CorD magazine 65 by CorD Magazine

CorD, NOVEMBER 2009

18 LEADING LADIES

POLITICS & DIPLOMACY

A QUESTION OF CREDIBILITY

H.E. Vincent Degert, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Serbia

SEEKING CONCRETE PROGRESS

The CorD list of the top ten women in business in Serbia

GROWTH INDUSTRY

Dr. Henri B. Meier, Chairman of the Board of Directors of HBM BioVentures AG

HIGH POTENTIAL

Bogdan Lissovolik, IMF Resident Representative in Serbia

FOUNDATIONS OF STABILITY

H.E. Wolfram Maas, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany

Zdenko Lekan, CEO of Konsing Group

OFFERING CLARITY & CONSISTENCY

BUSINESS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

EDITOR IN CHIEF Mark R. Pullen, m.pullen@cma.rs ART DIRECTOR Tamara Ivljanin, t.ivljanin@cma.rs EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Jelena Jovanović, Žarka Radoja, Sonja Ćirić, Jelena Mickić, Dejan Jeremić PHOTO Slobodan Jotić, CorD Archive TRANSLATORS Snežana

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By Žarka Radoja

THE PRICE OF COMMUNITY SOLIDARITY

Business news from Serbia

Richard Allen looks at the pros and cons of Serbia’s sense of national solidarity

LEISURE & LIFESTYLE

REGION

COMPETITION IN THEIR BLOOD Montenegrins & sport

ALBANIAN SHAMANS & ISLAMIC PLURALISM

By Veton Surroi

THE FUTURE NOW IN NIŠ CorD attends the Niš Investment Forum, NIF09

IN SEARCH OF A JUICY BITE

IFC’s Margo Thomas

Helen Larsson, Swedish Cultural Affairs Counsellor in Belgrade

BEAUTIFUL RAINS OF SERBIAN POETRY

B2B

HISTORIC OCCASION Coverage of President Medvedev’s visit to Serbia

CULTURE

Jelena Mickić reviews Orašac Kafana

GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL

CorD presents alternative breaks in Vojvodina – from a daytrip to a full holiday.

IMPERIAL DREAMS

Presenting Afrodite Mode Collection’s latest offerings

TECHNO TALK CULTURE AS THE GLUE THAT BINDS US

Bjelotomić, Milenko Pećanac, Milica Kuburu, Momčilo Drakulić, Jelena Gledić EDITORIAL MANAGER Tanja Banković, t.bankovic@cma.rs PROJECT MANAGER Vesna Vukajlović, v.vukajlovic@cma.rs Ana Zagajac, a.zagajac@cma.rs GENERAL MANAGER Ivan Novčić, i.novcic@cma.rs FINANCIAL DIRECTOR

Ana Besedić, a.besedic@cma.rs PRINTING / Rotografika d.o.o CorD is published by: alliance intrenational media Knjeginje Zorke 11b, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Phone: +(381 11) 308 99 77, 308 99 88 Fax: +(381 11) 244 81 27 E-mail: cordeditorial@cma.rs www.cordmagazine.com

Presenting some winter essentials

This issue is audited by

ABC Serbia

CorD 65 / November 2009 5

comment

A question of credibility & hard work

s a sign of the European Commission’s commitment towards Serbia’s integration path, the Delegation that I have the honour and responsibility of leading became the third largest in the world last year, directly managing the largest budget, i.e. a total of more than a billion euros over five years. The Commission’s intention is clearly to help Serbia move forward rapidly, provided efforts are made on all sides and results are reached. In this regard, my experience of nine years in the enlargement process, including four in Zagreb, should also be seen as an asset for the progress of Serbia on its European integration path. My arrival also coincides with a very busy enlargement agenda and lots of challenges, as described in the Enlargement Strategy document adopted by the Commission on 14th October. This is an emblematic year for the EU construction, marking 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and five years since the enlargement of the EU to Central and Eastern Europe. Despite all the fears that existed when that process started, this enlargement - the largest in terms of population, territory and numbers of countries - can be seen as a political and economic success story: it has allowed the bringing together of Eastern and Western Europe for the first time since World War II. With the lessons learned from those experiences, we now look to the countries willing to join and see how a further enlargement can become a reality and meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of the Western Balkans. Moreover, the positive outcome of the Irish Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty offers the opportunity to simplify and improve the EU`s own internal functioning, which was a precondition set by several of our Heads of State before further expansion of our Union. Serbian authorities have made important steps, having initiated a number of reforms and adopted a number of laws that are in line with the EU legal framework. These efforts are appreciated and are also bringing results. For the Interim Agreement (IA), the blocking factor is the extent of co-operation with the ICTY and some still missing results. At this stage, the Commission is considering that Serbia - as mentioned in Mr Brammertz June report – has co-operated in an adequate way on the issue of documents and witnesses and enhanced this co-operation in 2008 with the arrest and transfer of Mr Karadzic. Of course, two indictees are still at large and impunity remains an issue. Now Serbia can certainly use the opportunity of the next visit of Mr Brammertz, as well as any other appropriate means or actions, to facilitate the EU Council’s decision on full implementation of the IA. It is a fact that the issue of ICTY conditionality will, as illustrated in the case of Croatia, stay with us all along the EU integration process - from the SAA through the whole of the negotiations; therefore, the sooner it is resolved, the better. As to upcoming requirements and challenges, our Progress Report is still highlighting a number of key issues and priorities. Basically, there are two big blocks plus a third group of issues. The first one is

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related to the good functioning of the state, meaning a well established rule of law system with a performing administration. Here the basic principles are good quality legislation and, equally important, thorough implementation. The judiciary plays a special role in this regard as guardian of the constitution and the law. Therefore, structural issues - such as reducing the backlog, rationalisation and accessibility to courts are priorities, but independence from all political or economic interferences, as well as accountability, are fundamental. The second concerns the economy and ensuring fair competition between all actors, good use of public funds and assets in relation to privatisation, restructuring and restitution. The third group of issues stems from the present and historical regional context: border demarcation, refugees and IDPs, domestic prosecution of war crimes, etc. For all of these, as well as an efficient fight against corruption and organised crime, co-operation between countries of regions and their enforcement agencies (police, prosecution, judges, etc.) is needed. Without clear progress and results, bilateral issues could continue to burden progress and we, as the Commission or EU Member States, would be unable to convince our public opinion By H.E.Vincent and parliaments that Serbia and/ Degert or its neighbours are steadily adon EU integration vancing on their accession road. Concerning the economic and energy crises, the EU is already showing an important sign of solidarity towards Serbia; looking at the financial and fiscal challenges, the Commission has decided to help Serbia in a number of ways to overcome its difficult situation: on one hand we offered budget support of €100 million from the 2009 IPA envelope, in combination with assistance provided by the IMF and the World Bank; and on the other hand a macro-financial loan of €200 million was made available for 2010. Perhaps the most expected and visible step for the citizens of Serbia, however, is the prospect of visa-free travel at the beginning of next year. We worked hard with the Serbian authorities over the last months in order to be able to convince the 27 Ministers of Interior in December to decide positively on the visa liberalisation proposed by the Commission last July. Some remaining complex topics are linked to the security of documents, issues resulting from the diversity of old and new valid passports, as well as police controls. But daily progress is made and motivation is high on all sides! We definitely have to ensure, as a first step, that people, ideas and skills from Serbia can travel without restriction to the EU.

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INTERVIEW |

Bogdan Lissovolik, IMF Resident Representative in Serbia

SEEKING CONCR “The reform of public spending, if designed and implemented well, would be a major contributor to economic growth, by improving the efﬁciency of the provision of public services and raising the productivity of public employees.” By Milan Sredic

he International Monetary Fund (IMF) works to foster global monetary co-operation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote higher em-

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ployment and encourage sustainable economic growth, as well as reducing poverty around the world. On the eve of the latest technical negotiations between the IMF mission and representatives of Serbia’s central bank – The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) and Ministry

of Finance, we speak to Bogdan Lissovolik, IMF Resident Representative in Serbia. The foundation of the Belgrade talks are the framework of the state budget for 2010 and the presentation of measures taken with the aim of rationalising state administration –

RETE PROGRESS identified as the Serbian government’s main strategy to cut budgetary expenses. The latest IMF mission began its work in Belgrade on 22nd October, with policy-level meetings beginning on 26th October. Speaking to CorD just prior to the commencement of meetings, IMF Resident Representative Lissovolik explained: “the mission will try to complete the second and third reviews under the current standby arrangement. It is expected that the mission will stay in Belgrade until early November.”

and credible measures to cover the exposed budgets minuses, as sought by the IMF? Of course, securing additional financing on reasonable terms would be welcome. For now, we do not have information on the terms and conditions of the loan from Russia. In any case, the likely amount will cover only part of the financing needs and, in any case, the level of the 2010 budget deficit should be reasonably small: the reference to “concrete and credible measures” is not so much about getting the financing, but putting in place measures that would sustainably reduce the deficit and in a not-too-backloaded way.

in compliance with your expectations? The key part of the plan would be the 2010 budget, which as we know is still under preparation. Additionally, we would like to see progress on the structural reforms of public spending, including pensions, health care, education and public employment in central and local governments. For now, as of midOctober, we have seen some of the authorities’ proposals that go in the right direction, but not the entire package. I am sure that the authorities will present such a package sometime during the mission.

In May, a standby arrangement worth What are the main reform steps that you just shy of €3 billion was agreed to strengthen Serbia’s foreign reserves and the dinar Serbian Economy & Regional Devel- expect the Serbian Government to take to exchange rate and you recently said that opment Minister Mlađen Dinkić has an- stabilise the country’s economic situation long-term? “Serbia needs lasting fiscal consolidation.” What “The government recently made some progress on the The reform of public spending, if designed and does this mean when so-called “Guillotine,” streamlining various regulations, implemented well, would translated into euros in be a major contributor the coming period? but more steps like this are needed.” The exact estimates to economic growth, by change over time, but in very rough terms we nounced that the World Bank will approve improving the efficiency of the provision of consider that a medium-term adjustment effort US$400 million to help the Serbian budget. public services and raising the productivity of four to five per cent of GDP may be need- The first US$200 million should be approved of public employees. ed to achieve a sustainable fiscal position. In by 17th November, while the other half is In addition, we see scope for improving euro terms, this would amount to about €1.5 intended for budget support in 2010. Will tax administration and tax base broadening billion. Given the large size of the adjustment this help you at all? – for example, rationalising the many ad-hoc and the need for high-quality measures, this Yes, of course this will help. Expected exemptions granted to economic agents. This financing from international financial insti- would contribute to levelling the playing effort would be spread over several years. tutions, notably from the World Bank, is an field and also improve economic efficiency. On the other side, Russian Finance Min- integral part of the programme and is always At the same time, the distributional implicaister Alexei Kudrin has announced that included in the programme assumptions. tions of base-broadening measures have to Russia will approve a loan of US$350 million be analysed and the most vulnerable should to finance Serbia’s budget deficit. Is this Has Serbia submitted a concrete propos- be protected by targeted social assistance. sufficient to cover Serbia’s deficit and does al on how it plans to reduce public expendiFinally, there are many possibilities to it mean that Serbia has secured concrete ture yet and, if so, to what extent is the plan jumpstart broader structural reforms, many

TAX REFORM We see scope for improving tax administration by rationalising the many adhoc exemptions granted to economic agents…

GROWTH AID The reform of public spending, if designed and implemented well, would be a major contributor to economic growth…

INFLATION ISSUES We believe that the current inﬂation targeting framework is appropriate for Serbia and should deliver good results. CorD 65 / November 2009 9

INTERVIEW | of which have been delayed. These regard measures to further pursue privatisation, as the financial conditions allow, and various other steps to improve the business environment and boost competition in the economy. The government recently made some progress on the so-called “Guillotine,” streamlining various regulations, but more steps like this are needed. It has been said that if the country fails to come up with a concrete plan, Serbia will have to agree with the IMF and consider increasing taxes. In your opinion, what consequences would increasing VAT levels have on the Serbian economy? First, I would like to clarify one point. As is indicated in the last mission’s Aidememoire published in early September, the authorities have made a firm decision to concentrate their efforts on spending-based adjustment. We respect the authorities’ choice (in fact, generally we also prefer spending containment to tax hikes) and are confident that they will come up with a package of measures that would obviate the need for tax increases. Thus, for this round of negotiations, the option of raising the VAT rate is unlikely. If the spending-based measures fail to fully materialise, we will review the situation and discuss further steps, but this is a hypothetical at this stage. Turning to your question, a VAT increase would indeed have some negative affects on the economy, such as lowering firm liquidity, weakening consumption and leading to higher prices. Some of these adverse affects may well be offset by other policies. In yet other ways, the VAT increase has several attractive features compared to some alternatives, if the fiscal gap is to be narrowed effectively and quickly. But again, this discussion is highly hypothetical at this stage and I will not elaborate for now, as – together with the authorities – we would like to focus on spending-based measures. Reducing the budget deficit is a neces-

more deeply than in Serbia this and next year. Such larger output fall would argue for more relaxed budget deficits, so against this backdrop the Serbian fiscal position does not look as tight. For example, Hungary’s growth is projected to be around 2½ percentage points lower than in Serbia in both 2009 and 2010. At the same time, its deficits of just below four per cent of GDP in both years are comparable to those of Serbia. Of course, other considerations, such as the level of public and external debt, are also important.

“Many public enterprises in Serbia are chronic lossmakers and this represents a potential drag on the budget in the form of subsidies or increases in public debt” sary condition that the Serbian government must meet if it wants to access the second instalment of the previously approved loan of €2.9 billion. However, some experts say that budget deficits in other countries are higher than the 3.5% expected from Serbia in 2010? Indeed, budget deficits in many other countries are projected to be somewhat higher than in Serbia, although such comparisons are often made with countries that for various reasons have very different circumstances output-wise or financing-wise. In particular, in many European countries – especially the crisis-hit emerging markets more comparable to Serbia – output is set to contract much

BROAD AGREEMENT REACHED

he credit support packages may have been justified at a time when urgent, innovative action was needed at the peak of the crisis to support liquidity. However, As output recovers, it would be important to restore the full effectiveness of the key instruments of monetary policy. In this context, there is a broad agreement with the authorities that the liquidity loan subsidy programme would be gradually phased out.

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IMF Deputy Director, Poul Thomsen, told the Serbian press in Istanbul that the Serbian currency is relatively stable and that foreign exchange reserves are at a high level. However, he expressed concern about inflation and credit support of banks to the private sector. How would you comment on inflation in Serbia and credit support of banks to the private sector? Indeed, inflation is still high in Serbia compared to other countries. At the same time, in the last few months we see encouraging signs of deflation. We believe that the current inflation targeting framework is appropriate for Serbia and should deliver good results. Regarding the credit support packages, they may have been justified at a time when urgent, innovative action was needed at the peak of the crisis to support liquidity. However, as output recovers, it would be important to restore the full effectiveness of the key instruments of monetary policy. In this context, there is a broad agreement with the authorities that the liquidity loan subsidy programme would be gradually phased out. What is your position regarding the status and functioning of public enterprises in Serbia, in the context of economic reforms? We believe that public enterprises in Serbia need to be tightly monitored and thoroughly reformed. In general, we think there is large scope for enhancing efficiency and improving financial performance. Many public enterprises in Serbia are chronic loss-makers and this represents a potential drag on the budget in the form of subsidies or increases in public debt, due to the state guarantees granted on their borrowing. Specific reform actions may depend on each particular enterprise and may include privatisation, as well as a wide array of other steps. A detailed strategy of such reform will be elaborated over the next few months.

INTERVIEW |

H.E. Wolfram Maas, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Serbia

FOUNDATIONS “I must say that I’m rather pleased that economic co-operation between our two countries is good. I’m only ‘rather’ pleased because I think there’s a lot of room for improvement.” By Mark R. Pullen Photo: Slobodan Jotić his year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the end of the reunification of Germany. Speaking to CorD this month, German Ambassador Wolfram Maas says that the two sides to the country are now certainly fully integrated, “but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any differences left.” Speaking about the process of reunifying the EU’s biggest country, Ambassador Maas explains: “Germany’s different regions have always had their characteristics and it’s also true that there are still striking differences at an economic level, simply because the eastern regions have to catch up some 40-50 years when they were prevented from developing their lives as we were used to doing in the West. Overall, though, I think the country is whole and one.”

Have there traditionally been poorer areas and more affluent areas of Germany, like the traditional north-south divide in the UK? Traditionally, Central Germany was considered very well developed industrially and was a prosperous region, but the heritage from socialism was that the companies were completely rundown and, as a result, a tremendous number either shrank greatly or simply vanished. As such, we’ve had to rebuild this region more or less from scratch. As far as infrastructure is concerned, we have progressed tremendously and things are now 12 CorD 65 / November 2009

OF STABILITY in great shape – perhaps better than in the West, because it’s more modern. Moreover, it’s also an area that’s presenting itself as an investment destination and has to fight for investors.

terms of wages, but on the other hand there is probably also a discrepancy in terms of prices and costs and, therefore, I would be reluctant to describe the East as a region where – income wise – one is worse off than in the West. It is definitely true that the West has an advantage where private property is concerned, because in the East there was no chance for citizens to make considerable savings and acquire property for 40 years.

everyone feels as though they’ve been treated justly. However, I think this is quite normal under the difficult circumstances.

Looking at disparity in the Union itself, several years ago German workers The last two decades have seen Germain one factory agreed to take a salary cut ny, as the EU’s biggest country, return to and work increased hours just to ensure its rightful place at the forefront of Eurotheir jobs would be secure and the factory pean business and politics. Would you sinwouldn’t be relocated to a ‘cheaper’ coungle out any key moments? try. Do you expect more such actions as the I’m reluctant to say ‘rightful place’, but it’s EU seeks to create economic parity across true that we are the biggest country in terms Has the socialist legacy of the East left its member states? It’s difficult to define of population and we are ‘economic parity’; is this quite strong in economic “I have been, and remain, convinced that Serbia really an objective to strive terms. has the potential to go through the motions that for? You can never achieve We fell back a little immediately after reunificaevery EU applicant country has to do faster than a a situation where living conditions are the same tion, simply because the lot of other countries.” everywhere – even within highly developed West a single country like ours was paired with the unthat has a kind of constitutional obligation to derdeveloped East, but we quickly started unresolved issues of restitution? There are problems and there are still ensure comparable living conditions all over catching up. It’s probably hard to point out any single pending cases that are quite difficult to re- Germany. Even there, ‘comparable’ doesn’t events that turned the tide; it was more a kind solve. We placed the initial focus on rem- mean ‘equal’ and I think that has to be true at of steady exercise. You shouldn’t forget that nants from the period of the Nazi dictator- the European level too. it’s now 20 years and more or less every year ship, so that people who were expropriated There will always be competition between we transfered around €100-150 billion to the by the Nazis received justice and restitution locations when it comes to attracting investEast. This kind of support had to show results took place where possible. However, it’s ment, but I think the future competition is not much more difficult for the period of social- between different parts of the EU, but besooner or later. ism, because they also took away land from tween the EU and other parts of the world. Is labour cheaper in the East; i.e. do private owners but then made it available to Western German companies consider open- others, which means it’s not so easy to give Germany has been one of Serbia’s top ing factories in the East simply because the it back. As such, there have been some quite trade partners for many years. How would wages and running costs are lower? complicated schemes aimed at doing justice you define those relations? There is definitely still a discrepancy in for everybody and I think it’s true that not I must say that I’m rather pleased that

IMAGE I must admit that Serbia’s image in my country is still suffering from the images of the 1990s and we have to work hard to correct that.

RUSSIA Russia is a tremendously important business partner for us ... and they are able to provide what we need most: oil and gas.

RECOVERY The good news is that all predictions for next year show that there will again be growth beyond beyond one per cent. CorD 65 / November 2009 13

INTERVIEW |

economic co-operation between our two countries is good. I’m only ‘rather’ pleased because I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. Traditionally, Germany is one of the top trade and investment partners of the countries in this region and this is true of Serbia. Over the past decade, German investments in Serbia have totalled roughly €1.3 billion spread over a wide variety of different businesses, which I consider very favourable because doing business in only one or two sectors doesn’t provide the kind of base we enjoy in our dealings with Serbia. Serbian business has always held German industry in high regard. How is Serbia’s business image in Germany today? This is a very important question. Before one looks to a country you have to have an inclination in that direction. That is partly the problem we have with Serbia. I must admit that Serbia’s image in my country is still suffering from the images of the ‘90s. If you talk to the average German today, they will see images of that era which are not too favourable. Therefore, one of my most important jobs is to work to ensure that the image of Serbia in Germany becomes more realistic and modernised. I received a delegation from Germany yesterday evening and Serbia’s image was one of the points we explicitly and extensively discussed. I told them that I was happy they were here and that I would like more of them 14 CorD 65 / November 2009

Everybody expects us to play this role of a locomotive within the European Union and I think that we do to a certain extent to come so I can turn them all into ambassadors of this new Serbia, able to go home to Germany and say “it was so totally different to what we had anticipated.” I’m realistic enough to understand that this is a process which will take considerable time and the more help I can recruit the better. What about the estimated 700,000 Serbs living in Germany? It’s very hard to get a correct figure. We have figures that show somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 Serbs with Serbian passports and nationality living in Germany. There is at least as many, or even double that many, Serbs who are naturalised Germans. So, the figure you mentioned would basically sum up Germany’s population of Serbs and Germans of Serbian origin. Yesterday’s delegation came from BadenWürttemberg, where there is a strong Serbian community in all walks of life. I think this is important and I hope that they are using their relations with this country to promote the image of Serbia in Germany.

How ready do you think Serbia is to enter the EU – if we compare the level of development and transition in Serbia to other EU members when they joined the Union back in 2004 & 2007? I think Serbia is progressing in a very encouraging way on its path towards the European Union. Since July of last year we have seen drastic change in the approach of the Serbian government and the parliament, which has changed its procedures to become more effective to that end. Both the government and the parliament are adapting the acquis communautaire – the whole set of rules and regulations which have to be observed by every member of the European Union – in a progressive way and, therefore, the daily nitty-gritty detail work is being done in Serbia in a very convincing way and I think Serbia is displaying a pace of reform towards Europe that is commendable. I have been, and remain, convinced that Serbia has the potential to go through the motions that every EU applicant country has to do faster than a lot of other countries. I’m also quite sure that when Serbia enters the European Union it will be better prepared and more mature than some of the countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. What about the pace of entry? It seems logical to want to put the remaining former Yugoslav states in together, though Croatia is perhaps too far ahead to be held back? Quite frankly, I’m not advocating this approach. I strongly support the idea that every country be judged on its own merits. It’s true that Croatia is further advanced, basically because Serbia missed a decade, and there is no chance for Serbia to catch up in that respect. However, I don’t think it would be fair, if Serbia continues with its momentum, to hold the country back to wait for the slowest in the region to catch up. I think that it’s in the best interest of Serbia to concentrate on its own efforts and move on at its own speed. That doesn’t exclude Serbia from doing its best to co-operate with its partners and neighbours in the region because, as you know, one of the criteria set forth in Copenhagen in the ‘90s was that regional co-operation is a condition of entry and that means you must have a workable relationship with all of your neighbours in the region. The recent German elections saw vot-

ers turn against the Social Democrats in They have to gain a profile and public ap- and plans for a joint gas pipeline under the favour of the “business-friendly” Free pearance, so there will always be situations Baltic. How important is Germany’s relaDemocrats. How much do you think the where different issues are placed at the fore- tionship with Russia to wider European global economic crisis led to this change of front and it will be up to the chancellor to put relations? heart and do you expect this new coalition them all under one umbrella so these things I think our relationship with Russia is more to be able to carry out tax and employment can work. Normally, experience shows that or less determined by the realities which have reforms that were previously held up? these coalition agreements are rather detailed to be faced by all European countries. Russia I think the poor result of the Social Demo- and provide a solid framework to avoid any is by far the biggest country on the continent crats was a consequence of the bloodletting major upheavals in the four years ahead. and, therefore, it’s a smart thing to strive for they suffered at the hands of leftist competithe best possible relations with Russia. We are tion. You simply have to realise that since the As Europe’s largest economy and the doing that and everybody else is doing it too. ‘70s or ‘80s two spinoffs of the Social Demo- world’s fifth, economists agree that Ger- Due to its size and the state of its economy, crats have developed – first with the Greens many must be one of the countries spear- Russia is a tremendously important business and now with the Left – and they have now heading the global economic recovery. partner for us. It’s also true that they need to gone beyond 10 per cent. That’s an easy ex- How much progress has been made in that catch up with their economic development, planation as to why they lost strength in this regard and when do you expect the Ger- build their production and infrastructure and, last election. by chance, we are a country The economic crisis is “I would like to use this opportunity to make note that is very strong in providthe most serious worry ing the means to help Russia of the German Days we are organising in Serbia in do exactly that. Therefore, of our people, of course, and I think – given the November, which we want to be a showcase for the Russia is a very important problems and fears that customer for us and, on the variety of our bilateral relations.” come with such a situother hand, they are able to ation – voters tried to provide what we need most: bank on political forces who were ultimately man economy to be fully back on its feet? oil and gas; energy. The pipeline you menresponsible for what was once termed ‘the Of course, everybody expects us to play this tioned is nothing more than an attempt to try to economic miracle’ in my country. After World role of a locomotive within the European Un- build infrastructure that will be least affected War II we started to build an economy on the ion and I think that we do to a certain extent. by other problems or issues that do not relate concept of responsibility towards society but I’m also optimistic that the conditions are directly to the provider and the customer. also oneself. This aimed to unleash the pro- not so bad. We had a tremendous setback this ductive forces of every individual and, there- year in economic development, but one has You are among the more active embassies fore, I think it’s logical for people to hope, to be realistic and note that this loss sets us in Belgrade. How much do you think forto a certain degree, that similar forces can be back to somewhere around the level of 2005 eign ambassadors can influence domestic or 2006 and, if I recall correctly, we were not affairs in Serbia for the better and where unleashed now. The final touches were made to the coalition in the poorhouse at that time. As such, these do you draw the line at interference? I’m in the privileged situation of repreagreement just this weekend and, indeed, there things are all very relative. will be tax cuts that will, hopefully, give im- The good news is that all predictions for next senting a country that enjoys a very broad petus to the added economic growth that we year show that there will again be growth be- and comprehensive relationship with Serbia yond one per cent. This is not too much, but and, therefore, we are actively engaged in need to cover the consequences of the crisis. when we’ve reached levels of two per cent many areas and many walks of life and try to Will this new coalition allow Chancel- growth over the last few decades we’ve con- promote those relations. lor Merkel to control policy more freely or sidered ourselves happy, because relatively I would like to use this opportunity to make will she still have to manage a tricky bal- developed economies no longer expect the note of the German Days we are organising ancing act? kind of growth rates of five or six per cent in Serbia in November, which want to be a I think in Germany being chancellor is al- that we enjoyed in the 1950s and ‘60s. showcase for the variety of our bilateral reways a balancing act, because under normal lationship. circumstances we always have coalition gov- Germany has something of a special I am, of course, watching and listening to ernments and, once again, this time we have economic relationship with Russia – char- everything that goes on in Serbia and am trythree parties with slightly distinct priorities. acterised by strong bilateral trade figures ing – to the best of my ability – to inform the Serbian people and its leaders about what we are doing, how we see developments, etc. I ECONOMIC PARITY don’t think that interference should ever be the business of an ambassador. We basically here will always be competition between locations when it comes to attracting incollect and share information, and it’s up to vestment, but I think the future competition is not between different parts of the those people at the receiving end to draw EU, but between the EU and other parts of the world. their own conclusions.

