatrologists” have the right to give their opinion and it is the selectors who must defend their selection. People in Serbia speak and write in different languages. I personally believe that the critic’s objections are unfounded. The fact that the audience is able to see plays in different languages speaks volumes about our culture. After all, we are a multilingual country.

Afﬁrmation of domestic drama text is the primary and foremost role of Pozorje

What is new compared to previous festivals? The novelty is that we want to bring back tried and tested things. We have reduced the festival to an appropriate level. I am not sure about the “national drama and national theatre” formula either, so we will test that model once more. We have great drama writers, but the production is often “thin” and thus we cannot force domestic drama at any cost because we could get a false picture of ourselves.

The 55th Pozorje has announced its supporting programme. Are there any novelties in it? In addition to the main programme, I would like to mention the Round Table of critics, the Youth Pozorje (where the academies and drama schools from Serbia and Republika Srpska are presented), the 13th Triennial of Theatre Posters and Graphic Design, as well as the Traditional Exhibition of masks, puppets and costumes. We will also present the Croatian Theatre Portal – Teatar HR.

Has the State supported Sterijino Pozorje and in what way? There is never enough money for the theatre! The infamous economic crisis has affected us too this year. We were aware of it however, and have adjusted accordingly. This year’s budget of 25.000.000 RSD is half of last year’s budget. Our founder, the city of Novi Sad, has secured almost half of the assets, and the province and Serbian Ministry of Culture have participated almost equally. Of course, we also have the support of our numerous sponsors and friends of the festival. CorD 72 / June 2010 67

LIFESTYLE & LEISURE

HUNTING

PARADISE Hunting areas in Serbia are amongst some of the most famous in Europe. The natural environment in this part of the world provides ideal breeding conditions, and means a large number of game can be found here. This fact is reďŹ&#x201A;ected in the vast number of high-level trophies won by locals, and the high number of world and European hunting experts who hail from Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hunting areas. Serbia has some 321 hunting grounds spread over approximately 6.500.000 hectares. The Serbian Hunting association determines the prices of hunts, upon which hunting organizations and travel agencies specialized in hunting tourism, create hunting trips which include transfers, accommodation and hunting services

68 CorD 72 / June 2010

erbia is an appealing country for hunting and has Morović. Below is a list of what is on offer in this “hunta great variety of game available including red er’s paradise”. deer, roe deer, fallow deer, mouflon (a type of wild Deli Jovan hunting ground lies within the Djerdap sheep), fox, jackal, wild boar, hare, pheasant, parNational Park and is accessible from the towns of Negotin tridge, chamois and wild duck. It is important to and Gornji Milanovac. Game found here includes deer, wild note that lynx, bear, wolf, wild horse and all species of falboar, hare, pheasant and partridge. con and eagle are permanently protected in Serbia. Hunting activities are well Južni Kučaj lies 250 km organized. All hunting grounds WILDLIFE from Belgrade and its closare easily accessible and have est town is Ćuprija, where an organized hunting service Mammals: European deer, fallow deer, roe deer, chamaccommodation is available that can provide guidance and ois, mouflon, wild boar, bear, marten, badger, musk rat, in a local hotel. Game found accommodation in either huntsquirrel, grey dormouse, rabbit, weasel, wolf, wildcat, here includes deer, fallow ing lodges or hotels. jackal, fox, skunk. deer, wild boar and pheasant. The most famous hunting Birds: Grey heron, wild goose, wild ducks, partridges, Apatin hunting ground grounds in Serbia are Deli wild hen, quail, pheasant, black hen, woodcock, wild pilies in Vojvodina by the rivJovan, Južni Kučaj, Apatin, geon, wild dove, turtledove, jay, black crow, magpie. er Danube, 160 km north of Karadjordjevo, Kozara and

CorD 72 / June 2010 69

LIFESTYLE & LEISURE

For those who prefer to observe rather than hunt wild animals, the Carska Bara Swamp and the Obedska Bara Bog are just the places to be seen Belgrade. The closest town is Apatin, and accommodation is available at Makarske Livade Hunting Lodge. Game found here includes deer, roe deer, wild duck and wild goose.

