CorD magazine 66 by CorD Magazine

| CorD, DECEMBER 2009

IMPORTANT STEP

By Milica Delevic, PhD, Director of Serbian European Integration Ofﬁce

STEP BY STEP

Jelko Kacin, European Parliamentary Rapporteur for Serbia

PHOTO SHOOT TIME

By Veselin Simonovic,President of the Serbian Media Association Editor-in-Chief of Blic Daily

H.E. Kari Veijalainen, Ambassador Of Finland In Belgrade

TIME OF GREAT BUSINESS CHALLENGES

Draginja Ðuric, Chairperson of Banca Intesa’s Executive Board and the Business Woman of the Year, accccording to a traditional CorDs annual survey

AN ENGLISHMAN IN BELGRADE

Mark Harrison, “Harrisons Solicitors

ACTING EDITOR: Sasa Maric ASISTANT EDITOR & EDITOR OF SPECIAL EDITIONS Tatjana Ostojic ART DIRECTOR Tamara Ivljanin LECTOR Pat Andjelkovic CONTRIBUTORS Andrej Klemencic, Jelena Mickic, Jelena Jovanovic, Sonja Ciric, Ilija Despotovic,

4 CorD 66 / December 2009

BUTMIR NEGOTIATIONS FAIL

Region: Bosnia and Herzegovina

WE’VE LOST THE OCTOBER IDEAS!

Branka Prpa, historian

LEADERS

EXCELLENT BILATERAL RELATIONS

How do you rate previous business year and what are you expecting in 2010?

ECONOMY - COMPLEX ISSUE

Panayiotis Diallinas, Regional Operations Manager, Eurofast Global Ltd.

NIS LEADS SERBIA

52 CULTURE 56 NEWS CULTURE 58 CALENDAR

Adria Top 100 Companies

THE SUCCESS OF THE NEW CONCEPT

NO – TO THE INHUMAN AND BARBARIC

VELVET REVOLUTION

The Messages of Patriarch Pavle (1914-2009)

WHO WANTS TO FIND A WAY - FINDS IT!

Ivana Miskovic-Karic, director of the Delta of the Humanitarian Fund

B2B

Business news from Serbia

Petar Djoric, Dejan Jeremic PHOTO Marko Rupena, Slobodan Jotic, FOnet, CorD Archive TRANSLATION: Snezana Bjelotomic EDITORIAL MANAGER Tanja Bankovic PROJECT MANAGER Vesna Vukajlovic, Ana Zagajac FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Ana Besedic

Belgrade Book Fair 2009

By Jelena Jovanovic

WHERE TO GO FOR CHRISTMAS

TOB and CorD recommended

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING GUIDE

Belgrade, London, New York

GENERAL MANAGER Ivan Novcic PRINTING Rotografika d.o.o.

E-mail: cordeditorial@cma.rs www.cordmagazine.com www.allianceinternationalmedia.com

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

ISSN no: 1451-7833

This issue is audited by

ABC Serbia

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Important step

itizens of Serbia will soon be able to travel to Schengen states without visas. This comes as great and long awaited news, which will make us all remember the end of 2009, as it means tangible benefits from the European integration process and also sends a strong signal of political acceptance from the EU. The extent to which it is significant is best illustrated by a recent public opinion poll, which shows that more than 80% of Serbian citizens see a visa-free regime as important for the country, whereas 50% see it as important for themselves. In other words, even if they cannot afford to travel immediately, they appreciate the possibility to do so whenever they can, and see it as an important step for all those in Serbia who can now see historical and cultural places of interest, visit old friends, meet new ones, and attend a conference or business talks at much shorter notice, as no queues and documents are now in the way. Being able to see Europe will undoubtedly strengthen support for steps which take Serbia closer to the EU, and at the same time, make our citizens more openminded and tolerant. It is symbolic that this is happening on the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which marked the beginning of integration of the former socialist countries into the EU, on one hand, and the disintegration and tragic war in the former Yugoslavia on the other. The “Schengen Wall” was not nearly as significant, but was an important symbol of division within this new, postCold War Europe. Therefore, we are very happy to see this barrier collapse for citizens of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, and hope very much that the same benefit will soon be extended to Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The visa liberalization dialogue, opened in February 2008, provided both Serbia and the EU with the possibility to learn something. For us in Serbia, this was a good opportunity to see that making an effort to fulfill conditions brings results and that if “homework” is done, the country gets to progress in the European integration process. For the EU, this was a powerful example that a clear list of measurable conditions, which when fulfilled lead to an important political goal, results in political will, which translates into the work of the administration and, as a result, a lot of things get done. Within the visa liberalization dialogue, Serbia introduced biometric passports, and passed laws on fighting organized crime, corruption, drugs, and human trafficking. The fact that we are on the White Schengen list now does not mean that reform processes in these areas are over. Rather, it means that in July 2009 the Commission came to a conclusion, supported by the European Parliament on November 12th and the Council of Ministers on November 30, that there is now a legal framework in Serbia which would prevent these problems 6 CorD 66 / December 2009

from being commonplace. To remain a credible partner to the EU, and to serve the best interest of our citizens, we must now implement these laws, starting from the anti-discrimination law, to laws relevant to corruption and organized crime. The progress that was made within a year is not only limited to areas covered by the visa liberalization dialogue. As the 2009 Progress Report confirms, Serbia made a number of important steps towards the EU since last November. Knowing full well the amount of work that lies ahead of us, it is still important to recognize efforts invested in political and economic reforms relevant for EU membership. Among these, the decision to start implementing the Interim Agreement with the EU was an important one. It meant beginning to open up our market to products from the EU and an obligation to pass laws in the areas By Milica Delevic, of customs, competition, state PhD, Director of aid, and intellectual property Serbian European that would be harmonized with that of the EU. The EU opened its Integration Ofﬁce market for our products back in 2000, when it granted us autonomous trade measures (ATMs), from which Serbia’s exporters benefited greatly. Serbia’s decision to start implementing the Interim Agreement and the EU decision to grant us ATMs provide for a free trade agreement of sorts between the parties. Given that, in essence, it rests on two unilateral expressions of good will. Uncertainties and difficulties pertain. These are due mostly to the fact that no single legal basis for trade liberalization exists. As a consequence, certain important benefits, which the SAA was designed to bring to both sides, are lost. Knowing both Serbia’s commitment to meet relevant criteria to the maximum and efforts invested in meeting them so far, and also knowing that both Serbia and the EU lose from a continued freeze of the Interim, I hope for a positive decision on this issue soon. Like a decision to liberalize the visa regime with Serbia, a decision to unfreeze the Interim would not be a political one, but a merit based one, as it would send a signal that good work is appreciated. Even more importantly, however, it would be a support for future efforts.

Photo: Vladimir Miloradovic

Being able to see Europe will undoubtedly strengthen support for steps which take Serbia closer to the EU, and at the same time, make our citizens more open-minded and tolerant

| | INTERVIEW

JELKO KACIN, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY RAPPORTEUR FOR SERBIA

Step by step Becoming an EU member implies systematic political, economic, and administrative reforms in all sectors regulated by the state. If these reforms are successfully implemented, Serbia will become a politically stable country with a healthy economy. Becoming an EU member will be a sign that Serbia has ﬁnally succeeded in conducting reforms

By Saša MARIĆ n this issue CorD is exclusively talking to the European Parliamentary Rapporteur for Serbia, Jelko Kacin, who attended the 5th Conference of European Integration Affairs Committees of States participating in the Stabilization and Association Process of Southeast Europe in Belgrade. On this occasion Mr. Kacin said that Serbia’s application for EU candidacy “should not be a step that slows Serbia down, rather one that helps the country move forward faster.” At a press conference in the Serbian

8 CorD 66 / December 2009

I do everything in my power to help Serbia in removing bureaucratic obstacles on the country’s path towards the EU, i.e. to make sure that we don’t misunderstand each other when communicating

Parliament, Jelko Kacin, referred to the statement of certain Serbian politicians that Serbia should apply for EU candidacy by the end of the year, adding that these announcements were coming from politicians who all belonged to the same party. “This is an issue that is vital for Serbia’s future, and it is the ruling coalition that needs to voice its opinion about it, followed by the government, with the opposition parties also getting on board. This is not only about submitting the application, but getting a positive reply that will fortify pro-European powers, increase the re-

gion’s ambitions, and speed up the process,” said Kacin on that occasion. Mr. Kacin, what is the role and the ’authority’ of the European Parliamentary Rapporteur who reports to the Parliament on Serbia’s progress towards becoming an EU member? To what extent do you advise us, how much of reporting do you actually do, and how much do you help? My role entails that I do all of that at the same time. Aside from reporting to the European Parliament about Serbia’s progress in the EU integrations process, I also maintain regular contact with Serbian officials and inform them, in a straightforward fashion, what the EU expects Belgrade to do on the implementation of the required reforms that will lead Serbia to the EU in the most efficient manner. I assist Serbia in the sense that I do everything in my power to help Serbia in removing bureaucratic obstacles on the country’s path towards the EU, i.e. to make sure that we don’t misunderstand each other when communicating. Actually, the entire job lies on your leaders’ shoulders – they

ficials just prior to the conference. What exactly was your message? My essage was very clear. The EU sincerely wants and looks forward to Serbia’s future in Europe and is utterly committed to the country’s European integration process. In my address, I invited Belgrade to follow the EU’s footsteps, i.e. to take the process step by step, trying not to jump over certain stages. This particularly applies to the timeline for applying for the candidacy. I do hope that the prerequisites for making this important step will be met soon. Once the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) is unblocked, applying for candidacy will make sense, and this will firmly put Serbia on the road to candidacy. I said in Belgrade that abolishing EU visas for citizens of Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia perfectly illustrates the way in which the accession process will run its course. Once these countries meet all membership criteria, the door to Brussels will be wide open. It seems that joining the EU has been presented in Serbia more as an act rather than a long process of changes that we

The current foreign policy and foreign minister have been often viewed as confusing, contradictory, and contrary to EU’s foreign policy (let me just mention Serbia’s support of Iran in the UN General Assembly) need to adopt and fully implement all required changes without which Serbia cannot become one of the contemporary European nations gathered under the Union’s roof. You have been to Belgrade recently to attend the COSAP conference. Your address about Serbia’s accession to the EU puzzled certain people since it was different from statements given by Serbian of-

need to make in order for the country to harmonize its system with the European standards. Is the situation same in other countries in the region? Every country in the region views the European integration process as a very significant one. The act of joining the EU does carry a symbolic importance, since all exYugoslav countries will operate within the same political and economic framework.

“BOTH KOSOVO AND EUROPE?”

ince 2000, Belgrade has been urged to maintain good relations with neighboring countries and to achieve full political stability and the trust of the countries in the region. Bearing this in mind, the EU expects and hopes that, regardless of its political stand on Kosovo’s independence, Serbian officials will start to apply concrete measures that will enable normal economic and other forms of cooperation between the citizens of Kosovo and the rest of the region. Collaborating with the EULEX is an excellent step in this direction, but this is just the beginning of normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Belgrade’s official stand towards the Kosovo problem in years to come will be a clear indicator of just how ready Serbian officials are to reach a compromise and develop cooperation with the country’s neighbors. They share the same war-torn past, and is of essential importance that all regional countries do become EU members, which will validate their political maturity and democratic direction. By having invested many years in conducting reforms and harmonization with EU standards, the West Balkan countries can get to the EU, and I do think that the accession will have a huge political impact. Generally speaking, some people think that Serbia would benefit more from just successfully applying EU standards, rather than joining the EU. Becoming an EU member implies systematic political, economic, and administrative reforms in all sectors regulated by the state. If these reforms are successfully implemented, Serbia will become a politically stable country with a healthy economy.

COMMUNICATION

TRUST

SUCCESS

In communication with my partners from the EU, Serbia, and the region I always aim at sending messages that are as clear and direct as possible, since that is a reﬂection of a conscientious European policy.

If Serbia joins the EU, the country will regain trust and its reputation something utterly impossible if Serbia were left to its own devices and excluded from the integration process that encompasses almost an entire continent.

If the reforms are successfully implemented, Serbia will become a politically stable country with a healthy economy. Becoming an EU member will be a sign that Serbia has ﬁnally succeeded in conducting reforms. CorD 66 / December 2009 9

| | INTERVIEW

Becoming an EU member will be a sign that Serbia has finally succeeded in conducting reforms. However, affiliation to any European club, in the case of Serbia, carries a symbolic importance. For a country that has been in (self)-isolation for such a long time, joining the EU will mean regaining trust and its reputation, which something utterly impossible if Serbia were left to its own devices and excluded from the integration process that encompasses almost an entire continent. I see no sustainable alternative to Serbia joining the EU. How realistic are the claims made by high Serbian officials and certain EU politicians, like Silvio Berlusconi, that Serbia can join the EU in 2014? I think that mentioning any dates at this point is quite flippant, and can only lead to disappointment. Remember how many times abolishing EU visas has been announced. With regard to accession to the EU, that will happen when the Copenhagen criteria are met and when Serbia shows that it is politically and economically ready to take part in a single EU market. I do hope that that will happen sooner than later. There is no consensus on whether Serbia should apply for EU candidacy before the SAA is unblocked. What is your take on that? My advice, as well as the advice from all relevant political factors in the European Union, is that Serbia should invest all available capacities in resolving the current problems that are obstacles to the country’s path to Brussels. This primarily pertains to finalizing collaboration with the Hague Tribunal, which is something that has been holding Serbia back for many years. In that respect, i.e. by investing efforts in overcom-

For a country that has been in (self)-isolation for such a long time, joining the EU will mean regaining trust and its reputation ing these obstacles, Belgrade will make sure that applying for EU candidacy is something that everybody will rejoice about, and will not be a reason for speculations and assumptions. What does the list of priorities contain? What are the obstacles to Serbia joining the EU – inadequate cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, corruption, foreign

JELKO KACIN

elko Kacin (born 26 November, 1955 in Celje, Lower Styria, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Member of the European Parliament. He is the former president of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia and member of the bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and sits on the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is also a substitute for the Committee on Transport and Tourism, vice-chair of the delegation to the EU–Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, a substitute for the delegation to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia–EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, and for the delegations for relations with Iran, the Korean Peninsula, and the countries of south-east Europe. 10 CorD 66 / December 2009

policy, and...? Cooperation with the Tribunal is Serbia’s international obligation, since, as a UN member, the country is obligated to collaborate with the court. It’s been nine years since Milošević’s fall, and I find it really unsettling that we still have to deal with this problem. This is, by far, the biggest obstacle that Serbia is facing. Once Mladić and Hadžić are brought to justice, and I do believe that that will happen, different issues that other transitional countries have been also facing will surface. Recently, Transparency International has released a report according to which Serbia took the 83rd place out of 190 countries when it comes to corruption, just ahead of Trinidad and Tobago, Swaziland, and Guatemala. You need to do much more to tackle this problem in order to apply for EU candidacy. The current foreign policy and foreign minister have been often viewed as confusing, contradictory, and contrary to EU’s foreign policy (let me just mention Serbia’s support of Iran in the UN General Assembly). There is a lot to do in this aspect of Serbian policy too, so that Serbia can be finally viewed as a reliable partner and a contributing factor to the EU’s international capacities. Also, some people are of the opinion that most of structures in Serbia are not too keen on joining the EU, since widespread political options like political parties’ rule, corruption and non-transparent business operations are going to be in jeopardy if we join the EU. I am very well aware of the strong opposition to Serbia’s joining the EU demonstrated by certain political circles in the country. This is what the reforms, and ultimately the EU membership, are all about – applying the rule of the law in a country that has been impoverished and debilitated by widespread corruption. Only by successfully combating organized crime, corruption, monopoly, and nepotism can the country successfully join the European political and economic course. The fight against Milošević’s heritage that was started by Zoran Đinđić will show that the political elite in Serbia is really responsible and ready to stand against the interests that are keeping the country outside the EU and are detrimental to the entire nation.