CorD 65 / November 2009 15

IN THE NEWS

Historic occasion It may have been something of a flying visit, but Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his delegation of senior officials managed to make the most of the historic occasion, signing five bilateral co-operation agreements, addressing the Serbian Parliament, confirming a massive loan to Serbia and much more besides By CORD his October saw Dmitry Medvedev become the first Russian President to visit Serbia since the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, and the much-hyped and seemingly long-awaited visit of the Russian leader didn’t disappoint. Arriving at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport to be greeted by First Deputy PM Ivica Dačić and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić,

16 CorD 65 / November 2009

the Medvedev delegation, which included Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Emergency Situations Minister Sergey Shoygu, set off for the Presidential Palace of Serbia, where the Russian president was awaited by his host and counterpart, Serbian President Boris Tadić. The two presidents held a closed meeting which they both later described as exceptional. Speaking to press afterwards, Tadić thanked Medvedev for Russia’s principled and strong

support of Serbia in the fight to defend its integrity in Kosovo, with the Russian President responding by telling press that Moscow will continue to defend Serbia’s sovereignty “in its entirety, when it comes to Kosovo”. Noting that relations between the two countries are “developing well”, Medvedev insisted that the launching of new projects was set to create an even closer bond between them. Singling out the transformation of Serbian petroleum company NIS by Russia’s Gazprom,

POLITICS |

Serbia’s participation in the South Stream pipeline project and the redevelopment of the Banatski Dvor underground gas storage facility, Medvedev stressed: “We are on the right track now and these projects are showing the historical bond between Serbia and Russia... all of these are major projects that Europe’s energy security depends on...”

EU PATH A PLUS Before the motorcade moved on to the next step of the tour of Belgrade, Medvedev clarified Russia’s position on Serbia’s EU integration path, insisting that Moscow supports Serbia’s decision to integrate into the Union. Responding to the visit later, the EU seemingly gave its support to Serbia’s ‘special friendship’ with Russia, when European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that good political and economic relations between Serbia and Russia can only benefit everyone in Europe. Rehn said that by strengthening co-operation with Serbia, Russia was strengthening its strategic interests in the Balkans and in Europe. “When Serbia and its place in Europe are concerned, relations between the EU, NATO and the Russian Federation are not without use.”

TANGIBLE AGREEMENTS

ities to fortify bilateral overall co-operation.” Serbian Foreign Minister Jeremić and FM Lavrov signed an agreement covering the areas of culture, science, sports and youth policy, while Serbian National Assembly President Slavica Đukić-Dejanović and Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Alexander Babakov, signed an agreement on parliamentary co-operation. Vesna Arsić, State Secretary in the Serbian Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, and Governor of the Kursk Region, Alexander Mikhaylov, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the administration of Russia’s region of Kursk and the Serbian Economy Ministry, while Srbijagas Director Dušan Bajatović and Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller signed a contract on the South Stream pipeline and the setting up of a joint-venture company for the Banatski Dvor gas storage facility. Traffic ground to a halt in downtown Belgrade, with security beefed up and 6,000 police officers on the streets of the capital while the president’s motorcade was escorted across the city to the Serbian Parliament for his historic address. It was the first time that a visiting statesman had addressed Serbian MPs and the Russian President began by marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from Nazi occupation, saying it was a day “jointly written in history” and going on to mention the difficulty of facing the mistakes of the past. Medvedev told Serbian MPs that the task facing Serbia and Russia was to create a new European system of security that would not stand against, but would be independent of, the economy. “We offer new obligations

Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergey Shoygu joined his President in Belgrade, signing a deal with Minister Dačić

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov signed an agreement with FM Jeremić covering the areas of culture, science, sports and youth policy

The delegations of Medvedev and Tadić have a negative affect on Belgrade’s relations signed a series of no fewer than five bilaterwith Moscow and could only contribute to the al agreements on co-operation. traditionally good relations between the two An agreement on co-operation in the area Christian Orthodox nations. of humanitarian response in emergency situTurning to the sensitive issue of Kosovo, ations, prevention of technological accidents Medvedev again condemned the misuse of a and removal of their consequences was signed lack of progress as an excuse to take unilaterby Serbian Interior Minister al action: “The basis for the Medvedev told Serbian MPs that the task facing solution to the Kosovo prob& 1st Deputy PM Dačić and Russian Emergency Situations Serbia and Russia was to create a new European lem should be internationMinister Shoygu. al law and a UN Security system of security that would not stand against, Council resolution, in parThe agreement will see the creation of a well-equipped loticular Resolution 1244,” but would be independent of, the economy gistics base, humanitarian reMedvedev said, adding that sponse facility and joint mine sweeping cen- based on international principles that we all Russia was still “prepared to provide the nectre in the southern city of Niš. The facility, set share among ourselves. One cannot deal with essary assistance to Serbia in defending its leto become operational by 2012, will provide security issues at the expense of others. That gal rights.” swift response assistance to emergencies such is the lesson of the Second World War and Recent economic co-operation between the the sad events of the 1990s,” said the Russian two nations has been generally confined to the as fires, floods and earthquakes in the region. Dačić went on to sign an agreement with President, reiterating that the need to sign a energy sector and Medvedev also told the speRussian Foreign Minister Lavrov on co-op- contract on European security was an obliga- cial session of parliament that he hoped Serbia eration in the area of internal affairs, before tion of all countries. would become a major regional player in the Medvedev also addressed Serbia’s EU ac- energy sector, participating in the transportatelling press that the visit of this top-level Russian delegation had “opened new possibil- cession hopes, insisting the route would not tion of Russia’s natural gas. CorD 65 / November 2009 17

INTERVIEW |

MARGO THOMAS, REGIONAL INVESTMENT CLIMATE BUSINESS LINE LEADE

Improving clarit This month CorD discusses the improving of clarity and consistency in the regulatory framework for doing business with the World Bank Group’s Margo Thomas By Mark R. PULLEN; Photo courtesy of IFC he rationalisation of state administration is the Serbian government’s main strategy for cutting budgetary expenses. Commenting on how much money they could really save by cutting red tape, Margo Thomas explains: “Clearly, by improving procedures and efficiency of government, savings are generated not just for the business sector but also for the government. This is achieved by strengthening the quality of regulation and is not so much about deregulating or cutting regulation as much as improving the quality of regulations. Based on what we’ve seen from a similar exercise in Croatia with the guillotine - Hitrorez,,compliance savings for firms have been calculated at roughly $40 million per year. Excluding the administrative savings on the government side (which jave not been calculated), but this should give you a sense of what could potentially be accomplished in Serbia in terms of compliance cost savings for businesses.

On the sub-national level in Serbia, where we’re working on four pilot municipalities (Niš, Užice, Vranje & Zrenjanin), we’ve estimated that savings for firms will be in excess of $50 million annually. How much does this ‘strengthening of regulations’ really influence the levels of investment in a city or country? You always have to be very careful in trying to establish causality, because the reality is that investment location decisions

ing the level of informal business activity, as businesses smove more readily into the formal sector. What advice would you give to a city mayor/municipal president who’s keen to improve his local business environment? I would certainly advise that a mayor or municipal president start by listening to the local business community and asking them what the issues that they are concerned about. We interviewed businesses and discovered that many of them find it very difficult to navigate the administrative and regulatory requirements because there’s a lack of transparency – by that I mean that many businesses, even local domestic ones, are not sure which regulations apply , when and under what circumstances. hat poses a risk from a business perspective; it increases your risk of doing business, but also increases your costs. Lack of transparency also increases opportunities for discretionary behaviour in interpreting and enforcing regulations. What we found working with municipalities is that transparency is important, but consistency is also important in terms of

“...there is a considerable amount of empirical evidence to support the conclusion that improving the regulatory framework for doing business contributes to increased private investment.”

IMPORTANT ISSUES What we found working with municipalities is that transparency is important, but consistency is also important in terms of the enforcement of regulations. 18 CorD 65 / November 2009

are influenced by a range of factors, not just regulation. It’s even more tenuous under the current investment climate, in light of the financial crisis and the shrinking of private capital. That said, there is a considerable amount of empirical evidence to support the conclusion that improving the regulatory framework for doing business contributes to increased private investment. Some other empirical work has also suggested that there’s a potential for reduc-

21ST CENTURY APPROACH Most of our municipalities have websites, which is an effective and important means of communicating information across the whole spectrum...

RISK MANAGEMENT For the average private investor, investing is about managing risk and costs. An important aspect of risk relates to contracting and contract enforcement.

R, INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION, WORLD BANK GROUP

ty & consistency

the enforcement of regulations. Quite often, it’s only through some sort of stocktaking that you can really get an understanding of which regulations are in force and the procedures that are required for compliance. This stocktaking provides a basis for reviewing the stock of regulations or formalities and procedures in order to recommend how to simplify and streamline thereby improving the quality of the remaining regulations or formalities and procedures

“We value the input and contributions of all of the countries of this region and we certainly hope that there will be strong and active participation through delegations representing governments, parliaments and the private sector.” and improving transparency and consistent implementation. In this review process, we work with municipalities to into account not only the implememnting regulations of laws but also the formalities, informa-

tion requirements and procedures that have been established for the implementation of the law. These formalities and procedures differ across municipalities. as shown in the IFC’s Sub-national Doing Business CorD 65 / November 2009 19

INTERVIEW |

nicipalities – change can be effected. This is not just change in the letter of the law, or formalities and procedures but according to some of our mayorsthey have begun to see a change in the culture of the delivery of services to businesses. While this might seem quite obvious, the importance of commitment, championship and resources for reform must be emphasised.

Margo Thomas Study. In some cases where national level laws are implemented– or aspects of which are implemented – at the sub-national level, you find wide variations in terms of the time and cost of compliance. That is a very clear indicator of issues around transparency, consistency and the legality of requirements for businesses. IFC has already carried out its national and sub-national competitiveness projects elsewhere in the region. What lessons have your teams learned about the specificities of the Western Balkans and how repeatable are the activities? The lessons simply help to confirm the

principles I’ve just covered, in terms of ensuring that the regulatory framework is applied consistently, transparently and legally. However, what we’ve learned is that there’re tremendous benefits – not just for the private sector but also for the administration – in applying those principles. We often think of public administration as wanting to maintain the status quo, but what we’ve seen from our pilot projects in municipalities is that when the benefits of reform are clear and measureable, with political commitment and resources for implementation, it is possible to build constituencies to support reform and and as mayors have done in the four pilot mu-

FOREIGN INVESTORS THOUGHTS “Just the fact that Serbia joined the countries implementing, or having already implemented, the Regulatory Guillotine process is a clear signal indicating an improvement of the business climate and the operations of foreign investors – particularly considering that one of the goals of the Regulatory Guillotine is to reduce operational costs by removing administrative barriers, reducing potential sources of corruption and increasing efficiency. I also think that implementation of the Regulatory Guillotine is actually a prerequisite for the creation of a clear and predictable legal framework in Serbia, which is certainly missing.” Milica Subotić (JPM) - Head of the FIC Legal Committee (aim FIC Guide ’09) 20 CorD 65 / November 2009

One also often wonders if the reason public servants in municipalities are not very helpful is that they’re not so sure how they should be responding to an enquiry. That’s a very valid point linked to transparency and consistency. By documenting, clarifying and simplifying regulations and formalities and using internet-based registries and e-government tools that are accessible to citizens as well as public servants – transparency and consistency can be improved for public servants as well as the citizens and businesses that have to comply with the regulations. This is where modern technology can be very helpful in promoting and sustaining reform. Most of our municipalities have websites, which is an effective and important means of communicating information across the whole spectrum of constituents and beneficiaries. With this in mind, we have worked with our pilot municipalities to put all of these regulations on their websites and to establish systematic procedures for maintaining the integrity of the regulations and information provided. How much of a factor is the phrase about ‘old dogs and new tricks’ when it comes to reforming state administration? As I noted earlier – when the benefits of reform can be measured and clearly communicated, then you can build constituencies to support reform. This is what we have seen. Indeed, one mayor admitted that when I first approached him about the idea of improving the business environment and enhancing competitiveness he was extremely sceptical and, in fact, didn’t believe a word of what I said. However, here he was at the national conference a year and a half later explain that he’d found the business environment reform process a

very useful exercise that it had helped to increase the level of private investor interest in his municipality as a location for investment. Serbia’s various private business associations – the FIC, AmCham, etc. – have been brought into the regulatory reform process by being asked to provide their suggestions on administrative barriers. How important is private sector involvement in the business reform process and how can it be improved? The private sector is an important constituency for business environment reform. If we recognise that private investment is an engine for economic growth, then we must view the private sector as an important contributor. That we have observed, however, is that there is a lot more room for the private sector to play an active role. The ongoing Guillotine that’s being run by the Ministry of Economy has been designed to allow for the active involvement of the private sector – not just in providing feedback, but by actually participating in some of the working groups to review regulation. What’s important is that this is done in a transparent way and that the reform process is not captured by special interests. One always has to guard against that in order to maintain the credibility of the reform and in order to maximize the impact and sustainability of the reform.

IFC is also working on alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Could you tell us something about the importance of ADR; would it help the legal system cope with its current backlog? For the average private investor, investing is about managing risk and costs. An important aspect of risk relates to contracting and contract enforcement. In countries where there is still need for strengthening judicial systems and eliminating court backlogs, this is a major concern for investors. Tthrough the ADR programme, IFC helps client governments to develop credible, effective mechanisms for settling commercial disputes outside of the court system. This has proven to be quite effective. Over the last three or four years, based on IFC’s tracking system, roughly $90 million of productive capital has been released as a result of mediated settlements through this programme.

more lawyers are being trained as mediators as the legal profession is recognising that mediation is not a threat to their profession but another service they can provide to clients. Thanks to the work of our regional manager, Igor Matijević, in collaborating with the faculty of the Belgrade Law School, ADR is now on the curriculum at the Law Faculty. Your annual regional conference is coming up in November. What are the main topics that the conference will address and what tangible results do you expect it to yield? The conference focuses on investment climate issues affecting the competitiveness of the region and this is an important perspective for policymakers who are part of the regional network. This year’s conference will return to the theme of competitiveness, and we discuss how the region position itself to compete for investment as the world, hopefully, emerges from the crisis. Crises offer opportunities and this region can try to take advantage of some of those opportunities. owever, a strategic and coordinated approach is necessary. The discussions will focus on key investment climate issues of better regulation, reducing the costs of doing business to enhance competitiveness,trade logistics to facilitate the expansion of intra-regional and inter-regional trade. Given the location of this region as part of the EU neighbourhood and the compliance with EU regulations and trade requirements is an important part of the discussion. We are working closely with CEFTA to help focus this discussion and possible follow up activities.

“The private sector is an important constituency for business environment reform. If we recognise that private investment is an engine for economic growth, then we must view the private sector as an important contributor.” How well understood is the concept of ADR in Serbia and the wider region and how much progress have you made in this domain? As I said, this is particularly important for foreign and domestic investors and, as such, I don’t think there’s an issue of understanding here. Moreover, what we are seeing within the legal profession is that

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT THINKS “Entrepreneurs often express their indignation because goods certified for sale in the EU must pass a complete retest in our country, due to the non-compliance of our technical regulations and often somewhat different standards under expensive conditions. Moreover, whenever a given product has been only slightly changed it must go through the entire procedure again. The Economy Ministry started the so-called Regulatory Guillotine process last year. This is an 18-month project, running until June 2010, and we will consider how far this project has progressed.” Božidar Đelić, Deputy Serbian PM and Minister of Science & Technology (aim FIC Guide ’09)

Will you be encouraging stakeholders from Serbia to attend the conference and get involved in the regulatory reform process? Absolutely. We value the input and contributions of all of the countries of this region and we certainly hope that there will be strong and active participation through delegations representing governments, par liaments and the private sector. CorD 65 / November 2009 21

BUSINESS |

REPORTAGE

THE FUTURE This month CorD visits Niš to attend the city’s annual investment forum, NIF By Mark R. PULLEN Photo courtesy of NIF he City of Niš represents the industrial past, but also the economic future, of southern Central Serbia. A sprawling urban industrial hub of over half a million inhabitants, with excellent access to PanEuropean Corridor 10 and its many satellite towns, it was with optimism that we set off on the two-and-a-half-hour trip along the motorway to attend the 2nd annual Investment Forum – NIF09. Unfortunately, we were not joined by a single minister of the Serbian government, despite prior confirmations to the contrary. Established just last year with the aim of increasing the level of investment in the districts

22 CorD 65 / November 2009

of Nišava, Pirot and Toplica, NIF’s central event is the annual forum dedicated to promoting new business in the region – this year held at Dom Vojske Niš (Army Command) in the city centre. NIF09 focused on the areas of transport and tourism, with presentations covering the completion of Corridor 10’s road and rail links, development of the city’s Constantine the Great Airport, as well as the realising of the region’s tourism potential with a talk on one of Serbia’s own forgotten gems – the Roman city of Viminacium – and a guest presentation by the Chairman of Visit York, John Yeomans, who spoke of the forging of links between York and Niš on the basis of their shared Roman heritage (Constantine the Great was born in Niš and declared Emperor whilst in York). Investment projects and opportunities

were presented and discussed in direct meetings with potential investors from the areas of environmental protection and recycling, textiles, construction, energy, agriculture and the food industry. However, the disappointment of the opening speakers at the failure of a single government minister to show was palpable, with both Niš Mayor Miloš Simonović and NIF’s own Mladen Jovanović bemoaning the fact that ministers (Messrs Dinkić and Mrkonjić had earlier confirmed their attendance) didn’t put in appearances. “One wonders if perhaps they don’t think this region is very important for Serbia,” pondered Mayor Simonović dryly. That said, the forum did manage to attract over 200 delegates from the world of domes-

NOW IN NIŠ

tic and international business and some nota- airport, its director, Dragan Bugarinović, an- together investors, local and regional governble attendees, including representatives of 12 nounced the establishing of a new regular ment, consultants, construction companies and embassies – including several ambassadors and Niš-Stockholm flight. operators creates possibilities to really meet the economic attaches – directors of international The route, largely to cater for the Serbian people you need to realise potential projects.” Rollen’s colleague and countryman, Johan companies, business association leaders, State Diaspora resident in Scandinavia and their Secretaries and, most importantly, potential in- families in Central Serbia, will be operated Odeberg of Pontarius AB, told CorD more vestors from far and wide. by MCA Airlines from mid-December with about the plans of the Swedish airline: “MCA Speaking to CorD at the forum, local busi- flights potentially twice weekly. Airlines were previously looking at the Balkan nessman Nenad Savić, owner of plastics comSwedish company Swedavia – a subsidi- region and opted for Niš as the best city to fly pany Deni Komerc, explained: “I’ve been in- ary of the LFV Group – has been working on to in this region. “The Serbian Diaspora community in volved from the beginning of NIF and am ex- a development project to help Constantine the Sweden was an important driver of the estabtremely satisfied with this year’s forum. The Great Airport realise its massive potential. last, inaugural NIF was great, but this one is Speaking to CorD, LFV’s Johann Rollen lishing of this regular flight. There are close to 100,000 people from Serbia excellent. Here we are able Arthur Flanagan: “Niš is not only a great living in Sweden, many of to meet people doing tangible projects in the area. The location, but it also has a lot of human resources which live in Stockholm and the area of Malmo. Swedish only disappointment is the – for both industry and education – as well as backpackers travelling to this cancellation of the attendregion will also take advantage ance of ministers, who were research possibilities and great potential...” of the flight.” supposed to come to help the The many high level guests and delegates whole region.” explained: “We’re working on developing the Lauding the potential of the area, Savić airport from a platform to make it possible to took time to network and discuss projects and said: “If there’s somewhere needing invest- fly safely, efficiently and in an environmen- potential partnerships. Bulgarian Ambassador ment then that’s Niš. The airport needs to be tally-friendly way, and to have all those bal- Georgi Dimitrov spoke with Mayor Simonović turned around so our people from abroad can anced elements in place. However, it’s not un- and local businessmen at length; the Korean invest here in Niš and the region. til you have the airlines in place that you can Embassy’s economic counsellor discussed po“I see this as a future traditional investment really exploit it, which is why we’ve also been tential export deals with food producers, etc. fair, where foreign investors and local com- trying to attract airlines. CorD managed to speak to Danish panies can establish partnerships and take ad“You often find it’s only when flights are Ambassador, H.E. Mette Kjuel Nielsen. “We’re here because we actually think vantage of the relatively cheap workforce. established and tourists start to come that tour“This is one of the only events in Serbia where ist attractions develop,” explained Rollen. there is potential in this area and we want Speaking about NIF09 itself, Rollen said: to meet new people, get ourselves more incan I find new business. I think that more people from other countries will come to be our guests “I think these forums are crucial to bring peo- formed and look at what possibilities we can ple together with their different capabilities and help the economy of Serbia advance”. actually inform Danish companies about.” Redevelopment of Niš’s Constantine the throughout the region. The Mayor has taken Ambassador Nielsen explained that she was Great Airport was one of the hot topics of the the initiative to redevelop the region and uti- personally more interested in the environmenforum. Presenting plans and capacities of the lise its potential. Of course, simply bringing tal protection and recycling sub-topic: “We’re

INVESTMENT NEED

GOV’T SUPPORT?

FOCUSED FORUM

If there’s somewhere needing investment then that’s Niš.The airport needs to be turned around so our people from abroad can invest here in Niš...

“One wonders if perhaps they don’t think this region is very important for Serbia,” Mayor Simonović (pictured) commented on the failure of ministers to show.