Karadjordjevo spreads along the left bank of the Danube in the Vojvodina some 160 km from Belgrade. For centuries it served as a hunting ground for royalty and statesmen, and has only recently opened to the public. Accommodation facilities include the luxury “Dijana” country house and the “Vranjak” bungalows. Game found 70 CorD 72 / June 2010

here includes red deer, fallow deer (210 points), white tailed deer, wild boar (137 points), roe deer, badger (24 points world champion), hare, mouflon (242 points - world champion), pheasant, wild goose and wild duck.

KOZARA, hunting ground of Backi Monotor (Vojvodina) Located in the Vojvodina, close to Apatin, and next to Hungary and Croatia, this is the most famous hunting ground of all ex-Yugoslavia – once frequented by Hungarian aristocrats, and later by communist leaders. It covers an area of 11.764 hectares. For a period of 27 years, Kozara was at the top of the world for stag hunting, with trophies totalling 248,55 points CIC. Other game on offer includes wild boar, roe deer and wild duck.

Morović hunting ground is a well forested area, some 100km west of Belgrade in the Vojvodina. Accommodation is available in hunting loges and bungalows in the hunt-

WHEN IS HUNTING IS ALLOWED? EUROPEAN DEER Buck and calf: from 01st August to 15th February. Doe: from 16th August to 1st February FALLOW DEER Buck: from 16th September to 1st February Doe and calf: from 1st October to 1st February. WILD BOAR Boar: from 1st May to 1st February Sow: from 1st July to 1st February RABBIT From 16th October to 15th December. Between the period of 16th December to 31st December only the capturing of live rabbits is allowed. WILD GOOSE Hunting is allowed throughout the year, except in the area of Vojvodina in the period between 1st October to 15th February. WILD DUCK From 1st September to 15th February PARTRIDGE From 16th October to 1st December. QUAIL From 1st August to 1st October PHEASANT From 16th October to 15th January. Hunting is allowed in open hunting areas only. WILD PIGEON From 1st August to 1st February. TURTLEDOVE From 1st August to 1st October, except the territory of AP Kosovo and Metohija.

ing ground itself. Most of the wildlife that lives in Serbia can be found in this hunting ground, but it is best known for its abundance of deer. For those who prefer to observe rather than hunt wild animals, the Carska Bara Swamp and the Obedska Bara Bog are just the places to be seen.

National Park Of Tara In Western Serbia, near Bosnia-HerzĂŠgovine, along the Drina River, and 162km from Belgrade, is the splendid Tara National Park. Consisting of 19.175 hectares, it boasts two mountain peaks - Stolac at 1.673m and Zboriste at 1.544m. Abundant flora and fauna can be found here including bears (weighing up to 250kg), chamois, wolves, foxes, wild boars and hedgehogs. One can also see alpine trees up to 150 years old, and more than 1.000 different species of flowers

Nova Varos (Western Serbia) In the extreme south-west of Serbia is the area of Nova Varos. It is located between Zlatar Mountain (which is covered by conifers), and three beautiful lakes (in particular Lake Radojinsko at an altitude of 810 m, and Lake Zlatar). It is a paradise for hunters and fishermen. Here you can hunt

deer, fox, wild boar and wolves, and fish for wild trout, carp and various other river fish.

Soko Banja (Eastern Serbia) Well known for its thermal spa, Soko Banja, in Eastern Serbia, is also a favourite location for hunters and fishermen. Good trout fishing can be had on the 54km-long Moravica River, with trout weighing up to 3kg. In this park of 52.000 hectares, one can hunt pheasants, rabbits, wild ducks, stags, foxes and goats. Accommodation is available in a small wooden house for hunters. CorD 72 / June 2010 71

TECHNO TALK |

DANIEL ROTH - ATHYS MOON

Price: €23.725

hat’s the point of admiring the moon on your watch if the mechanism designed to reproduce its cycles is not accurate? After two years of development, the master-watchmakers at Daniel Roth are responding to this question with a new timepiece that is enriching the Athys line and will require no adjustment for the next 125 years: hence its name, Athys Moon 2134.