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Photo Shoot Time Recently I took part in a round table discussion concerning media reporting on children and their rights, which was pompously organized (under UNICEF patronage) in the building of the National Bank of Serbia. Many esteemed experts were there along with ministers and two media editors-inchief, Veran Matic from B92 and I from Blic. We were there because of the kind hosts and the importance of the topic. At first, there were only a few journalists, only mildly interested in the topic, who killed time scratching something on paper. When it was the Minister of Justice’s turn to speak, several cameramen came. As she went away, they went away. For this worthy cause, the Minister of Justice had to be heard. An hour later, the Deputy PM and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dacic, came. With him came more cameramen and journalists, raising the media presence to almost ten. The Minister shared statistical data and mentioned a few times the program “Children and the Police.” Obligations must have prevented him from coming earlier and from acquainting himself with the topic. As soon as he finished his speech, the same obligations took him away. With him left the Minister of Justice and with them the cameramen. There were many events that day and the Government of Serbia is big, so it is not easy to film so many ministers and functionaries before the evening news. Tough job, no doubt! The problem (perhaps not only with me) is when I watch those speakers on the news in the evening, I have no idea where and on what occasion they have spoken. I took this story as a good demonstration of the relationship of the authorities towards the media. They drag a mass of cameramen with them to show how good they are at their job and to spread optimism … all for the purpose of ratings. It’s as if they’ve learned no lessons from the recent past. Milosevic fell when the obedient TV stations made his character appear unpleasant to the majority of Serbian citizens. Those TV stations needed to be awarded for their behavior, so in times of crisis, some got credits or loans, but most importantly, they got the green light to break the laws on advertising and radio-diffusion. If the laws were respected, most TV screens would be dimmed. The share of the marketing cake, which this year is smaller by 30-40%, poured from the print media (it is not bad to emphasize that they were hit hard by the crisis) onto the TV networks.

This topic is yet to witness public debate thanks to the Media Association. Publishers gathered around this association and suggested that the Government help publishers and TV houses by financing projects totaling 60 million dinars. Be it because of the humiliating relationship of the government or the lack of knowledge of the media industry, no serious publisher took part in this circus. I misused an event to suggest to Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic that the Government issue a statement that it does not support the print media, because their statements on Government support to the media did not help, but rather had a conThe share of the marketing cake, trary effect. The which this year is smaller by 30-40%, Prime Minister poured from the print media (it is used his sense of not bad to emphasize that they were humor and said, “Ok, but only if it hit hard by the crisis) onto the TV is one statement.” networks. Publishers, on the other hand, owe the Prime Minister gratitude. Together we managed to find a solution for the largest distributor: Futura Plus. It was its intervention that enabled us to enter the workgroup for changes and additions to the Advertising Law. The goal was, so it seems, to make the practice so far legal, and to put some more money into the TV stations, harming the print media. We will do everything to make sure that the new law is not created without the significant presence of the publishers. To put it simply, we ask that the new law, as is the practice in all European countries, protect the print media, enabling them to survive the year without major delays and be ready for future development.

By Veselin Simonovic, President of the Serbian Media Association Editor-in-Chief of Blic Daily CorD 66 / December 2009 11

INTERVIEW |

H.E. KARI VEIJALAINEN, AMBASSADOR OF FINLAND IN BELGRADE

Excellent bilat The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) recently published its White Book on the investment climate in Serbia. It includes a number of recommendations to improve regulations for businesses. I was pleased to note that the Government Ministers viewed the report as a very useful instrument and promised to take speedy action in converting the recommendations of Foreign Investors Council (FIC) into reality.

By Tatjana OSTOJIC Photo Slobodan JOTIC hat the political and economic relations between Finland and Serbia look like now were just one of the subjects that we approached with H.E.

12 CorD 66 / December 2009

The key is to have adequate legislation, the right priorities, and effective measures to implement reforms.

Kari Veijalainen, Ambassador of Finland in Belgrade, on the occasion of Finnish Independence Day, December 4th. During his official visit to Finland, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic expressed his gratitude for support for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;White Schengen List,â&#x20AC;? but he also point-

eral relations ed out that we have different views when it comes to Kosovo’s independence. How do you rate the overall relations of Finland and Serbia? Finland has indeed supported the inclusion of Serbia on the “White Schengen List” as soon as the established criteria are met. The Serbian Government has been very determined to find solutions for the remaining issues, and the opinion of the last expert mission from Brussels has been positive. The European Parliament, for its part, has endorsed the decision, and the final decision is to be made in November 2009. Finland believes that the decision will be positive, and that the decision will be implemented without delay. Regarding Kosovo, Finland and Serbia have different political stances, but in spite of that, our bilateral relations are excellent. After Kosovo’s declaration of independence, there were fewer contacts between Finland and Serbia, but soon after, our bilateral cooperation increased considerably. During this year, higher level contacts between our two countries have increased with visits of a parliamentary delegation from Finland to Serbia and from Serbia to Finland. After the successful visit of the trade delegation from Finland to Serbia in June, trade issues were also very much the center of the discussion during the visit of Prime Minister Cvetkovic to my country in September. PM Cvetkovic was accompanied by two ministers: Minister for Trade and Services, Mr. Milosavljevic, and Minister of Telecommunications, Ms. Matic.

SERBIAN IMMIGRANTS The number of Serbian immigrants in Finland is not that big. I got impression that they have found their place pretty well in Finnish society.

Finnish Prime Minister Vanhanen Matthias has announced budget support of the European Union (EU) in an amount of 100 million Euros, as the conversion from the Zipo program and transferred to the Serbian budget. What is the status of this program? Finland has supported the initiative of the European Commission to allocate 100 million Euros from the IPA funds to Serbia for budget rebalancing necessary because of the global financial and economic crises. IPA funding is a continuing process whereby the European Union supports with a considerable sum of money reform processes in Serbia required by the EU integration. Budget support

The business environment in Serbia has improved over the years is conditional with necessary accountability and transparency of the administration. Undersecretary of State Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Pekka Huhtaniemi, recently stated that Finnish companies are interested in investing in Serbia, particularly in metal and wood industries, telecommunications, energy, and environmental protection,. In your opinion, what still needs to be done from the Serbian side to implement this investment? Business representatives in the trade delegation represented these sectors where we feel Finland has quite a lot of expertise,

PARLIAMENTARY VISIT Finnish Parliamentary visit to Serbia is expected in January, and Foreign Minister Mr. Alexander Stubb has scheduled a visit to Serbia in February.

knowledge, and products to offer. Discussions on these and other sectors were continued during Prime Minister Cvetkovic´s visit to Finland. In the field of environment, the Finnish Embassy in Belgrade also has smaller scale assistance projects in some parts of Serbia. The business environment in Serbia has improved over the years. Still, additional measures are needed to attract more foreign investments and companies. In recent international comparisons on competitive and social-economic development (World Economic Forum and the World Bank), Serbia ranks somewhere in the middle (between 60100). The EU integration process is also important for the necessary structural reforms and measures to improve competition. Serbia is still considered a high-risk country by the criteria used by credit risk institutions. The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) recently published its White Book on investment climate in Serbia. It includes a number of recommendations to improve regulations for businesses. I was pleased to note that the Government Ministers viewed the report as a very useful instrument and promised to take speedy action in converting the recommendations of Foreign Investors Council (FIC) into reality. There is interest also from Nokia for a greater presence on the Serbian market in the field of telecommunications. Was there any particular discussion on this issue during recent meetings in Finland? On their agenda, Prime Minister Cvetkovic and his delegation also visited Nokia

FINNISH COMPANIES Some 40 Finnish companies are represented in Serbia in one way or another and the interest in its markets seems to be increasing. CorD 66 / December 2009 13

INTERVIEW |

Headquarters in Espoo, and they got a thorough presentation about the company and its worldwide activities. The penetration of Nokia handsets is already very good on the Serbian market, Nokia being also a worldwide market leader. The physical presence in Serbia is most evident by Nokia Siemens Networks after the two giant companies merged their activities in this field. As to Nokia´s decisions where to establish research centers and manufacturing, the company follows certain objective criteria. Logistics, intellectual capacity, and market closeness play a key role when making these decisions. Trade exchange between the two countries is still relatively low. In the first quarter of this year, Serbia and Finland made 16.5 million in trade, about 50 percent less than in the same period last year. What are the major reasons for the decrease in our trade exchange, and what has to be done in order to improve the current level of cooperation? It is true that our trade is quite modest. By the visit of the trade delegation from Finland, we wanted to give companies better information about today’s Serbia and to encourage their representatives to establish direct contacts with interesting Serbian businesses. Of course, Serbia must do its own share and intensify efforts to increase its exports. The integration process with the EU plays an important role in this, too. When the value and volume of trade is small, peaks and lows can be clearly seen in the statistics. In 2008-09, the global economic crises struck the Finnish economy hard, for it is highly dependent on exports and mainly in investment goods. Our exports and imports have dropped sharply, not only with Serbia but with most other countries as well. The same applies to the Serbian economy. In your trade, imports have dropped even much more than exports. Your country has shown interest in cooperation with Serbia in the field of ecology and education, notably the 1.6 million Euros approved for a three-year project of building legislation in the field of environmental protection in Serbia and 2 million Euros for the project on improvement of teaching staff in Serbia. Both ecology/environment and education are fields in which Finland has invested 14 CorD 66 / December 2009

with municipalities (Indjija and Pećinci) related to waste disposal. Quite recently, a new regional project concerning high level training in forestry was launched in Varazdin (Croatia). The University of Belgrade is one of the signatories and the project has the advantage of increasing cross border contacts between neighbouring countries.

Both ecology/environment and education are fields in which Finland has invested a lot a lot. They are also important elements for sustainable development and success of the society. Finland has been ranked at the top of many international comparisons. So, we think that we have something to share with others. Cooperation with Serbian universities has gone well and it has enhanced overall contacts between universities and institutions in Finland and in Serbia. The Ministry of Environment in Serbia has found our support in the environmental sector most valuable. The Embassy has also had smaller scale projects

FAVORITE PLACES IN BELGRADE

have heard stories about the very lively night life in Belgrade. It seems to attract young people. I don’t visit night clubs any more, but there are other aspects of Belgrade that make it an enjoyable place to live and visit.

Our State Secretary of Economic Relations, Vesna Arsic, recently said that Serbia could use the experience of Finland in the field of innovation, improving competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, implementation of European Union regulations, and the development of social systems, which in Finland includes a good education, a long-term development strategy, and a high standard of living. What is the recipe for such success? I think the key is to have adequate legislation, the right priorities, and effective measures to implement reforms. We in Finland have a long tradition in establishing a welfare society based on equality and basically the same opportunities for all citizens. It is not simple to copy a system from other countries. It is, however, useful to examine the best practices in different countries and also to learn from the mistakes of others. We in Finland are ready to work together with Serbia to enhance those aspects of society. NOKIA is a huge Finnish worldwide business project with a great achievement, with an annual revenue of over 50 billion Euros. What does NOKIA mean within the overall Finnish economy? Nokia is a private company owned by individual citizens and institutional investors all over the world. Its headquarters are in Finland (Espoo) and the company has, of course, a tremendous impact on the Finnish economy also through a large number of subcontractors. An active innovation policy by the Finnish Government and by private companies played important role in developing Finland and Nokia into a frontrunner and market leader in the ICT. The crises Finland faced in the beginning of the 1990’s had also a positive side: more was invested in innovation (R&D) and Finland was among the first countries to liberalize the markets by deregulation and other measures. That gave us the needed competitive edge.

QUESTIONS |

“First, for the ﬁrst time the state is starting the socially and politically painful process of reducing public expenditure, which in Serbia is excessive compared to the actual level of the GDP and ﬁscal capacity of the economy and its citizens.” Juri Bajec, Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Team. “It depends if you view the political or the economic aspect of this issue. Making such a decision is surely a big political problem.” Mihailo Crnobranja, Director of the FEFA Institute and Editor of the White Book 16 CorD 66 / December 2009

NECESSAR CorD magazine introduces a new section in which, through the opinions and views of selected experts, is trying to answer on some questions from the current politics, economics and diplomacy issues. For this issue the question are the following. 1. Is the reduction of employees in the public sector the biggest problem in the budget for 2010? 2. What is the major priority according to you?