NIF09 focused on transport and tourism, with presentations covering the completion of Corridor 10’s road and rail links, as well as other relevant issues in the area CorD 65 / November 2009 23

BUSINESS |

Olivier Remond: “We are sure that we will find more French investments in the coming months or years as Serbia progresses towards the European Union...” not really looking so much at transport and tourism, which is the focus of this forum, but we are looking at a number of sectors where we think there are genuine possibilities. “I was here two days ago on an EU outreach visit with my Swedish colleague and Minister Dulić of the Environment & Spatial Planning Ministry. It’s very clear that the focus my embassy has is also very much on the areas of ecology and the environment, energy efficiency and what we call short-term waste to resources. Waste management isn’t just a matter of cleaning up illegal dumps. It’s also a matter of putting your waste to use either through recycling or for heating and electricity.” She continued: “Other than the environment and energy efficiency, we’ve been concentrating on the textiles industry in southern Serbia and focusing on possibilities in the metal processing sector generally. My commercial counsellor’s been very active on those areas, but the environment is a topical issue at the moment and we’ve been focusing on that a lot.” Ambassador Nielsen elaborated: “The environment issue is extremely important on the world scene, but is also something that you can actually act upon at the lowest possible level. At our embassy we’re trying to show the potential of what can be done and perhaps show the potential of how Danish companies can assist in this process, but also making sure people know that their own personal action matters. For instance, six months ago the Danish Embassy decided to ‘go green’ and start recycling and doing as much as we could in terms of energy saving. Over the six 24 CorD 65 / November 2009

months that we’ve been doing it we have now saved 12 per cent on our electricity bill. This isn’t something that you need to be a highly developed society to do; individuals can actually make a difference.” Another country with growing interests in the Niš area is France. Speaking to CorD, French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce President Eric Blanchetete explained: “We are here today, together with the French Embassy, to promote French support to the region and French investments here. We already have a lot of investment here, with Michelin employing more than 2,200 people here and in the Pirot region and an investment of French Mr. Bricolage, who will open here in Niš very soon. Then there is also a project with French telecommunications company Sagem here locally, and so on. We are also trying – not only in Belgrade but also in the regions – to push an initiative to have small SMEs invest together with Michelin in some fields, etc.” Olivier Remond, Economic Counsellor of the French Embassy in Serbia, said: “I’ve only been in the country for a month and this is my first trip out of Belgrade. I was very interested to attend this forum. As you know, France has very important investments in southeast Serbia… Our aim is to develop closer ties with the Niš local authorities and develop an open dialogue between ourselves and the local governments in this region, in order for us to be able to report to French companies, potential French investors and chambers of commerce with reliable information about the potential of this region. “We are sure that we will find more French

investments in the coming months or years as Serbia progresses towards the European Union – not only big investments, but also more and more SMEs interested in producing here in Serbia,” concluded Remond. A USAID delegation also attended NIF09. Speaking to CorD, Senior USAID Advisor, Arthur Flanagan, said: “We support the forum and think that the very idea of a forum is very appropriate. Niš is not only a great location, but it also has a lot of human resources – for both industry and education – as well as research possibilities and great potential thanks to its location along Pan-European Corridor 10.” Speaking about USAID’s work on business development in Niš and Serbia as a whole, Mr Flanagan explained: “In general we’re trying to promote a more favourable business climate and have had a lot of activity through our Municipal Economic Growth Activity – the MEGA Project and several other projects at the macro level, aimed at trying to improve planning, permitting and anything that opens new trade routes. I also personally think CEFTA has opened such channels and eased the movement of goods and products across traditional markets as well. Upgrading standards in agricultural projects is also something we are working on, to make sure that ISO Standards are reached.” NIF09 had proven a worthy trip from nearby Belgrade, but some had travelled from far and wide. “I’m here on behalf of Leeds City Council and the Central and Eastern European Business Network,” said George Tokos. The CEBN man had come to promote the business network in Serbia and other central and eastern European countries “to promote them joining the network in order to take advantage of support available for the development of small and medium-sized businesses. I’m also here to bring in the civic side – in the form of the local authorities – in order to bring the two sides together within the network to broaden economic development. “This covers a broad range of sectors and is really about identifying businesses that may have a particular interest in a business area that’s available in Leeds or anywhere else in the European countries covered by the network,” said Tokos. NIF09 managed to buck the pessimistic trend of the global downturn and offer numerous possibilities to help ensure that the city emerges from the crisis in a stronger position than it entered it. We wish them well.

QUOTATIONS I criticised the recognition of Kosovo independence because it was rushed and pushed through by pressure from the then American administration… Serbia has a pro-European government and pro-European president, who are both doing a great job. But if the EU does not support what they are doing there is a danger that retrograde powers in Serbia could gain strength and send the country back into isolation, which would be a catastrophe for Serbia, and for the Union.” Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder Despite the efforts of supporters of Kosovo’s independence, they will not be able to present it as an irreversible process and close the issue. We want to show, step by step, that the alternative of the legal will exists.” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Serbia has done a good and serious job in co-operating with The Hague Tribunal and in meeting its obligations regarding the war crimes… Serbia has demonstrated a will to come closer to the EU by implementing provisions of the interim agreement with the EU and by carrying out essential reforms.” EU Enlargement Commissioner

Olli Rehn, commenting on the European Commission’s latest positive report on Serbia Serbia’s integration and accession to the EU is the only way to create stability in the west Balkan region, which could form a basis for economic development…” Serbian President Boris Tadić Bosnia is an unsustainable country ... the international community has overplayed its hand in Bosnia and this will become evident in the end.” Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska If it continues to go on like this, there is no question there will be conflict. It’s just a question of what kind of conflict there will be and is it going to be in three months, six months or a year?” Sulejman Tihić, leader of Bosnia’s largest Bosnian Muslim party We will no longer tolerate blockades and a lack of willingness to reform on the part of the Bosnians, Croats and Serbs…” Valentin Inzko, High Representative of Bosnia & Herzegovina The biggest, most complex, important and sensitive case ever before

this tribunal is about to begin without proper preparation. This process is not ready to start, simply because the defence was not granted sufficient time and resources to prepare.” ICTY Detainee, Radovan Karadžić When you speak to a woman who tells you that 21 members of her family have been assassinated ... you can easily measure the importance of this trial.” ICTY Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz I am not the president of the Sandžak Democratic Party. Rešat Hodžić is. When I formed the Social-Democratic Party of Serbia it was inappropriate for me to head two political parties, but it’s certain that SDP will be on the SDPS list in the next election.” Rasim Ljajić, Serbian Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Affairs The first realistic date when the transient trade agreement could be deblocked is the EU Summit in December after submission of the new report by Serge Brammertz, Chief prosecutor of The Hague Tribunal” Božidar Ðelić, Deputy Serbian Prime Minister

Regarding the Interim Trade Agreement and its implementation, the condition that had been set – and that is full, satisfactory co-operation with The Hague Tribunal - has been met, and that has been known since June, when Brammertz visited Serbia and said so in his report… I expect that after Brammertz’s report the Interim Trade Agreement could be implemented. The sooner the problem is solved the easier it will be both for Serbia and the EU, integrations will go more easily.” Vincent Degert, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Belgrade “(Serbia and Turkey) exist as good neighbours even though they do not share a border… As long as Serbia and Turkey support solving the same problems, there will be peace in the Balkans.” Turkish President Abdullah Gul “Biljana Plavšić has done immeasurable damage to Republika Srpska and the Serbian people, especially to those who were accused before The Hague Tribunal and were sentenced to many years in prison because of her testimony.” Dragan Todorović, Deputy president of the Serbian Radical Party CorD 65 / November 2009 25

TOP TENS |

The CorD list of the top ten women in business in Serbia - 2009.

LEADING LADIES 1. DRAGINJA ÐURIĆ, BANCA INTESA PRESIDENT OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

raginja Ðurić has been at the head of Banca Intesa since 2001, first as general director and, as of the 2005 takeover of the bank by the Intesa group, as president of the executive board. Under her leadership, the bank has become part of an international group, successfully reorganised its business and adapted to the policies and standards of the parent group. She successfully merged Panonska Banka and managed to take the leading position in the domestic banking sector, according to all major criteria of success. In addition to her obligations at the Bank, Ðurić serves as President of the Governing Board of the Association of Serbian Banks, is a member of the Assembly of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and sits on the board of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce. Since 2008 she has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Managers and the Association of Corporate Directors of Serbia. UK financial magazine Finance Central Europe has declared Ðurić Banker of the Year in Serbia six consecutive times. Last year the local Ekonom:east Group bestowed the title of Banker of the Year on Ðurić, while in a survey of popular daily Blic she was selected as Minister of Finance in the fictitious “Women’s Government”. Mrs Ðurić is a graduate of the Belgrade Faculty of Economics. She is a married mother of two. 2. JELENA DRAKULIĆ-PETROVIĆ, RINGIER LTD., CEO

orn in Belgrade, Jelena Drakulić-Petrović is a graduate of the city’s Faculty of Philology and is currently completing final year studies for an Executive MBA from the University of Sheffield, UK. She has completed a course in media management at the University of Tennessee, USA, (2006) and has worked for publishers Ringier since 2004. In April 2008 she became Deputy CEO and just a few months later. On 22nd July 2008, she was named CEO of Ringier.

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She can take great personal credit for the development of daily Blic, which now has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper in Serbia, and women’s spinoff Blic Žena, which sits atop the circulation figures for print media. Another of her major business success is the development of the first free daily newspaper in Serbia, 24 sata (24 hours), launched in September 2006, and daily tabloid Alo!, launched in October 2007. The latest Project of Ringier and Jelena is Blic online, which is recording the company’s highest growth figures: with 683,905 unique visitors in January 2008, by December that year it had reached a figure of 1,147,839. Mrs Drakulić-Petrović is a member of the Media Association of Serbia. 3. IVANA VESELINOVIĆ, PORT OF BELGRADE, PRESIDENT OF THE PORT OF BELGRADE; SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF DELTA HOLDING

fter graduating from the Belgrade Economics Faculty, Ivana Veselinović began her career at Delta Holding. From the very foundation of the company, she has advanced from trainee, to financial director and eventually to senior vice president of the company. From 1997, as CEO of Delta M Group, she contributed to the growth and development of a company that has today become the largest investor in the country and the region’s economic leader in the fields of agriculture, retail and real estate. For more than fifteen years she has contributed to the formulation of the business policies of Delta Holding. She has been managing the Port of Belgrade project since 2008,

Almost all of the companies that have ﬂoundered during the global economic crisis have been led by men; coincidence or a sign that the times should change? Globally, fewer than ﬁve per cent of the world’s top companies are led by women. Here in Serbia that percentage is even lower. However, some intelligent, ambitious and diligent members of the fairer sex have managed to clamber to the top of business in Serbia and, as has become an annual tradition, CorD brings you its shortlist of the top ten women in Serbian business for 2009. including overseeing the urbanisation and construction of the Danube bank side – in accordance with the Master Plan of renowned Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind. The Port of Belgrade site is considered by many investors as the most attractive location in southeast Europe. It is one of the biggest projects and investments in Serbia, which will include city and republican structures and - when brought to life – will create a planned 44,000 new jobs. It is estimated that the City of Belgrade budget alone will earn around €7 billion out of this project. As if she weren’t busy enough, Veselinović is also a member of the Governing Board of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, MTEL and the Executive Committee of NALED (National Alliance for Local Economic Development); and a Member of the Serbian Business Club Privrednik and the Italian Council. 4. DRAGICA PILIPOVIC CHAFFEY, SBB – SERBIA BROADBAND – SERBIAN CABLE NETWORK, CEO

ragica Pilipović-Chaffey is a graduate of the Belgrade Economics Faculty and in 1981 she received an MBA in business and finance at George Washington University in Washington DC. She is well known to the Serbian business community from her time as Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 to 2006. During that period she managed a department of about 20 bankers and support staff, with an annual budget of approximately €400 million. Leaving Belgrade in 2006, she took up the post of director of the EBRD’s department for Poland and the three Baltic countries, where she supervised the work of 40 bankers and five offices in different countries, with an annual budget of around €300 million. She has been back in Belgrade since May 2008 – initially as President of the SBB Board and, since mid-2009, as CEO of the company. SBB has a staff of over 700, annual sales figures of around €75 million and is owned by the EBRD and MidEuropa - European Fund, based in London. It is the leading operator of broadband internet and digital and analogue

cable television, operating in 28 cities in Serbia and present in six countries of the region through its Total TV satellite platform. With her authoritative and clear business concept, Pilipović-Chaffey has contributed to raising the quality of SBB and has entered the company into new technological and software projects in Serbia and the region. 5. MILKA FORCAN, DELTA HOLDING, VICE PRESIDENT

ilka Forcan has spent 17 years working with Delta Holding, holding many different positions ranging from international sales and finance manager to founder of the company’s marketing and public relations department. She is currently Vice President of Delta Holding (since 2003) and head of the Department for International Relations, which she founded in 2008. Delta Holding has experienced many years of continuous growth and international success and Mrs Forcan can safely say that she has helped the company become one of the region’s biggest. In 2006 she created the Corporate Social Responsibility department and obtained membership of CSR Europe in 2007, thus making Delta Holding the first company from the region to become a member of this prestigious organisation. Since founding the Department of International Relations in 2008, she has been particularly active in promoting Serbian business at major economic and political events and forums, such as the World Economic Forum at Davos, the European Business Summit (Brussels), the Balkans Summit – Friends of Europe (Brussels). From 2009, Mrs Forcan is a member of the Business Advisory Council for Southeast Europe (BAC SEE), which aims to build closer relations with international companies and organisations that share objectives of prosperity and euro integration for the region. A married mother of two, she is particularly active in the Serbian Tennis Federation and the Temple of Saint Sava Society and is a recipient of the coveted Saint Sava Medal for her contribution and activism during construction of the great temple. CorD 65 / November 2009 27

| TENS | TOP 6. JASMINA KNEŽEVIĆ, BELMEDIC GENERAL HOSPITAL, GENERAL MANAGER

7. SMILJKA MILEUSNIĆ ADŽIĆ, JUGOHEMIJA A.D, DIRECTOR GENERAL

aediatrician and pulmonary illness specialist Jasmina Knežević, MD, MSc., completed her graduate and post-graduate studies at the University of Belgrade before moving on to work at the Belgrade Children’s Hospital, specialising in lung diseases and running the clinic for children under three years of age. In 1995 she founded the clinic Bel Medic and by 2005 it had developed to become the Bel Medic private general hospital and Health Centre, intended to provide treatment for children and adults in almost all areas of medicine. The credit for the success of Bel Medic, which has become one of Serbia’s recognised brands, goes to Dr Knežević, who has personally advanced and developed it for almost fifteen years.She is also a founding member of the Asthma School for Doctors, children and their parents, Serbia and other organisations aimed at assisting the treatment of asthma. Last year she was named one of the 100 most successful managers in Serbia and in July this year she came second on the Serbian Chamber of Commerce’s list of the most successful business women in Serbia. Ms. Knezevic is also active in the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED), and is often a speaker at national and international conferences.

miljka Mileusnić Adžić, an economist graduate, has sat at the head of Jugohemija AD since June 2004 and, by many accounts, is considered a protected trademark of this business system. With a decade of persistence and hard work, additional training in finance, becoming a chartered accountant and continuing to monitor international economic developments, she has succeeded in positioning the Jugohemija business system at the very top of the list of successful businesses in Serbia and keeping it there. In the last five years, Jugohemija has been at the top of the list of Serbian companies with the largest growth in operating income. In this period, the company’s total revenue increased eightfold from €20 to €162 million. With Mileusnić Adžić at the helm, Jugohemija has established a new medical supplies model, expanded imports and the distribution of foreign medicines, introduced and broadened the appeal of domestic medicines and focused on other areas of the industry. It also boasts its own chain of chemists operating as Celsius pharmacies. Despite all of her professional successes, the Jugohemija boss still believes that her greatest success is as the mother of her son Alexander and daughter Elena.

8. MADLENA JANKOVIĆ-ZEPTER MADLENIANUM, OPERA & THEATRE; MADL’ART; MADL’OR, FOUNDER & OWNER

9. DRAGINJA RADONIĆ- PETROVIĆ, M&V INVESTMENTS A.D. NOVI SAD, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

orn 1947 in Belgrade, Madlena Janković-Zepter is perhaps best known as the wife of Serbian billionaire Philip Zepter. However, she is herself the founder and owner of numerous companies and institutions.She is the founder and owner of Zemun-based Madlenianum Opera & Theatre – the first privatelyowned opera house in the Balkans. Her auction house, Madl’Art, is the first auction house in Serbia and her export-import company, Madl’Or, deals exclusively with fine art pieces.The creator of numerous and scholarships, including the Madlena Janković Private Fund, she studied literature and was once a professor of literature. She initially left her native Belgrade to move to Austria with her husband in 1980 and is mainly active abroad these days. 28 CorD 65 / November 2009

orn in 1970 and a graduate of the Belgrade Economics Faculty’s department for finance, banking and insurance, Dragijana Radonjić-Petrović began her professional career in 1995 at the Beogradski eskontni centar – then one of only three brokerage houses in the country. Two years later she moved on to pastures new, joining the emerging M&V Investments as a broker. Founded in 1995, Novi Sad-based M&V Investments has grown to become one of Serbia’s leading borkerage houses, boasting over 27,000 contented clients and controlling between 17 and 18 per cent of the total stock exchange business in Serbia. Radonjić-Petrović was only the second woman to become a member of the Serbian Business Club Privrednik.

10 NADA MOMIROVIĆ, MONA LTD., CO-OWNER & DEPUTY CEO

ada Momirović has been co-owner and deputy CEO of MONA since 1998. She founded the clothing company with her husband Ðorđe and has since developed it to include all leather and textile products and expanded its activities to include tourism. MONA employs around 800 workers and markets its products at more than 50 retail outlets in Serbia, FYRMacedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Romania and elsewhere. Mona is now positioned among the leading

Serbian companies operating in the region. Her primary professional orientation, teamwork and systematic leadership, coupled with significant investments in business marketing management, contribute to MONA maintaining a leading position on the market. In addition to her business activities, Mrs Momirović is known publicly as a patron of numerous cultural and religious institutions, the organiser of humanitarian actions and donor constructions, as well as assisting in the reconstruction of Serbian monasteries and churches.

FIRST AMONG EQUALS

T’s inaugural ranking comes as the global crisis has turned a spotlight on male domination of the corporate world: would we be better off if more women were in charge? Some prominent people think so. Helen Alexander, first female president of the CBI, the UK employers’ body, says diversity is needed to prevent “groupthink” by white male boards. And 17 leading businessmen, including the chairmen of Anglo American, BP and Tesco, recently called for faster progress in appointing women to senior positions, saying the economy needed the best talent more than ever. They equated the urgency of the issue to that of climate change and poverty. 1. INDRA NOOYI, PEPSICO NATIONALITY: INDIAN, AGE: 53 Indra Nooyi, chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo, puts much of her success down to place: “I think the United States represents the greatest meritocracy in the world.” It’s the US, of course, where PepsiCo started, with the flagship cola brand, before growing into a global leader in the food and drink sector. Its portfolio includes such snack standards as Lay’s (Walkers in the UK) and Doritos, as well as the kitchen staples made by Tropicana and Quaker Oats. Nooyi is credited with putting the fizz into profits at the company, which has seen annual revenue increase during her tenure. But she’s quick to dispel any notion that she did it on her own. “So many people here mentored me … the US is a country that likes to see others succeed. That’s been my experience in the last 30 years.” Nooyi was born in southern India (according to Hindu tradition, Indra means “god of war) and held managerial positions at Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical group, and Mettur Beardsell, a textile company, before heading to the US to earn a master’s degree in private and

public management from Yale. The move led to a profound shift in her thinking. “You come from India off the boat, you go to business school and you realise that you come from a fairly sheltered life,” she says. “I learnt everything over again.” On graduating in 1980, she took key marketing and strategy roles at Asea Brown Boveri, Boston Consulting Group and Motorola before joining PepsiCo in 1994. She rose quickly, becoming the chief financial officer in 2001 and chief executive in 2006. En route to the boardroom, Nooyi spearheaded the acquisition of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats. Along the way, Nooyi has laid off 3,300 employees and offered $6bn to buy PepsiCo’s two biggest bottlers. She is also championing a move to healthier products and is overseeing a push into philanthropy: PepsiCo is working with the British government to develop a programme to bring “highly nutritious snacks to the undernourished”,. As for life after PepsiCo, she is quick to dismiss reports that she might go into politics. “In the future I would like to give back to the US, but I have been very clear in saying I am not in the politics arena at all.” She credits her family as being integral to her success – and she remains integral to their lives. “At the weekends, I’m cooking at home in the kitchen,” she says. “I’m doing everything that normal people do.”

2. ANDREA JUNG, AVON PRODUCTS NATIONALITY: CANADIAN, AGE: 51 Andrea Jung is the chairman and chief executive of cosmetics and perfume giant Avon Products “Whatever made me successful in the last few years may not be enough to make me successful in the next few years,” she used to say. The downturn has been kind to Avon, where revenues have topped $10bn and sales force recruitment has picked up significantly as people look to supplement their income. But Jung, a Canadian who succeeded Charles R. Perrin in 1999, has not always enjoyed such buoyant times. Four years ago, she steered Avon out of one of its most difficult periods on her watch. She recalls: “2005 CorD 65 / November 2009 29

TOP TENS | was a challenging year for the total company. We really put forth a very aggressive and bold sustainable growth plan that involved some significant cost-cutting and transformational initiatives to be reinvested back into the brand.” Since then, Jung has “incrementally” invested an additional $700m into brand and recruitment advertising and modernising the direct-selling business model. Her ability to persevere is a testament, she says, to her upbringing. “Early in my career, I was in a job that wasn’t very interesting and I said to my parents: ‘I don’t love this, I think I might quit.’ And they said: ‘Are you kidding, you can’t quit! You’ve got to start at the bottom and move your way up.’” Jung says her biggest source of inspiration comes from Avon’s six million sales representatives worldwide. “These are businesswomen who really started in many cases with nothing, and some of them have become really admirable entrepreneurs.” Although Avon is billed as the “Company for Women”, its diverse portfolio encompasses male grooming ranges, and a small portion of the sales associates are men. As for women in leadership, Jung, a graduate of Princeton, says the glass ceiling is beginning to “shatter”. But she’s wary of government intervention in this area. Looking to the next generation of executives, she encourages them to be passionate and bold. “I think this is not a time to hunker down and be defensive, I think it’s a time to be offensive if you want to win market share and strengthen your company.” Jung sits on the boards of Apple and GE. On a philanthropic and personal note, Avon supports Breast Cancer Care, which has raised $160m since its inception. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.

3. ANNE LAUVERGEON, AREVA NATIONALITY: FRENCH, AGE: 50 A physics graduate, Lauvergeon (nicknamed “Atomic Anne) started her career in 1983 at the French steelmaker Usinor before joining the French atomic energy body, the CEA. In 1988, she became deputy director of the General Mining Council, a move that led to her working on international economic issues for President François Mitterrand. A short stint in the financial services industry followed when she became a partner of Lazard Frères in Paris in 1995, before moving on to Alcatel in 1997 to oversee its energy and nuclear interests. Within a couple of years, she had changed portfolios again, after being chosen by the French government to run the nuclear fuel group Cogema. As chief executive of Areva, which reported a turnover of €13.2bn last year, she is responsible for 75,000 staff, spanning five continents. “You cannot drive 75,000 people without a sense of leadership,” she says, adding that her management style is direct and transparent. “For instance, we take all the decisions in an executive committee after presentations, so it means that there is no hidden agenda.”From next year, gender quotas will be introduced. Currently 35 per cent of engineers in Areva are female but this level of representation does not extend to executive ranks. “We have defined an internal rule so it means in 2010 we are going to have a minimum of 20 per cent of every committee in the company with women.” Her agenda for inclusiveness does not stop at gender, however. Lauvergeon wants Areva to become a diverse company on all levels because, by definition, her “customers are diverse”. In 2009, the group researched new commercial opportunities in Britain, South Africa and the US as well as ventures in other countries. Recently, it announced the sale of a 15 per cent stake to strategic partners to help fund investment. Next year, Lauvergeon aims to continue Areva’s 10 per cent annual growth in turnover, as well as to maintain recruitment levels and manage the development of Areva’s portfolio. 30 CorD 65 / November 2009

4. IRENE ROSENFELD, KRAFT FOODS NATIONALITY: AMERICAN, AGE: 56 When asked to explain her success, Irene Rosenfeld cites her childhood experience as a school basketball captain. The chief executive of Kraft since 2006, she became chairman after Altria Group spun off the food maker in March 2007. In an industry that is prone to fluctuations, Rosenfeld’s marketing acumen has kept her ahead of rivals. Ninety-nine per cent of US homes stock Kraft products. “Our brands are typically staples of the pantry and favourites of the family,” she says. According to Kraft, during the downturn, consumers are becoming more financially discerning and opting to eat at home, a trend that has helped bolster the company’s revenues, which reached $42bn in 2008. A veteran of the food industry, Rosenfeld has led the expansion of Kraft into emerging markets such as Argentina, Brazil and China. And this month, she made a daring $10.2bn bid for Cadbury. Although the British confectioner snubbed Kraft, Rosenfeld has not ruled out a hostile takeover. When she joined the company in 2006, Rosenfeld says she handed more power to local managers, helping the group’s turnaround. “Prior to that, a lot of the decisions were being made out of HQ, so we missed opportunities to understand local tastes.” Her biggest achievement to date, she says, was mobilising her 98,000 “very talented” employees by giving them a “road map” to follow. Next year she plans to invest in the brand portfolio, keep costs down, recruit and train staff and look for opportunities to expand the company’s “footprint in developing markets”. “Three years ago we set out to create new Kraft foods … despite a very challenging macro environment, I think we are well positioned as we look to the future.”

5. GÜLER SABANCI, SABANCI GROUP NATIONALITY: TURKISH, AGE: 54 Güler Sabanci is Turkey’s queen of finance. Her familyowned company, the Sabanci Group, is a conglomerate with interests ranging from banking to food to tyre manufacture. The company was founded by her grandfather, Haci Omer, in the early 1940s, then passed on to Sakip, her uncle. Güler became chief executive in 2004. In the course of its history, the business has transformed itself from a small cotton company to a billion-dollar conglomerate, with operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and in north and south America. Consolidated revenue in 2008 was $15.3bn. When faced with challenging situations, Sabanci often relies on “search conferences”, a methodology used in business schools to generate ideas, find flaws in strategies and ways to fix them. “I don’t have all the answers, but together we can have all the answers,” she says. Sabanci has this advice for aspiring executives: “It is important what you are doing but it is much more important with whom you are doing it.” And she challenges the perception of Turkey as a country that holds back women. “The issue of gender in business, it’s not only in my country, it’s all around the world. If we don’t focus on gender but focus on the results, on the targets, on the projects, on the achievements, we will see it is less of an issue.”