IWC - PORTUGUESE PERPETUAL CALENDAR

CITIZEN COSMOSIGN CTV57 1231 CAMPAGNOLA-2

Price: €191.620

Price: €175.200

he manufacturer has treated the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, its specialist for long calendar periods, to a gentle facelift and an extension to the model range: two new variants in red gold and two in white gold increase the variety of models on offer. Technically, there was nothing left to improve. The perpetual calendar, invented 25 years ago, lives on here in all its original complexity and genius – in conjunction with an IWC-manufactured large movement from the 50000-calibre family with a seven-day power reserve.

well known collector sold every watch he owned and now owns a substantial collection of only one brand - Campanola from Citizen. Essentially Campanola is Citizen’s Toyota Lexus - luxury watchmaking with the distinctive Japanese tradition towards perfection. Functions include: display age and quick reference constellation position, 35-degree latitude sky view constellations, and sun position.

FRANCK MULLER AETERNITAS MEGA 4

Price: €1.971.000

he challenge for the Master Watchmakers of Genthod was enormous: how to embed all the complications known to this day in a watch that was designed to be worn. The Aeternitas movement served as a base, while the Mega 4 represents the apotheosis of the art of watchmaking with its grand and small Westminster chime striking-work, the only one available on the market with a tourbillon visible on the dial.

JAEGER LECOULTRE - GRAND COMPLICATION

Price: €1.825.000

ith the new Grand Complication watch in the Master Grand Tradition series, Jaeger-LeCoultre again demonstrates its attachment to its horological roots as well as its drive to bring watchmaking in line with the latest in research and development. The watch incorporates three complications that elegantly mingle homological history with cutting edge technology: a minute repeater, a flying tourbillon and a zodiac calendar – each a highly regarded complication in its own right and all constructed according to the latest of watchmaking standards and combined through the romantic soul given by true horologists, whose work is deeply rooted in their art. This is the first time that Jaeger-LeCoultre is presenting a Grande Complication within the Master Grande Tradition line. 72 CorD 72 / June 2010

VINCENT BÉRARD: LUVORENE 2

Price: contact manufacturer

he name LUVORENE represents an anagram of Revolune that stands for three French words reve, lune and revolution translated as dream, moon, and revolution. As Watches.InfoNIAC.com found out, the LUVORENE I wristwatch was inspired by the brand’s Quatre Saisons carriage clocks. The timekeeping creation stands out due to the form of its casing – it is round and domed, with the bulge on the side – a form actually inspired by a section of a column of Strasbourg Cathedral.

EBEL - 1911 BTR QP PINK GOLD

CHOPARD MILLE MIGLIA GT XL CHRONOGRAPH LIMITED EDITION WATCH

Price: contact manufacturer

Price: €7.725

ere is a watch that for some is the holy grail of Chopard Mille Miglia watches. It combines just about everything that people like from the timepiece collection, and on top of that is a limited edition of only 500 pieces. The case is the GT XL style, meaning it is 44mm wide, and has cool integrated chronograph pushers and crown guards. The watch case is super tough being steel coated with DLC (diamond like carbon). It is also luxurious having an 18k rose gold bezel, chronograph pushers, hands on the dial, and crown.

or lovers of contemporary architecture and devotees of mechanical watchmaking – including many who are proud to be both – Ebel introduces a stunningly inspired pink gold version of its 1911 BTR Perpetual Calendar Chronograph, issued in an exclusive limited edition of 200. The spectacular face of this new landmark creation is strongly reminiscent of contemporary architectural achievements such as modern art museums with their large bay windows amid a metal frame creating an alternating pattern of glass and steel.