JURI BAJEC, MEMBER OF THE PRIME MINISTER’S ECONOMIC TEAM

SOCIALLY AND POLITICALLY PAINFUL PROCESS It should be specified that we are speaking here only about reducing administration at the national and local lev-

el, which itself will not bring significant savings in the budget. This move, however, is significant for other reasons: First, for the first time the state is starting the socially and politically painful process of reducing public expenditure, which in Serbia is excessive compared to the actual level of the GDP and fiscal capacity of the economy and its citizens. This initial step only makes sense if accompanied by the reduction and elimination of unnecessary regulations of numerous procedures, thereby improving conditions and providing better services to citizens. Secondly, it is not a single, short move. “Pressure” is put on to all public sectors (health, pension system, ed-

The most import is that budget for 2010, i.e. the consolidated public expenditures (at the level of the entire country) does not exceed the fiscal deficit of 4%

Y STEP ucation, social welfare, defense and security...) in order to begin serious reform, not only by reducing redundant employees but, above all, by more efficient funding mechanisms, rationalization of the network,and better targeting of social goals. Therefore, it is a substantial increase of “productivity” of the public sector, as it was well stated in the recent World Bank report “Doing More with Less.” Thirdly, the entire public sector reform inevitably raises the question of efficient functioning of public companies, at the national and local level, specifically, quality management issues, restructuring and privatization, wage controls and usage of profit, keeping the price policy... Most importantly, the budget for 2010, i.e. the consolidated public expenditures (at the level of the entire country) does not exceed the fiscal deficit of 4%, not only because this was agreed upon with the IMF, but also because of the danger that the growing fiscal deficit would sharpen the issue of public debt and its financing. It is equally important to provide sufficient space for public investments in priority infrastructure projects. This requires great discipline in terms of current expenditure in addition to already approved freezing of wages in the public sector and pensions. So I am making an appeal to create a special law on fiscal responsibility, which would include a firm commitment of all budget users who should agree that the policy of public expenditure, with pre-defined goals, should be consistently implemented in the future

ALEKSANDAR RADOSAVLJEVIC, CEO CARLSBERG SERBIA, AND FIC CHAIRMAN

NECESSARY TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC SPENDING We firmly believe that public spending needs to be reduced. Several moves

can be made to make one such decision. Seeing what the government is doing now and in what direction it is heading, there are several different things, but reducing the number of employees is the radical measure. That is the measure that we in the private sector took at the very end, and which was applied as a measure to control spending reductions. The main thing is that there needs to be a reduction in spending and the other thing is that the government must become efficient. Of course, these two things are also the priorities, in my opinion. This is what we talk about in the White Book and the reduction of spending is one of the topics we have turned our attention to in the White Book all these years.

The main thing is that there needs to be a reduction in spending and the other thing is that the government must become efficient. CorD 66 / December 2009 17

QUESTIONS |

MILICA BISIĆ, HEAD OF MARKETS KPMG

SUCCESSFUL RESOLUTION REQUIRES TIME AND RESOURCES

Efforts to limit the budget deficit to 4% of the GDP, primarily by reducing public spending, is a better solution than increasing tax rates, not only due to unfavorable economic trends, but in principle. This time the government raises serious problems for which a successful resolution requires time and resources. First, reducing the number of employees in public administration involves a serious analysis of competence, efficiency, and number of employees in each state authority. It takes much longer than the few months that the public is aware that this issue has been being worked on. Without such analysis, the outcome of the reduction of employees in state bodies in the first step may be too large of a number of employees in some, and too low in other departments. Second, this determination cannot be implemented only through the Budget Law by limiting funds for employee salaries, but must also be kept in mind 18 CorD 66 / December 2009

when passing other laws, and should not increase the state apparatus by creating various agencies at local, regional, and national level. According to various recently adopted legislations, it seems that no attention is being paid to this. Third, optimization of the number of employees circumvented public companies where it should be perhaps more needed. Being a “natural” destination for those who lost their jobs in public administration, especially at the local level, it may happen that “rationalization” of public administration may end up with an increased number of employees.

ernment is a coalition, not unified. Seen from an economic perspective, that will have far smaller effects that perhaps expected. In particular, we cannot expect more significant effects in the first year when employees in the private sector will receive pay-offs upon their departure. In my opinion, the priority must be to close down of all the companies, both social as well as state-owned, because those companies are dragging us down. The second priority is that if we have as big a government as we do, than at least let it be efficient.

MIHAILO CRNOBRANJA, DIRECTOR OF THE FEFA INSTITUTE AND EDITOR OF THE WHITE BOOK

SLOBODAN VUCICEVIC, CEO OF DROGA KOLINSKA

CLOSING DOWN THE NON-LIQUID IS A PRIORITY

It depends if you view the political or the economic aspect of this issue. Making such a decision is surely a big political problem. The government must see through the savings measures. There is a fear that such measures will later affect the positions political parties had until then. That is so in particular if you have a situation like ours, and the gov-

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IS NOT A PROBLEM

The reduction of the number of employees in the public sector is not the biggest problem in accepting the budget for 2010. It is not a big problem, big amounts are not in question compared to general budget. But, are there any disagreements in accepting the decision on the budget? That is another question.

DRAGINJA ĐURIĆ, CHAIRPERSON OF BANCA INTESA’S EXECUTIVE BOARD AND THE BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE YEAR, ACCORDING TO A TRADITIONAL CorDs ANNUAL SURVEY

TIME OF GREAT business challenges State authorities ought to continue with reforming the public sector, while public spending needs to be reduced to a sustainable level By Ana STOJANOVIĆ ne of the most difficult business years is going to end soon. We are speaking with Draginja Đurić, Chairperson of Banca Intesa’s Executive Board and the Business Woman of the Year, according to a traditional survey conducted by CorD, about these challenging times and maintaining the number one spot.

20 CorD 66 / December 2009

Mrs. Đurić, we are at the end of 2009, which was undoubtedly one of the worst business years ever. Yes, I agree with you. 2009 was one of the most difficult years for doing business, although the banking sector, the healthiest section of our economy, was successful in overcoming all challenges. At the very beginning of the crisis, citizens reacted in a panic to the global financial turmoil, and started to

withdraw their foreign currency savings from banks. Thanks to the banks’ swift reaction, the National Bank of Serbia, and the government, this blow was successfully cushioned and the banking sector continued to function normally. As Serbia was slipping into a recession, we faced a collapse in aggregate demand and a pronounced need for short-term business funding. In such a complex economic environment, Banca Intesa was unde-

INTERVIEW | niably a sincere partner that both the Serbian economy and citizens could rely on, whether we are talking about participating in the subsidized loan program or granting solvency and investment loans. I am equally proud of our client base and the fact that in a year as difficult as this one, we managed to improve our market position, maintain the high quality of our credit portfolio and, above all, stick to good risk management practices. Have you reached the goals that you set for yourself at the beginning of 2009? Unmistakably, 2009 was an extremely tough year, but I also think that we have adjusted pretty fast and responded to all challenges. I can say that I am really proud of the way in which our bank functioned during this turbulent year. I think that we have managed to maintain the level of trust that our clients have put in us, while demonstrating that we are a solid and stable anchor even in the most difficult of circumstances. In order to respond to a growing need for funding businesses, we increased our credit activity and showed as much flexibility as possible in financing the SME sector that is extremely sensitive to market fluctuations. Also, we provided our depositors with utmost security when it comes to their deposits. We were also an unyielding and important partner to the state when it comes to implementing the government’s anti-crisis program. In addition to that, we have maintained a high quality of our assets, and our client base is really something to be desired. The best prove of evidence for the success we have made in this challenging year is perhaps ’The Bank of the Year’ award given to Banca Intesa in Serbia by the prestigious Banker magazine, published by the Financial Times Group. What is your opinion on the state’s anticrisis measures taken in 2009? As I said earlier, I think that we can be satisfied with the state’s reaction. Although the Serbian economy is still going through transition, which, at the beginning of the re-

COMMITMENT Our strategic commitment, which turned out to be the right one, is building and solidifying long-term business relations with our clients.

cession, did cause certain problems, it seems that economic crisis in our country was somewhat less pronounced than in neighboring states. The decline in our GDP and industrial production, as well as the budget deficit was lower than we anticipated at the beginning of the year. I think that the state’s reaction was a constructive one, particularly after securing a stand-by arrangement with the IMF at the very beginning of the crisis. Also, the Vienna Agreement was important for the system’s stability. By signing this agreement, the leading foreign banks in Serbia took a step toward maintaining the same level of their overall financial exposure in the country, as before the crisis. This significantly reduced pressure

I think that the state’s reaction was a constructive one, particularly after securing a stand-by arrangement with the IMF when at the very beginning of the crisis and improved the position of both the domestic economy and the population. At the same time, the reduction of savings was stopped following the state’s decision to increase the insured deposits. Also, the National Bank of Serbia implemented its own measures in order to strengthen the stability of the banking sector. The government hit a bull’s-eye with its subsidized loan program, since, at the crucial moment, the program made it possible for businesses to overcome insolvency problems by extending quite cheap loans. Do you think that Serbia has a stable banking sector today, with a sort of a longterm outlook that a bank director can rely on when drawing up plans? Serbia has one of the most stable banking sectors in the region due to several different factors. In the past period, the regulation framework imposed a very cautious landing

STABILITY 128 - The banking sector is stable to a certain degree and this makes our planning process somewhat easier if we compare it to the situation in the 1990s.

policy, with high reserves and capitalization, which, in turn, made it possible for us to keep going through the toughest crisis times. At the same time, the structure of the banking sector is still heterogeneous, so therefore the clients do not depend on only few names. When defining our goals, we can count on the stability of the basic macro-economic indicators that affect our operations. However, if we are talking about the future period to which our projections pertain, the market dynamic force is to make plans for three years. Every year, we translate our strategic goals into operational plans that are tested quarterly. I think that the time of reliable long-term projections is behind us and we are going to have to learn how to function in constant turbulence. You have been working in the banking sector for quite some time and have experience different economic and political upheavals. Could you tell us when you expect the crisis and its effects on the Serbian economy to completely subside? Yes, indeed. Now when I am able to look at the past from a certain time distance, I can say that I have been long in banking and that I gained my professional experience in the most dynamic and challenging of times. It is that experience that gives me enough reason to be a cautious optimist when we are talking about the current crisis. I do think that the worst is over and that we are moving towards recovery. The outlook is positive, and after this year’s decline in the national GDP, we are entering a growth zone. As always after a difficult crisis, the recovery is as hard and entails quite a lot of sacrifices and painful moves. The crisis in itself makes the earlier problems and weaknesses even more pronounced. Everything that was postponed or neglected in the past escalated during the crisis, and now is the right time to deal with problems in a systematic manner. State authorities ought to continue with reforming the public sector, while public spending needs to be reduced to a sustainable level. At the same time, through special measures, the state also needs to stimulate agriculture, as

MANAGER To be a successful manager means to have a talent to anticipate and manage changes and adapt fast, which is quite hard in today’s circumstances. CorD 66 / December 2009 21

INTERVIEW | well as the SME sector as the most important factor in raising our economy’s competitiveness. Only by doing so will our economy develop long-term. By receiving CorD’s traditional survey for the ’Business Woman of the Year’ award, you took the number one spot. Earlier in London, you had received a prestigious award on behalf of Banca Intesa, and you were also declared ’Banker of the Year’ in Serbia. We don’t want to ask you how much these awards mean to you, but what does a person needs to do in order to receive them? Every recognition and award fills you with satisfaction, and impresses and motivates you to reach even higher. Success is primarily a result of very hard work, dedication, zeal, creative spirit, and the desire to advance and the persistence to reach goals, regardless of how unattainable they may look at the beginning. I share the success with all my associates and bank employees, since this recognition is a validation and social affirmation of the results we have achieved together. How stressful is to be a successful manager in today’s Serbia? I think that being a manager goes with having a stressful job. I believe that any job, if you do it with dedication and strive towards perfection, brings constant tension to fulfill one’s expectations and to achieve goals. What is characteristic for managers in Serbia is that they are managing under very challenging and insufficiently regulated circumstances, and it seems sometimes as if this will remain a permanent . Stress arises from situations and circumstances that you cannot influence. Being a successful manager means you have to have common sense, determination, a talent for choosing good associates with a proactive attitude, a positive outlook, and the aptitude to motivate and lead the team. On the other hand, I think that a successful manager is not afraid of risks and challenges, since you gain experience not only through good examples and in ideal situations, but also in crisis times, which is challenging, and, experience-wise, invaluable. How much has Serbian business conduct changed in order to make room for successful women in business? I don’t think there is a big difference wheth22 CorD 66 / December 2009

vate obligations entails good organization and skillful time management. Today, the border between private and professional life has become blurred since we are living in very dynamic times that demand from us to be available and react fast regardless of working hours. The responsibility for reaching the aims in a large business system requires great commitment which often interferes with family time. I try to compensate for this by making the time I spend with my family the best possible in order to balance out my professional and private life. Despite business successes, my family remains my supreme joy.

Commercial banks need to take on some of the responsibility and secure uninterrupted financing of the real sector er you have a woman or a man as a manager, since I think that business is genderless. What counts is professionalism and devotion to attaining goals. In that context, I don’t think that changing business conduct is the key to making room for more women in business. If you have a goal and you are successful in reaching it, not only in the interest of the company you work for but to the benefit of entire society, what you are doing is creating an environment for your professional growth. The others can only follow in your footsteps. In a situation when you are faced with a professional and a family problem at the same time, which one are you going to tackle first? The art of balancing professional and pri-

VACATION

don’t travel often during the New Year’s holidays, since that is a very dynamic time of the year for me, a time when I need to finalize many business obligations. Last year was an exception since I managed to travel to Vienna to attend the New Year’s concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Once a business year is over, I like to travel to warmer countries where I can relax and pursue other activities, but even that lasts 10 days at the most.

What are your expectations, fears, and motivation for 2010? Undoubtedly, the next year will bring great challenges and we have a lot of work ahead of us to create better business circumstances and to increase the competitiveness of our economy. In the past period, the Serbian government and the National Bank of Serbia implemented measures that yielded positive effects and softened the harshness of the crisis. Now we need to focus on continuing with reforming the public sector and finalizing the privatization process. At the same time, the state needs to continue to provide its full support to the real sector. Without a strong and healthy real sector there is no long-term stability of the country’s financial system. It is very important for our economy to improve export activities which in turn, will alleviate the existing structural unbalance, i.e. primarily the high foreign trade deficit. In that respect, special attention should be paid to agriculture. Aside from the state, relevant market players also have an important role. At the beginning of the economic downturn, the National Bank of Serbia relaxed its monetary policy, thus facilitating continuation of banks’ credit activities. This is one of the key challenges for monetary authorities in the upcoming period too. Of course, commercial banks need to take on some of the responsibility and secure an uninterrupted financing of the real sector. As the biggest bank on the Serbian market, Banca Intesa feels a special kind of responsibility. At the peak of the solvency crisis, we surprised by our clients and continued granting loans when other banks were quite apprehensive about it. We are not going to change our business strategy in the future. So, there are challenges ahead of us, but, as always, we are setting very high goals for ourselves that motivate us to reach them.

INTERVIEW |

MARK HARRISON, “HARRISONS SOLICITORS”

AN ENGLISHMA Mark Harrison was the ﬁrst foreign lawyer to come to Serbia ten years ago and establish a law ﬁrm

By Andrej KLEMENČIĆ Photo Slobodan JOTIĆ r. Harrison moved his private and professional life to Serbia in 1997, after running the Central & Eastern Europe Practice of a major UK Law Firm, although his visits before that were all but infrequent. A fan of Crvena Zvezda, he is a “srpski zet” and a radiant optimist concerning the legal, business and overall future of Serbia. His company has acted on more than half of all the major privatization and investment deals since 2001.