6. GAIL KELLY,WESTPAC NATIONALITY: SOUTH AFRICAN, AGE: 53 A few years ago, Gail Kelly described to a Melbourne newspaper the moment she realised the career for which she’d studied – teaching – was not for her. She had snapped at a young boy over a small matter and afterward “stood there and watched him go and felt so ashamed of myself. I was allowing my unhappiness to

affect who I was. I remember sitting at the bus stop that afternoon in Johannesburg thinking, ‘This has got to change, I’m 22 years old, I’m one-year married, how can I be so unhappy?’ But it was quite a seminal moment for me. And I mention it quite a lot to my own people when I try to make a point about how you need to do work that you love.” Kelly left the job and started work as a teller at Nedcor Bank. Her talent for figures was quickly spotted and she was selected to embark upon an accelerated training programme. In 1997, the family moved to Australia, where Kelly progressed through several senior management roles at Commonwealth Bank before being headhunted by St George Bank, where she became managing director. In 2008, she was appointed chief executive of Westpac. Later that year, she announced that Westpac would buy St George, in a deal that created Australia’s largest mortgage lender and its biggest bank by market value.

7. ANNIKA FALKENGREN, SEB NATIONALITY: SWEDISH, AGE: 47 Annika Falkengren has been with SEB for most of her working life: she began her career there as a trainee in 1987, worked in the trading and capital markets divisions until 2000, and headed several global departments before becoming chief executive in late 2005. In 2006, reflecting on working women, she told the FT: “In Sweden, to be a truly successful woman you should have a good job, look after your children – of which you should have three – make good food, go to the spa, see your female friends and take care of your husband. “When I look at my career, there were sacrifices. Between 30 and 40 I did not have any children [she had a daughter in 2005] … People don’t really talk about it in Sweden, but you cannot do it all and you cannot get it all.” She is now focused on steering the bank through the recession. It had to write down the value of its eastern European assets this summer, but is cushioned by a robust tier one capital ratio.

8.YOSHIKO SHINOHARA, TEMP HOLDINGS NATIONALITY: JAPANESE, AGE: 74 When Yoshiko Shinohara launched Tempstaff in her native Japan in 1973, she wasn’t worried about the possible humiliation of failure: “Most of my female friends were housewives, and they wouldn’t have cared a bit even if I failed in business,” she told BusinessWeek in 2004. The idea of a temporary staffing agency was a novelty in Japan at the time; Shinohara had first learnt of the concept while working in Australia and decided to try her hand at it upon returning home and realising that “without any special qualifica-

tion, I … would end up by serving tea or just being a clerical assistant. My prospects looked extremely gloomy.” At times, Shinohara has had to deal with ingrained attitudes to women – one businessman compared Tempstaff to the work of an okiya, an agent who dispatches geishas – but she’s taken it in her stride. In October last year, Tempstaff merged with another Japanese group, People Staff, to create Temp Holdings.

9. DONG MINGZHU, GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES NATIONALITY: CHINESE,AGE: 56 “I never miss. I never admit mistakes and I am always correct.”These are the no-nonsense words of Dong Mingzhu, the boss of China’s largest air-conditioning manufacturer, in an interview in Chief Executive Magazine in 2007. Nicknamed “Sister Dong” by her employees at Gree, she cuts a formidable presence, swiftly dismissing those who do not pull their weight. But her methods have met with success: Dong has transformed the state-owned enterprise into a global player; in 2008, turnover reached £3.5bn. She said last month that “this financial crisis is a moment for Gree to reorientate itself. The crisis is helping the world to better understand China and the Chinese people at a time when Chinese products have been viewed as low-price and low-quality. “It is a golden chance for overseas customers to recognise that they can pay less for the best quality machines.”

10. HO CHING,TEMASEK HOLDINGS NATIONALITY: SINGAPOREAN,AGE: 56 Ho Ching has been running Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s state investment company and one of the world’s oldest sovereign wealth funds, since 2002. Her tenure has not been without controversy – starting at home. As the wife of Singapore’s prime minister, Ho has weathered speculation that the job offer had more to do with family ties than her own qualifications. Still, the company chairman said at the time that she was the best woman for the job, and cited her appetite for risk. Under Ho, who holds a masters degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, Temasek has bought stakes in China Construction Bank Corporation and Bank of China. Its ventures into western banks such as Merrill Lynch – in which it became the largest shareholder – and Barclays have yielded losses due to the recession. But this has not deterred Ho, who has said Temasek is open to new opportunities with western financial groups – if, she told the FT, “the opportunity comes and it looks attractive”. Her plans to retire this year had to be put on hold when US businessman Chip Goodyear withdrew his candidacy as her successor. By FT

CorD 65 / November 2009 31

APPOINTMENTS

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

Ambassador Vincent Degert, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in BGD Born 1960 in Strasbourg, France, Ambassador Degert is a married father of four. A graduate of the Strasbourg Institute for Political Science (Political Science Masters – 1981) and the Strasbourg Institute for European Studies (European Affairs Masters – 1983), Degert also holds a Masters in Law and a Post-graduate Diploma in Political Science (University of Strasbourg, 1984/5). Degert has been with the Commission since 1987 and prior to his arrival in the Serbian capital was head of the delegation of the European Commission in Zagreb, Croatia (2005-’09). The author of numerous expert texts, Ambassador Degert is a keen sportsman and former marathon runner, ski instructor and captain of the Strasbourg University rugby union team.

LEADERS

IS REGULATORY REF KEY MEASURE

Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Greece’s Dimitrios Kypreos is a graduate of Athens University (Law and Economics) and has amassed vast experience with the Greek Foreign Ministry. Serving as Head of the Greek MFA’s Department for the European Union from 1985 to ’89, he went on to serve as the MFA’s Head of the Department for Southeast Europe from 1995 to ’97. Overseas, he has held senior diplomatic posts in Paris and Prague, was Greek Consul in Frankfurt and Milan, and Greek Ambassador to Moscow, Berlin and Budapest. Ambassador Kypreos acted as EU Presidency Liaison Officer at the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia (1994) and worked as part of the group supporting Lord Owen. More recently (2005 to ’06) he held the post of Co-ordinator of the Southeast European Co-operation Process (SEECP) during the Greek Chairmanship and National Coordinator at the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe.

Eric Blanchetete, President of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce Current President of Findomestic Banka (Groupe BNP Paribas) Belgrade, Eric Blanchetete also becomes president of the newly inaugurated French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce this month. With more than 15 years experience in the banking sector, Mr. Blanchetete’s first managerial position was as marketing manager of Societe Generale Orleans (1995 to ’98), followed by a stint as Eastern Europe Sales Manager at Societe Generale Paris (1998 to ’01). He arrived in Serbia back in 2001, spending three years as Network Director of Societe Generale Yugoslav Bank and helping to form the Foreign Investors Council. Relocating to the former Soviet Union, he served as Commercial Director of Rusfinance, Moscow (Societe Generale) – 2004 to ’05 – and Director General of ProstoFinance, Kiev Ukraine (Societe Generale) – 2005 to ’06 – before returning to Serbia to assume his current post at Findomestic. 32 CorD 65 / November 2009

Both the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (AmCham) and Philip Morris have been very supportive of the Regulatory Guillotine process, because we believe that simplifying administration is one of the keys to successful economic growth going forward. Both the American Chamber of Commerce and Philip Morris have made recommendations and offered extensive submissions to the project Guillotine on the ways that we would suggest regarding how we can help to simplify government administration as the country goes forward. We believe that simplifying administration during these difficult economic times is one of the key measures that the government can undertake in order to help attract foreign investors, especially towards the end of the economic crisis globally and locally. AmCham Serbia President Skip Bornhuetter, Regional Manager of Philip Morris International for SEE CRR THE ONLY WAY Regulatory reform is an extremely important action of the Ministry of Economy, which coordinates the whole affair. We are (and I hope that my colleagues

from the ministry of economy will confirm that) one of the most active and accurate ministries on the Regulatory Guillotine process. The results of the work of our ministry are obvious and measurable… Now we are in the procedure’s completion phase and I hope to see the adoption of two laws by the end of this year: the Law on Consumer Protection and the Law on Trade. Earlier this year we adopted the Trade development strategy of Serbia. In addition, we adopted dozens of regulations within the sectors of market inspection, trade and the Directorate for Commodity Reserves. I have to say that the biggest problem is the inefficiency of administration in servicing the economy…CRR (Comprehensive Regulatory Reform) is precisely how it should be resolved.

All the work should be done faster and more efficiently, which would indisputably demonstrate commitment to minimising and reducing administration, corruption, bureaucracy and all those plagues that Serbia and the Serbian economy are facing; and to create acceptable European frames. Slobodan Milosavljević, Serbian Minister of Trade and Services

LEADERS RESULTS EXPECTED

We’ve been talking about the Regulatory Guillotine for the past two years, without much progress being made. However, at the beginning of this year the Ministry of Economy became very involved in this matter and found a true partner in the FIC. We expect the first results to be visible by the end of 2009. This will lead to an improved business environment in the areas covered by the regulatory guillotine. It takes two to carry out reforms and I think that, at this moment, the other side has quite good understanding of the fact that comprehensive reforms are necessary in every single business aspect. A lot still needs to be done, but we are all aware that we need a lot of strength, patience and dialogue with all relevant players to make things better. Serbia ought to start thinking about what we are going to do when the crisis subsidies and development becomes the number one topic again, i.e. how prepared we will be to use the end of the crisis to our advantage. FIC President Aleksandar Radosavljević, Carlsberg Srbija CEO (excerpt from aim FIC Guide ’09) DECISIVE FACTOR The Danish Embassy is highly supportive of the Regulatory

Guillotine process and we think it is absolutely key to attracting investments that it continues. It’s very good that this started, but they need to continue – both at the national and local levels. This is quite simply because the amount of time it often takes to obtain the permissions to start to do business is just too long. One of my colleagues noted that it’s like water: business flows where there’s space and the least resistance, so in order to attract fresh investment the Regulatory Guillotine has to be carried through, but my feeling is that the Serbian government really do want to do it. We are not directly supporting the Guillotine, but we are supporting reform of the whole legal sector and we support the Guillotine process politically.

Greece’s Christos Tsemberas studied in France and the U.S. and holds a Masters in International Hotel and Tourism Management. A professional in the tourism and leisure industry since 1978, Mr. Tsemberas has worked in France, his native Greece, Egypt and Serbia. Prior to his move to Grand Casino Belgrade, Mr. Tsemberas served as director general of the city’s Metropol Palace Hotel during its ongoing reconstruction. He is currently a member of the Association of Hotel General Managers of Athens, a member of the board of Chaine Des Rotisseurs - Greece, a member of the board of the Serbian Hotel Association and vice president of the Hellenic Business Association of Serbia.

Milan Parivodic, Chairman Foreign Investors Services Born 1966 in Belgrade, Milan Parivodić is a graduate of Belgrade University’s Faculty of Law and an international business lawyer by profession. A former member of Vojislav Koštunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), he served as Serbian Minister of International Economic Relations from 2004 to ’07 and has worked as a consultant for the World Bank and other major international institutions. A married father of two, Mr. Parivodić held the position of Partner at international law firm Wolf Theiss before forming his new company Foreign Investors Services.

Maja Babić, Marketing & PR Director Grand Motors

It’s a major issue when Danish businesses enquire: “will I get the permits; how long does that take; how easy is it and how much red tape do I have to contend with?” They’re also looking at infrastructure and a lot of other elements. Serbia’s a very attractive country and we are trying to promote knowledge of that in Denmark, but these areas of ‘red tape’ are often very decisive when it comes opting whether or not to invest. Danish Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Mette Kjuel Nielsen

Born 1972 in Skopje, Mrs. Babić, graduated in engineering technology – Department of Industrial Management and Marketing – before spending six years with Delta Holding’s Delta M Group (1996 to ’02) and three years as representative of France’s Groupe SEB for Serbia, Montenegro and FYRMacedonia from 2002 to ‘05. Moving to the auto sector, Mrs. Babić worked for Porsche Inter Auto from 2005, before taking up her latest post as Grand Motors Marketing & PR Director on 7th October 2009. A married mother of two daughters, Mrs. Babić is an active individual who enjoys yoga and skiing.

Mijat Lakićević, Economic Editor NIN A graduate of Belgrade University’s Faculty of Law, Mr. Lakićević worked for numerous economic publications in his early career, before taking up his first senior editorial post with publication Ekonomska politika. A founding editor-inchief of Serbia’s Ekonomist Magazine, Lakićević moved to company Ringier to assume the post of editor at weekly economic supplement Blic Novac. Following Ringier’s takeover of NIN, Lakićević assumes the post of Economic Editor at the popular political weekly. CorD 65 / November 2009 33

APPOINTMENTS

ORM A PRIORITY?

Christos Tsemberas, General Manager Grand Casino Belgrade

| | INTERVIEW

Dr. Henri B. Meier, Chairman of the Board of Directors of HBM BioVentures AG

GROWTH INDUSTRY “...it’s true that the pharmaceuticals industry is quite resistant to the crisis, but not 100 per cent.” harmaceuticals company PharmaSwiss is set to begin construction of a new factory in Belgrade, marking a €20 million greenfield investment in the Serbian capital. Following news of this shining investment example during the darkest days of the global and domestic crisis, we spoke to Dr. Henri B. Meier, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PharmaSwiss parent company HBM BioVentures AG. PharmaSwiss was founded in 2000 in the six countries of the former Yugoslavia and

34 CorD 65 / November 2009

incorporated in Switzerland. With sales of €130 million in 2008 and 650 employees active in 20 countries, PharmaSwiss holds about 12% of Serbia’s drug market. The new factory, to be located at an asyet-undisclosed site within Belgrade’s city limits, will employ around 200 workers by the time production begins in 2012. According to Goran Stojanović, Production Development Director of PharmaSwiss Serbia, the new factory will increase the company’s production capacities by a factor of four or five, raising current an-

nual production of around nine million packages of pharmaceutical products. Taking advantage of Serbia’s free trade agreements and traditional links abroad, drugs produced in the new plant are expected to be exported to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Central Asia. Dr. Henri B. Meier has been Chairman of the Board of Directors at HBM BioVentures AG since 2003. HBM BioVentures itself was created around the turn of the century and, according to our interlocutor, “it has already lived through two financial crises and a pe-

riod when many of the young biotech companies had big problems; a time when the U.S. FDA was having problems internally and restrictively only allowed about a half of all new medicines that they allowed in the former period. So this was a period that was difficult but interesting in terms of the development of new medicines and a period when many young people have had new ideas about medicines.” Some analytical reports recently suggested that the pharmaceuticals industry is crisis-resistant. Have you found that to be the case? I wouldn’t put it so definitively. Perhaps Eastern Europe is an exception, but if you look worldwide you’ll see that even the pharmaceutical industry has not had the same growth rates in the past year than have been seen before. So, it’s true that the pharmaceuticals industry is quite resistant to the crisis, but not 100 per cent. Whenever you have hospital products, or products that are life-saving, there will be no change in their usage because they are being used constantly; whenever there is a risk of loss of life. Where we have seen some reduction has been in sales of medicines that are not necessarily lifesaving but are convenient.

which field a pharmaceutical company is active and whether they would directly benefit from Obama’s plan. In terms of economy, the question is whether anyone can afford to back the plan. We have seen America living beyond its means for many years and, therefore, they have a big hole in their financial plan. From that point of view, an economist would probably argue that Obama’s ambitions aren’t modest enough and would be tough to realise from a purely financial perspective. In his presentation earlier today, PharmaSwiss’s Petar Nemec noted that PharmaSwiss is the only Western pharmaceutical company concentrating exclusively on the smaller markets of Central and Eastern Europe and that some 80 per cent of the pharmaceuticals industry is covered by just seven countries (the U.S., Japan and the big five EU countries). What did he mean by that?

when the company is strong enough and has developed its potential fully, we will pass it on to others. We are here to help, almost like a coach helping them to grow and develop before finding an exit. Typically, we stick around for the first ten years of a company’s existence. What has been your most successful venture so far? The biggest success we’ve had in Europe is only a month old: it was the sale of company Brahms to a large American buyer [Thermo Fisher]. Brahms was a young company that had developed very interesting diagnostic tools – one in particular against sepsis, which is life-threatening and is a big risk for hospitals. This diagnostic tool allows an immediate diagnosis of sepsis. Brahms’ successful development ensured that this was our most successful single investment, earning us some 22-times our initial investment in the company. Indeed, I believe that’s the biggest yield that the industry has ever seen.

“Whenever you have hospital products, or products that are life-saving, there will be no change in their usage because they are being used constantly; whenever there is a risk of loss of life.”

Are consumers tending to buy more generic medicines than brand names as a result of the crisis? This is a general tendency that we are witnessing worldwide. Does the pharmaceutical industry have a collective opinion on U.S. plans for a national health service; could that potentially affect revenue in the sector? To a certain extent it probably depends in

He was speaking in terms of value and not necessarily in terms of quantity. If you look at China you’ll see that the market still consumes a lot of natural products that are very cheap. If you made that assessment with Western market prices, it would look very different. However, as it stands the markets of these seven countries are very dominant. HBM BioVentures helps young pharmaceutical companies get on their feet, before selling their shares and moving on. Does that mean that you’ll be looking to sell your PharmaSwiss shares soon? That’s right. One day, when they are ready;

Serbian pharmacists often complain that the government has yet to register a lot of medicines and, as such, they are forced onto the grey market. Is that a problem you encounter a lot around the world? I would expect it in a country like Serbia that has gone through so many difficult periods and a concentration of tough events. So, I am not surprised that the situation is not yet fully under control here. As a matter of fact, there are many countries that haven’t suffered wars and sanctions in the past decade but still don’t have their domestic medicines market under control. In Serbia there is quite a high level of education and sophistication, so I expect the problem to be remedied here faster than elsewhere.

DEVELOPMENT

U.S. NHS PLAN

GREY MEDICINES

We are here to help, almost like a coach helping them to grow and develop before ﬁnding an exit.Typically, we stick around for the ﬁrst ten years

...the question is whether anyone can afford to back the plan. We have seen America living above its means for many years.

In Serbia there is quite a high level of education and sophistication, so I expect the problem to be remedied here faster than elsewhere. CorD 65 / November 2009 35

ADVERTORIAL |

INTERVIEW: Zdenko Lekan, CEO of Konsing Group

HIGH POTENTIAL

Zdenko Lekan established Konsing Group during a period when the collapse of the former Yugoslavia was taking its highest toll. Against all odds, the company became a leader in the region, setting up networks for mobile telephone operators in almost all republics of the former Yugoslavia r Lekan emphasises the importance of employing young people, where he believes the greatest potential of the region lies. Konsing Group is sailing safely through the crisis which, according to Mr Lekan, is nearing its end.

What are the potentials of the regional communication market and what are the barriers? This region generally lags behind Western Europe. And I mean the entire region, including Bulgaria and Romania and also, to an extent, Hungary. This applies to all segments - including internet as well as fixed phone lines. What is lagging the most? I believe that would be the internet. The penetration of internet per capita is about 20-25 per cent, while in Western Europe it reaches 80 Per cent. Serbia has a gap here as well. This year the ministry of telecommunications attempted to make some progress by issuing three licences for CVMA, which is to contribute to faster development of communications. However, the crisis has slowed investments down.

State monopolies, in terms of fixed-line operators, are less frequent in the West than they are here. What can help create a healthy market environment in this segment in Serbia, knowing that the way in which the state operator functions tends to exclude competition as such? This has been a long process in the West as well. Up until today, parts of Deutsche Telekom are still in the hands of the state and the situation is similar in France. What needs to be realised in Serbia is that telecommunications are a source of income for the state and Telekom should be partially privatised.

The people in the region show the initiative to resolve problems To what extent should it be privatised? Around 70 per cent. There is a tendency of communications being privatised everywhere and around 30 per cent – namely the sector of transmissions - should stay in state hands. According to some documents that the state signed with the IMF, Telekom should be privatised by the end of this year, although this is unlikely to happen in reality.

GROWING WITH CLIENTS

onsing was formed in the 1990’s and not only survived the hardest times, but managed to create an enviable market position. How did you succeed? We were the first to develop a paging system. Then we built an entire NMT mobile network. After that we built 70 per cent of the 063 network. We were lucky to have specialised in a business that boomed. Our clients are also spreading. Telekom Srbija, our client, bought Telekom Republika Srpska, so we set up a network for them too. But the absolute record was setting up MTEL’s entire mobile network in Montenegro in a little over 50 working days.

36 CorD 65 / November 2009

You spent years working abroad, mainly in the U.S. Do foreign investors perceive Serbia and the region as a place where good business can be done? I regret to say that the state is not creating the environment they expect to find. Laws are too complex. For example, the new Law on Spatial Planning includes very complex procedures when it comes to obtaining a building permit. Foreign investors do not like this. In many countries of Eastern Europe the state gives land for free and resolves all the paper work within a month. When Citibank came two years ago, there was a chance for more American companies to come and I remain optimistic. America is the country investing the most in Serbia - to mention just US Steel and Duvanska Industrije Niš (Phillip Morris). That amount could be doubled. All the managers I have communication with are extremely satisfied with the level of knowledge and expertise of the people in the region, as well as their approach to work. By approach to work, I mean that the people here show the initiative to resolve problems. This helps investors and is why all the investments in the region have been successful. Can there be substantial changes in way business is done in the region, i.e. frequent bribes and family connections opening doors that they should not, to name just a few examples? This will come only when we enter the EU. We require someone to compel us to make a change. Laws need to be accepted following a relative consensus; otherwise it will be paradise for those who seek gaps in the laws. The Law on Spatial Planning was adopted so all those who acquired whatever in transition by dubious means are enabled to legalise

their property. There have been many cases when someone had bought a factory, tore it down and built a residential building instead. The new law should have stopped this, but it didn’t. You were of the first CEOs to come out and admit “We have reduced salaries in the entire company by 10 Per cent.” Where did this figure come from? It is because everyone can save 10 per cent without altering their lifestyle or business significantly. We all should save and Konsing strives to set an example here. You are one of the few companies here with a branch in Kosovo. Are you satisfied with your business there? It is going well. I am very satisfied to say that we employ people of both Serbian and Albanian nationality. We have an office in Peč with mostly Albanian employees. There are absolutely no problems. Our business there is to set up a mobile telephone network for all the operators, which at the moment means Telekom and VIP. In less than two years we have covered the entire territory with a majority Albanian population. Are you satisfied with what you have done so far? I absolutely am. My goal was to set up a company that would employ perspective young people. I have always believed in the young, but I also fear that too many are leaving because of bad conditions here. It is good that those perspective young people go overseas and acquire expertise, but then they should return home and use that knowledge. The potential of people in this region should not be underestimated. Microsoft opened a Development Centre here - only their second in the world. Of course, the crisis made sure that we must employ less enthusiastically, as our main clients - Telekom and Telenor - have stopped their big projects. However, as far as our business is concerned, recent events show that we have emerged from the crisis. So next year there will be more projects. Out of the 10 per cent salary reduction, all the money went into development, so we also expect that to bring profit. You have announced many new projects, like Info Kiosk, pos-terminals, Slavija-

Out of the 10% salary reduction, all the money went into development Microsoft and Cisco partner, so basically we offer the clients a network. We provide the software, connect your computers into a network and then we give you the internet. You pay a flat fee for three years and after that time you become the owner of the system. That means that a new company pays, for instance, €20 per computer per month and they have everything. Small companies find it difficult to afford accounting and our service provides that as well. You simply log onto our server and can download all the applications needed for data transfer which enables accounting. This is top-quality accounting and is very popular in the West.

Times Square. Are these the most important ones? We have some 20 projects planned. Some are frozen, like Slavija-Times Square. The idea was to cover Slavija with gigantic screens, like on Times Square, where you would have live streaming of whatever is most important at the moment – news, stock exchange indexes, football games, etc.. We would therefore rent our technical facilities. We spoke to several firms about this, but as it is a crisis, advertising is hit most so it’s on standby. We will also be setting communication towers with decorations, like for example Christmas trees, which will be on one of the main squares in Belgrade. Our Info Kiosk, where you will be able to make online purchase of things like credit for your mobile telephone account, is waiting for the approval of city authorities. However, over 2000 businesses around Serbia are using our system to sell prepaid to their clients.

What about your fixed telephone communications plans? That is mainly connected to our licence for Voice over IP, meaning fixed telephone via internet. But we actually took that so we could incorporate it into the aforementioned service package.