BULOVA - ACCUTRON

Price: contact manufacturer

ith a blend of cosmopolitan design and superior craftsmanship, Bulova Accutron, the global luxury brand of the Bulova Corporation, will be offering an expanded selection of rugged, yet sophisticated, Swiss made men’s sport watches for Autumn 2009, in both mechanical and quartz versions, including high-performance strap models in the Kirkwood and Eagle Pilot Collections. Providing two views of its 26-jewel self-winding, mechanical movement, with an on-dial aperture and exhibition case back, a meticulously detailed design from the Kirkwood Collection offers such sport essentials as an unidirectional turning bezel ring, luminous hands and markers, and water resistance to 100 meters, plus the reliability of a screw-down crown and screw-back case.

CorD 72 / June 2010 73

TECHNO TALK |

CHANEL WHITE J12

Price: €5.720

ith a pronounced identity free from Baroque excess or aesthetic extravagance, the J12 is a sober example of elegance to wear on the wrist. It has become a manifesto of Chanel style and one of the most iconic objects of the 21st century. The J12 also evokes the marine panache of yacht-racing and the graphic codes of luxury automobiles. It is inspired by sport and has a watchmaking vocation, with a strong taste for mechanical superiority and the transgression of jewellery codes. Whether in deepest black or immaculate white, the J12 Collection has been reinventing itself every year since 2000.

BREGUET - LE PETIT TRIANON

PIAGET - LIMELIGHT TWICE

Price: €13.400

he Le Petit Trianon jewellery evokes the estate of the same name, situated on the grounds of the Palais de Versailles. A stunning emerald-cut diamond centerpiece sums up the discreet splendor of the Petit Trianon itself, (Marie-Antoinette’s beloved refuge from the constraints of court life), gracefully linked by bows set with princess-cut diamonds to a dazzling diamond rivière meant to recall the glory of Versailles.

Price: €43.350

iaget loves playing with luxury designs, and when they come out with these amazing designs, you can’t help but fall in love with them. The Piaget Limelight reversible watch has two complete dials, each with its own Piaget 56P quartz movement that is independently adjustable. Theoretically you have a watch with two timezones as well. The watch case is in 18k white gold with a “hidden” time adjuster for each movement.

LEON HATOT - HEARBREAKER

Price: contact manufacturer

s if conjugated in the past, present and future, time comes in three shades at Léon Hatot: black, silver and chocolate. Three versions of the Heartbreaker all highlight its self-winding movement “trapped” within a heart. This heart beats to the rhythm of the counters and pounds wildly on women’s wrists, making it easy to follow and measure the palpitations of time. And to set the finishing touch to this enchanting model, Léon Hatot has adorned the bracelet with a heartshaped buckle that also casts its spell on time.

HARRY WINSTON - OCEAN LADY MOON PHASE

Price: contact manufacturer

trong and sophisticated, the 36mm case is exquisitely crafted in white or rose gold, and set with 57 brilliant diamonds around the bezel. Enhancing the sporty sensibility, the slightly oversized shape case ensures better visibility of dial details, including date indication. An intricate moon phase motif lends a decidedly feminine touch, while highlighting the exquisite craftsmanship of the dial. Reflecting Harry Winston’s signature style, the dial is hand-set with 195 sparkling diamonds and elegant mother-of-pearl, for a pure, luminous finish. Diamond buckle details add an unexpected touch to a technical rubber strap, completing its cool, everyday appeal. 74 CorD 72 / June 2010

JAQUET DROZ - L’HEURE CÉLESTE

Price: €27.160

xuberant, sleek, elegant, and ultra-feminine, L’Heure Céleste rises with virtuosity to authentic technical challenges and reaches out to embrace infinity, the ultimate dream of all mankind. Rewriting some of the basic rules of watchmaking design, L’Heure Céleste is endowed with a highly innovative sapphire crystal that liberates it from the graphic constraints imposed by a bezel. This special crystal enables natural light to illuminate the magnificent dial display from unusual angles and to stress the interplay of volumes imagined by the craftsmen thmeselves.

