WE MUST HELP EACH OTHER EXIT THE CRISIS

DRAGOLJUB DAMLJANOVIĆ, PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, CCIFS

The prospects of the economy in Serbia will depend greatly on the recovery of the economy in the EU, and there's not much we can do about that. However, experiences during the pandemic showed us that we need to further adjust various regulations and insist on maintaining a spirit of cooperation and empathy, particularly towards those most hit by the crisis

The crisis will pass, but it is important to show that we are human, to take care of each other and to save businesses, says Dragoljub Damljanović, president of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (CCFS). Judging by experiences from the period of the pandemic, this will prove challenging for companies from all sectors and will require a relatively long time to adjust.

How do your members evaluate their positions the “day after” the pandemic? - Members were confronted by a very difficult situation, when business activities were reduced to a minimum and it was difficult to maintain operations at all and not lay off employees. The state of emergency has been revoked, but I don’t expect everyone to start working at full steam before the second half of the year. Depending on the sector of business, companies are aware that needs will increase significantly in many segments and that they should be ready to satisfy those needs. On the other hand,

some will need more time to make up for what’s been lost. It has organisation sector for members and partners, which is vitalso far been shown that there is more resilience among those comly important to the Chamber. However, the Chamber succeedpanies that have diverse supply chains providing them with more ed in adapting to the new organisation of work from home and options, but it is clear that business models themselves will change the organising of online gatherings. This type of gathering certo a greater or lesser extent, and very few companies will be in the tainly marked the three months behind us, and will undoubtedzone where there are no changes. However, the most important ly mark the coming months. The Chamber continues to work tothing is for the business community to strive to help small and mewards holding online conferences, training courses and workdium-sized enterprises that have been hardest hit by this crisis. shops in the period ahead, and we hope that we will be able to reand state officials, the economy maintained a constant dialogue, and business associations like our Chamber have likewise played an important role as a link between members and representatives of institutions by organising webinars and online conferences. One of the strategic priorities of the CCFS is to establish a continuous dialogue with representatives of institutions, and at the end of June, together with partner associations, it is organising a dialogue with the Customs Administration. How have these changes impacted on the reorganising of the CCIFS’s working priorities in 2020? - The pandemic hit hard when it comes to the corporate event turn to the organisation of physical events as of the coming auIn your opinion, is the Serbian government succeeding with its tumn. The second sector of the Chamber’s activities - providing measures to keep pace with the new challenges to the functionsupport to French companies interested in the markets of Sering of the economy? bia and the surrounding countries - is also one in which we will - I consider the measures to support the economy as being satactively work by participating in online B2B meetings and secisfactory, but there was initially a lack of technical implementator specific presentations. The number of inquiries we receive tion and documents on how to apply them. What is also lacking is greater flexibility in Serbia is facing both has reduced, but we hope that companies will again start to be interested in Serbia the Labour Law, in order to allow employeconomic and unresolved in the second half of the year. ees to work partly or to be temporarily unemployed for a longer period without behealth problems, and we hope In your opinion, will the pandemic contribing laid off, thus increasing the percentthat there will be another ute to accelerating the digital transformaage of job retentions. However, we must take into consideration that the actual recovery of the economy itself will depend package of measures to help the economy following tion of the Serbian economy and increase the volume of remote work? - What is already underway is the transforon the recovery of the economy in the European Union and the recovery of foreign the elections mation of business, with consumer habits changing, all industries that are able to be demand, which we cannot influence with our own instruments of online in technology, management, customer relations set to try economic policy. Serbia is facing both economic and unresolved to continue to work in that way. This event has accelerated that health problems, and we hope that there will be another packwhich would have happened over the course of a few years, beage of measures to help the economy following the elections. cause now it isn’t only that companies which previously didn’t even How did the newly emerged situation impact on the development also that citizens are finding new applications that they haven’t of dialogue within the business community and with state bodies? previously tried and that can help them in their daily lives. I’m de- The new situation led to strengthened dialogue within the busilighted, for example, with the way small farmers began to organness community, in order to find a common solution as quickly as ise into e-markets and continued to operate despite the pandempossible. The Chamber launched an initiative in the second half ic. When this period is over, it will be a new period for the world of March to send a request to Finance Minister Siniša Mali, and economy, and digitalisation will be accelerated in all business twelve business association partners joined our initiative within sectors. However, we shouldn’t forget that there are things that 24 hours. This testifies to the business community showing unican’t be done online; human contact is irreplaceable, the efficienty with the aim of applying for the swiftest possible implementacy of group work in a limited space is much better compared to tion of economic measures to help the economy. Through a large when we sit in front of computers alone. Digitalisation and physnumber of online gatherings and dialogue with the government ical presence are complementary.