You came to Serbia over ten years ago, in times of great turbulences, when very few people decided to return, let alone come for the first time. How is it you decided to come? I first came to “the old Yugoslavia” in 1973 and to Belgrade in 1976. Beogradska Banka, the biggest bank in the old Yugoslavia, decided to send a representative to London in 1983, as a placement at a large City of London law firm where I was working. He introduced me to the London community of Yugoslav busi24 CorD 66 / December 2009

ness people. It was a tight-knit community but once I had gained their confidence, I would say we were acting for over 50% of the Yugoslav business community by the end of the 80’s. Was it a significant business community? Yes. In those days there were the big Yugoslav “mother companies”. Generalexport, for example, was doing 7 to 8 billion dollars of trade with Britain. Yugotours brought hundreds of thousands of British tourists to the Croatian coastline and Montenegro. So, in the late 80’s, I convinced my law firm we should open an office here in “Yugoslavia”. So when did you exactly come? I was finalizing plans to open an office in 1989/90, the last of the golden years. Unfortunately the problems started with Slovenia in 1991. Between 1992 and 1995, when there were sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro, we were the only foreign firm that acted for Serbian interests. There was a stigma attached to representing companies which came from Serbia and Montenegro and fighting court cases for them.

What kind of work are we talking about? It was mainly fighting court cases to prevent the assets of Serbian companies being confiscated by creditors. Under sanctions Serbian companies couldn’t make payments in relation to loans. A classic example of that was Aviogenex. They had a fleet of airplanes and could not make loan repayments. The creditors expected to seize the planes back, but we fought the case in the highest court in England and got an order, which protected the fleet, using Sanctions Legislation to our advantage! Post 1995, when the sanctions were eased, I decided I wanted to come over and promote Yugoslav-British trade. My British Foreign Office, in fact, encouraged me to come over. British government encouraged you to come in 1995? After the sanctions were eased there were a lot of British missions in the region, predominantly to Serbia, promoting business, and I was actively involved. So in 1997, I decided to move to Serbia. I was here often, not only on business and grew to like the country a lot.

N IN BELGRADE Approaching the big 40 and being a long-time partner in an English law firm, I saw an opportunity in coming to a country where there was no international law firm. So, I resigned my partnership, sold my house, came over, rented a tiny office in Prote Mateje above a place called “Bread of Life”. It was the time of my life when I moved out of my comfort zone. My ambition was realized when we created the first international law firm in Serbia. But times were difficult. You landed in the times bombs were landing. How did you absorb the shock? Many people thought I was crazy, giving up my practice in the UK, but I came in 1997 and I’ve enjoyed it ever since. I, of course did, what one always does upon coming to Serbia. I married a Serbian girl and both my two children were born here. I have always said that if one day I do not look forward to going to work I will pack my bags and move on, but I relish every day and the fresh challenges they bring. Ways of conducting business in Serbia can contain dynamics unseen in the Western world. How did you find this? The plus point for me was that, when I came in 1997 there were very few foreigners around, so I had to quickly adapt. It is not like now when you work for an international company here, as they could spend their entire time mixing with their own people, not integrating with Serbs. I had a close friend, a JAT pilot, who helped me “land”, finding an apartment for me and being an excellent connection with the business community in Belgrade. We dealt almost exclusively with Serbian clients as there were few foreign companies then. That

was a great experience, giving us a clear advantage over other law firms. People knew we were friends with Serbia that we weren’t here just to make a quick buck and run away. Serbs saw we stood by them in the tough times, and were in Belgrade, way before the other foreign law firms arrived in 2001 when things were completely different. Since you were the only foreign lawyer in Serbia, it is more than conceivable that Milosevic regime knew about you. Were there any difficulties? We found out, in due time, that we were followed and checked all the time. If you are one of the few British people working in Belgrade pre-October 2000, it is not surprising they were constantly checking, but we never had any trouble-we are and were just lawyers!

My ambition was realized when we created the first international law firm in Serbia What was the worst thing that happened to you at the time? Definitely the Kosovo conflict. This was the lowest point. I was advised to leave Belgrade in the middle of the night not knowing when I would return and what I would find on my return. I never believed in these modern times, a country in Europe could be bombed. I remember listening to the CNN report in a Budapest Hotel on 24th March 1999 and heard the sad news that explosions could be heard around Pristina. It was a dreadful feeling, and for me, as a British Citizen, I felt like a war refugee. I headed to England, but could

not tolerate the press propaganda, which, objectively I knew was so biased, something I was also sad to see. I kept in touch with my Serbian friends in Belgrade but it was a very difficult time knowing what they had to go through every night. I met old Serbian friends in London and for the first and only time in my life I demonstrated-against the bombing of Serbia. We met outside 10 Downing Street and in Trafalgar Square. It was all we could do but we had to express our solidarity in some way. I could not wait to get back, but plainly those 3 months had changed Serbia in many ways. However people realized it was not the ordinary citizens of England who were against Serbs; it was politicians who were behind the conflict. I remember four months after the bombing ended we had an unofficial trade delegation from Britain coming to Belgrade. They were staggered at how warm the reception was. About 95% of people still have this basic misconception about what Serbia is like, how the people are, and how business is conducted. In the end, they go back with a completely different view, which I think is fantastic. The high point of my time here was the October 2000 revolution, when Milosevic was overthrown. As a City of London lawyer I would never had seen that in my life-timebeing part of history-what an amazing day; first being tear gassed in the park, struggling to stand up in the ensuing stampede, then seeing the first signs of smoke, and then strolling the streets until the early hours, and finally getting inside the burnt Parliament building! Something to tell my grand-children! As a City of London lawyer you would never have established a rugby team in

COMMUNITY

SHOCK

HOME

Generalexport, for example, was doing 7 to 8 billion dollars of trade with Britain. So, in the late 80’s, I convinced my law ﬁrm we should open an ofﬁce here in “Yugoslavia”.

Many people thought I was crazy, giving up my practice in the UK, but I came in 1997 and I’ve enjoyed it ever since. I married a Serbian girl and both my two children were born here.

I will never leave Serbia full-time, that is for sure. Serbia has a place in my life and in my heart. I do not miss much from England, certainly not the wet weather. CorD 66 / December 2009 25

INTERVIEW |

Belgrade, I assume. How did this decision spring? I think it only right we give something back to the community so we are very focused on CSR. We do a lot of raising money for charities. Establishing a rugby team in Belgrade is another example of what I call soft diplomacy. England is the home of rugby and Red Star is an excellent sport brand. The boys are keen to play and you are doing something worthwhile. Hopefully one day they will be champions, like their football colleagues! There is a saying that if you spend more than seven years in a foreign land, you will never go back home. What do you say to this? I will never leave Serbia full-time, that is for sure. Serbia has a place in my life and in my heart. This is where I was married and started my family and where I have many friends. I do not miss much from England, certainly not the wet weather or the 50 minute journey to work. I would rather walk 5 minutes in the sunshine along Terazije. If we go back to business, how do you perceive the business culture in Serbia, the transparency, speed, efficiency? In 2001 privatizations started. We were involved in approximately 50% of the deals that happened, on either the government or on investors’ side. I can honestly say the Djindjic government did an excellent job. It was a great time to be a lawyer. In one month in September 2003, we closed the U. S. Steel deal, bought DIV for BAT and sold Beopetrol to Lukoil-interesting times! Red tape has been dramatically cut, when a company wants to come here and set up a business. It is a much 26 CorD 66 / December 2009

more user-friendly legal environment. Why have not more companies come to Serbia? Unfortunately the issues of Kosovo and war crimes are still the two big things influencing people’s perception of Serbia-people who do not know Serbia but who are considering investing here. There are difficult economic times coming ahead in 2010. The Government should get ready for the up-side. The key to that is branding of Serbia as the place to come and invest. Serbia has excellent ambassadors, like its tennis players. Greenfield investors are essential, as most of Serbian Industry has been privatized. Look at IKEA- they have been negotiating to enter the Serbian market for over a year now. Stopping them, are high prices of private land. If I was the government, I would give them

If I was the government, I would give them state land for nothing and say come and build your factory here, because we want you state land for nothing and say come and build your factory here, because we want you. At the end of the day you are not “selling” land but “buying” good investors. As long as foreign companies are choosing neighboring countries in preference to Serbia, then Serbia is missing out. What would you say that the companies like yours are doing to speed up Serbia’s ac-

cession towards European standards? As an English law firm, we know what standards the EU requires from member states’ law firms. High professional standards right across the board with no restrictions or impediments to competition-like any other market. For example my law firm is regulated by the English Law Society and we are subject to very strict rules and regulations, involving confidentiality, conflicts of interest, anti-money laundering. Unlike domestic Serbian law firms, every year we have to take out expensive Professional Indemnity Insurance-without that an English Solicitor cannot practice. Western companies help people achieve new standards. U.S Steel brought with them brand new ideas, sets of regulations, regarding health and safety, reporting bad practices, environment, training, all of which increased the quality of an employee’s life dramatically. You are a member of the Advisory Club for the South-East Europe. What does it promote? It is a part of the Stability Pact. The whole idea was to appoint representatives of major regional and western companies who have a wealth of experience in working in South East Europe. I was appointed by the British Government and Serbia has 3 members. After the Yugoslav conflict I am very keen to overcome political barriers by encouraging and promoting cross-border business and trade. At the end of the day business crosses all borders and can only help heal old wounds from before. Aside from Belgrade and London you have offices in Podgorica. How do you synchronize the activities? In almost every major project that Montenegro undertook since 1996, Serbian based law firms were involved. We simply took it a stage further by having an office there. Due to the high volume of business I fly down every week. For example we have seen a rapid expansion of Middle East and North African interest in Montenegro. We are the only law firm in the world that has offices in Belgrade, Podgorica and the City of London. The key role of our office in London is to say to Investment Banks and Investors in the City “Come to Serbia”! After all, that is how it all started for me, all those years ago!

CorD 66 / December 2009 27

REGION: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA|

Butmir negotiations fail The failure of the international community to constitutionally re-structure Bosnia and Herzegovina

Milorad Dodik By Vojislava VIGNJEVIĆ Photo FONET o guarantee Bosnia and Herzegovina’s rapid accession to the European Union, it is necessary for the country to become a functional state. In order to become one, constitutional changes to ensure more efficiency are necessary. However, in order to find such a solution, representatives of all three nations and of both entities present in Bosnia and Hezegovina must vote. The attempt by the international community and the United States to gather all factions of Bosnian political life at the same table at Butmir military air base in Sarajevo failed to achieve the task of constitutional changes. Although 14 years have passed since the signing of the Dayton agreement that brought peace to Bosnia, it seems as if that length of time is not enough for the country, led by the EU High Representative, to reach political stability and steadily begin moving towards EuroAtlantic integration. Leaders of Bosnian politics participated, as did the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt, and the Assistant to American State Secretary, James Steinberg. The results were not encouraging. Both the Serbian and Croatian sides said no to the constitutional changes proposed by the international community. The introduction to this failure was the statement by EU Enlargement

28 CorD 66 / December 2009

Dragan Čović Commissioner Olli Rehn, who said: “It is our aim to have Bosnia a credible applicant for NATO and EU membership. In order for that to happen, the country must master its own politics, without international envoys.” Rehn stressed that this was not about constitutional revolution, but about working on the foundations of the Dayton Agreement. “We want to obtain an agreement on transi-

Sulejman Tihić changes would in no way jeopardize the existence of the Republika Srpska USA and the EU, representatives said. Banja Luka and Belgrade were clear when they said that an entity-based vote must stay. However, Bosniaks and Croats believe it is through the entity-based vote that Serbian representatives veto every law they see harmful to Serbian interests, and this blocks institutions

Time is not working in Bosnia’s favor, particularly in regard to the necessity for more efficient functioning of the state, which would bring it closer to the Euro-Atlantic integration tion, meaning a closing-down of the High Representative office and the transfer to an increased EU presence.” The Serbian side, meanwhile, accused the interventional community by saying constitutional change in fact means annihilation of the Dayton Agreement. The Croatian side, in the meantime, believes that such change would transfer all the power to the majority ethnic group – the Bosniaks. Representatives of the USA and the EU told Bosniak and Serb representatives they must have a unified voice when addressing EU issues and that Bosnia must become efficient and make good on what it promises. The

and legal reform. So what was in the package swiftly refused by Republika Srpska PM Milorad Dodik? The international community proposes there be a government and a prime minister instead of the present Council of Ministers. Instead of a presidency where representatives of all three nations rotate function, there would be a president whose authority would be merely ceremonial. The package gave no power of decision making to the upper house of parliament, called The House of Nations. The presidency should in the future have two presidents, who are not to be from the same nation. Their four-year mandate could

be extended by another four years. The President would be elected by members of the Presidency. The President would be authorized to appoint the Prime Minister, sign official documents without the presence of the vicepresident, appoint and relieve ambassadors, as proposed by the Council of Ministers and agreed by the Prime Minister. The President

The package of measures also includes the distribution of property. The proposition states that one must ensure that the state be the owner of the property needed for performing the functions of public authority needed for future integrations with NATO and the EU. Milorad Dodik said this package is antiDayton, politically incorrect, and unaccept-

Carl Bildt and James Steinberg of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina could call meetings of the Council of Ministers as well as the House of Representatives. The number of MP’s would increase from 42 to 87, with three seats reserved for representatives of the national minorities. Affairs of state, aside from defense, intelligence, foreign politics, and customs, would consist of the international-legal cooperation, Interpol, to regulate international and inter-en-

able as grounds for further talks. Dodik explained his position in a letter sent to the US Ambasador in Sarajevo, Charles Inglish, and to the Swedish presidency of the EU. The Republika Srpska PM emphasized that his entity “cannot and will not agree” with a package of measures tailored to suit only one Bosnian nation – the Bosniaks. Dodik underlines that the proposition means direct violation of the Dayton peace agreement and that any future

The Serbian and Croatian sides said no to the constitutional changes proposed by the international community tity transport. Institution of the state and entities would have shared authority over taxation, elections, agriculture, science and technology, and local administration.