RADO - INTEGRAL GLITTER

Price: €3.650

ll that glitters will keep glorious gold-standard time on your happy wrist with a RADO Integral Jubile Watch. Shown is the gold hitech ceramic model with 64 diamonds (58 diamonds on the case, mirror dial with six diamonds) and titanium buckle. Naturally, it’s from Switzerland.

TISSOT - CLASSIC PRINCE IN ROSE GOLD

Price: contact manufacturer

ew Tissot Classic Prince timepieces share memories of an arduous journey between Russia and Le Locle, Switzerland in 1917. A wristwatch sold to an important diplomat in Russia in 1916 and sent to Tissot for maintenance and safekeeping at the outbreak of the revolution a year later, inspires today’s range. The contemporary Tissot Classic Prince watches vividly recreate Art Deco style, integrating 18-carat rose gold and a mechanical movement protected by a screw-down case. These new Tissot Classic Prince limited editions have all it takes to turn into tomorrow’s treasures.

FREDERIQUE CONSTANT-LOVE-HEARTBEAT

Price: €500

he Frédérique Constant brand was created 20 years ago by Peter Stas and his wife. The couple were passionate about watches, and wanted to create a business related to their hobby. Not surprisingly the company slogan is: Live your passion. In 2001, the company worked in collaboration with the Dutch watchmaker’s school and the watchmaking and engineering schools in Geneva to develop the first Frédérique Constant movement. All the technical and design elements are created in 3D software, then, other than highly specialized elements such as the spiral, they are cut, assembled and finished in the brand’s manufactory at Plan-les-Ouates.

CorD 72 / June 2010 75

LEISURE

A TOUCH OF ISTRIA

An experience of traditional Istrian food at the famous Šaran Restaurant in Zemun

By Jelena MICKIĆ Photo Časlav VUKOJIČIĆ

f you’re a lover of fresh Mediterranean food, then olive oil, truffles, seafood and malvazija will make your heart skip a beat. This fare is the cornerstone of Istrian cuisine, a new culinary trend in the region. An increasingly popular gastro and holiday destination, Istria is a gem to be (re)discovered. My personal journey began on a holiday two years ago and continued the other day at Days of Istrian Cuisine at Šaran in Zemun. This restaurant is well known for its fish dishes and the traditional winter event Days of Hvar Cuisine, when Belgraders and their guests are able to taste and enjoy the flavours of the Adriatic. This spring, Šaran hosted another gastro

76 CorD 72 / June 2010

event where guests were able to learn more about another culinary gem, this time, Istrian cuisine. Drawing influences from Italy to Austria and Hungary, this northwest Croatian region, settled partly on the Adriatic Coast, prides itself on being the gastronomic heart of the country. Our gastro evening began with a liqueur aperitif, a domestic istarska travarica (herb brandy) made from hand-picked herbal plants. A distinctive chestnut-brown in colour, slightly sweet to taste and mild in alcohol, this aperitif was a fine taste-budopener. The dish that followed was a plate of oil-marinated sardines with cream and a pea and bacon spread on toasted bread topped with dash of premium quality extra virgin olive oil. The lightness and mildness of the spread perfectly complemented the sharp saltiness of the sardines. The next dish presented was a perfectly light and fluffy gnocchi in a cream sauce with shaved black truffles. This dish was spot on - the textures were just right and the creaminess of the sauce and gentle flavour of truffles accentuated the delicacy of the gnocchi. The perfect wine to accompany this dish was malvazija. Brought to Istria from Venice in the 14th century, malvazija is the pride of Istrian wine makers. It is a white grape variety grown historically in this region, and is responsible for rejuvenating the Istrian wine making industry. The malvazija we tasted was from one of the best Croatian wine makers - the Kozlovic winery. With a discrete flowery, fruity scent and aroma and a very light flavour, this wine is the perfect accompaniment for dishes of delicate flavours. The last dish of the evening comprised of a perfectly medium-rare ministeak, a polenta slice topped with rucola, shaved parmesan and olive oil. The meat was juicy and soft, and this dish was the perfect morsel with which to complete our meal. I have to commend the chefs for a great combination of flavours, a clear and straightforward concept and excellent execution. What we