consider organising work from home have started to do so, but

In terms of infrastructure, how ready is Serbia to support the dertaking all necessary health measures prior to people returnrelocating of parts of business to the online world? ing to work, such as masks, gloves, disposable barriers, disinfec- If operations have slowed down in some spheres, a large numtions of all surfaces etc. We still don’t have precise information in ber of companies haven’t abandoned ongoing processes of digiorder to be able to quantify what the additional labour costs will tal transformation during this period, while every third company be in that sense, but they are certainly not negligible. has even accelerated digital projects. This is most evident in online trade and remote working during the crisis caused by the panConsidering that companies with localised production have been demic, both around the world and in Serbia. One of the governshown to have sustained less damage than those with globalised supply chains, do you expect such experiences to influence interest among French investors in relocating part of their operations to Serbia? - It is clear that this crisis will lead all economies to reconsider their strategic goals and directions, and it seems that it’s necessary for some key production areas to be located closer to Europe. There is also a chance for Serbia. It is certain that the pandemic will have consequences for bilateral French-Serbian relations, in the form of reduced economic activity in our countries, but we are witnessing an increase in French investments in Serbia year on year, and I’m sure that investors from that country will increasingly recogment’s priorities is the accelerated digitalisation of public services, so now we often talk about how it will soon be the case The economy maintained a constant dialogue with nise the potential of Serbia and the relocating of part of their operations. The French government, through its plan for emergenthat, for example, all requests in cadastral representatives of the cy situations that provides support to exrecords will be submitted and scheduled via the internet. This testifies to the desire for government and state port companies confronted by the immediate consequences of the crisis, has sedigitalisation to be implemented in all segbodies during the pandemic, cured their cash flow and ensured their inments of the economy and society. This is a journey that will take time, but we can already see that a large percentage of traand business associations like our Chamber played an ternational recovery after the crisis, which provides hope that investments will also continue at this pace in Serbia. ditional companies plan to introduce new digital transformation projects, primarily with the development of new digital prodimportant role as a link between the two sides Does the newly emerged situation create space for companies to redirect towards ucts, cooperation with start-ups and othresearch and development? Do the Serbian er innovative companies, improving the user experience or existGovernment’s measures in this domain encourage such trends? ing digital products. - This situation certainly opens the way for various research and development programmes, primarily in the field of digitalisation, How do your members estimate labour costs considering the but also in other sectors. Serbia has all the conditions, experts, new types of protection measures against the pandemic? good colleges and places for research, and I believe that the num- Companies have adapted to the crisis in various ways through the ber of such places will only increase. Testifying to this is the openorganisation of partial work from home and reducing the number ing of science and technology parks and digital education, all of of working hours, while a few had to close parts of business prowhich lead to Serbia becoming a country recognised for creating cesses. Some companies managed to quickly change their way of new technologies. Some government measures in this direction doing business, which indicates that those companies were more include the reducing of the tax on profits generated from the inready to face the crisis. Most of our members continued to percome of intellectual property developed or mostly developed in form their activities through work from home, while production Serbia from 15 to three per cent. This measure is certainly one of companies duly met the requirements for obtaining work permits the reasons why development companies are relocating their deduring curfew. Members inform us that their companies are unvelopment centres to Serbia.