WITHOUT AGREEMENT

either Serbian nor Croatian representatives agreed with the proposed package of measurements, which they believe puts more authority into the hands of the majority nation – the Bosniaks. The example for that is the fear that the Government, instead of the Council of Ministers, will mean that one man will decide instead of three.

actions would be understood as a severe interference in the internal matters of a sovereign state. Serbia’s interest in the talks is reflected by the fact that Serbian President Boris Tadic personally met with representatives of Republika Srpska political parties before the second round of Butmir talks began. Tadic emphasized that Serbia remains dedicated to the Dayton Agreement which clearly testifies to the preservation of integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and entails a constructive approach to talks in the country. Tadic emphasized that Serbia will not interfere in the talks, but hopes there will be a compromise reached. The Serbian president told the politicians from the Republika Srpska that he expects a com-

promise which would ease the process of Bosnia and Herzegovina along its path toward the European Union. Tadic said he was completely open to meet with the Bosniak and the Croat parties from Bosnia and Herzegovina and that he had already made adequate contacts in that respect. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic came to Sarajevo where he had meetings with Bosnian heads of State. Serbia fully respects its international obligations and that includes the commitments it made as one of the three parties to sign the Dayton Agreement, which is a clear testament to the preservation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s integrity. Tadic repeated that Croatia as well warrants to preservation of the Dayton Agreement, adding that Serbia will support only ideas given by legitimate representatives of Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia has a constructive approach to political talks in the country by supporting the integrity of Bosnia as a friendly state. It is Serbia’s belief that only mutual agreement and democratic dialogue can provide a sustainable solution for the country in the years leading to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entry into the EU. Milorad Dodik said, following a threehour meeting with the leaders of seven political parties of the Republika Srpska and the President of Serbia, that his entity is not interested in constitutional changes, nor is it prepared to do anything leading to the reduction of the Dayton capacity of the entity, but he said Bosnian Serbs are prepared to synchronize the existing constitutional frame with the European Convention on Human Rights and Liberties. Dodik remains firm by saying that proposed constitutional changes have the wrong basis, and ignore the Dayton Agreement which clearly lists the circumstances under which the constitution could be altered. Dodik also said that he proposed to the USA and the to EU representatives to include the right of referendum on the status of entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, provided that the other two entities agreed. All in all, it remains unclear what the next steps of the international community will be, since the Serbian and Croatian representatives refused the proposed package. Time is not working in Bosnia’s favor, particularly in regard to the need for more efficient functioning of the state, which would bring it closer to Euro-Atlantic integration, and overall development is becoming increasingly imminent. CorD 66 / December 2009 29

QUOTATIONS The joint venture company ‘South Stream Serbia’ will be registered in the Swiss city of Cug and will apply to continental law. According to current Serbian legislation, when we enter the process of obtaining licenses and permits for conducting business and building the pipeline, we will need to open a daughter company in Serbia.” Dusan Bajatovic, General Director “Srinagar”

On the same day that Belgrade celebrated the demolition of the Berlin Wall and the construction of a united Germany, also began the process of building a Vojvodina wall along the Sava and Danube, i.e., and the destruction of Serbia.” Vojislav Kostunica, President of DSS

At the beginning of the year, all the ministers stated that the Government will take care of all workers. It turned out that they care only about those who do not work or else for fictitious employees of failed firms. I was displeased because in 2005, the Government

linked work experience pension funds for all workers whose employers had not paid contributions since 1999. Now they will once again abolish those who did not meet their obligations in the next few following years. Therefore, the question is whether we who fulfill our legal obligations are being punished, for with our money the State is helping those who do not respect the regulations. If this is so, it is clear why we have to pay such high taxes on salaries and other charges.” Dragoljub Vukadinovic, President of Metalac

If Serge Brammertz’s assessment that Belgrade authorities are doing all they can to find, arrest, and deliver to the Hague Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, the Netherlands will not further oppose Serbia’s joining the European Union, primarily in trade relations and the abolition of visas.“ Maxim Ferhagen, Foreign Minister of Holland

It is obvious that in Serbia ‘Berlin Walls’ between parties have been destroyed. After the next elections, there will be possibilities for a range of political variations. After all, we (SPS) are now

MILUTIN MRKONJIC, MINISTER OF INFRASTRUCTURE:

in power in Belgrade with the LDP, and on the local level there are different political combinations. The SPS-PUPS-JS block will decide who will form the future government.” Ivica Dacic, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Police

We are trying to apply for membership in the EU before the end the year. The trade agreement is important, but it’s not the only criterion by which to make a decision regarding the request for submission of candidature.” Bozidar Djelic, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister

It (the latest report of Ernst & Young) is just a statement showing the results of operations for 2008. The report does not include any compensation to the owner or contract renewal. The document will, however, have a positive impact, because it shows the actual state of the situation, which shareholders have the right to know. Company management activity is now focused on improving results and profits of the company in 2009.” Elena Konova, Director of PR and Marketing, NIS

Telenor in Serbia has been written off a value of EUR 220 million this year because of the economic crisis and special tax on mobile telephony use. This is a pure loss for the entire Telenor Group. If this tax were to be abolished at this moment, even greater damage could be prevented. However, if it remains in force, it will send a bad signal to other investors, including Fiat, that Serbia is not exactly predictable for investment. Kjell Morten-Johnsen, CEO Telenor Serbia

Elections are no longer contests of ideology or political program, but the biggest employment competition in the country. After each elections 30,000 people obtain or lose a position in the administration. Realization of the party program is but a secondary objective, the main goal is the redistribution of power. Serbian parties are the same as they were in the times of feudalism. The knight who does best at a competition gets the most beautiful lady. Those who score the highest points get the best seat at the table. And the most beautiful ladies, of course. Zoran Zivkovic, former Serbian Prime Minster

VERICA KALANOVIĆ, MINISTER FOR NATIONAL INVESTMENT PLAN:

“If an ad hoc project is to be conducted by all ministries and their services, then it is a step backwards. It will mean unwillingness for the budget to be spent for envisioned projects, from which new debts and abuse follow.”

“It is impossible and notorious nonsense that all the money for state projects should be under the control of one ministry, in this case the Ministry for the National Investment Plan.”

ONE - ON - ONE GORAN BOGDANOVIC, SERBIAN MINISTER FOR KOSOVO AND METOHIA ON THE ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO:

“The illegal elections organized by Kosovo’s socalled provisional institutions have failed, because the vast majority of Kosovo Serbs complied with the recommendation of the Serbian Government.” 30 CorD 66 / December 2009

OLIVER IVANOVIC, STATE SECRETARY IN THE SAME MINISTRY, ON THE SAME SUBJECT:

“The Serbian turnout for the local elections significantly shook the authority of the Serbian government. The message of the Government that they should not turn out was purely correct, but it made a crack between the Serbian people and the Government in Belgrade, and that means that we are not enough of an authority for them.”

| SEMINAR

ABC Serbia on “New Media Standards and the Future“

THE STAMP OF TRUST The seminar by Richard Foan dedicated to the standardization of measurements of digital media, organized by the Audit Bureaus of Circulations Serbia (ABC Serbia) and supported by USAID and IREX, created a lot of attention from the media and marketing workers in Serbia t the end of November, Belgrade hosted the “New Media Standards and the Future” seminar with Richard Foan, the Managing Director of ABC UK as lecturer. The seminar was organized by wthe Audit Bureaus of Circulations Serbia, supported by IREX and USAID. More than 130 attended the first day of the seminar, which was of open character, at the Zira Hotel. Guests were mainly media and marketing employees. The second day was dedicated to professionals from online and print media, with 35 people present in the Media Center in Belgrade. During his address, Richard Foan focused on the movement of marketing budgets for the Internet, as well as the need for introducing simple evaluation criteria for advertising potentials of websites, one of the main tasks of ABC.

BIOGRAPHY OF RICHARD FOAN

ichard Foan is the Managing director of ABC UK, Chairman of the global IFABC Web Standards Group, and Chairman of the JICWEBS (Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards in the UK and Ireland). He joined ABC in 1984, and has held various positions within the organization since then. In 1996, in response to the evolving ‘new media’ sector, Richard was asked by ABC Council (major UK publishers, agencies and advertisers and their trade bodies) to create a new company to deliver industryagreed standards as a basis for certifying electronic media. This is where ABC began. Today, Richard Foan is globally recognized as one of the authorities in the field of standardization and measuring of new media.

More than 130 attended the first day of the seminar In his opinion, the global trend of convergence has already taken over the media, and in the future it will have more and more influence on advertisers’ way of thinking and acting. In a world where everything is connected through the Internet, the experience from Great Britain, where this year online advertising budgets for the first time surpassed TV, comes as no surprise. With a 23.5% share of the overall marketing budgets in the first half of 2009 (amounting to 1.75 billion pounds), Internet promotion became the advertisers’ most significant means of communication with the public, thanks to its efficiency and possibility of easy result tracking. Compared to last year, British companies dedicated 4.6% more means for placing advertising messages online. A very important factor that has enabled such a rise of Internet advertising in Great Britain is the complete transparency of the business of online media, which enables advertisers to easily compare advertising potentials of various sites, placing their advertising money in the most efficient way possible. That is the cred-

it of ABC Electronic, which is a stamp of trust between advertisers and publishers, or owners of websites. By verifying data on the visits of British Internet locations, ABC inspires the creation of strong advertiser support of online media, simplifying their tracking in accordance to agreed industrial standards. Analyzing current trends and announcing future ones, when digital media is in question, Foan gave concrete suggestions to publishers and owners of websites on how to promote their online business to make it more profitable. They should deliver User Generated Content, optimized for mobile consumption, and target and serve niche audiences. Transferring experience from Great Britain, Richard Foan stressed the necessity of cooperation of publishers and owners of websites with ABC Serbia to assure the transparency and trust needed to attract the advertisers. According to Foan, establishment and application of industrial standards are the basic conditions for increasing the budget that the media planner will give in the future for online media. CorD 66 / December 2009 31

INTERVIEW |

BRANKA PRPA, HISTORIAN

We’ve Lost the nly a few days earlier, historian Branka Prpa had been fired from her position as Director of Historical Archives of Belgrade, since the division of seats between political parties in the city gave her place to the SPS. In an interview with CorD, she talks about the shift, revision of history, and rehabilitation of Nazi collaborators in Serbia, the problem of Anti-fascism and vandalizing of the place where journalist Slavko Curuvija was murdered, where a plaque with his name had gone missing on October 5th.

O The surfacing of Neo-Nazi groups in Serbia is not a novelty, on the contrary. Over the last few months, many have had the opportunity to see how they operate and what kind of a society would Nacionalni stroj, Obraz, and 1389 like to see. After the murder of French citizen Brice Taton, the state has publicly announced it will ﬁght hooligans hidden within the groups of sports fans. November is the month when the whole world remembers and pays tribute to victims of Fascism. That day was marked in a modest way in Serbia, with a public debate where it was concluded that there is no Neo-Nazism. By Zarka Radoja 32 CorD 66 / December 2009

There were recently two forums on Neo-Nazism held in Belgrade. One saw the screening of the film “Hot blood” by Lazar Lalic. The second debate with historian Predrag Markovic and Miljenko Dereta from the Civic Initiative concluded that there was no Neo-Nazism in Serbia. What do you think? If we take into account how Europe defines it - we have it. There are a few groups who clearly proclaim their racist principles, regardless whether they’re directed against the Roma or the Jews or against members of another nation or religion. In practice, we do have a racist ideology as a part of political life. If we take the experience of the 20th century, and see what we can define under the term Nazism, it is racism. From the political ideas of racism, or of a super man or nation having qualities that other people do not, and other people or nations with qualities that make them lesser human beings, then we very much have the appearance of Neo-Nazi ideas and ideologies in the political milieu of this country. How serious a problem is it to ignore extreme right-wing groups and their ideas and their ideologies? The main problem is to recognize what belongs to the political ideology of the 20th

century. For example in political speech, the Nazis were the first to use hate speech. When using hate speech in political and public address, you are in the context of Neo-Nazism. If hate speech based on racism is acceptable in our Parliament, then we have a serious problem. Another thing is that you get used to something that is bad infinity, according to Hegel. We have 20 years of hate speech along with a war in which people were killed just because they were of another religion or nationality. Another thing that we are reluctant to face is that social abnormality has entered into our value system and our political vocabulary, and we avoid determining it, avoid washing away our misconceptions. This is a problem of our inability to look in the mirror. When we face our moral dilemmas, we face a wall Europe marked November 9th, the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Fascism, and we had the opportunity to see how the United Kingdom and other countries commemorated this. In Serbia anti-fascism is pushed under the carpet, while we are rehabilitating the collaborators. Anti-fascism must be defined at the state level. It is a state issue. This is the issue that brought together the Post-Second World War Europe, the United Nations, modern principles of human rights. The human rights issue gained such momentum precisely because of the experience with Totalitarianism. Those issues must be incorporated within the foundations of a society. What is it that defines Serbia as an heir to antifascist traditions? This nation has been humiliated enough through recent wars. It certainly would be bad to humiliate it further by saying it belongs to an alliance other than antifascist. But we have a situation where Dragisa Cvetkovic, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, who signed the Tripartite Pact, was recently rehabilitated. Newspapers have

October Ideas! for two months been buzzing about the discovery of the grave of Draza Mihajlovicâ&#x20AC;Ś Dragisa Cvetkovic was overthrown by the citizens, following the signing of the Pact on March 25th, 1941, and the demonstrations which followed on March 27th. How can we redefine the will of the citizens who then saw Cvetkovic as a traitor? This is one of the ways in which we are distancing ourselves from our antifascist past. Rehabilitating victims of a totalitarian regime from 1945 is one thing. Rehabilitating war criminals from 1941 is another, particularly if this is in a form of an act of Parliament. You cannot have a court process trying to neutralize matters, as there is nothing to neutralize here. Our civilization, humanity, our set of values, were all based on the clash of good end evil during the Second World War. If

it. Does the primitive grasp of anti-Communism imply the elimination of Anti-fascism? This is a transitional trap. One of the examples is taking away the names of Russians who participated in the liberation of Belgrade, merely because they were Communist. You have been removed from the position of Director of the Historical Archives of Belgrade.

years after his murder the killers have not been discovered. We now can see that in the political sense, the capital of October Fifth has been spent entirely and all its symbols are an obstruction. DS and SPS signed an act which stopped tensions between the parties. But if you put someone like Milorad Radevic, who at the time sued Slavko and began his Golgotha, is it acceptable that someone like that be

Taking away the names of Russians who participated in the liberation of Belgrade, was merely because they were Communist liberal capitalism and Bolshevik communism could fight it together, so should we. The problem of an anti-fascist heritage is common to all countries of the former Yugoslavia. New regimes put that legacy in the same basket with Communism. After the change, 50 years of Yugoslav history have been erased. They were three collaborators in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Slovenia had Leon Rupnik, Ante Pavelic was in Croatia, and Milan NediÄ&#x2021; in Serbia. All three have been doing the same in view of the collaboration after the break-up, so one must wonder what they are trying to achieve. Only Eastern European countries do

I came to the position from science, so being an administration worker after you were a scientist can not be called progress. But I believed institutions must be set up, because there is no strong state without strong institutions. We did some substantial work for Serbia. One such project was a book about the Banjica Camp. But, the ideals of October 5th got squashed in creating a state where expert positions would be given to politicians. Someone as independent as am I can be a certain problem in that scheme. October 5th memories have disappeared, along with a plaque which commemorated the place where your unmarried husband, Slavko Curuvija was murdered. Even ten

returned to public function, to become the director of the Archives of Yugoslavia? The public was told this was a coincidence, that it got accidentally removed by men who pick up iron from the streets. Out of the question. We lived for ten years in the virtual world of Milosevic, where he was telling you that you see what you in fact do not, while there was a war 120 kilometers from Belgrade. That was offensive and led to madness. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what they managed to do nine years after October Fifth. Here we are again in hopelessness, because of great social energy, an enormous hope to return again to the virtual world of everyday lies and manipulations. CorD 66 / December 2009 33

APPOITMENTS

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

Dr.Robert Gal (41) New Managing Director of Sanoﬁ - Aventis Serbia Dr.Robert Gal was born in Hungary 1968th. He graduated Medicine at the University of Pecs, Hungary, and became a medical doctor in 1993. During the past 14 years, Robert Gal has held various sales and marketing positions with high responsibilities. From 1997 until 2003, he worked in different senior positions within GlaxoSmithKline, and in 2008 Robert Gal joined Sanofi-Aventis Hungary’s Customer Management Unit.