Wild asparagus, sole (a fish that is highly appreciated in restaurants all over continental Europe), and truffles (black and more delicate and expensive white truffles), are some of the unique features of this regions produce

got to taste that night was a very palatable pleasure: fresh ingredients, simple recipes and delicious food made with joy and pride. What makes Istria a truly unique travel and holiday experience is the variety of regional gastronomy, authentic meals and contemporary local cuisine one can experience in traditional konobas and fine dining restaurants. Wild asparagus, sole (a fish that is highly appreciated in restaurants all over continental Europe), and truffles (black and more delicate and expensive white truffles), are some of the unique features of this regions produce. In order to help their guests experience all the pleasures and comforts of the region, the Istrian tourist board, big and small hoteliers, as well as restaurant owners and produce manufacturers have joined forces and come up with an offer packed with excitement, flavour, taste and sun. Visitors have an admirable choice of trendy boutique hotels, private villas and large hotel-chains to stay in. A new and luxurious addition to this offer is Kempinski Golf and Spa Hotel - the only hotel from the Kempinski chain in Croatia - located in Savudrija. Opened in 2009, this brand new, luxurious accommodation provides its guests with the highest level of service and comfort combined with spa and golf resort amenities. Anxiously awaiting the 2012 opening of Kempinski Belgrade, I spoke to Ms. Fiorela Morozin, the general manager’s assistant at Kempinski Savudrija. Being a luxurious hotel, Kempinski Savudrija offers the highest standard of service and satisfaction. Guests can relax and enjoy themselves in the modern and spacious (3,000 square metre) spa centre. There is also the option of a game of golf - an increasingly popular sport in the region - as the hotel has its own eighteen-hole golf course that fulfils the highest criteria and is also used for professional golf tournaments. For recreational golf players there is a golf academy and classes where one can advance their

playing skills. To maximize the enjoyment of their guests, the hotel has three restaurants with delicious meals on offer that take full advantage of the abundant, locally grown fresh produce available. In addition to the superb hotel amenities, there are inspirational day trips on offer that take visitors down flavour-rich wine and olive oil routes, as well as along picturesque cobbled streets of stone cities. Nestled on a hill is Motovun, famous for its summer film festival dedicated to short films and independent productions. Groznjan is a town dedicated to art, and also hosts the International Cultural Centre of Young Musicians - the towns’ streets are fulfilled with galleries and artists’ studios. Finally there is Zminj, well known for being a tiny place with a town status. As for the origins of guests to Kempinski, most come from Austria, Northern Italy and Germany, but there is also an increasing number of visitors from the former Yugoslavian region. Spring and early autumn are popular with golfers, and the off-season is a popular time for company seminars that are held in the hotel. Summer is the favourite season for individual travellers who appreciate comfort, high quality service and who want to visit note-worthy historical and natural attractions, and enjoy a unique gastro offering that Istria is understandably proud off.

Drawing inﬂuences from Italy to Austria and Hungary, this northwest Croatian region, settled partly on the Adriatic coast, prides itself on being the gastronomic heart of the country

Destination An increasingly popular gastro and holiday destination, Istria is a gem to be (re)discovered CorD 72 / June 2010 77

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MARTINI VESTO IS AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS Belgrade: Masarikova 5, 011 33 33 677 TC piramida Jurija Gagarina 149a, lokal 50, 011 21 66 388 Trg Nikole Pašića 8, 011 32 31 116 80 CorD 72 / June 2010

Niš: TPC Kalča, lokal 91, 018 25 91 12 TPC Kalča, lokal 41, 064 8634351 Merkator, Vizantijski bulevar1, 018 20 69 99 Obrenovićeva 21, 018 25 01 98