You also recently became an internet provider. It is not our goal to be an internet provider for the general public, but to sell it to companies as a part of a service package. We are va certified

Where do you see Konsing in 10 years? My vision is that the Konsing Group will include around 15 companies with a 1000 employees, which will provide top-quality service in telecommunications. CorD 65 / November 2009 37

B2B |

NEW HEAD OFFICE & BUSINESS PLANS

iraeus bank AD Belgrade has moved to a new head office in New Belgrade, changing address to Milentija Popovića 5b. Piraeus is now located in the emerging central business district of the city, within the prestigious new Savograd business centre, where the Bank is easily accessible to assist all clients. All organisational units are now under one roof in this new modern and functional Head Office building. With that goal achieved, more efficient working conditions and employee communication has been created, which will amount to more productive business operations and better overall results of the Bank itself. Piraeus Bank has strong vision and a determination to become one of the top tier financial institutions on the Serbian market. The bank’s has an ambitious yet conservative plan for this year in all business sectors and is preparing a set of very attractive products and services for the ever-changing needs of clients. Piraeus bank has commenced negotiations with the European

FOOD EXPORT CONTRACTS CONCLUDED AT ANUGA FAIR

he Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) has confirmed that 25 Serbian firms signed contracts worth over $5.5 million at the international food fair Anuga in Cologne this October. According to a SIEPA statement, the top selling products were frozen fruits and vegetables, ready-made salads, preserves, jams, juices and sweets. Talks concerning other contracts worth $15.5 million are ongoing. This is the latest of several successful joint exhibitions by Serbian companies at international fairs. Exhibitions by the companies are organised by the USAID Agribusiness Project, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and SIEPA. Long term coordinated work by USAID, the Ministry of Agriculture and SIEPA to promote exports, and increase competition between domestic food producers has contributed greatly to this success. Serbian products are showcased at fairs under the joint national slogan “Serbia Naturally” and exporters go through specialised marketing and sales training to improve their business skills, concludes the statement.

RUSSIAN LOAN TO FUND METRO & CORRIDOR 10

Investment Bank to secure additional funding for SME, infrastructure and municipality lending, in order to enlarge its loan portfolio. Moreover, Piraeus has reconfirmed in practice its ability and commitment to providing funding to the local market with attractive terms, by submitting a most competitive loan offer to the Serbian State. Despite the very difficult economic situation, Piraeus Bank will continue to follow world trends in using new technology to improve the banking sector; creating services in order to best satisfy clients’ needs and support the local community through numerous CSR activities. 38 CorD 58 65 / Mart November 2009 2009

ussia is interested in participating in the construction of Corridor 10 and a metro in Belgrade, among other projects, writes daily Blic. During the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Belgrade, it was stated that US$200 million could be given to the Serbian budget and that all other money received from Russia would be used for other projects. Blic has learned from sources close to the negotiations that the Russians are interested in the construction of the Prokop railway station in Belgrade, the reconstruction of the metro station at the Vuk Karadžić monument, while one Russian company is interested in building roads and developing infrastructure in Serbia as well. There has also been discussion of the Novi Sad II thermo-electric plant and the Belgrade bypass from Orlovača to Bubanj Potok. Russian investors are also keen on building a metro in the capital and participating in the construction of Corridor 10 from Novi Sad to Horgoš. A working group made up of Serbian and Russian officials will decide an interest rate, grace period and deadline for returning the USD 1bn loan that was reportedly agreed between Medvedev and President Boris Tadić. There is no deadline for the agreement, but it is in the interests of Serbian industry to start working together as soon as possible. Source: Blic

FRENCHSERBIAN CHAMBER LAUNCHED

ctober saw the formal inauguration of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce in Belgrade, under the leadership of the Chamber’s president Eric Blanchetete, of Findomestic Banka. Speaking to CorD, Blanchetete explained: “the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce has, in fact, existed as an informal club until now. However, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Serbian President Boris Tadić had a meeting a few months ago aimed at re-launching, formally and very clearly, business relations between the two countries.” He continued: “to reinforce that initiative, a very big delegation of French managers from the country’s top companies came to Serbia. Just after that, the French Ambassador suggested that we should have a real French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and so we formed one.” The French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce already boasts more than 80 members and, according to its president, is “very active on the business scene in Serbia”. Source: CorD

BUDGET AIRLINES HEADING FOR BELGRADE

he Civil Aviation Directorate has given permission to Hungarian Malev and Austrian low-cost company Fly Niki to fly from Belgrade. The Directorate’s spokeswoman Katarina Andrić-Milosavljević says that Malev will probably fly every day between Budapest and Belgrade, while Fly Niki will go between Vienna and Belgrade six times a week. Montenegro Airlines has also received permission to fly from Niš to Zurich twice a week. Planes will fly from Podgorica to Niš and then after a one-hour break to Zurich and back. Source: Tanjug

EMIRATES INTERESTED IN SERBIA AS REGIONAL HUB

mirates Airlines’ representatives visited Belgrade to discuss the possibility of establishing the Serbian capital as their regional hub in mid-October. Representatives of UAE’s Directorate of Civil Aviation signed an agreement in Belgrade on flying rights between Serbia and UAE, Serbian dailies Blic and Novosti reported. The delegation was accompanied by airline representatives from Emirates, which is hoping to use the Serbian capital for flights to Australia, New Zealand, China, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.. “Emirates has serious plans for air traffic between Belgrade and Dubai. For a long time the airline has wanted to establish Belgrade as its regional centre, through which we would transport passengers and goods to over 100 destinations in the world on a daily basis,” an Emirates source told Blic. Source: Blic

SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT, MANY POINTS OF VIEW

UROFAST GLOBAL Ltd was founded over 30 years ago by a team of experienced professionals to provide independent and responsive tax and legal advisory services, as well as financial services including trust & management and payroll & accounting services via its fully fledged subsidiaries throughout the Balkans. To date, Eurofast has delivered a series of seminars in the SEE Region, Russia and Cyprus focusing mainly on tax issues related to EU Directives, Double Taxation Treaties, Real Estate Structures and International Taxation, as well as financing vehicles. Eurofast hosted two events in Greece this September, focusing on Investment in South East Europe. In conjunction with the Association of Exporters of Northern Greece (SЕVЕ) Eurofast, organised the seminar: “The Balkans in Crisis: An Opportunity for Investments” in Thessaloniki, Greece. The seminar was attended by over 90 businessmen and public figures from Northern Greece. Participants were presented opportunities arising in the Balkans during the current financial crisis, as well as strategies for structuring and restructuring investments in the region, merger and acquisition opportunities, as well as refinancing and international tax planning – focusing on the advantages of investing through Cyprus. Eurofast also hosted their Fourth Annual SEE Conference in Kallithea, Chakidiki, Greece from 25th - 27th September 2009. The conference gathered over 100 colleagues and associates from the Balkan region. Eurofast’s annual SEE Conferences have become a tradition that see the organisation’s team and associates gather each year to share best practices, brainstorm and attend technical sessions on tax & legal and accounting practices. This year participants took part in discussions and heard presentations on the development and implementation of Management & Quality Systems throughout Eurofast’s offices.

SERBIA, ISRAEL SIGN AGRICULTURAL

COOPERATION AGREEMENT

erbia and Israel are to step up co-operation in the agriculture sector, which will allow Serbian farmers to take advantage of Israeli expertise in modern farming techniques. Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Saša Dragin, and Israeli Minister of Agriculture, Shalom Simhon, signed a bilateral agreement on agricultural cooperation between Serbia and Israel on 26th October. CorDCorD 65 / November 58 / Mart 2009 39

B2B |

RAILWAY LINE TOBE RESTORED

he railway line between Belgrade and Sarajevo is official set to reopen after nearly two decades. Following an agreement between the national railway authorities of Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina on 20th October, the Sarajevo-BelgradeSarajevo direct railway line is to be fully restored, after 18 years of interruption, as of 13th December. A trip from the Serbian to the Bosnian capital will last eight and a half hours and a one-way ticket will cost €25. Source: SETimes

EIB APPROVES INFRASTRUCTURE LOAN

resident of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Philippe Maystadt, and Serbian PM Mirko Cvetković have signed an agreement for a €384 million loan to aid construction of a new 75km section of motorway along Pan-European Corridor 10. The EIB loan will cover 40 per cent of the cost of the project, considered a priority by the Serbian government. “With this loan we have closed the financial construction of Corridor 10’s southern section to the border with FYR Macedonia,” Cvetković told reporters. The PM added that the EIB expressed willingness to partly fund the eastern section too, connecting Serbia and Bulgaria. “All of this shows us the importance of road infrastructure going through Serbia,” the premier said. Cvetković stressed that the EIB is resolved to support Serbia’s economic recovery and to help Serbia advance on its path to the EU. After a meeting with Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, Cvetković said that Luxembourg supports visa liberalisation for Serbia and the unfreezing of the transitional trade agreement between Serbia and the EU. Source: Serbian Government

CB&I WINS $70 MILLION REFINERY UPGRADE

erbian petroleum company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) has awarded CB&I Lummus a US$70 million contract to upgrade its Pančevo oil refinery. The project involves detailed engineering, procurement, construction management and commissioning for a hydrocracker/hydrotreater unit and associated support, auxiliary and offsite facilities, CB&I (www.cbi.com) said in a statement. The company, which operates extensively in Eastern Europe, is building a similar unit in Croatia and recently completed a diesel desulfurization plant for a major refinery expansion project in Poland. 40 CorD 65 / November 2009

TRIUMPH OF NEW SERBIAN VITICULTURE

new generation of Serbian wine, which first appeared a decade ago, made a decisive reversal in the communist-socialist experience within the wine production industry, i.e. returning the production of wine back to its traditional native environment: the familiar framework of production and, more importantly, in the vineyard itself. Among the first were the work of Božidar Aleksandrović, qualified viticulturist, who began to renew old family cellars and vineyards in the village of Vinča below Oplenac. He started this business back in the early ‘90s, but it was only after 2000 that he succeeded in restoring the family tradition and turning his personal passion into serious wine production. He received the recipe for Triumph, one time elite white wine of the Royal wine cellar, from family friend Živana Tadić, old royal wine cellar man, who sent the composition and instructions from his adopted home in Canada. The first vintage Triumph was produced in 2002 and it was only then that the story of this cellar and new Serbian wine actually began. Today, wine cellar Aleksandrović is a household that includes 50 hectares of vineyards (owned and leased), the most modern wine cellar covering 2,000m2 and with a capacity of 500,000 litres per year, a sampling room (with terrace) that can accommodate more than 200 visitors and about 15,000 visiting wine lovers annually. The uniqueness of a selected area determines the value of a wine, wine region or entire country. This is required for a country to be included among “wine countries”. Is Serbia that, or could it be? We believe that the answers lie in the recognition of Aleksandrović Wine Cellars. After all, when wine is in question, the search for truth is simply in the wine.

B2B |

SUCCESSFUL NEWCOMER

rowth of Alapis share capital of oversubscribed by 50% Greek Multinational Pharmaceutical company Alapis oversubscribed its growth of share capital by 1.5 times. The capital increase, which followed an agreement with the Administration, was guaranteed by banks ABN AMRO BANK N.V., BNP PARIBAS, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, London branch, Jefferies International Limited and MERRILL LYNCH INTERNATIONAL. Alapis has been active in Serbia for the last year and a half as a wholesale pharmaceutical company, following the takeover of Šumadijalek. After carrying out relevant investments, it now covers the whole of Serbia and is among the top eight on the list of wholesale companies. The capital increase saw €451 million drafted – not only from older shareholders who thereby expressed their trust in the potential of the Company, but also from new shareholders who acquired preference rights. The company holds a leading position in the Greek Pharmaceutical market, having acquired four drug production plants, one cosmetics production plant and one veterinary pharmaceutical production plant through numerous takeovers on the Greek market during the last year and a half.Moreover, the company took over the 1st Greek wholesale pharmaceutical company, K. P. MARINOPOULOS. According to General Manager of Šumadijalek and Senior Director of Alapis, Giannis Georgakopoulos, Alapis will allocate the drafted capital from the growth amounts to partially cover short-term lending, finance trading capital and pay for selected takeovers in Greece and Southeast Europe. Specifically in Serbia, Alapis expressed its initial interest in taking

SERBIAN & RUSSIAN BUSINESS COUNCILS REACH AGREEMENT

n agreement on co-operation between Russia’s Business Council for Co-operation with Serbia and Serbia’s Business Council for Co-operation with Russia was signed by respective presidents V.N. Vorobjov and Nikola Pavičić, within the context of the business council meeting held in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce on 19th October – a day before the arrival in Belgrade of Russian President Medvedev. According to Mikhail Vešović, Vice President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the meeting was aimed at articulating the interests of the two business communities. “Russia is Serbia’s most important partner, with 12 per cent of trade,” noted Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Đelić at the meeting, adding that for the first eight months of this year bilateral exchange had amounted to around a billion dollars, but that – unfortunately – this was 40 per cent less than in the same period last year. All participants agreed that there are good conditions for greater Serbian investment in Russia, while Pavičić – Chairman of the Board of Bačka Palanka-based Sintelon – said that Serbian investment in Russia amounts to €350 million and is mainly concerns private capital, while Russian investments in Serbia are of mixed private-state origin. “The governments have done their bit and now it’s time for co-operation to pass into the hands of Serbian and Russian private capital. The role of the business council is to help entrepreneurs make healthy de-

over Galenika in April, through which it hopes to acquire a powerful production base in the country. However, the state recently postponed the Galenika tender until 2010. However, according to Mr. Georgakopoulos, “Galenika is not the only objective in Serbia. We are convinced of the country’s potential; we have invested and will continue long-term investments in the country, therefore, having established powerful liquidity - especially after the capital growth – we hold a comparative advantage over many competitors which we intend to use in any good investment opportunity that might come up.” Alapis Group boasts 2,500 employees and is active in Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. According to the combined results of 2008, the company’s turnover was €1,136,000,000 – up from €442,500,000 in 2007, while the EBITDA was €227,900,000 – up from €117,400,000 in 2007.

cisions, because we no longer need political investments,” said Pavičić, stressing the importance of political stability to attracting investment. Pavičić added that not only money was needed as capital, but also capital ‘knowledge’ that would ensure the realisation of great, competitive production. Cosignatory of the co-operation agreement from the Russian said, Vadim Nikolayevich Vorobjov (vice president of ad Lukoil), commended the efforts of the two governments with regard to the liberalisation of trade relations and said that Russian investors were particularly interested in the privatisation process of state enterprises in Serbia. However, he noted, crisis conditions make it necessary to include small and medium business, because they create a sound basis for co-operation – despite requiring support.

FIFTH OF SERBIAN COMPANIES PLAN LAYOFFS

total of 19.2% of companies operating in Serbia are planning to dismiss workers over the course of the next three months, daily Novosti reported late October. The survey of firms in the country, conducted in September by the Serbian Economic Institute, showed that 14.5% expect to make investments and 56.1% envisage no price increases over the next three months.The survey also showed that some 45% of companies expect a higher business risk. Source: Novosti CorD 65 / November 2009 41

B2B |

BELGRADE DEPARTMENT STORES TO ATTEND MAPIC IN CANNES

elgrade Department Stores company Robne kuće Beograd (RKB) will be the only exhibitor from Southeast Europe to appear at the MAPIC 2009 real estate and projects fair, which will be held from 18th to 20th November in Cannes. MAPIC is Europe’s biggest business event of this kind, bringing together leading retail chains and investors. RKB will use the opportunity to introduce its network of commercial buildings, which consists of 34 department stores in prestigious locations within all major cities in Serbia, covering a total area of over 240,000m2. In the last year RKB has invested more than €70 million in the modernisation and development of its facilities. To date,

four department stores have been opened in Belgrade and one in Kragujevac, while preparations for the opening of a department store in Kraljevo are in the final stages. RKB has enriched its more than 12,000 square metres of facilities with new contents and ranges that satisfy the broadest needs of consumers - from fashion and accessories, to children’s goods, household and food appliances – and now once again, after opening in May, has became the central point for retail offers Belgrade. As a national chain and one of the most renowned Serbian brands, RKB has formed a strategy of leasing space to ensure that all facilities provide an equal ratio of domestic and foreign brands, which tends to meet the expectations and possibilities of a wide range of consumers. Since January 2008, RKB has been in the ownership of Verano Group and Greece’s Marfin Investment Group, which paid €360 million to buy the chain.

42 CorD 65 / November 2009

ZEMUNBORČA BRIDGE INTERIM DEAL SIGNED

epresentatives of the Serbian government, Belgrade City and Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) signed an interim agreement on the construction of the Zemun-Borca bridge on 23rd October. The interim agreement was signed by Serbian Minister for the National Investment Plan, (NIP) Verica Kalanović, Belgrade Mayor Dragan Ðilas and Executive Director of CRBC Xue Tiezhu. The bridge is worth an estimated €170 million. The signing ceremony was also attended Deputy Serbian PM and Minister of Economy & Regional Development Mlađan Dinkić, who is also head of the Serbian government’s negotiating team for financing and construction this key bridge. Speaking to press, Dinkić said that 85% of the funds will be provided from loans by the Chinese bank China Eximbank, to the amount of €145 million, while €25 million will be provided by the Serbian National Investment Plan. The repayment period will be 15 years, with a grace period of three years and a fixed interest rate of three per cent annually, explained the Deputy PM before also announcing that the final agreement for the construction of the bridge should be signed by the end of this year. He added that the length of the bridge, which will be called the Chinese Bridge, will be 1,507 metres. He also announced the building of 21.6 kilometres of the Novi Sad-Pančevo road. Dinkić stressed that the Chinese company is obliged to engage Serbian producers and use construction materials from Serbia for up to 45% of the project’s total value. The new bridge will considerably relieve traffic congestion in Belgrade and ensure that the transportation of goods in heavy vehicles will no longer go through the city. He also noted that Serbia is not over-indebted, since its public debt stands at 32% of GDP, adding that it will continue applying for favourable loans for infrastructure projects, which has proved successful to date. NIP Minister Kalanović said that the Zemun-Borca Bridge is indispensable for Belgrade, since it will connect the capital with south Banat and, therefore, Romania and Corridor Four. Chinese Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Wei Jinghua, recalled that the agreement on the construction of the bridge was signed on the basis of the Agreement on Economic and Technical Co-operation between Serbia and China, signed on 20th August in Beijing during President Boris Tadic’s visit to China. Source: Serbian Government

SERBIA SEEKING ELECTRICITY DEALS

erbian Deputy PM & Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić has said that Serbia would seek strategic partnerships with European electricity firms for its power monopoly EPS. Italian energy enterprises have expressed interest in building hydropower plants in Serbia, while China has expressed interested in energy projects on a build, operate and transfer basis. “I believe European companies will have a dominant role in the field of electricity,” Dinkić told Reuters. “Serbia will not privatise EPS, but will build new capacities on the model of public-private partnership, for which German companies have shown the most concrete interest so far,” said Dinkić Source: Reuters / BBN

TURKEY HOSTS 2009 WORLD BANKIMF ANNUAL MEETINGS

he Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives and academics each year to discuss issues of global concern, including the global economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development and aid effectiveness. This year’s meetings, which took place from 6th to 7th October, were the second time that Turkey has hosted the Annual Meetings (the first time was in 1955, also in Istanbul), making Turkey the only country to host these key Annual Meetings twice. The meetings were drawn to a close with an appeal to nations to pursue reforms while dealing with the global economic crisis. In remarks wrapping up the conference, plenary session chairman Nguyen Van Giau – Governor of Vietnam’s central bank – said that further international co-operation was required to master major financial problems. “We agree that the Bank, the Fund and member governments must press ahead with cooperative longer term efforts to restore confidence and tackle pre-existing vulnerabilities,” Giau said.He said the IMF and World Bank themselves must be modernised. “Governors underscored that the Bretton Woods Institutions must continue to modernise if they are to remain effective,” Giau said, referring to the 1944 conference in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, which led to the establishment of the World Bank and IMF.

SCLASS: PACEMAKER IN AUTOMOTIVE DEVELOPMENT

fter four years in production and with sales of 270,000 units, Mercedes-Benz is now presenting the new 2009 S-Class. With an even more dynamic design, more comfort and pathfinding innovations, this extensively updated new series of the world’s most successful luxury saloon is reiterating its claim as the standard for automotive progress. Technological highlights include the world’s first series-production hybrid drive system with a lithium-ion battery in the S 400 HYBRID, which makes this flagship Mercedes-Benz model the world’s most economical petrol engine luxury saloon. Its fuel consumption of 7.9 litres per 100 kilometres corresponds to carbon dioxide emissions of just 186 grams per kilometre, making the new S 400 HYBRID the “CO2 champion in the luxury class”. The high safety standard typical of the S-Class is further improved by a unique combination of new driver assistance systems, with innovations such as SPLITVIEW technology and Adaptive Highbeam Assist. More agility and driving enjoyment is ensured by Direct-Steer and modified Active Body Control with crosswind stabilisation for the eight and twelve-cylinder models. Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: “The S-Class is the worldwide market leader. Thanks to innovative technology, first-class comfort and trailblazing safety systems, the flagship model from Mercedes-Benz is seen as a pioneer in automotive development.”

SERBIA SEEKS I NVESTORS TO FOLLOW FIAT

erbia wants to copy Slovakia in attracting European investment in its car industry, building on plans by Italy’s Fiat, Serbian Deputy PM & Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić told Reuters. Speaking in an interview with the agency, Dinkić said: “Slovakia is a model we want to look up to… and we can realise this if we ... cut the red tape and reform the public sector.” Fiat is set to make its initial, €100 million investment in new equipment in Serbia next month, after keeping plans on hold due to the global downturn. The company’s business in Serbia is expected to attract many supply firms. Several car-component producers from EU-member Slovenia have also started moving production to Serbia, while Italian and German textile firms were seeking domestic takeover targets to upgrade and move production to Serbia, Dinkic said. Source: Reuters / BBN

SERBIA TO BECOME RUSSIAN GAS HUB

ušan Bajatović, CEO of Srbijagas, has said that Serbia will become a major hub for the distribution of Russian natural gas to Europe, thanks to the storage and transport capacities of the planned South Stream pipeline. Bajatović said that the 470-kilometre Serbian stretch of the South Stream pipeline would have a capacity of between 36 and 41 billion cubic metres per year – four times the capacity envisaged when the deal was announced last year. He said that Srbijagas and Gazprom have agreed to build large gas storage facilities in Serbia with total capacities of up to seven billion cubic metres, which will serve as distribution centres. “That will make Serbia the regional energy leader and we will be able to distribute gas to Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and maybe Bulgaria,” Bajatović said. The Srbijgas boss said that Serbia will receive annual revenue of €500 million from gas transit taxes to be paid by end-user states. CorD 65 / November 2009 43

FACES & PLACES |

A scene from the celebration of the National Day of the Czech Republic, which was hosted by H.E. Ambassador Hana Hubačkova on 23rd October.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić (Cambridge graduate) and Her Majesty’s Ambassador Stephen Wordsworth, pictured chatting at a reception marking the 800th birthday of Cambridge University at Belgrade’s British Ambassadorial Residence on 22nd October

Deputy Serbian PM, Božidar Đelić (left), H.E. Ambassador JeanFrancois Terral (centre) and Eric Blanchetete (Findomestic Bank), pictured at the inauguration of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce on 8th October

H.E. Wei Jinghua, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China (centre), and Serbian Culture Minister Nebojša Bradić (right), pictured at a 14th October press conference marking the start of the Days of Chinese Culture in Serbia event

Senior domestic media ﬁgures and corporate leaders take part in a Serbian Media Association roundtable addressing corporate social responsibility (CSR).