Ljiljana Sredojev, President of the Governing Board; Dr. Srdjan Petrovic, President of the Executive Board of Metals Bank The former director of The

Shareholders

Meeting of Metals Bank in its extraordinary session last November, appointed members of the Board of Directors of the Bank. At its first session held on the same day, the Executive Board appointed the President and members of the Executive Committee. The President of the Board of Directors is Ljiljana Sredojev, while the President of the Executive Board of Metals-Banka is Dr. Srdjan Petrovic.

Biljana Stepanovic Director of Business Info Group The former director of The Ekonomist Media Group, which publishes the weekly “Ekonomist” magazine and monthlies “Bankar” and “Preduzece,” moved it to a new duty, appointed Managing Director of Business Info Group, which deals with TV production and event organization. Biljana Stepanovic has been the head of EMG for three years, and during that time the company has recorded steady growth. Biljana Stepanovic has been editor-in-chief of “CorD” magazine, editor of economy on TV, radio, and web portal to B92, the NIN weekly magazine, Radio Free Europe, “Borba,” and “Nasa Borba.” She is married and has a daughter and son.

34 CorD 66 / December 2009

CorD questions for this issue is:

“HOW DO YOU RATE PREVIOUS BUSIN SLIGHT RECOVERY IN 2010. Andreas Binder, CEO MercedesBenz Serbia and Montenegro

WORSENED CASH FLOWS Branislav Simovic, Managing Director, MACE Serbia

The 2009 results for the entire automotive industry were severely influenced by the global economic crisis. Sales results of MercedesBenz products deteriorated significantly. Commercial vehicle business sales dropped around 65% and passenger car business by 30% in comparison with the previous year. Regarding our financial results in 2009, we suffered a dramatic drop, and for the first time in the last 5 years MBSCG will end the year with a significant operational loss. However, we have managed to keep our premium position in the luxury segments and could even increase our market shares compared to the previous year.

In short, the 2009 business year could be described as turbulent. Despite many talks at the beginning of the year about the global economic crisis, the real effects of the crisis in Serbia at that time were limited and not so visible. During that period, the crisis in the investment sector reflected investors who had not yet started their investment, and therefore decided to delay indefinitely or customize the implementation phase of the projects. However, the beginning of March had a major impact on the investment projects which were already in the implementation phase. Banks had drastically stricter criteria and conditions for funding projects. Investors’ cash flows generally worsened, which led to a global chain of illiquidity. Investors started delaying payments to contractors; contractors reacted in the same way to their suppliers, creating a situation where a large number of participants in investment projects found themselves in a very difficult financial situation. In early September, the world saw the first signs of economic recovery and additional regulation and control of financial institutions. Unfortunately, as the global economic crisis arrived late on the Serbian economy scene, the exit from the crisis will not be rapid and we cannot expect recovery by early next year. My prediction is that the first half of the next year will be very difficult in terms of liquidity for most of the companies involved in investment projects.

Funding of commercial vehicle business is only possible if banks and leasing houses offer more attractive products and support the industry The development of the automotive business next year depends on several factors. The main prerequisites will be overall economical development as well as a proper tax framework, which has to be established by the government. For the automotive sector, another important role will be played by financial institutions. Funding of goods, especially in the commercial vehicle business, is only possible if banks and leasing houses offer more attractive products and support the industry. Last but not least, media companies are important and need to restore consumer confidence. Given all the above-mentioned factors, I am confident that we will already be seeing a slight recovery of the automotive business in 2010. However, we have to be realistic and should not expect business to get back to the levels of 2007 or 2008 within a short period of time.

The first half of the next year will be very difficult in terms of liquidity Despite the fact that some banks are showing interest in re-financing the project, it will not be enough to initiate a number of

LEADERS

NESS YEAR AND WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING IN 2010?” projects in the first half of 2010. Since the cycle of a project is a long-term process, the increased effects of project funding will be seen on the market only in the last quarter of 2010. I am expecting a slow recovery and increased investments from September next year. Therefore, I would recommend to all companies to consolidate their operations with limited liquidity beyond this period. Projects financed from the state budget funds can, in some way, alleviate this negative effect in the first half of 2010. However, these projects are mainly related to infrastructure, so that a positive effect will not, unfortunately, have any positive impact on the entire industry and construction department. LONG AND FRAGILE RECOVERY Dimitrios Frangetis, Chairman of the Executive Board, Piraeus Bank Serbia This year has been particularly difficult both in Serbia and in most other countries, as the repercussions from the most severe financial turmoil in decades were experienced. At the peak of this crisis, changes came so fast and were so dramatic that what was inconceivable on Monday became possible on Tuesday and a fact on Wednesday.

There was clearly some “abnormality” as to what was considered to be “normal” in the past, and that has to be acknowledged and avoided in the future Fortunately, appropriate policies decided by International Institutions, Central Banks, and Governments prevented a systemic collapse. These developments, apart from their financial impact, also raised questions about some popular past beliefs, like for example that Serbia is not much affected by international economic conditions, or that free mar-

ket economies are optimally self - adjusting. Regarding its financial impact on this country, the crisis has affected substantially almost every indicator including growth, unemployment, foreign investment, exchange rate, current account, and public sector deficit. Recently, conditions seem to be gradually becoming more stable, to the extent that some analysts feel that the problem is now solved and that 2010 will be a year of strong recovery and a return to normal. My view is somehow different. First, I think there was clearly some “abnormality” as to what was considered to be “normal” in the past, and that has to be acknowledged and avoided in the future. Also, I believe that recovery will indeed take place, but it will be rather long and fragile. The positive signals we are observing are to a great extent caused by implemented monetary and fiscal policies which, while appropriate for extraordinary conditions, cannot continue for a long time and may even have to be reversed. Therefore, those positive signals temporarily cover an underlying need for major adjustments. Many such adjustments are unpleasant and difficult and will take some time to materialize, as will full recovery. CORRUPTION - THE GREATEST OBSTACLE Rade Pribicevic, Director for Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Dunav Food Group It is now clear that the results of companies within the Dunav Hrana Group (Imlek, Suboticka Mlekara, Bambi Banat, Knjaz Milos) will have much better average results in 2009 than expected at the beginning of the year. Various factors have contributed to this, some internal, some external. We made a series of steps to rationalize the business and preserve the system. Investments and marketing have been reduced significantly, all contracts with suppliers have been revised, and we made an agreement with the unions at the begin-

ning of the year that there will be no salary increase in 2009, but that we will do everything we can to save existing jobs. On the other hand, some Government measures had positive effects on economic stability, although they came unreasonably late. I refer mostly to subsidized loans for liquidity improvement, which halted the collapse on the market of inquiry payments. A fact that strongly contributed to increased stability is also the stable banking sector. All of this contributed to good results for Imlek, Suboticka Mlekara and Bambi Banat, which means that the plans will be realized, results will be positive, and that the predicted growth will be achieved, which, under the circumstances is an extremely good result.

Next year Serbia will witness more negative effects of a local, rather than a global character The situation in Knjaz Milos is somewhat different because the entire segment of mineral waters and non-alcoholic beverages has dropped by 10%, including Knjaz Milos. The reason behind this is the drop in purchase power of individuals, as well as that of restaurants and cafes, and the fact that water is a most easily substituted product. As far as the perspectives for 2010 go, I predict a difficult year, despite forecasts of global economic recovery. Data that predict major economies emerging from the recession are without question. Predictions that Serbia will have a 1.5% growth are accurate as well. That growth, however, is insufficient. Next year, Serbia will witness more negative effects of a local, rather than a global character. First, it will take some time, before we see the positive effects of global recovery, and second, we will be facing all the domestic problems we have not been able to resolve until now. I mainly refer to external deficit, the budget deficit, which until now had been covered by income from privatization means and that has now been used up, at least to a greater extent. Domestic inflation CorD 66 / December 2009 35

APPOITMENTS

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

Zoran Vojnovic, Deputy President of the Management Board in Hypo Alpe Adria Bank In October, the Management Board of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank Belgrade named i Zoran Vojnovic Deputy President of the Board. Zoran Vojnovic was born in Belgrade in 1956. He graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Economics. He did his post-graduate studies in business administration at the IMADEC University in Vienna. After 20 years in Jugobanka, Vojnovic joined UniCredit Bank in Belgrade in February 2002. Until August 2009, Vojnovic served as Deputy President of the Management Board. In Hypo Bank, Zoran Vojnovic supervises risk-management.

Dr. Alexander Teutsch (38) New CEO of Adria Media The new CEO Adria Media Serbia from January 1st will be Dr. Alexander Teutsch, currently Director of Strategy and Positioning Development at G + J International. Adria Media is one of the largest magazine publishers in the region. The previous CEO of Adria Media Serbia, Bernd Rademann (42), was appointed Vice President of G + J International and Director of Operations of the publishing house

Zana Korolija Executive Director of PR Communications Hill & Knowlton Zana Korolija is the new Executive Director of PR Communications Hill & Knowlton, the oldest American PR agency, based in New York. Zana Korolija has been in the marketing and communications business for the past 13 years. She specialized in PR while working in the international PR agencies Action Global Communications and Pristop, where she has worked as Client Service Director for the past four years. 36 CorD 66 / December 2009

LEADERS will be high. There will be unresolved structural problems of domestic economy, very high unemployment, bad economy, and unclear development strategy. To this we can add corruption, which I believe is the greatest obstacle to our economy and overall development. Corruption exists on all levels and in times of crisis, becomes even more transparent. This is one of the reasons why there have been no more domestic or foreign investments. Without investments, there is no development. Not to make all of this sound gloomy, I believe the Trade Agreement with the EU will be unfrozen, which will have positive effects on Serbia’s macroeconomics. KEEPING THE LEADING POSITION Milenka Mila Jezdimirović, General Director, Dunav Insurance Company The 2009 business year was in many ways specific and very delicate for all economic entities as well as for Dunav Insurance Company. The economic crisis led to difficult business conditions and only large companies that found the strength to manage to reorganize and provide real solutions to new market challenges were able to maintain their business on the previous level. I am proud to say that Dunav Insurance Company is one of those. In certain segments of the business, the record shows significant growth, as is the case with life insurance.

We are expecting calm markets, which will lead to the growth of the insurance market and total premiums Next year we expect calm markets, which will lead to the growth of the insurance market and total premiums. We will continue with reorganization and modernization of the company, and the introduction of new technological processes in order to reduce costs and increase operational efficiency. We will try to keep the leading position in nearly all forms of insurance. In this way we will be able to represent qual-

ity insurance services to our insured, state entities, and to the overall public. THE YEAR OF STABILIZATION Christos Tsemberas, General Director Grand Casino Belgrade Grand Casino Beograd was awarded by the Serbian government an exclusive casino license for the territory of Belgrade in 2005. An investment of 90.000.000 euros was made, and now Belgrade enjoys an entertainment center with live gambling and slots area, bars, restaurants, live entertainment, and conference facilities. As an entertainment industry, we operate on a market that requires excess disposable income, which in 2009 obviously was not available on the local market. Incoming tourism in Belgrade showed also stagnation and a subsequent drop. As a result, we observed a drop in our revenues compared with 2008. Serbia is experiencing the effects of the economic crisis with a delay in comparison to other European countries. It is common belief by now that 2010 may be a year of stabilization, but any effects on the real economy will not be made visible to citizens before 2011.

Looking forward to 2011 for further expansion and improvement Following that, we are considering 2010 as a year of very low expectations, and we are looking forward to 2011 for further expansion and improvement. Despite unfavorable circumstances, we are not planning at this moment to reduce the size of our operation, and we will continue to work on establishing Grand Casino as a focal point of the city’s social life and an attraction that will help developing tourism in Belgrade. We believe that the crisis will be over at some point, but we consider very important any effort taken by the Government to establish Serbia as a reliable and safe investment country with a properly regulated market that offers positive prospects.

THE MESSAGES OF PATRIARCH PAVLE 1914-2009

No – to the inhuman and barbaric Instead of speaking about Patriarch Pavle, we give you some words he shared with us. “When a man is born, the whole world rejoices and only he cries. But he should live so that when he dies, the whole world cries and only he rejoices.” “When vanity is present, there is dispute … It is not unfortunate to have a difference of opinions, as each matter can be viewed from several perspectives. But we often conflict over matters that are not merely based on difference of opinions. We must free ourselves of that. …” “We deeply believe that there will be a time when the violent will feel ashamed. We pray for our enemies as well to realize that making evil can bring good to no one. Let them know that after all the defeats through which they humiliate others, they will eventually defeat themselves by hopelessness.” “What others will do depends on them; that is in their hands. But what we do is in our hands. God expects from us, our holy ancestors expect from us, to always act as a nation of God, as men of consciousness, as those who know what they are doing, for there are those who do not know …” “We are obliged to act as people even in the most difficult of situations. There is no such interest, not national, not individual, which could serve as an excuse to be inhuman.” “The higher your position in the Church, the more you have to serve. Only earthly lords ‘rule.’ In the Church, you serve.” “A Christian must never confuse love for his people with his readiness to, as an Orthodox Christian, follow the word of God.” “How much do all the earthly comforts mean if a man loses his dignity and his soul? If despite trouble we preserve our dignity and soul, the greater is our honor in the eyes of God.” “As members of the martyred Serbian nation of Kosovo, we testify that it is better we disappear as a people than to survive as non-humans. It is better to be a dead than to embody inhumanity.” “If the establishment of our independent country, its existence, and progress were possible only through crime, I would rather see not only a big but also a small Serbia disappear along with all the Serbs including myself, before agreeing to what is inhuman and barbaric. That, to me, is the Kosovo oath and the decision for the Kingdom of Heaven.” CorD 66 / December 2009 37

INTERVIEW |

Ivana Miskovic-Karic, director of the Delta of the Humanitarian Fund

WHO WANTS TO FIND A WAY - FINDS IT!