Kruševac: TC Fontana bb, 037 42 21 95 Vece Gorčanina 33, 037 4423 58

Kragujevac: Karadjordjeva 17/1 Save Kovačevića 48/38a Glavna 72

Leskovac: J. Brigada 51, 016 24 23 76 B. Oslobodjenja bb, 016 21 58 27 CorD 72 / June 2010 81

profile

Nothing is Out of Reach Sales and Marketing Manager of passenger cars at Mercedes-Benz Srbija i Crna Gora, Milovan Devic believes that a person can reach even the most difﬁcult goals by putting in a lot of love and effort

“T

he secret of success is reflected in the situation where a man does what he likes, and I’ve really had a lot of luck and experience in order to achieve that,” says Milovan Devic (36), Sales and Marketing Manager of passenger cars at Mercedes-Benz Srbija i Crna Gora, the official branch of Daimler Company. “And when a man loves what he does, he has the best motivation to constantly improve in the area of his choosing and without that he is not able to achieve real results.” Devic is really an appropriate person to talk about success. According to him, Serbia was the most successful country in Central-Eastern Europe in the Daimler Company last year. In spite of the fact that the crisis hit the car industry hard, Mercedes-Benz Srbija i Crna Gora increased its share on the market through successful sales and recorded the lowest drop in sales in comparison to the same period last year - and last year was a very successful year. Being a sales manager at a time when the crisis has affected all areas of the economy is not at all easy. These hampered circumstances represent a real challenge for ambitious managers. “During my student days I very quickly learned a very useful thing which I still implement today. Nothing is out of reach. If you really want something, you must put in the effort to achieve it”, Devic says. This successful young manager obviously already knew what he wanted when deciding which faculty to enrol in. Given that he had been in love with cars from the day he was born he chose

“I usually look back on my successes and achievements after each five-year period. That is the period during which a man can fulfil significant results and reflect on everything that he failed to do” the “motor vehicle” course at the Faculty of Machine Engineering in Belgrade. He specialized in the most advanced systems in the car industry with his final thesis being “Electronic Systems in Motor Vehicles”. Devic started working in Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales, at Mercedes-Benz Jugoslavija in 2002. In addition to selling 200 luxury vehicles, he also created a very important circle of acquaintances and he still nurtures relationships with all of them. He is still in contact with his first buyer of the famous E 270 CDI, and also with the successful businessman who entered the show-room “for just a couple of minutes”, and left after purchas82 CorD 72 / June 2010

ing about twenty passenger and commercial vehicles. Four years later he moved to the position of Production and Communication Manager. The following year, in 2007, he took part in the first-ever organization of the special training of active driving in Serbia - Active Safety Experience - together with the professional drivers from the Mercedes-Benz school of driving. He successfully passed various training sessions organized by Global Training within the Daimler Company. Soon afterwards, in 2008, he was entrusted with the office and responsibilities of Sales and Marketing Manager of passenger cars in MercedesBenz in Serbia and Montenegro, and there he successfully continued to build his career and reach previously established goals. The company achieved record results in the sale of passenger cars during his first year in the position and nearly reached the magic number of 1000 vehicles. It also remained the number one company Milovan Dević in the premium segment. “It is crucial to establish goals for yourself. I usually look back on my successes and achievements after each five-year period. That is the period during which a man can fulfil significant results and reflect on everything that he failed to do. I establish goals for myself and build up my life in that manner”, Devic says. The fact that Mercedes-Benz managed to increase its share on the Serbian market in the midst of the economic crisis tells us that the buyers of the luxurious cars are still out there. Certainly, E-Class sells best. It represents the backbone of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars sales. Devic said that the company offers the whole segment starting with limousines, caravans, coupes, and it recently introduced the cabriolet version of the E-Class. In addition to his passion for cars, Devic also enjoys talking about 2009, when he got married and soon after became a father. Now he has private goals, as well as business goals - and that involves the bringing up of little Mihajlo. “I cannot say that it is easy, but it is necessary to have a lot of understanding from your partner and to be able to make compromises - which I fortunately have with my wife Jelena - and then nothing is impossible”, Milovan Devic says.