44 CorD 65 / November 2009

Crown-Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević (front centre), pictured at a White Palace promotion of Serbian tourism entitled Royal Spas of Serbia

Ministers and Ambassadors pictured at the opening of the 54th Belgrade International Book Fair on 26th October

A scene from the 20th October Three Oceans Press Workshop and Presentation of French tourist organisation Atout France at Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel

H.E. Korean Ambassador Kim Jonghae, pictured with the expert team at Belgrade’s annual Taekwondo exhibition

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković and German Ambassador, H.E. Wolfram Maas, pictured celebrating German Reuniﬁcation Day on 3rd October CorD 65 / November 2009 45

FACES & PLACES |

H.E. Korean Ambassador Kim Jonghae welcomes H.E. Brazilian Ambassador Dante Coelho De Lima to a 15th October Hotel Continental reception marking the National Day of the Republic of Korea

Serbian Health Minister Tomica Milosavljević and RTS Director Aleksandar Tijanić, pictured on 14th October signing a Memorandum of Understanding on the initiative Produži Život (Extend Life) and support for the ministry’s transplantation programme

Embassy staff pictured at a reception marking the 40th anniversary of the 1st September Revolution of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, hosted by Charge d’Affaires a.i. Ahmed M.A. Algbali on 29th September

Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Šutanovac speaks to local Muslim leaders and Iraqi Embassy staff at a 2nd October commemoration marking 40 days since the tragic bombings of Black Wednesday in Baghdad

Crown-Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević and HRH Prince Philip (left & centre), pictured attending a 9th October wreath-laying ceremony in Topola marking the 75th anniversary of the death of Yugoslav King Aleksandar Karađorđevic

46 CorD 65 / November 2009

Hundreds of local youngsters, pictured on 24th October taking part in a street dance and happening in central Belgrade as part of this year’s UN Week celebrations

H.E. Ignacio de Palacio Espana (Spain) and H.E. Jean-Francois Terral (France), pictured at a Belgrade City Hall reception marking Spanish National Day on 13th October

H.E. Ambassador Alexander Konuzin addresses war veterans at the Russian Embassy as part of events marking WWII Veterans’ Day

Turkish President Abdullah Gül is welcomed to Serbia on 26th October by PM Mirko Cvetković, deputy PM Mlađen Dinkić and Minister Rasim Ljajić

Mark Harrison, Principal of Harrisons Solicitors and main sponsor of Red Star Belgrade Rugby League, presents Wales RL coach Iestyn Harris with a Red Star XIII shirt prior to the European Cup qualiﬁer between Serbia and Wales in Smederevo CorD 65 / November 2009 47

REGION: MONTENEGRO

Montenegro’s national Waterpolo team

COMPETITION

IN THEIR BLOOD

Montenegro’s 2006 declaration of independence may have brought fresh investments and praise from international politicians, but it was only once they’d achieved sporting success that the former Yugoslav republic began to forge its new identity By Ilija DESPOTOVIĆ

ontenegro’s peaceful transition to independence three years ago proved little more than a quirky filler for the international media and a signal to foreign investors that the coastal nation was open

48 CorD 65 / November 2009

for business. Indeed, the victory of Montenegro’s national water polo team at the European Championships, just prior to its independence declaration, probably generated more press. Then, as if to confirm the tiny country’s sporting prowess, Montenegrin swimmers took fourth place at last year’s Beijing Olympic Games, while Judo

Dragan Drobnjak, assistant Montenegrin Culture, Sports and Media Minister:

“There are over 1,000 various sporting organisations in the country, covering 43 disciplines. Most clubs that compete at all levels, including the state, are high quality” wrestler Srđan Mrvaljević made it into the top eight in his category. In club sport, Kotor’s Primorac water polo club recently won the title of European champions. Following the victory, one Italian daily reported that before the championships many had dubbed the club as a Cinderella, but it turned out that they were actually more like the “Queen of Europe”. This metaphor was actually used to explain that the Primorac players hadn’t received their salaries for months prior to winning the championship. The presumption was that because they were not paid, the players would not be motivated and, hence, wouldn’t win. Just the opposite happened and another European cup found its ways into the hands of Montenegro’s athletes. In order to succeed in professional sport, conditions matter, but cash is usually king. It seems that in the case of Montenegrin athletes, the opposite is the case, perhaps because sport is in their blood. Both physically and mentally, Montenegrins are born for sport. They have all the prerequisites to succeed in sports and provide a good sporting education for their children and youth. Many primary schools have their own sports clubs, with widespread competitions held at school level all the way to state level. Over 30,000 pupils have competed in the last two years and up to 500 young athletes made it to the state competitions. Sports are popular among university students too, with close to 3,000 students regularly competing. At the Bangkok 2007 Universiade, the national student water polo team won a gold medal. Montenegro’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Media takes special care of the country’s top athletes. However, since the available budget is relatively small, only 50 future Olympic athletes are granted scholarships. That said, Montenegro has a special Law on Sport, as well as a National Sporting Programme that includes two strategic documents covering this area. These documents cover the whole sports system in Montenegro, which is regulated in line with international sporting conventions. A Montenegrin Olympic Committee has been found-

ed, bringing together over 40 sporting associations, and this June saw Montenegro accepted into the Olympic Federation of Small States, which includes countries with less than a million inhabitants. However, certain federation members do not look favourably on the idea of Montenegro becoming a member, because although the country has only 700,000 inhabitants and is considered small in that respect, sports-wise Montenegro is a giant a fact that bothers other small countries. “There are over 1,000 various sporting organisations in the country, covering 43 disciplines. Most clubs that compete at all levels, including the state, are high quality,” says Dragan Drobnjak, assistant Montenegrin Culture,

Physique Both physically and mentally, Montenegrins are born for sport

CorD 65 / November 2009 49

REGION: MONTENEGRO

Montenegro’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Media takes special care of the country’s top athletes. However, since the available budget is relatively small, only 50 future Olympic athletes are granted scholarships. Sports and Media Minister. Drobnjak adds that €6 million was set aside for sport in this year’s state budget, while €5 million will be spent on building sports facilities. Historically speaking, the conditions under which Montenegrins have lived in the past few centuries has somehow imposed a need to engage in sports. Suffering from material poverty, an ordinary Montenegrin was constantly fighting to preserve his freedom, while living in spartan conditions. Lack of food, modest accommodation, fighting whimsical nature and almost constantly battling state enemies – these are all factors that have fortified Montenegrins, both physically and mentally. From a tender age they were taught how to use swords in order to

Olympics Judo success was among the unexpected victories at Beijing 50 CorD 65 / November 2009

fight the Turks. Hence, fencing, shooting, long jump and high jump were the first sports that Montenegrins engaged and excelled in. Sometime in the 19th century, Montenegrins began to engage in equestrianism. The first contemporary-style sports organisations emerged at the royal court in Cetinje at the end of the 19th century. One of the first such organisations was called Gorski vijenac. It had gymnastics, chess and tennis sections. In 1891, the first ice skating club was founded and skating rinks were formed on the fields of Cetinje. Norwegian Henrik Angell brought the first skis to Montenegro. As legend has it, in the winter of 1893 he left Kotor on skies to arrive in Cetinje, while skiing downhill on the Lovćen Mountain. In a book entitled “Traveling through Montenegro on Skis”, Angell notes that the royals, including the sons and daughters of King Nikola, were regulars on the skating rinks of Cetinje. Once the inhabitants of Cetinje saw a wonder called skis, a telegraph was immediately sent to Vienna demanding a pair be bought. There is a plaque on the Lovćenac Mountain Lodge praising Henrik Angell as the pioneer of skiing in Montenegro. A skiing association was founded the same year in Cetinje, following Angell’s arrival in this town. Other sports associations were formed, such as a cycling association in 1905, while the first football club, Lovćen, was founded in 1913. Who would have thought that high-class sports like tennis and golf were played so early on in Cetinje? In its edition of 8th July 1906, Daily newspaper Glas Crnogoraca reported that a golf club had been opened in Cetinje. The ceremony was attended by the entire royal court: the King, Queen, princes and princesses. One of the princesses had the honour of using a golf club first and the game took place at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. As per English tradition, tea was served on the golf course. Montenegro’s first game of tennis was played back in the 1880s. Even British magazine Arena released a picture and an article called “Montenegrin Duke Playing Tennis in Cetinje” in 1884. In the break between wars, Montenegrins were having fun. They were quick to accept novelties coming from elsewhere in the world, with King Nikola at the forefront. The King was thrilled when the Norwegian brought skis to Cetinje. In order to convince the people of Cetinje that skis were actually quite a useful accessory, he ordered one of his guards to run across the snow, side by side with the skier. The guard, although being strong in stature, had a lot of trouble following the skier, who was far ahead. Montenegrins needed no further convincing that the Norwegian invention was a good thing.

CULTURE

‘ALBANIAN’ SHAMANS

& ISLAMIC PLURALISM

The editor of Priština’s Koha and perhaps Kosovo’s best know journalist, Veton Surroi, comments on the themes of Stephen Schwartz’s ‘The Other Islam: Suﬁsm and the dialogue of respect’ 52 CorD 65 / November 2009

t must have been in the nature of Albanians: the curiosity to look at history from inside, just like the child who wants to open up a toy to see how it functions. Perhaps only in this simplified and almost cynical way can we interpret one of those centuries-long investigations (‘how does religion work?’, ‘what’s the name of God?’, ‘can he watch us when we sleep?’ etc.), when the Albanian lands became the latest stop for a long shamanic journey that originated somewhere deep in the lands of Central Asia. Shamans are mystics who identify themselves as intermediaries between the spirit world and man by using a variety of means – from music and dance, to hallucinogens. These nomadic Shamans from the Steppes seem to have met the prophecy of a religion during their long journey, somewhere between Afghanistan and Persia, and identified, in the latter, the framework of a moral code. After melding their mysticism with a monotheist religious order like Islam, they continued their journey westwards until they reached their most westerly position, among Albanians. After a journey of seven centuries, it was only among Albanians that Sufism (known in Albanian lands as tarikate, including Bektashis, Mevlevis, Rufais and other names from the 12-member family) found a safe home in Europe. And through Albanians this faith also reached America, with the first teqe opened in Michigan by Baba Rexheb Beqiri. As if this tale were not interesting enough, with the Albanians taking the journey of the Central Asian shamans to a teqe near the car plants of America, now comes Stephen Schwartz, an American journalist, son of a Christian mother and Jewish father, and a former communist with great inter-

Shamans are mystics who identify themselves as intermediaries between the spirit world and man by using a variety of means – from music and dance, to hallucinogens. est in the Latin American revolutions. Schwartz travelled to the Balkans to cover the wars of the former Yugoslavia only to discover and embrace the call of Sufism and to author, among many books, a new one with the title ‘The Other Islam: Sufism and the dialogue of respect’ (KOHA, Priština, 2009). The arrival of mysticism among the Albanians – it may sound like the title of an article, but according to Schwartz’s book, mysticism was a challenge for all three monotheistic Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). The three tried to institutionalise mysticism within them in the 13th century and one of them, Judaism, was directly influenced by Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, in structuring ‘Kabbalah’ as its own mystical form. In the two-way exchange, Islamic Sufism pushed the limits of the interpretation of God and God’s message by suggesting a common source for all the monotheistic religions. As explained by

Veton Surroi James Fadiman and Robert Frager – two other Americans who have also embraced Sufism – in their book ‘Essential Sufism’ (Castle Books, New Jersey, 1998), Sufism is capable of integrating in itself Judaism and Christianity by defining them as coming from a sole Truth, a sole God; declaring the lives of Adam, Moses and Jesus Christ as expressions of the same prophecy. Of course, all this is functional only within the Islamic theological framework. However, as Schwartz explains, this makes sense only for a genuine and liberal Islamic theological framework. This would, along with discourse with other religions, frankly accept gender equality, the right to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad and, in its philosophical aspect, the right to an eternal quest for truth – first within ourselves and within this life, and especially through beauty and love. Seem complicated? Wait until politics also enters the frame with two essential events. Firstly is the division over the heir of Muhammad. The Sunnis, who make up the majority of the Islamic world, are part of the group that defined election/selection as the form of establishing the heir after the death of Muhammad. The Shias, a minority in the Islamic world, are part of the group that wanted the heir to be a blood relative of Muhammad. After the Battle of Karbala, where Shias refused to submit to the orders of Sunnis, the theological debate turned into a political one and continues to this day – as demonstrated in the internal conflicts of Iraq. Secondly is the division of power in Saudi Arabia. Before the birth of the modern state, these were the lands where Wahhabism was born. Wahhabism is a strictly orthodox interpretation of Islam that promotes inequality between men and

Rare pluralism With the birth of the 21st century, the world would discover that what was normal to Albanians was extraordinary and almost impossible to other cultures and people throughout the world

CorD 65 / November 2009 53

CULTURE

women and views praise of Muhammad and the celebration of his birthday as polytheistic and contradictory to Islam. During the rise of the Saudi kingdom and its strengthening after the discovery of oil, a contract was established within the very foundations of that country, according to which the Wahhabis would be in charge of dealins with God, while the Saudi royal family would be in charge of the state and the oil needed to finance the Wahhabis. In his book, Schwartz promotes respect towards and within Islam, but he calls Wahhabism ‘idiotic’ and the Saudis ‘bandits’. Fuelled by petrodollars, the Wahhabis have been on the offensive for several decades, exporting ‘bearded’ men in threequarter-length pants to impose their interpretation of Islam on what the author calls the ‘seven identities of Islam’, including the Turkish-Balkan one, in which the Albanians are included. Following the American occupation of Iraq, according to Schwartz, the Wahhabis (despite Saudi Arabia being an American ally) incited the Sunnis against the Shia, which then prompted the Shias’ violent reaction. However, this is not simply a Sunni-Shia conflict, according to the author. In reality, we see an effort by the Wahhabis to destroy the Iraqi Sufis, who are both Sunni and Shia, Arab and Kurd, but - more importantly are disciples of a personal, liberal interpretation of Islam. ‘White Muslim!’ They would shout in disbelief and sympathy. They would speak in English to the red-haired, blue-

Nomadic process Theeyed centuries-long of Suﬁs nurse whenjourney they first met him, towards Albanian to lands wasin Arabic but hetheresponded them crowned with the rise of Ataturk, who (with his limited knowledge of the lanexcluded from Turkey in fear of guage).them When asked where he came their mystic and secretive from, he explained that ways. he came from 54 CorD 65 / November 2009

Kosovo. Then they would gather around him to watch this controversy on two legs: the soul of a Muslim (and therefore Asian/Middle Eastern) in the physical structure of a European. The explanation of the nurse, who had spent some time working in Saudi Arabia, came to mind during the last summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), where there was an effort to pass a resolution in support of Kosovo. Meanwhile, I was reading Schwartz on the prejudices of Wahhabis towards Sufism. In fact, the Resolution on Kosovo could be identified as an effort to play the card of surprise and sympathy for ‘white Muslims.’ However, it also represented a paradox: Albania (a country with all the Sufi tarikats) had composed for Kosovo (a country with a considerable presence of Sufi tarikats that had been persecuted with bloodshed and other violence by the Serbian regime) a supporting resolution which would be sponsored in the OIC by the same Saudi Arabia (with the Wahhabi headquarters in Najd – also the spiritual centre of Al Qaeda). A resolution completely devoid of any substantial support for Kosovo was eventually adopted by consensus. Where had all the Islamic solidarity gone? (Wouldn’t this be a winning case, with ‘Wahhabi’ Saudi Arabia joining ‘Sufi’ Albania?) One reason is simple and has to do with Kosovo’s 20-year effort to present our struggle against the Milošević regime not as a religious challenge, but as a national democratic one. This self-defined image is now known throughout the

A resolution completely devoid of any substantial support for Kosovo was eventually adopted by consensus. Where had all the Islamic solidarity gone? Islamic world. In their midst, there are countries which do not view the birth of new states favourably, nor the democratising movements that lead to their birth. What bothers them the most is the model separating religion from politics, as in the case of the democratic movement towards the independence in Kosovo. The centuries-long journey of Sufis towards the Albanian lands was crowned with the rise of Ataturk, who excluded them from Turkey in fear of their mystic and secretive ways. Among the Albanians, however, they found a long-established tradition of harmony and co-existence among different religions. With the birth of the 21st century, the world would discover that what was normal to Albanians was extraordinary and almost impossible to other cultures and people throughout the world. It would be underlined that among Albanians live and flourish not only religious pluralism, but also Islamic pluralism. It is exactly this Islamic pluralism that represents an intellectual, political and theological challenge to the Islamophobes who see nothing more than violence in this great religion, but also to those within Islam whose aim is to suppress diversity by imposing their own rigid interpretation of Islam.

FROM THE WORLD PRESS

BOSNIA ‘ON BRINK OF NEW CIVIL WAR’ Published 19th October 2009 By Bruno Waterfield; Bosnia is heading for a new civil war as a constitutional crisis threatens to cause the collapse of the political system, the country’s leaders have warned. The concerns have been triggered by Bosnian Serb leaders who have stepped up their demands for independence with a warning the country is no longer “sustainable”. The growing ethnic divisions have raised fears of a return to the fighting which claimed the lives of up to 110,000 people between 1992 and 1995. Senior European and US officials have called an emergency meeting in Sarajevo on Tuesday to meet the country’s leaders to find a solution. The crisis centres on attempts to overhaul the constitution which was imposed on the country in 1995 in the wake of the war. Since then Bosnia has been made up of two semi-independent entities – the Serbs’ Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation. The two are linked with weak central institutions whose functioning is often obstructed by ethnic rivalries. Serb groups claim attempts to streamline the complex government system are designed to undermine their position and absorb them into stronger central state. Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb prime minister, has described constitutional changes as “unnecessary and unacceptable”. “Bosnia is an unsustainable country ... the international community has overplayed its hand in Bosnia, and this will become evident in the end,” he said. Mr Dodik has called for a referendum on self-determination to be included in the constitution that could pave the way for Republika Srpska’s independence from Bosnia. Sulejman Tihic, the leader of Bosnia’s largest

Mr Dodik has called for a referendum on selfdetermination to be included in the constitution that could pave the way for Republika Srpska’s independence from Bosnia.

Bosnian Muslim party, said he fears that a new war could be looming. “If it continues to go on like this, there is no question there will be conflict. It’s just a question of what kind of conflict there will be, and is it going to be in three months, six months or one year?,” he said. Lord Ashdown, who served as the international community’s High 56 CorD 65 / November 2009

Representative in Bosnia from 2002 until 2006, has also sounded the alarm. “This is a crucial moment and if the international community fails to address it, Bosnia risks slipping towards disintegration,” he said. Jim Steinberg, the US deputy secretary of state, will fly to Sarajevo on Tuesday for talks aimed at breaking the deadlock, along with Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister, and Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner for Enlargement. Mr Rehn said on Wednesday: “This political stalemate has dragged this country backwards. “I hope that Bosnian leaders will rise to the occasion for the sake of their citizens and for the sake of the Western Balkans and Europe as a whole.” Brussels is holding out the prospect of EU membership as an incentive for constitutional reforms. “We are aiming at agreeing certain constitutional changes that will make Bosnia-Herzegovina a functional state and able to be considered as candidate country for the EU. We want Bosnia Hercegovina to be a credible applicant for EU and Nato membership. “But for this to happen the country needs to stand on its own feet without the OHR [High Representative] and its broad executive powers. No quasi-protectorate can join the EU.” Bosnia-Hercegovina is still recovering from the devastating three-year war which followed the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. The conflict centred on whether Bosnia should stay in the Yugoslav Federation, or whether it should become independent. The war left Bosnia’s infrastructure and economy in tatters. Around two million people – about half the population – were displaced.

SERBIA’S LONG ROAD TO THE EU Published 21st October 2009 By Robert Hodgson Serbia must join the European Union for there to be lasting stability in the Balkans, Serbian President Boris Tadic said last Monday during an official visit to Hungary. “Serbia’s integration and accession to the EU is the only way to create stability in the west Balkan region, which could form a basis for economic development,” Tadic said. Schengen pledge He was speaking at a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart László Sólyom after closed talks. Sólyom reaffirmed Hungary’s commitment to the lifting of visa restrictions on Serbs who want to enter the Schengen zone. Tadic and Sólyom later attended the opening of the Serb cultural centre on Nagymező utca in District VI. The Serb president also discussed economic cooperation with Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai and met opposition leader Viktor Orbán. Netherlands holding back In an interview in last Monday’s edition of the daily Nepszabadsag, Tadic said that only the current obstacle to Serbia itself moving closer to EU accession is the Netherlands. The prosperous northern state refuses to ratify a Stabilization and Association Accord – signed by all other 26 member states – until Serbia delivers the suspect General Ratko Mladic to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Such an agreement is the first step on the long path to joining the EU.

Mladic is believed to have been among those directly responsible for the slaughter of over 8,000 Bosnian moslems in the UN “safe haven” of Srebrenica in 1995 amid ethnic war in the former Yugoslavia. The Netherlands has particularly painful memories of the event, because it was 120 Dutch peacekeepers – hamstrung by UN orders not to use the force that could have prevented the slaughter – who stood by as the men and boys were separated and marched away to their deaths. The entire Dutch cabinet resigned in shame over the issue after a damning report in 2002.

Hungarian President László Sólyom reaffirmed Hungary’s commitment to the lifting of visa restrictions on Serbs who want to enter the Schengen zone.

Tadic told Népszabadság he is briefed daily on progress in the hunt for the fugitive Mladic. With former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic dead, and the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic facing trial in the Hague, the former Bosnian Serb army commander is the most wanted suspect from the Balkan wars. “If Mladic is on Serb territory, we will catch him,” said Tadic. Minorities Tadic and Sólyom discussed the situation of ethnic Hungarian and Serbian minorities across their respective borders. Tadic likened the situation of Serbs to that of Hungarians, many of whom, for historical reasons, now live beyond the borders of their motherland. He said that Serbia’s policies granting a degree of autonomy to ethnic minorities, such as the 300,000 or so Hungarians in the northern Voivodina region, was an example not only to the Balkans, but also to the EU. Sólyom plans to celebrate in Voivodina on 15 March, the anniversary of Hungary’s failed revolt against Habsburg dominion in 1848.

months. He said he needed the time to examine the volumes of evidence produced by the prosecution, now adding up to close to one million pages. But the judges have maintained that Mr. Karadzic has had ample time to prepare for his defence since his arrest in Belgrade in July 2008. Before that, he had lived in hiding for more than 10 years while running from the court. As for resources, the judges have said that, while Mr. Karadzic receives some funds to pay for legal assistants and researchers, he is not entitled to lawyers’ fees because he has chosen to act as his own defence lawyer. A large team of unpaid volunteers is also assisting him. It was unclear what would happen next. Nerma Jelacic, the court’s spokeswoman, said that the trial would still start Monday “as previously scheduled.” But Mr. Karadzic told the court in his six-page letter, “I shall not appear before you on that date.” Lawyers following the case said there were several options. Judges may simply postpone the case or hold a hearing to seek a compromise with Mr. Karadzic, rather than start the trial with an empty dock. The tribunal cannot hold a trial in absentia, but judges can proceed when an accused waives his right or plainly refuses to show up. They may also ask a lawyer to represent him during his absence, but Mr. Karadzic is likely to refuse this. The tribunal is trying other high-level officials linked to the wars that broke up Yugoslavia, but the prosecution of Mr. Karadzic will be the most high-profile trial since Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian president, who died in his cell before the end of his case in 2006. Mr. Milosevic also obstructed proceedings to gain concessions or to buy time, including abruptly calling in sick rather than face an important hostile witness.

...the court’s spokeswoman said the trial would still start Monday “as previously scheduled”, but Mr. Karadzic told the court ... “I shall not appear before you on that date.

KARADZIC TO BOYCOTT START OF WAR CRIMES TRIAL Published 22nd October, 2009 By Marlise Simons The former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has said he will not come to the start of his trial on Monday, insisting that he needs more time to prepare his defence. In a letter to the court, released on Thursday, he said he was not ready for the “gigantic” case, in which he faces charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. Mr. Karadzic’s move is the latest in a long battle of wills between the former political leader and the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Mr. Karadzic has filed a large number of motions and appeals, tried to get one of his judges replaced and repeatedly asked for more time and more resources. Just days ago, he expressed his frustrations through a lawyer when an appeals court turned down his request to delay the trial by 10 more

His former security chief, Jovica Stanisic, is refusing to attend his own trial, saying he is too ill, and he has declined to use the video link set up for him at the tribunal’s detention unit. Another Serbian political leader, Vojislav Seselj, has repeatedly refused to come to court and even went on a prolonged hunger strike until his judges met several of his demands. Mr. Karadzic faces criminal prosecution for some of the greatest atrocities of the Bosnian war, when Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims fought over territory. While he was leader of the Bosnian Serbs, forces under his command maintained a brutal 43-month siege of the city of Sarajevo and more than 8,000 unarmed men and boys were executed at Srebrenica. He has said he is innocent of all charges. His letter said he would continue preparing his defence, “and as soon as I will be prepared, I will be happy to inform” court officials “a few weeks in advance.” CorD 65 / November 2009 57

CULTURE

INTERVIEW: HELEN LARSSON, SWEDISH CULTURAL AFFAIRS COUNSELLOR IN BELGRADE

AS THE GLUE THAT BINDS US

“I think there is great cultural life in Serbia and I hope that all the professional people that are engaged and willing to develop their work have a chance to do so.”

By Žarka RADOJA ollowing Washington, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow, Berlin, London and Brussels, Belgrade has become the latest city to which Sweden has appointed a cultural Counsellor – thus bringing the city up to par with other great world cities and giving it an enviable position in the region. This month we talk to Helen Larsson, Swedish Cultural Counsellor in Belgrade, about her plans in Serbia, cultural policies, soft diplomacy and the social significance of culture. Sweden has only appointed permanent cultural counsellors to a handful of countries – including Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the UK and the U.S. What makes Belgrade important enough to be added to that list? The Swedish government made this decision, based on many different factors. There is already an existing well functioning culture co-operation between Sweden and Serbia and we also have a large Serbian Diaspora community in Sweden, which is important. The main reason, however, is that Serbia is mover closer to the European Union. You are the first Swedish Cultural Counsellor that Belgrade has ever had. What is your mission in Serbia? As cultural counsellor, I am responsible for promoting Swedish culture in Serbia. That includes contemporary design, art, stage art, photography, literature, music and innovations. For me, that also means supporting the development of cultural exchange and Sweden’s long term relations with Serbia and the region. What you are planning to do during your three-year mandate in Serbia? One of the big projects involves literature, as Sweden will be in focus at the 2010 Belgrade Book Fair. The Embassy has supported the development of contemporary dance in Serbia

58 CorD 65 / November 2009

for many years and we will continue to do so. We are already working on questions dealing with history and museum development, together with the NGO C31 and The Museum of Yugoslav History. This work will also continue. Together with Cultural Front, we will also deal with sustainability connected to spatial planning and architecture, while we will also work to establish connections and support exchange between artists and institutions in Sweden and Serbia. You have noted that Belgrade is a city of great culture, but we have problem of centralisation in Serbia, in that almost everything of cultural worth happens in the capital, while other parts of Serbia are quiet. Is it a similar situation in Sweden? I believe that many small towns and cities in Serbia – just like in Sweden – have a population that is heavily involved in music, art and culture heritage. Culture lives and develops everywhere there are human beings, but is expressed differently depending on the situation and possibilities. We all need to visualise our ideas through creative work; we need to express ourselves in different ways, to work with our hands or our voice. That is culture. Do you know the situation on the culture scene in Serbia? What is the biggest issue, from your point of view? As I have been employed for just three months, I cannot tell you what the biggest issue is. However, from my experience of working internationally with museum development, I would say that Serbia’s museums are confronted with major challenges. How to deal with interpretations of history and how to act as an arena for this issue is something many museums around the world are struggling with. I think there is great cultural life in Serbia and I hope that all the professional people that are engaged and willing to develop their work have a chance to do so. Culture is the glue that binds people and is important for the development of society. Can you compare culture policies in Sweden and in Serbia? What are the most significant differences? The Swedish government is currently proposing a new cultural policy document and I believe that Serbia is doing the same. The policies and work have to change, as the society is changing. The Serbian media lack any serious themes covering culture issues and in the last year some newspapers have completely abandoned their culture coverage. That is a problem of modern commercial media, but how does it affect society? The media have a responsibility to tell people’s stories. And in peoples’ minds there are stories about love, compassion, sorrow and death. Art, theatre and music deal with all these issues and, therefore, culture can tell stories about a people, a country or a specific time. Through culture we can get to know ourselves and others. What do you think is ultimately the mission of those oper-

CRUCIAL ROLE

ur history is crucial to our understanding of ourselves and our contemporary society. This is also the case when it comes to politics.