Delta Humanitarian Fund was founded two years ago with the aim of realizing lasting and important strategic projects, which would integrate existing humanitarian activities of Delta Holding initiate, and organize and promote new projects he objective of the Fund is to promote humanitarian work and develop awareness in the corporate world of the importance of this type of activity. Over the last two years, the Fund has organized more than 70 activities, during which more than 27 000 people received assistance. Following the presentation of Delta Humanitarian Fund in November in the O2 Gallery, CorD Magazine talked to the Managing Director of the Fund, Ivana Miskovic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Karic, on the issue of endowments, humanitarian, and social aid in Serbia.

Endowments and legacies in Serbia have been forgotten for a long time. Do you expect that, following your initiatives, this noble mission will be able to reach broad segments of the population? Good ideas are never obsolete and do not lose value. Delta Humanitarian Fund strives to set an example and new standards for humanitarian work in corporate responsibility. We expect that our humanitarian work, other than having a direct impact on improving the quality of life of our community, will make a step forward in the development of moral values among all members of society and develop sensitivity to the needs and problems of the community and its members. Are we talking about an open fund, or are you receiving donations from other companies and individuals? So far, the activities of Delta Humanitarian Fund have been financed from profits of 38 CorD 66 / December 2009

the members of Delta Holding, and so will the endowment of the Company. However, in the future we plan to gather around our cause other donors and people of goodwill. In November, Delta Holding announced it is building a facility of 3,000 square me-

ters for daily care of children with disabilities. When will the building be completed, how many people will be employed, and what is its concept? We expect construction to begin in the first half of 2010 and last approximately one year. After completion, the Fund will give

the City the building. Competent professional services of the City of Belgrade will operate the facility, employ the staff, and follow through with programs and admission of children. The facility will be built according to modern accessibility standards. Activities will be organized to support developing possibilities for children with disabilities. We all agree that it is necessary to provide ways and mechanisms to build permanent endowment and use it only for the social protection of children, never for commercial purposes or financial gain. As far as we know, this is the first endowment after the Second World War in Serbia, so we probably lack the experience in implementation of similar projects. How was your idea received by official bodies in the city and the republic? Immediately after the establishment of Delta Humanitarian Fund, we made contact with relevant national and city official bodies in order to receive support for our activities and direct it where it is most needed. It will be in line with the strategy of social protection. Our ideas for setting up an endowment were received with understanding and support, which made starting the long-forgotten procedures related to building endowments easier. Humanitarian activities always face the same dilemma: who needs help the most.

From the presentation of Delta Humanitarian Fund sistent with the objectives of the Fund.

who share your vision.

As a young business woman with a number of business and family responsibilities, how do you foresee the realization of this project? It is important to realistically assess ourselves and our capacities in all areas of life vas well to synchronize private and business obligations and have on the team the people

Finally, this is a huge investment, most certainly the biggest in Serbia, when it comes to humanitarian purposes. Is this the right time for such moves? There is a saying: Who wants to find a way - finds it, and who does not want to - finds an excuse. Social responsibility is a commitment of Delta Holding, so we can find a way, despite all obstacles and an objectively difficult period, to realize this great project of endowments, and other activities of Delta Humanitarian Fund.

You must provide ways and mechanisms to build permanent endowment and use it only for the social protection of children, never for commercial or financial gain Serbia has a large number of those who are vulnerable in terms of social security and health situation. How do we solve this dilemma? Our Fund receives a large number of requests for assistance every day, so it is impossible to help everyone. We therefore have, during these two years, defined the five different groups of projects on which we focus our activities: Delta third parent (projects for children without parental care), improving quality of life of persons with disabilities, projects for school children, actions within the company, and independent projects. Such a group with defined activities supports sustainable development, con-

Facility of 3,000 square meters for daily care of children with disabilities

CorD 66 / December 2009 39

B2B |

THE NEW GULLWING MODEL FROM MERCEDESBENZ WINS THE “GOLDEN STEERING WHEEL 2009” AWARD.

THE MERCEDESBENZ SLS AMG IS THE BEST SUPER SPORTS CAR THE WHITE BOOK 2009

ore than a quarter of a million readers took part, and voted the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG the world’s best super sports car by a wide margin. Accordingly “Bild am Sonntag”, “Auto Bild” and 25 associated European publications awarded the new Gullwing model the “Golden Steering Wheel” – one of the most important automotive awards in Europe. Eleven super sports cars competed in the large-scale reader’s vote for the “Golden Steering Wheel” award, which “Bild am Sonntag” and the motoring magazine “Auto Bild” organised on a Europe-wide basis for the first time this year. Almost one third of all votes were cast in favour of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, which therefore headed the readers’ popularity list in the super sports car category by a wide margin over the runner-up. This result not only acknowledged the unique aura and design of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, whose gullwing doors evoke memories of the legendary 300 SL “Gullwing” sports car of the 1950s, but also its technical sophistication. The super sports car excels with its uncompromising lightweight construction, superior driving dynamics and exemplary safety.

GREEK MARFIN GROUP

INTERESTED IN JAT?

he Greek M a r f i n Investment Group is interested in buying the Serbian Airline JAT, Blic learned from circles close to the government. This financial group, present in Serbia through Marfin Bank and RK Beograd which they bought in consorti40 CorD 66 / December 2009

um with Verano Motors, is no newcomer to the airline business. At the beginning of the year, they bought Olympic Airlines, the Greek state airline, for 177 million euros. The group also purchased a 15 million euro 50% share of the Swiss ambulance company, International Rent-a-Jet. After last year’s unsuccessful privatization, JAT is still in an unenviable situation with a large deficit. Until September 2009, the company had suffered a loss of 11 million euros, and its loss in 2008 was 29 million euros. When its financial loss is summed up, the figure climbs to 80 million euros.

he Foreign Investors Council has presented the White Book 2009 to Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and members of the Cabinet. The latest and seventh consecutive White book is a publication that offers information on the business environment in Serbia and gives suggestions to make business easier. This year’s edition of the White Book serves as a basis for dialogue between foreign investors and the Government on ways to improve the overall business climate and raise competitiveness of Serbia as an investment location. Emphasis focuses on three pillars of development: infrastructure, real estate, and human capital, with special attention to progress made between editions as well as to identification and concrete steps recommended to solve remaining problems. The presentation began with opening remarks by FIC President Aleksandar Radosavljevic, who pointed out that investor expectations remain the same as in previous years: a clearly formulated economic policy, continuation of reforms, and a level playing field for all players. Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Deputy Prime Minister Mladjan Dinkic gave their opening speeches, reporting on Government’s plans and the reform agenda to be pursued. In the panel discussion on the business climate in Serbia and steps which would lead to raising the competitiveness of this market, opinions were exchanged between Deputy Prime Minister Mladjan Dinkic, Minister of Telecommunication and Information Society Jasna Matic, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic, and Minister of Trade and Services Slobodan Milosavljevic. On behalf of the FIC, the panelists were FIC President and CEO of Carlsberg, Aleksandar Radosavljevic; FIC Vice President and CEO of Telenor, Kjell-Morten Johnsen; FIC Board member and President of Henkel, Nenad Vukovic; and the representative of the Managing Board of British American Tobacco, Srdjan Lazovic, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs.

INVESTMENTS IN SERBIA TWO BILLION DOLLARS

erbia will have two billion US dollars of foreign investments in 2009, which is far below expectations, Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said. He said that he was convinced that Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy will begin to recover in 2010, adding that there is a possibility that some of the branches of EU economy, particularly in segments of food, car parts and textile industry, will move to Serbia. Dinkic based his optimistic expectations about 2010 on the fact that there was a five per cent growth of industrial production recorded in Serbia, which contributed significantly to recovery of GDP. Dinkic said that Serbia experienced lesser GDP drop than the other countries in the region, due, among others, to facts that Serbia did not increase the VAT, salaries of profit. That is what the International Monetary Fund accepted in the end, under the condition that Serbia starts the reform of its public sector next year. Dinkic stated that Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s indebtedness abroad grew because of some important infrastructure projects, so public debt now amounts 32%, which is two times less than the level of the indebtedness on the EU level. Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foreign currency reserve were, according to Dinkic, at the record level of 9.8 billion dollars, which enables macroeconomic stability and the stability of dinar exchange rate. Dinic added that savings in Serbia reached 5.73 billion euros, which is by 50 million more than at the beginning of the crisis. Source: Tanjug

GREEN FROG AWARD

he international consulting-revision company Deloitte presented awards for the best annual report on sustainable development, popularly called the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Green Frog Award.â&#x20AC;? The jury awarded Audi Hungaria Motor, followed by Magyar Telekom and Coloplast, both from neighboring Hungary. The Serbian company Carlsberg won the juryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Special Award for the best annual report from Serbia. Companies Telenor, Hemofarm, and HIP Petrohemija also won Deloitte certificates for their reports on environmental preservation.

PIRAEUS BANK ANALYSTS PREDICT RECOVERY OF SERBIAN ECONOMY FOR 2010

iraeus Bank SA analysts from Economic and Market Research Department announced quarterly reports about the state in Southeast Europe economies and Egypt and assessed that Serbian economy is on good path, forecasting gradual recovery in 2010. For this occasion, in analysis for the first time has been used â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Business Cycle Tracer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; business cycle indicator, which can track in real time position of the economy throughout business cycle. Based on this indicator, Serbian economy has passed the slowdown phase and embarked on the recovery. Most of variables which represent offer in economy are in recovery â&#x20AC;&#x201C; export, manufacturer price and industrial production, while variables which represent demand â&#x20AC;&#x201C; loans, consumer prices and salaries â&#x20AC;&#x201C; follow process of recovery. Flow forecast for some macroeconomic aggregates: t %FDMJOF PG (%1 JO UIF UIJSE RVBSUFS XJMM be 3.9%, while it is envisaged that real GDP will decline by about 4% this year. Minor decline of GDP arises from lower trade contraction and industrial production signalizing that economic recovery will be gradual and slow. t *OGMBUJPO BU UIF FOE PG XJMM CF TMJHIUMZ BCPWF 7% and it will moderately advance to 7.2% in the subsequent year. t 5IF DVSSFOU BDDPVOU EFGJDJU XJMM EFDMJOF UP PG GDP in the current year, but moderate economic recovery in the subsequent year will propel the external imbalance to just above the 10% of GDP. t 5IF (PWFSONFOU IBT UP BDIJFWF B GJTDBM EFGJDJU of 4.5% of GDP until the end of this year in order to comply with the loan agreement with the IMF, while it is already agreed to a fiscal deficit of 4 % of GDP for 2010. t ,FZ JOUFSFTU SBUF DVSSFOUMZ BU XJMM CF TVCKFDU to the inflationary impact of fiscal consolidation and regulated prices. It is noteworthy that the standardized cyclical component of industrial production in Serbia and the Euro Area comove implying that the economic recovery in Serbia will follow that of the Euro Area. CorD 66 / December 2009 41

B2B |

EBRD ENTERS FORMA IDEALE

ATLAS GROUP AND CENTURY 21 CAPITAL REAL ESTATE

ATLAS CAPITAL CENTER OFFERED TO BUYERS A

tlas Group is one of the largest companies in this part of Europe, operating in five countries. This year is marks 20 years since the beginning of its business and the official beginning of the sale of the Atlas Capital Center in Podgorica. The center was planned and built to the highest standards in the regional. CENTURY 21 Capital Real Estate, a member of the Atlas Group and a member of the largest world real estate network, Century 21, will be selling the premises. Atlas Capital Center will have 90 apartments, ranging from 80 to 310 square meters, office space of almost 15.000 square meters, commercial space of 12.700 square meters, while its hotel will cover 14.500 square meters. Atlas Capital Center will have 812 parking places in a four-story underground garage, and will have its own company administration center, which will ensure that the premises always cater to all its users’ needs at the highest level, and that in a very short amount of time all their requirements and wishes will be met. The President of Atlas Group, Dusko Knezevic, said that the first phase of construction works, which began two years ago, was completed one month ahead of schedule. “The project is one of the largest in the region. Our partner is Capital Investments, owned by the royal family of the United Arab Emirates. So far, we have 200 requests for apartments,” Knezevic said. General Manager of Capital Investments, Ali Almansoori, said that it was his wish to make Atlas Center one of the best projects in the region and that he is satisfied that everything is being done within the planned deadlines.

IT MARKET DROPPED BY 30%

“T

he Information Technology market in Serbia will have dropped 30% by the end of 2009,” said president of Comtrade Group Veselin Jevrosimovic. He estimates that recovery could come next year when the global IT market is expected to grow by 15%. According to official data, the drop in the IT market in Serbia so far this year is 20%, but IT experts estimate that it would reach 30% by the end of the year. Jevrosimovic said that the most significant drop was recorded in software production and information services, saying that it was state administration which contributed to that, because it was not brave 42 CorD 66 / December 2009

enough to take preventive measures to reduce administration costs by using information technology. Source: Tanjug

he European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it will invest seven million euros into Forma Ideale in form of capital participation. Forma Ideale is one of the leading Serbian furniture manufacturing companies. The goal of EBRD’s investment is to support the company’s further expansion toward foreign markets. Forma Ideale exports a major part of its production to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Romania. With EBRD’s help, Forma Ideale will build its first logistics center close to its factory in Kragujevac. The new warehouse will enable the company to consolidate its logistics activities, reduce delivery time, and improve general production efficiency. Source: B92, Tanjug

ITALIANS ENTER THE ENERGY SECTOR

uilding several hydro power plants on the Drina River and a wind-turbine farm are a part of a deal between Serbia and Italy, agreed on during the Serbian delegation’s recent visit to Rome. Nikola Rajkovic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Mining and Energy, said that the Italians showed great interest in investing in energy, mainly in renewable energy sources and hydro potentials. The partner for most of those projects would be Elektroprivreda Srbije, while the Italian government decided their representative would be SECCI. The governments have yet to agree who will chief the outline of the project, which will present the programs’ clear technical and economic image of financial value and technical justification. At that time, the percentage of both sides and shares of electrical energy to go to Serbian and Italian households will be decided. Source: Politika

METALS BANKA OUT OF COMPULSORY MANAGEMENT

he National Bank of Serbia (NBS) decided to end compulsory management for Metals Bank of Novi Sad. The decision was reached after all the necessary requirements were met and following the NBS’s agreement to appoint members of the Management Board and management. Metals Bank General Assembly shareholders met on November 12th to name the new president and members of the management board. During its first meeting, which took place the same day, the Management Board named its president as well as the members of the Board of Executives, to which, also, the NBS had previously agreed. Source: B92, Tanjug