I think that museums have a responsibility to deal with tough issues in their exhibitions and their scientiﬁc work ating in the culture sector and how can they succeed; Serbia has a problem with past wars, cultural myths and history, which is also seen through the culture of the country. As with politicians, artists also rarely address these years. We all have a responsibility to deal with our history. However, this is easier to say than it is to do. I also think that museums have a responsibility to deal with these questions in their exhibitions and their scientific work. The museums are our collective memory and could also be a meeting place or an arena for investigation about what history is and how it is created. The education system is also responsible for reflecting these issues, especially in a country like Serbia that has a diverse and a problematic recent history. You are an ethnologist and have worked as an exhibition producer at the Museum of National Antiquities. How important is the question of ethnicity and history in culture? Our history is crucial to our understanding of ourselves and our contemporary society. This is also the case when it comes to politics. At the end of the 19th century we used the Vikings to create a picture of Swedish mentality in Sweden. However, the Vikings were living at a time when Sweden didn’t exist so how can we then say that they are Swedes? As an ethnologist, I have been interested in collecting contemporary stories and objects for the understanding of our time for further generations. What are museums collecting today? Are the collections that already exist representative of a whole people? What do the collections actually tell us? What interests you about the culture scene in Serbia? I have a great interest in many culture fields and love to gain new experiences. I am very interested in dance, not just contemporary or classical dance, but also tango! I appreciate music, especially jazz, and I enjoy following the electronic music scene as much as the symphony orchestras.Soon I will go to Macedonia for a dance festival and I will also visit BosniaHerzegovina and Croatia. And, as Belgrade is a fantastic town for culture, it is easy for me to enjoy my new hometown. CorD 65 / November 2009 59

CULTURE

BEAUTIFUL RAINS OF

SERBIAN POETRY

It was some 44 years ago that celebrated Novi Sad poet Pero Zubac wrote his most popular poem By Zorica TODOROVIĆ MIRKOVIĆ vetlana is a fictitious lady born of a high school pupil and a student’s amorous passions and made of four female characters. According to the poet, “I took something from each of them and gave it to the one I just cannot forget”.Nobody, including poet Pero Zubac himself, knows precisely how many poems he wrote during his illustrious and lengthy career. There were so many pretty, melodious words bound with his magical thread... But none of them, regardless of how important they were, managed to surpass the single poem that he penned almost half a century ago. Because of this one poem, Pero Zubac admits reluctantly, albeit apolo-

getically, that he is “the poet of one poem”. The poem was born between the small craft shops of Mostar and the grave of poet Aleksa Šantić, where a melancholic folk song entitled “Mother rearing a child called Sulaiman” was sung in the darkness of a room on a night when torrential rain fell and one of the most beautiful love stories of Serbian poetry unfolded. The poem called “The Rains of Mostar” was written forty-four years ago. It elevated Zubac to a poetic pedestal that proved resistant to the ravages of modern times. All generations know the poem almost by heart; the exaltation with which the poem is read or recited has remained the same, unchanged, just like his heroine Svetlana, who “remained the same, by God, the same”, as the poem goes.

POEM IN A TELEGRAM “There was this woman called Svetlana, who I fell in love with in Mostar one autumn…” This sentence was going around in Pero Zubac’s mind in the autumn of 1965. He would repeat it day after day in his head, unwittingly, not knowing that this was to become the first verse of a poem… Zuko Džumhur said that “only youth could write a poem so enchanting.” “I wrote it sometime at the beginning of October 1965. It was released on 8th October, printed on the front page of Zagreb magazine, The Telegram. It also appeared on the pages of the most prestigious literary magazine of the time, New Names (Nova imena), whose editor was Zvonimir Golob”. The Telegram was published every Thursday and Zubac

GOAL

he phrase “the poet of one poem” was best explained by poet Matija Bećković, using Pero Zubac as an example. Zubac has been Bećković’s friend since they were young men and at the time when Bećković’s poem “Vera Pavlodoljska” was extremely popular, he went on a tour with Zubac, who recited “The Rains”. “One time, while he was introducing me to the audience, I saw a football player in the hall. He went on to present me to the audience by saying: “You know who this poet is? Pero Zubac scored a goal as soon as he entered the field. There is no need to snatch the ball away from him.” 60 CorD 65 / November 2009

waited impatiently for Wednesday and the night before that important morning to come. He got up early, ran to the nearest newsstand, which happened to be in front of the Vojvodina Hotel in Novi Sad where he lives to this day, and paid for the publication in a hurry. “I apprehensively opened The Telegram and saw the title of my poem – The Rains of Mostar,” the poet reminisces. “I couldn’t believe it... Golob used to publish the poetry of several authors on that page and now the whole page was dedicated to my poem alone. I asked the woman at the newsstand how many copies she had and immediately bought the six copies that weren’t sold. I was so happy.” Zubac viewed the fact that his poem had been published as nothing short of a miracle. “As Golob later told me, he got the poem two days before the issue was supposed to come out. The section entitled ’New Names’ had already been fully edited, but once he read “The Rains of Mostar” he had a change of heart at the last moment and decided to re-do the page. Destiny?! I have to admit, I sent the poem at the last moment.” Although Zubac kept repeating the first few lines of the legendary poem in his head all the time, he wrote the rest of the ode in a single breath. The last line of the poem reads “I really did love that Svetlana during one of those autumns” and the poem was finished. Without too much consideration, he decided to send it to Golob as soon as possible. The post office was open until midnight, so he stuffed the paper into an envelope, wrote the address and rushed. He gave the envelope to the post office clerk just in time and “The Rains of Mostar” sailed away from him forever.

SVETLANA:THE ONE & ONLY The poem later gained a life of its own and existed independently of its creator, so much so that he sometimes got angry with it. He never released it separately and wouldn’t even have included it into his first book of poems if it weren’t for his professor, Draško Ređep, who saw the manuscript and refused to publish the book without “The Rains”. The poem was considered so special that the publisher printed it on black paper in white lettering. Zubac subsequently made peace with his poem and allowed it to lead a separate life. He continued writing, well aware that whatever kind of poem he wrote would be considered “not the one” since “the one” about Svetlana, whom he used to love in Mostar, would forever be the one and only. “Svetlana never actually existed in my real life,” the poet says, though many don’t believe that. “Svetlana is a fictitious lady born of a high school pupil and a student’s amorous passions and made of four female characters,” says the poet. “I took something from each of them and gave it to the one I just cannot forget”. One of the girls always carried an old Zweig book with here, which she read in the afternoon while the gold reflection of the sun was trapped in her hair. Another loved roses, “the ones that blossom in the autumn”, while the next one picked and collected chestnuts... The chestnut-picker was a source of amusement

The poem later gained a life of its own and existed independently of its creator, so much so that he sometimes got angry with it for Zubac’s colleagues, as there are no chestnut trees in Mostar. Even Zubac himself often tells the story of poet Miroslav Antić’s funny letter to one Miša Marić in Mostar. The letter began “Dear Miša, I am picturing myself sitting under those gorgeous sycamores that Pero Zubac calls chestnut trees.” And then there were the strange questions that Svetlana asked, like “Are you a Croat?”, “Do you have a girlfriend?”, “Do you read Rilke?” Zubac included this in the poem because of one German girl he met whilst on summer holiday in Croatia. The owner of one of the most popular websites in Russia – Orwell – included “The Rains” in his programme, claiming that the poem was prophetic, Zubac says. “I asked him why and he said “Please, think about this: who cared about a person being a Croat back in 1965? Nobody, of course. Oh and that question about believing in communism… Well, it was implied that everybody believed in communism.” At the time Pero wrote his famous poem, there wasn’t a chapel on the White Hill (Bijeli Breg). The poet made that up and Orwell later found out that after the bloody civil war tore Mostar apart, the Croats did finally build a chapel. Where else, but on the White Hill! “You predicted that by discussing ‘The American Tragedy’ with one of your Svetlana’s, as well as saying that “Clyde Griffiths couldn’t hurt a fly”, the Russian said to the poet, explaining that he inserted this short story about the tragedy of globalisation into his poem. Even today, the multiple layers of the poem spark an interest that is completely different to that which the poet had in mind when he wrote it. This stands as testimony to the fact that “The Rains of Mostar” is indeed unique; amorous; larger than life.

Prophetic ode The owner of Russian websites Orwell included “The Rains” in his programme, claiming that it was prophetic CorD 65 / November 2009 61

CULTURE

NEWS

DAYS OF GERMANY 2009

his October & November see the staging of the 2009 Days of Germany event, marking 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The event includes a film festival entitled “On both sides of the wall”, which ran from 22nd to 29th October at the Belgrade Culture Centre, and the programme “Life without Walls”. The festival “On both sides of the wall” opened with Christian Petzold’s film Jerichow and also included the screening of nine other German films selected by acclaimed film critic Bernd Buder. All films addressed the importance of the division and reunification of Germany for people on both sides of the wall. Next followed the opening of the ‘Belgrade Wall’ on 30th October, which saw Belgrade youngsters and German artist Frank Belter construct a copy of the “last wall” between East and West Berlin. The western side of the Belgrade Wall is freely available for the public to express their opinions through messages, drawings or graffiti, while the entire installation will be symbolically destroyed on 9th November.

62 CorD 65 / November 2009

The artistic work of Belter, born 1969, is mainly focused on large projects in public spaces. In conjunction with the Dis-patch Festival of electronic music, Germany’s Goethe Institute is to organise a DJ/VJ evening on 13th November at Belgrade’s Dom Omladine. This special event will see Tobias Freund and DJ Cassy (resident at the famous Panorama Bar), together with VJs Visomat Inc. and Telematique, as well as Belgrade DJs, present the Belgrade audience with a musical picture of Berlin, while images of Berlin will be projected via seven video beams to visually complete the evening’s entertainment. The finale of the “Life without Walls” programme sees the Days of Germany event go nationwide, with Goran Marković’s play Falsifikator (Forger) staged in Kragujevac (13th November) and Užice (16th November).

RENOVATED PAJA JOVANOVIĆ MUSEUM REOPENS

150th anniversary of Jovanović’s birth. The restoration saw the museum’s space reconstructed according to the model of the artist’s studio in Vienna. The overall ambience – including pictures, lounge area with easel and painting accessories, classical furniture and the artist’s personal belongings – reflect the art and period of his life. The refurbished museum includes restored furniture, while the displayed paintings have been preserved and set in a new light. Belgrade City Museum boasts over 200 paintings, drawings, graphics and photos of Paja Jovanović, while the reconstructed museum offers only part of the legacy bequeathed to the Museum by Jovanović. Art lovers can now see the 1940 portraits of mayors Vlada Ilić and Vojin Đuričić, as well as early works that are often not discussed, such as Jovanović’s portrait of Queen Mary. The Paja Jovanović Museum is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 11am to 7pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 5pm.

BORINO THEATRE DAYS IN VRANJE

T T

his October saw the opening of the newly renovated Museum of Paja Jovanović, one of the greatest Serbian painters, on the fourth floor of number 21 Kralja Milana Street. Vršac-born Jovanović (1859 - 1957) is one of the few Serbian artists to achieve success as a young artist, experiencing unprecedented popularity and success that hadn’t been enjoyed by a single Serbian artist before him. He became a member of Serbian Royal Academy at just twenty-nine years old and is one of the most important representatives of academic realism painting in Serbia. The Paja Jovanović Museum, established by the Belgrade City Museum in 1969 in the adapted flat at 21 Kralja Milana Street, was reconstructed this year to mark the

he 29th consecutive Borino Theatre Days Festival took place in Vranje between 21st and 26th October. This year’s event represented a conceptual and organisational turnaround compared to previous festivals, with the theatrical performances and accompanying programme selected by the festival’s Arts Council – comprising theatre critics from Belgrade Ivan Medenica, Željko Hubač and Ksenija Radulović. Under the inquisitive slogan “Woman’s thing?”, the theme of this year’s Borino Theatre Days was the emancipation of women in conservative society. The festival’s main programme presented six performances of this year’s domestic artistic achievements with the plays That’s the way it had to be [Tako je moralo biti] by Branislav Nušić (JDP, Belgrade), directed by Egon Savin; German girl [Švabica] by Laza Lazarević (JDP, Belgrade), directed by Ana Đorđević; Orange Peel [Pomorandžina kora] by Maja Pelević (Atelier 212, Belgrade), di-

rected by Goran Marković; Man’s Thing [Muška stvar] by F.K. Krec (Atelier 212, Belgrade), directed by Miloš Lolić; Newcomers [Došljaci] by Milutin Uskoković (National Theatre, Užice), directed by Aleksandar Lukac; and Dirty Hands [Les Mains Sales] by Jean-Paul Sartre (Theatre Bora Stanković, Vranje) directed by Miloš Jagodić.

The event’s ancillary programme saw the broadcasting of video clips of performances of the works of celebrated Vranjeborn writer Borisav “Bora” Stanković from the collection of the Museum of Serbian Theatre Arts, as well as the staging of an exhibition of Mira Stupica – 60 years of creativity, as well as a portrait of actress Gorica Popović in the form of conversations with her. A special part of the accompanying programme was dedicated to the promotion of books in the field of theatrical art and specifically “Mira Trailović, lady from the big world” Feliks Pašić (Museum of Theatre Arts of Serbia). The Borino Theatre Days Festival was created in 1979 upon the initiative of Radoslav Radivojević – long-time administrator and director of the Bora Stanković Theatre – in honour of one of Stanković: one of the most important representatives of Serbian realism. The event has since become one of the most significant annual cultural landmarks of the City of Vranje and Serbian theatrical art.

MIRACULOUS BEAUTY OF NEURONS

pain’s Cervantes Institute, in collaboration with the SANU Gallery of Science and Technology, has organised an unusual exhibition of drawings and

photographs entitled “Landscape of Neurons” and consisting of selected scientific pictures of the nervous system of the brain taken by Spanish and other neurologists. The exhibition, organised on the occasion of the centenary of Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s receiving of the Nobel Prize for Medicine (in recognition of work on the structure of the nervous system), was officially opened on 23rd October in the SANU Gallery of Science and Technology by Javier De Felipe of Madrid’s Cajal Institute neuroscience research centre. The Landscape of Neurons exhibition consists of raw scientific pictures of the nervous system of the brain, authored by Spanish and other neurologists using modern techniques, which vividly depict the development of human knowledge about the nervous system. Exhibition visitors are able to compare the drawings of the pioneers of neurology more than a century ago with the most modern techniques of photography. The exhibition consists of 50 exquisite photographs selected from 433 images submitted by 62 laboratories around the world. All images include accompanying texts written especially for this occasion by painters, writers, philosophers and intellectuals.

These surprisingly beautiful photos and drawings are irresistibly reminiscent of the avant-garde works of artists such as Miró and Picasso. The pictures, owned laboratories and

scientific research centres around the world, were selected on the basis of quality, content and beauty. They have not been artistically enhanced. The exhibition has already wowed the public in Barcelona, the Canary Islands, Chicago and Brazil. The exhibition will be available at the SANU Gallery until 1st December, before being presented in neighbouring Hungary.

DUŠKO GOJKOVIĆ CONCERT HELD

nternationally acclaimed jazz artist Duško Gojković held a concert to mark the 45th anniversary of the founding of Belgrade’s Dom Omladine on 19th October. Gojković’s performance was supported by the band Soul Connection, special guest performers included tenor saxophonist Toni Lakatoš, pianist Claus Raible, Double Bassist Martin Đakonovski and drummer Mario Gonci.

The Soul Connection band comprises 13 young professional musicians from the prestigious European Music Academy, led by trumpeter Dragoslav “Freddie” Stanisavljević. The concert, which marked the birthday of Dom Omladine (Youth House), saw the band and top international musicians perform the complete opus of Gojković’s jazz compositions inspired by the Balkans. Gojković, founder of stylistic direction “Balkan Jazz”, is the only Serbian jazz musician whose opus from the second half of the 20th century has been recorded by every relevant jazz encyclopaedia in the world. CorD 65 / November 2009 63

CULTURE

CALENDAR

CLASSICAL MUSIC BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA * all concerts performed at Kolarac Hall from 8pm

White cycle

3rd November, 8pm

Conductor: Stephen Gunzenhauser Soloist: Corky Siegel, harmonica PROGRAMME A. Marquez: Danzon No. 2 C. Siegel: Symphonic Blues P. I. Tchaikovsky: Suite No. 3

Handel - harpsichord music (Part II) Egon Mihajlović (Germany)

GUARNERIUS ART CENTRE 2nd November, 8pm With the Music we Love (humanitarian concert)

Laura Puerto (Spain) PROGRAMME Early Baroque music of Spain, in collaboration with Instituto Cervantes

In memory of Prof. Ernest Krumes Performances from the most talented students of Serbian music schools and scholars of the PAP Fund PROGRAMME Popper, Paganini, Sainz de la Maza, Huston, Gaous, Beethoven, Sarasate, Rachmaninoff The same evening will see Guarnerius host an auction of paintings donated by academic painters. Funds collected will be donated to scholars of the PAP Fund.

9th November, 8pm

KOLARAC CONCERT HALL 5th November, 8pm

6th November White cycle Conductor: Daniel Raiskin Soloist: Benjamin Schmid, violin PROGRAMME A. Dvorak: Carnival overture; A. Dvorak: Violin concerto; H. Berlioz: Roman Carnival; O. Respighi: Pini di Roma

Jubilee concert marking the 20th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Serbia Jovan Kolundžija (violin, Serbia) and Eugene Choi (piano, Korea) PROGRAMME Bach, Mozart, Kreisler, Rachmaninoff, SaintSaens, Sarasate

20th November Blue cycle Conductor: Valentin Reymond Soloist: Stella Doufexis, mezzo-soprano PROGRAMME P. Dukas: L’apprenti sorcier; H. Berlioz: Nuits d’ete; C. Debussy: La mer th

27 November 64 CorD 65 / November 2009

Author’s Concert Miloš Petrović (Serbia) harpsichord - piano

7th November, 8pm

Music for two harpsichords Duo Ágnes Várallyay (Hungary) and Svetlana Stojanović Kutlača (Serbia) PROGRAMME G.H. Handel, J.S. Bach, W. F. Bach, A. Soler

11th November, 8pm Christopher Stembridge (UK) PROGRAMME 12 Toccatas of Girolamo Frescobaldi

DANCE SAVA CENTRE, GREAT HALL 22nd November, 8pm AKUD “Lola” - Lola forever Concert marking the 65th birthday of AKUD “Lola”

29th November, 8pm

NATIONAL MUSEUM ATRIUM 2nd November – 13th November

13th November Red cycle Conductor: Dmitry Liss Soloist: Dudana Mazmanischvili, piano PROGRAMME F. Chopin: Piano concerto No. 2 N. Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 6

5th November, 8pm

Bolshoi Theatre Ballet Stars Gala concert

30th November, 8.30pm

Harpsichord International Festival: Ars Vivendi Clavicembalum Opening night (Monday, 2nd November) 8pm - Handel and Friends (250th anniversary of the death of George Friedrich Handel, Part I) Soloists: Snežana Savičić, soprano; Mateja Bajt (Slovenia), recorder; Smiljka Isaković, harpsichord; Aleksandar Solunac, trumpet

Tango Seducción Staging of the most famous tango show from the heart of Buenos Aires

POP/ROCK CONCERTS BELGRADE ARENA 5th November, 8pm Eros Ramazzotti (Italian guitarist)

10th November, 8pm

Underworld (British dance music)

11th November, 8pm Simple Minds (British (Scottish) ‘80s pop)

13th November, 8pm Tom Jones (British (Welsh) vocalist)

28th November, 9pm Van Gogh (Serbian rock)

5pm: THIS IS IT: MICHAEL JACKSON, 100 min. (concert/documentary) 7.30pm: TUCKLOS ABRAZOS ROTOS, 127 min. (drama) 10pm: SURROGATES, 88 min. (action / sci-fi)

Friday 30th October 5pm: BENDSLAM, 111 min. (comedy/ musical) 7.30pm: RED CLIFF, 146 min. (action) 10pm: PANDORUM, 108 min. (sci-fi / horror)

Saturday, 31st October

26th November, 8pm

5pm: FAME, 107 min. (musical) 7.30pm: THE INFORMANT, 108 min. (comedy) 10pm: TRIAGE, 99 min. (drama)

Zvonko Bogdan (Serbian folk singer)

Sunday, 1st November

SAVA CENTRE, GREAT HALL 21st November, 8.30pm Diana Krall (Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist)

DOM SINDIKATA 19th November, 8pm Tommy Emmanuel (Australian guitarist)

5pm: COUPLES RETREAT, 107 min. (comedy) 7.30pm: BAARIA - LA PORTA DEL VENTO, 150 min. (drama) 10pm: GAMER, 95 min. (action / sci-fi)

Monday, 2nd November 5pm: PUSH, 111 min. (sci-fi / thriller) 7.30pm: MY LIFE IN RUINS, 95 min. (comedy) 10pm: JENNIFER’S BODY, 102 min. (horror)

Tuesday, 3rd November

ART EXHIBITIONS Until 7th November ONE WORLD - Ivona Pleskonja Arte Gallery (Takovska 20)

Until 20th November Gudmundur Gudmundsson, aka Erró (Iceland); Gallery HAOS (Dositejeva 3)

Until 7th November Vladimir Veličković: graphics 1989- 2009 Graficki kolektiv Gallery (Obilicev venac 27)

ANNUAL EVENTS L`OREAL PARIS CINEMANIA 29th October – 5th November

5pm: ZOMBIELAND, 87 min. (horror comedy) 7.30pm: LOVE HAPPENS, 109 min. (drama / romance) 10pm: IN THE ELECTRIC MIST, 117 min. (thriller)

JULIE & JULIA From 19th November Directed by Nora Ephron Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond... Plot: Julia Child’s story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell’s 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child’s first book.

ZOMBIELAND From 26th November Directed by Ruben Fleischer Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson., Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Bill Murray (cameo). ; Plot: Horror-comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies.

COUPLES RETREAT From 12th November

Wednesday, 4th November 5pm: CITY ISLAND, 100 min. (comedy) 7.30pm: JULIE & JULIA, 123 min. (drama) 10pm: THE COUNTESS, 98 min. (drama)

Thursday, 5th November 5pm: BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, 105 min. (drama) 7.30pm: CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY, 120 min. (Michael Moore documentary) 10pm: THE OTHER MAN, 85 min. (thriller)

FILM PREMIERES

Directed by Peter Billingsley Cast: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis Plot: Comedy centred around four couples on holiday on a tropical island resort.

2012 From 12th November

Sava Centre, Great Hall MAIN PREMIERES

Thursday 29th October

Directed by Roland Emmerich Cast: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor Plot: An epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings the world to an end and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Premiere 15th November; general release from 19th November Directed by Robert Zemeckis; Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn, Michael J. Fox (voice), Colin Firth ; Plot: Animated (IMAX 3D) retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic novel about a Victorianera miser taken on a journey of selfredemption by ghosts. CorD 65 / November 2009 65

RESTAURANT REVIEW

IN SEARCH OF

ORAŠAC KAFANA

A JUICY BITE

It won’t shock you to discover that barbeque has a special place at the heart of Serbian cuisine. With this in mind, and in a quest to satisfy our hunger for excellent barbeque, we set off for a big lunch at one of Belgrade’s well known kafanas on Bulevar: Orašac By Jelena MICKIĆ

n Serbian the word Kafana comes from kafa (coffee). In its original base meaning, a kafana is, and was, a meeting place for men to gather and socialise, exchange news, make deals or trade and relax with coffee, drinks and some music. Like many things in the culture of the Balkans, this type of inn came to Serbia with the Turks, although the word kafana itself is probably of Persian origin: the Arabic word qahve (coffee) and the Persian word khane (house) being the roots of the term. Belgrade used to have many different types of kafana that would cater for every state of human emotion: happiness, sorrow, loneliness; but an interesting kind were those that constituted an intellectual stronghold of free thinkers. Nowadays many of Belgrade’s kafanas, particularly those that held the best city locations, are extinct - replaced by fancy franchised coffee shops or pizza parlours. If we discount Skadarlija’s offer, the kafanas that have managed to keep their doors open are those that serve a hearty traditional meal for a decent price in a relaxed atmosphere. And one more thing, a kafana should have character. When I was little going to a kafana was something that was shunned as an act of a suburban, rural and backward taste. A decade and a bit later, the times and the atmosphere have obviously changed, as I find myself going to kafanas frequently. Somehow this whole concept has been rejuvenated and the kafana has become a restaurant serving traditional Serbian cuisine, as well as some other classical continental dishes including the Viennese or Parisian schnitzels that we all grew up dining on. It is not surprising anymore that younger generations

66 CorD 65 / November 2009

like to go to a kafana, probably because the fast food and soft drinks of their childhood are so convenient and ordinary now that going to a more traditional and pristine place is perceived as respite from the usually consumerist rhythm of daily life. It won’t shock you to discover that barbeque has a special place at the heart of Serbian cuisine. With this in mind, and in a quest to satisfy our hunger for excellent barbeque, we set off for a big lunch at one of Belgrade’s well known kafanas on Bulevar: Orašac. We luckily managed to use one of the last, if not the very last, days of great and warm summery October at Orašac, which is named in honour of the village Orašac near Aranđelovac: the site of the start of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1804. As we walked into Orašac’s packed garden, we immediately regretted not having made a reservation. Luckily we quickly spotted a couple leaving and successfully anchored ourselves at a red-checkered-cloth draped table beside the street entrance. The waiter came quickly. He was obligatorily polite, insisted that all the barbeque was good and rushed us into making an order. With such a turnover of guests he must have been very busy. While waiting for our food, we took some time to check out the other diners and immediately spotted a film director renowned for his cult status Serbian films from the ‘80s. We heard some Italian being spoken behind us, while next to us sat young families having lunch, on the left side some business people were negotiating and we spotted students

The garden is simple and very kafana like, with red checkered tablecloths under big trees, but the interior decor is more upscale from the faculties and the dorm across the street too. Then our food arrived. Had we known that the servings were so big we would have split the order. My partner had chicken breast skewers that came with raw onion and chips. I had grilled chicken breast stuffed with ham and light creamy cheese. In some restaurants this dish comes with kačkavalj, which is similar to a mild Cheddar cheese. This wrap can be heavy and greasy when stuffed with firm cheese, but then that’s a matter of taste. We both had šopska salad, which was alright. We lacked some homemade bread to complement the experience; a rustic touch to the traditional food, and had to satisfy ourselves with tasty but forgettable industrial produce. The meat itself was soft and juicy; grilled just right. It usually goes perfectly with oven roasted potatoes, but instead Orašac normally serves chips that

are ordinary in every sense of the word. The menu here is based on homely comfort food. It relies heavily on grilled meats and the list of cooked dishes and accompanying vegetables varies from season to season. The dessert list is short but counts traditional sweets, such as pancakes and apple or cherry filo pastry pies – just in case you have any room left for dessert. There is a decent wine list too, though everything you taste and see here is simple and straightforward; there is no mystification. You come here to eat or enjoy the company of friends. In general there is a good vibe to the place. The garden is simple and very kafana like, with red checkered tablecloths under big trees, but the interior decor is more upscale, with the dining area big enough to accommodate larger parties. The mellow yellow painted walls are adorned with framed black and white photos of Belgrade during the past. When the days are cold, two wooden fireplaces are lit and the atmosphere usually warms up quickly both for the chatter of guests and the consumption of alcohol. The prices of food and drink at Orašac are reasonable. There is no restaurant parking, with diners parking their vehicles on the pavement outside the restaurant or in nearby streets. And don’t forget, next time you come here bring someone with a good appetite and split the Karađorđeva schnitzel.

Meet the meat I had grilled chicken breast... The meat itself was soft and juicy; grilled just right CorD 65 / November 2009 67

TRAVEL

GETTING AWAY

FROM IT ALL

CorD presents alternative breaks in and around Vojvodina – from a daytrip to a full holiday

Sremski Karlovci - skyline

DAYTRIP: SMALL TOWN, BIG HISTORY Destination: Sremski Karlovci Distance from Belgrade: 65km Highlights: architecture & history Sremski Karlovci is a unique small town with big city buildings and an historical significance that belies its modern status. Once the site of a small Roman fortress, the town – known locally as simply ‘Karlovci’ – was later taken over by Hungarian noble families until becoming part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1520, though retaining its ethnica-Serb majority throughout. 68 CorD 65 / November 2009

Among the town’s claims to historical fame are the fact that it hosted the first ever roundtable congress used in international politics (16th November, 1698 to 26th January, 1699), which resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz that ended hostilities between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League – a coalition of various European powers that included the Habsburg Monarchy, Poland, Venice and Russia. Sremski Karlovci is also home to the earliest Serb grammar school, Karlovačka gimnazija, which was founded on 3rd August 1791 and is still preparing the area’s youngsters for life. In 1794 an Orthodox seminary was also founded in the town. The second oldest Orthodox seminary in the world after the Spiritual Academy in Kiev, it is also still in existence. Contemporary Karlovci boasts many preserved building that were of importance to Serbia’s religious, cultural and political life in the 18th and 19th centuries. The oldest buildings in the town centre date back to the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when the centre of the Serbian Orthodox church was moved to Karlovci and many new structures were added. The town’s Chapel of Peace, built 1699-1700, remains unchanged in appearance, though reconstructed in 1817. Its rotunda shape and four separate entrances were designed in recognition of the famous peace negotiations that took place here. Construction on the large Congregation Church, with its massive baroque towers, started in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Metropolitan Pavle Nenadović. Its masterful baroque iconostasis was painted by Teodor Kračun and Jakov Orfelin. The most monumental building in Karlovci is the Patriarchy Court, built between 1892 and 1895 by the architect Vladimir Nikolić after 19th century urban places influenced by Historicist, Renaissance and Baroque styles. The town also boasts a bee museum, offering excellent local honey and honey-rakija (Medovača), as well as numerous Danube-side restaurants and bars.

The spa and summer resort of Lake Palić has lured tourists since the 19th century, when it first became an exclusive leisure destination for the Austro-Hungarian elite. It was back in 1840, when it was discovered that the lake’s water and mud had salubrious properties, that a huge landscaped park was established at Palić. A natural health spa environment was then fostered and both recreational and health tourists began to flock to Palić. The area’s mineral water springs have a consistent temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and the mud of the lake is rich in important mineral substances with therapeutic qualities. The Great Park has since been redesigned and additional

Sremski Karlovci - architecture

Sremski Karlovci is home to the earliest Serb grammar school, Karlovačka gimnazija, which was founded on 3rd August 1791 and is still preparing the area’s youngsters for life

Palić - lake view

Sremski Karlovci is an excellent entertaining and educational daytrip destination that’s less than an hour’s drive from Belgrade.

WEEKEND AWAY: LAKESIDE LEISURE Destination: Lake Palić Distance from Belgrade: 181km Highlights: fresh air & natural beauty

Palić - original architecture

Palić is the most popular tourist destination in the province of Vojvodina and the ﬁfth most popular place to get away from it in the whole of Serbia. greenery planted. Originally occupying an area of more than 86,000 square metres, the park today covers around 190,000 m². Lake Palić is a protected area and has the official status of a Nature Park. The lake’s 17 kilometres of banks are well landscaped and very attractive for walking, cycling or taking one of the coach rides on offer. Palić is the most popular tourist destination in the province of Vojvodina and the fifth most popular place to get away from it in the whole of Serbia. Boasting numerous hotels, restaurants and even a zoo, as well as hosting the famous annual Palić European Film Festival each June, Palić is an excellent weekend break option year-round. CorD 65 / November 2009 69

TRAVEL

Novi Sad - Petrovaradin Fortress

CITY BREAK: CAPITAL OF FUN Destination: Novi Sad Distance from Belgrade: 70km Highlights: Petrovaradin Fortress & Štrand Beach Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District, lies in the southern part of Central Europe’s Pannonian Plain and is sprawled across both banks of the River Danube, facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora. Serbia’s second largest city and one of only four autonomous city units in the country, Novi Sad has a municipal population of around 370,000. With a name meaning New Plantation (Neoplanta), Novi Sad was founded in 1694 and quickly became the area’s centre of Serbian culture, earning the nickname of the Serbian Athens. Contemporary Novi Sad is a bustling industrial and financial centre that has developed a strong urban identity, yet maintained its easy-going Vojvodinan nature. The city is home to numerous cultural events, festivals and music concerts, with the most prominent being the now world-renowned EXIT Festival, which attracts upwards of 200,000 revellers to the city’s Petrovaradin Fortress for four days of world class concerts each summer. Novi Sad is also home to Serbia’s only festival of al70 CorD 65 / November 2009

The city is home to numerous cultural events, festivals and music concerts, with the most prominent being the now world-renowned EXIT Festival ternative and new theatre, INFANT, as well as the festival of children’s literature - Zmaj Children Games, International Novi Sad Literature Festival, Sterijino pozorje, the Novi Sad Jazz Festival and many more. Vojvodina is known for its multiethnic nature and Novi Sad boasts dozens of culture and art societies that reflect the city’s multicultural life. National minorities present their own traditions, folklore and songs through societies like the Hungarian MKUD Petefi Sandor, Slovakien SKUD Pavel Jozef Safarik, Ruthenian RKPD Novi Sad, Bulgarian,

Novi Sad main square & cathedral

Slovenian Jewish, Croatian and other societies. Home to a strong Jewish community until WWII, the Novi Sad Synagogue now houses many cultural events in the City. Novi Sad offers a tourist port near Varadin Bridge in the city centre, which welcomes various Danube river cruise vessels from across Europe, while the most recognisable structure in Novi Sad is Petrovaradin Fortress, which dominates the city skyline and offers stunning views of urban Novi Sad. All this, coupled with the historic neighbourhood of Stari Grad and its many monuments, museums, cafés, restaurants, parks and shops, makes Novi Sad a great city break destination just an hour from Belgrade.

Fruška Gora - forest lanes

HOLIDAY: JEWEL OF SERBIA Destination: Fruška Gora National Park Distance from Belgrade: around 60km Highlights: Woodland climbs & the River Danube Travelling through Vojvodina’s (at times excruciatingly flat) Pannonian Plain, one will come across an apparent oasis in the former seabed; an island of lush green slopes, forested hillsides and picturesque valleys known as Mount Fruška Gora or the Jewel of Serbia. Classified as a national park since 1960, the slopes of Fruška Gora are well suited for grape cultivation and, accordingly, are home to many vineyards producing Traminer, Riesling and other wines. This makes Fruška Gora an ideal destination for wine route tourism. The mountain’s fertility and beauty have attracted tourists for many years and the national park has become known for the peaceful, rich life of its inhabitants and as a place where visitors can recuperate and enjoy the beautiful sur-

Classiﬁed as a national park since 1960, the slopes of Fruška Gora are well suited for grape cultivation and are home to many vineyards producing Traminer, Riesling and other wines roundings. This makes it an excellent choice for rambling and hiking holidays. Fruška Gora is also a great religious and historical tourism location, as it is home to over a dozen Serbian Orthodox monasteries. Each is an original working monastery with residential quarters, places of worship and small working farms. Most of Fruška Gora’s monasteries were built between the 12th and 16th centuries and their state of repair varies. The area boasts several excellent hotel retreats in woodland surroundings, some of which offer indoor swimming pools, sports facilities, conference halls for team-building breaks and restaurants. Visitors can also stay at nearby Salaš’s (converted farmsteads) or even hire a villa on the mountain for a very reasonable price. Fruška Gora borders the majestic River Danube, which offers water sports, fishing and river tourism, as well as numerous riverside restaurants specialising in fish fresh from the Danube. Whether you decide to visit Fruška Gora for a day, weekend or full holiday, we’re sure that you’ll find plenty to do and plenty of opportunities to rest, recuperate and enjoy the wonderful nature of the Jewel of Serbia. CorD 65 / November 2009 71

Imperial Dreams By Valentina Obradović & Bojan Božić

The Imperial Dreams Autumn/Winter ’09 collection of fashion creators Valentine Obradović and Bojan Božić will take you to a dream, but not an ordinary dream. Rather, a dream of the old Imperial Russia. This collection, with elements of the rich history and folklore of Russia, will bring you joy, pleasure and delight in the beauty of the Slavic spirit and the Russian Empire. Each item of the collection will turn any everyday moment into the longest dream; the dream of luxury to be found in Russia’s

white nights. Elements of rich Russian folklore interpreted in a minimalist way are embedded in contemporary costumes and suited to the modern woman whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ready for new challenges but has a clear essence of the past in her personal style. Sensual voluminosity, exciting vitality, feminine voluptuousness, subtly purified lines, romantic details through bows, satin belts, gold buttons, braided buckles, fur scarves â&#x20AC;&#x201C; these are just some of the features of this magical collection.

TWEED BLAZER – Retail price: RSD5,753 SHIRT – Retail price: RSD2,415 TWEED TROUSERS – Retail price: RSD3,764

5 74 CorD 65 / November 2009

TWEED BLAZER – Retail price: RSD5,753 BLACK SHIRT– Retail price: RSD2,415 BLACK TROUSERS – Retail price: RSD3,338

3. 4.

BROWN COSTUME – Retail price: RSD8,595 GOLD TOP – Retail price: RSD1,918

RED BLAZER – Retail price: RSD5,753 BLACK SHIRT– Retail price: RSD2,415 BLACK TROUSERS – Retail price: RSD3,338

RED JACKET – Retail price: RSD6,392 BLACK SHIRT – Retail price: RSD2,415 BLACK TROUSERS – Retail price: RSD3,338 BROWN DRESS – Retail price: RSD4,972 CorD 65 / November 2009 75

TECHNO TALK |

AVALANCHE AIRBAG BACKPACK

Price: €335

ull the rip-cord on this backpack to inflate a single–chamber, 150–litre airbag instantly and help keep yourself safe in an avalanche. The Float 30 pack can, apparently, help prevent burial in a snow slide as well as protecting the head, neck and upper body with its instantly-inflated cushioned mass. The airbag system, which is reusable, is integrated into a ski-specific pack that weighs about three kilos when empty. In the worst case scenario, a braided steel cable with a plastic trigger handle serves as an emergency rip-cord to inflate the bag and potentially save your life., www.backcountryaccess.com

COLUMBIA HEATED BOOTS

COLDAVENGER EXPEDITION BALACLAVA

Price: €170

fficient, comfortable, lightweight heated boots have long been a Holy Grail in footwear circles and this season Columbia offer its latest contribution with its Bugathermo and Snow Hottie models. Both the men’s and women’s boots have built-in rechargeable batteries and electronic controls to provide three temperature settings. According to Columbia, a single charge provides up to eight hours of heat for your feet. www.columbia.com

Price: €54.95

esigned by a physician and worn by renowned high-altitude mountaineers, the ColdAvenger Expedition Balaclava is in contention to be dubbed the warmest head covering ever made, protecting the wearer from cold, sun and wind. According to the makers, the unique ventilator – a filter made of “medicalgrade” plastic – fits over the mouth to mix inhaled cold air with exhaled warm air, keeping the body’s heat better regulated. www.coldavenger.com

HELLY HANSEN ATLAS FLOW DOWN

Price: €480

uxuriously and warm, but technically adept for both skiing and snowboarding, the high-end Atlas Flow jacket boasts the insulating warmth of goose down with the protection of a hard shell coat. It has a waterproof outer shell fabric, but 800-fill goose-down “pillows” throughout the interior – adding extraordinary insulation. According to Helly Hansen, the pillows are separated by a “precise series of venting channels” that help excess heat and moisture escape. www.hellyhansen.com

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KELTY GUNNISON PRO TENT

Price: €170

solid four-season shelter that won’t break the bank, the two-man Gunnison Pro was made to withstand harsh winter conditions and comes with a stitch-free fly and floor to increase durability and water resistance. Multiple guy-line points let you tie down the tent to keep it solid in a storm. The tent has two doors and two vestibules and is lightweight – weighing just two kilos fully packed. www.kelty.com

LA SPORTIVA BARUNTSE BOOTS

Price: €405

BD AGENT AVALUNG

Price: €135

he Agent AvaLung Pack’s snorkel-like breathing tube is to help trapped skiers breathe when submerged in the packed snow of an avalanche – so says Black Diamond, which is offering a whole collection of AvaLungequipped packs for skiers and boarders. The Agent is a lightweight model (20-litre carrying capacity) and has a diagonal ski-carry cable for fast and secure attachment of skis to the pack. There’s a tuckaway helmet carrying sling and a dedicated avalanche-tool organiser pocket. www.blackdiamondequipment.com

MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR HEATED JACKETS

his heavy-duty mountain doubleboot was made for high altitudes and big peaks. It can be used for traversing glaciers and moderate ice climbing, as well as for slogging to major heights on expeditions from the Andes to the Himalayas. According to the makers, the low-profile, all-synthetic outer boot will not absorb moisture and the Corduracoated inner boot, which has a thermo-moulded EVA foam shell, slips out of the outer boot shell and is made to be worn alone after a climb in camp or in a tent. www.sportiva.com

Price: €305

he men’s Refugium jacket and women’s Radiance model are literally wired for heat, as well as offering the ability to power small electronics stored in your pockets. Indeed, add the optional Ardica Technology battery pack to these jackets and the wearer will be able to choose from three temperature settings and take advantage of a portable plug-in to charge a phone or camera. www.mountainhardwear.com

CorD 65 / November 2009 79

TECHNO TALK |

DRIZONE DOWN BOOTIE

Price: €45

rizone claim that their latest Down Bootie is all the performance your feet will need. Suited for late-night calls of nature in the nature or chilling out on a freezing afternoon, the Drizone two-layer waterproof-breathable fabric protects with 700-fill down on the inside. Updated for 2009, this bootie is made of recycled polyester and equipped with a waterproof/breathable face fabric and nylon sole. www.sierradesigns.com

CHAOS AJAX HAT

Price: €22.99

he new green recycled rag wool programme from Chaos makes use of nontrendy pop bottles to create resilient and cosy accessories. The products in Chaos’ green collection are all lined with recycled fleece and use only low-impact dyes made from vegetable and root powders, which have less toxic run-off into drains, oceans and ground water. www.chaoshats.com

KAHTOOLA TS SNOWSHOES

Price: €182

his unique, two-part winter footwear system includes a snowshoe deck and removable snowshoe binding that doubles as a traction device when the binding is buckled onto your winter boot. When not engaged to the snowshoe deck, the bindings’ four stainless steel studs serve as pseudo crampons for grip on snow and ice. When the deck is clicked back on, the wearer can just glide over snow. www.kahtoola.com

GIANT SLALOM STEERABLE SNOW TUBE

Price: €39.95

he Giant Slalom Steerable Snow Tube, by SportsStuff, is the first inflatable snow tube to have a braking and steering system of this kind. Suitable for adults, this snow tube has a partial L-shape so that the rider can face forward while steering and braking with the two handles (one on each side). www.sportsstuff.com

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BOLLE QUASAR GOGGLE TOUCAN FRAME VERM GUN LENS

Price: €59.95

he Bolle Quasar Ski and Snowboard Goggle is a medium offers optimum airflow and a spherical vented lens. These goggles include a Triple-Layer Face Foam that means ultra soft fleece is the only material on your face, backed by two layers of multi-density foam for a firm, yet soft fit. Other features include the P80 Plus Carbo GlasÂ®: Anti-fog/Anti-scratch technology, Forestay System for Perfect Helmet Fit, a unique double lens design that creates a thermal barrier and 100% UV Protection up to 400 nanometres. www.bolle.com

BACKCOUNTRY ACCESS TRACKER DTS

HOT BUNS BUTT WARMERS

Price: €19.95

Price: €194.95

ot Buns Butt Warmers have been the solution for cold, wet behinds for 15 years. Convenient protection for skiers and snowboarders to keep you warm and dry in all conditions, a versatile neoprene wrap (dry suit material) covers the seat and rear thigh - thus protecting against cold and frost. Perfect for ski lifts or cold sports stadiums, they are used by sailors, fishermen and hunters. The waist band and bands around the thighs are held in place by Velcro fasteners and the butt warmers come in any colour as long as it’s black. www.snowshack.com

he Backcountry Access Tracker DTS avalanche beacon reduces the time spent locating, probing and digging during an avalanche rescue. The Tracker DTS revolutionised the transceiver market back in 1997 by introducing digital, dual antenna technology. Since then, it has become the world’s best-selling transceiver. Now a series of improvements make the new Tracker even more bombproof than before. www.backcountryaccess.com

YAKTRAX WALKER

Price: €12.00

aktrax adds traction to almost any shoe. It is an easy-to-use accessory with an updated design for greater durability, traction and comfort. Yaktrax offer ten times the gripping points as any spike-based traction device, its coils are rust resistant and can accommodate nearly any type of footwear. Updated heel tabs and strands, outer bands and toe bridges work to provide a comfortable, secure fit, while impact nubs improve durability in high-wear areas. www.yaktrax.com

CorD 65 / November 2009 81

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The price of community solidarity The Brice Taton case shows how difﬁcult it will be for a true celebration of Gay Pride in Serbia. This month, Richard Allen looks at the pros and cons of Serbia’s sense of national solidarity.

grew up in the English town of Brighton – known nowadays as a romping party town where anything goes; where men and women don’t conform to gender stereotypes and the partying goes on late into the night. However, it wasn’t like that when I was young. Back then it was a seedy seaside resort where paint flaked from every lamppost. My parents wouldn’t let me out on public holidays, because it was a playground for mods, rockers and punks, who would all stream down from London to get drunk and fight one another. The chains and knuckledusters would come out and the scenes of rampage through the town would follow. Pitched battles were fought between gangs – not because they bore a grudge or had something to fight over, but rather because there was a lack of entertainment for young men with too much testosterone and not enough imagination. In the Brighton of the ‘70s, a foreign student was stabbed to death. Many young students came to Brighton during their summer holidays to learn English (they still do). Over the years I’ve met many foreigners whose lasting memory of England is one of a summer spent in Brighton with a kindly family learning English and struggling to cope with the English food. We were shocked, of course. Why would a young German teenager be stabbed in the street? What had he done wrong? The answer, of course, was that he was foreign. Not because he was German, but simply because he was foreign. Xenophobia and the fear of differences run deep in people lacking imagination and having excess testosterone. This case came to my mind as all the events surrounding the beating to death of French football fan Brice Taton unfolded in Belgrade. Last night I was sitting in a kafana talking to a friend who told me how proud he was at the reaction of the public to this terrible event: the Serbian public’s response to the attack was no fewer than three days of marches, candle-lighting and speeches of shame and anger. Although the attack itself was terrible, there was some redemption in the people’s sense that they themselves felt deep personal shame and were prepared to come out onto the streets and show their anger and determination that it shouldn’t happen again. When the young German was killed in Brighton, it made the front pages of the local newspapers, people talked about it on the bus, but nothing more. Nobody was moved to go and demonstrate on

DISASSOCIATION

hen something shameful occurs in Serbia, people feel the shame almost as if they did it or are being blamed for it. In England, we can detach ourselves from the national identity (“it wasn’t me what done it, guv”).

82 CorD 65 / November 2009

the streets; nobody lit candles in the centre of town. Why was the reaction so different in Belgrade? Aside from the obvious sensitivity to Serbia’s image abroad, one conclusion I can’t avoid reaching is that the sense of identity with national image is much closer and stronger in Serbia than in England. When something shameful occurs in Serbia, people feel the shame almost as if they did it or are being blamed for it. In England, we can detach ourselves from the national identity (“it wasn’t me what done it, guv”). The Serbian sense of unity and belonging to the nation is much stronger. What one person does is reflected on all others. It creates solidarity and a community spirit: we are all in this together and we stand or fall together. It is one of the traits that I admire so much in Serbia. As I reflect further, however, I realise it is also behind something else; something that I don’t admire so much. The intolerance shown towards those brave people who wanted to march in celebration of their identity and sexuality was truly shocking to me. That someone should wish violence on another person because of something he or she does or feels in private is beyond my comprehension. Clearly a lack of imagination and too much testosterone are involved, but there is something more: rejection of a repressed sexuality for some, certainly, but something else too. Perhaps this strong sense of a single identity, this sense that we are all one people and we all feel shame (or pride) at the activities of others in our nation has something to do with it. As long as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or whatever is seen as something to be ashamed of, that shame will be felt by everyone – not just those who are actually gay – precisely because of this strong sense of solidarity and identity with the nation. The battle for tolerance, therefore, has two sides. In the UK it was easier because the straight majority didn’t feel the same sense of personal shame at the deviances of others. They could learn to accept these others as long as they weren’t closely related. There could be tolerance, even though the stigma remained. In Serbia, that sense of collective solidarity will not go away. So, rather than plead for the tolerance of ‘others’, the first step has to be to remove the stigma. Only then will the tolerance follow. Can this be done? I sincerely hope there is a way.