RKB CITY CENTER RETAIL SPACE ON MAPIC 2009

CORRUPTION SLOWS DOWN SERBIA

“A

n inadequate relationship in the fight against corruption is slowing Serbia’s path to the EU,” said Rodoljub Sabic, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, commenting on the negative perception index for Serbia in 2009. “That index is the conformation of what the whole world sees,” Sabic said, adding that despite the fact the data might not be absolutely accurate, perception matters more than fact. Serbia made minimal progress with this year’s perception index of 3.4, which is by 0.1 point better than in 2008. According to that rank, Serbia once again earned its place at the very bottom of the countries in the region, while globally, it took 83rd place. Concerning other countries in the region, Montenegro progressed to 69th position with an index of 3.9, while Albania dropped to 95th place, with an index of 3.2. Compared to Serbia, only Bosnia and Herzegovina has a poorer standing in the entire region. It is in 99th place with an index of 3.0. Croatia dropped to 4.1. and is in 66th place. Four Balkan countries share 71st place with an index of 3.8, and they are Macedonia, Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. Out of the countries of the Former Yugoslavia, Slovenia ranks best in 27th place, with an index of 6.6 (0.1 less than last year). Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug

COMPETITION LAW

“T

his is a key year for efficient competition protection in Serbia,” said Dijana Markovic Bajalovic, President of the Committee for Competition Protection. “By adopting the new Competition Law and connected legislation, a legal framework for the protection of market game in Serbia has been obtained,” stated Markovic Bajalovic. According to her, competition protection represents preparation of domestic companies for stronger competition on the EU market. Trade Minister Slobodan Milosavljevic says that adopting the new law is good, but adds that its practical application in view of the most favorable prices, best quality, and better consumer choice is important. Vincent Degert, Chief of Delegation of the European Commission, said that Serbia had made progress in applying competition protection. Mr. Degert also said that advances in that area are hardest to achieve for countries during negotiations regarding membership in the EU. Source: Beta

HARD WORK AHEAD

imon Grey, Director of the World Bank of Serbia, said that the Serbian Government endured the crisis through 2009 well, but that a difficult 2010 lies ahead. “The greatest challenges in 2010 will be making long-term decisions on pension system reform and the size of the public sector and its salaries.” According to him, next year must provide a good basis for reforms in the educational and health sector. Grey added that the private sector needs simplification when it comes to obtaining building permits as well as the advancement of the business climate in Serbia. Source: Beta

t MAPIC, Europe’s largest investment and real estate fair, held between November 18 and 20 in Cannes, Robne Kuce Beograd (RKB) was the only participant from Southeast Europe. Within the project RKB CITY CENTER RETAIL SPACE, RKB presented to the international public and potential partners a new work concept and the potentials of its trade center network covering over 240,000 square meters. This department store commercial space modernization project was made possible by an 80 million euro investment from Greece’s Marfin Investment Group and VERANO from Serbia. This is currently the only active investment in the segment of retail real estate in Southeast Europe. Due to its value, commercial, and social significance, this project puts Serbia at the top of the international business focus in this realm. Thanks to the national network and the best locations around Serbia, RKB gives its potential partners direct access to a market of around 8 million users, opening the doors to Europe’s east. Having in mind not only the size of the investment, but also the commercial and social significance of the re-activation of RKB premises along with the fact that there are no similar projects in Europe, the MAPIC expert committee decided that this project should be presented to the international public within a special section. This is considered to be a great business success, and also proof that world experts consider the Serbian market to be attractive for potential investors and also for expanding international trade company business. CorD 66 / December 2009 43

B2B |

GEBRÜDER WEISS TOOK EUROCARGO

THE NEW BMW X1 FORMULA

he first year since the opening of Auto Centar Delta was marked in November by the “xDrive event,” an exclusive presentation of the new models BMW X1, BMW Series 7 with fourwheel drive, and the BMW X5 M. The new BMW X1’s formula is Agility + Elegance = Pleasure. The side lines which look upwards give the new X1 model a dynamic look, while the short passages and back windshield create a sport-like, elegant silhouette. In the front part, the dynamic design of the front cover and the front lights in three circles make a strong impression, while the back lights with their L-lines, perfectly fit the horizontal lines and virtually prolong the back part of the car. The cabin of the new X1 is focused on a simple goal: intuitive handling with a maximally good feeling. The cockpit interior is oriented towards the driver’s pleasure, and thanks to its clear lines, it directs the look to the road ahead. High seating makes for excellent visibility. The entire interior is made of high-quality materials, perfectly matched colors, extraordinary built quality, and many practical details. Swift and responsive, the 6-gear manual gearbox in the BMW X1 is the best path to dynamic driving. Its incredible characteristics are marked by a short transmission, perfect transmission relations, and optimal torque usage. Precisely tuned gears with the addition of a 6th gear enable the driver even more individual usage of the engine’s characteristics. The optional six-gear manual gearbox enables a balanced, calm drive with extraordinary reaction to speed change in combination with the momentary transmission of power in movement and with reduced fuel usage at higher speeds.

he Austrian logistics service provider is strengthening its position in the Balkans by taking over the established freight forwarder and logistics company. The Austrian carrier and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss took a 75-percent plus stake in the international freight forwarder Eurocargo, based in Serbia, effective 12.11.2009. The present majority owner, Hamburg transporter D-Eckhard Niedermann, is retiring. The residual shares remain in the possession of existing shareholder and managing director Dragan Simovic. CEO Wolfgang Niessner said, “By taking a majority holding in Eurocargo, we are not only strengthening our local and regional organization, but we are also sending a clear signal that we are consistently pursuing our strategy in order to position GW in the long term as a superb provider of logistics solutions in Central and Eastern Europe.”

OPLENAC WINE HILLS  THE SERBIAN TUSCANY

ith this title, which may sound pretentious to many, we mostly wanted to show our high ambitions when it comes to realizing the project of viticulture, winemaking, and wine tourism in the Oplenac wine hills. As a development model, we took Tuscany, but specifically Tuscany wine-making between Florence and Siena and around towns like Montalcino and Montepulciano. That pastoral ambience, sketched with soft horizons ad filled with peace and magnificent nature can, in many ways, be recognized throughout Sumadija, primarily in the Oplenac wine hills. That historic patina, values, and the breath of times long passed offered by Tuscan towns, can be felt in Topola, on Oplenac, in Orasac, and Arandjelovac. What we miss the most are vineyards which cover the slopes of Tuscany, making it a land of wine. We miss the developed consciousness and culture in authentic gastronomy, 44 CorD 66 / December 2009

which plays a very significant part of modern tourist offerings. We also miss the developed production of typical products that make what the French call “Cuisine du Terroir” – the cuisine of the locality. We also miss such typ-

ical restaurants and little, cozy hotels, which you can find in almost every Tuscan village. But we do not miss the willpower and enthusiasm to move things in that direction. Moreover, there are three significant wine cellars in the Oplenac wine hills: Podrum vina Aleksandrovic, Kraljevska Vinarija, and Vinarija Vrbica. Each of them in its own way is already developing the concept of authentic wine production, or – the wines of a locality. That is the development of the wine tourism on our properties and wine cellars, visited annually by more than 20.000 people. That is the concept of linking our rich tradition with the demands of modern wine lovers, but also all those who desire an authentic and modern Serbia. Oplenac will never be and it should not be Tuscany, but it can surely be a “Serbian Tuscany” – a rich, exciting, unique wine locality. The first step towards such a future could be done today.

BANKS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

PIRAEUS GOES GREEN!

Piraeus Bank SA, one of the leading ﬁnancial institutions on the Greek market, has taken the initiative to assess, valorize, and reduce harmful effects on the environment in conjunction with its operational and business impact on the environment and simultaneously promote “green investment.” t a recent lecture at University Singidunum, which was opened by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic under the title “Going Green,” the Head of Piraeus Bank Marketing and PR Miroslava Nesic Bikic presented fascinating data on savings Piraeus Bank had achieved in the previous three years through the “Life Project,” supported by the European Commission. Measuring its impact on the environment, Piraeus Bank has found that 5000 of its employees working in the Bank’s 360 branches in Athens and 15 administrative buildings over an area of 200,000 square meters spend 38 million kilowatt hours of electricity, 900 tons of paper, and 40,000 cubic meters of water per year. It was also discovered that for business purposes, Piraeus Bank management travels over 3,500,000 kilometers by plane and 9,500,000 kilometers on the road. To be able to spend so much energy during 2008, 35,322 tons of CO2 had to be burned, which represents 2,650,000 trees. For everyday paper work, 9300 trees and 16,700,000 gallons of water were required. The results of this research led to the conclusion that the bank makes a very deep environmental impact.

“Fill to The Top” in Vršac : President of Vršac Municipality Čedomir Živković, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Oliver Dulić and Piraeus Dank Director of Marketing and PR, Miroslava Nešić-Bikic 11 tons of aluminum, and 7 tons of plastic. By organizing “e-learning “ courses, we have managed to reduce travel costs by 1% per employee. These measures alone reduced operational costs by 150.000 Euros,” says Miroslava Nesic Bikic. “Our investment of 174 milion euros in renewable energy projects in 2008 made a sav-

Piraeus Bank in Athens has opened the first and only Green branch in Balkans which can provide all green banking services in one place “The outcome of this large and useful campaign was the immediate introduction of different measures, such as recycling bins for paper, batteries, and toner, which were placed in every single branch and administrative building in Piraeus Banks all over Greece. Over the past three years, we have managed to save 5,000 tons of recycled paper, which saved 27,000 trees. In addition, the recycling of computers and electrical appliances saved 8 tons of glass,

ings in CO2 emissions of 400,000 tons, the equivalent of the output of 30 million trees. “These findings enabled us to become a ‘green bank.’ Previous experience, as well as an evaluation of market potential that also showed us a lack of this kind of services on the market also helped us. That is why Piraeus Bank in Athens has opened the first and one-ofa-kind Green Branch in Balkans that can provide all green banking services in one place,“

states Mrs Miroslava Nešić Bikić. After that, Bank has developed the program “Greenbanking4life,“with the goal to help create effective and far-reaching market-based solutions to address a range of environmental problems. At the same time, these products are identifying and securing new business opportunities and job openings that benefit customers. Piraeus Bank Group passes on its experience to the countries where it operates, and Piraeus Bank Belgrade has taken an active part in environmental protection in Serbia through the project “Going Green.” Because of this, Piraeus bank will donate containers and carbon boxes for paper collection to every city where it operates. Piraeus bank Belgrade has, at the beginning of November, started the campaign “Fill to the top“ and the project “Let’s clean up Serbia“ by donating the first recycling container to the citizens of Vršac. This Piraeus Bank action was brought about in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. CorD 66 / December 2009 45

FACES & PLACES |

Defense Minister of Serbia Dragan Sutanovac (right), H.E. Armando Varrichio, Ambassador of Italy (middle), and Defense Attache Mauro de Vincentis (left), on the occasion of the Italian Armed Forces Day on November 4th.

H.E. Abdelkader Mesdoua, Ambassador of Algeria, cutting cake with guests on the occasion of the National Day of Algeria on October 30th.

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Serbia William S. Infante talking to guests on the occasion of United Nations Day on October 30th.

H.E. Mette Kjuel Nielsen, Danish Ambassador in Belgrade, promoting the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hopenhagenâ&#x20AC;? campaign on November 3rd in Belgrade.

Serbian President Mr. Boris Tadic speaking to the Head of Mission of the United States Embassy in Belgrade, Ms. Jennifer Brush, and the Director of the Balkan Trust for Democracy, Mr. Ivan Vej voda on the reception marking the National Day of Turkey on October 29th.

46 CorD 66 / December 2009

H.E. Toko Diakenga Serão, Ambassador of Angola, receiving guests on the occasion of the 34th Anniversary of the Independence of Angola on November 11th.

H.E. Andrzej Jasionowski, the new Ambassador of Poland, on the occasion of the National Independence Day and Armed Forces Day on November 17th

H.E. Chédadé Mouallem, Ambassador of Lebanon, with H.E. Dante Coelho de Lima, Ambassador of Brazil, on the occasion of the reception marking the 66th Anniversary of the Independence of Lebanon on November 23rd.

H.E. Dimosthenis Stoidis, Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic, and Col Apostolos Kostopoulos, Defence Attache of the Hellenic Republic receiving guests on the occasion of the Armed Forces Day of the Hellenic Republic on November 19th.

President of Delta Miroslav Miskovic (right) on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition marking the second anniversary of the Delta Humanitarian Fund. CorD 66 / December 2009 47

FACES & PLACES |

Mr. Anton Koliqi, Chargé d’ Affaires at the Embassy of Albania, receiving H.E. Süha Umar, Ambassador of Turkey, on the occasion of the National Day of Independence of Albania on November 24th.

H.E. Dante Coelho de Lima, Ambassador of Brazil, on the opening of the exhibition “Traditional and Thematic Philatelic Objects.”

Zdravko Kotur, Execute Director of Ninamedia, Dragan Radić, CEO of Ninamedia, Zoran Drakulić, President of YU Point company, Gordana Vitomirov, PR Manager of YU Point, celebrating seven years of operation on November 12th.

President of the Serbian Olympic Committee Vlade Divac with the President of Verano Radomir Zivanic upon the signing of the Sponsorship Agreement on November 23rd

The Children to Children Foundation (Fondacija Deca Deci) and the Belgrade Children’s Philharmonic held an autumn concert “Dzinovi i patuljci rame uz rame” (Giants and Dwarfs Shoulder-toShoulder) in the main concert hall of the Kolarac building on November 26th at 8 pm., sponsored by Komercijalna Banka. The little musicians played shoulder-to-shoulder with their older colleagues, among which were giants from the domestic music scene. 48 CorD 66 / December 2009

Dragan Djilas, Mayor of Belgrade, Tatjana Tadic, sponsor of Nasa Srbija, Draginja Djuric, CEO of Banca Intesa, friend of Nasa Srbija campaign, Zarko Obradovic, Minister of Education in the Serbian Government, and Rasim Ljajic, Minister of Labor and Social Politics with the children honored on the completion of the humanitarian campaign Nasa Srbija on November 24th.

Presenting director Emir Kusturica with the award “8 ½” at the reception in the Embassy of Italy on November 17th.

H.E. Dante Coelho de Lima, Ambassador of Brazil, addressing guests at the Festival of Brazilian Film on November 12th.

H.E. Mette Kjuel Nielsen opens the Search and Rescue Centre at Nis Airport together with Deputy Commander of the Serbian Air Force, Brigadier General Dukanovic, on November 16th.

CorD 66 / December 2009 49

INTERVIEW |

Panayiotis Diallinas, Regional Operations Manager, Eurofast Global Ltd.

ECONOMY - C

It is not easy to predict what the future holds, since all countries worldwide are trying to recover from the crisis. Consequently, taxation is being used not only as a tool to attract foreign investment, but also as a weapon to increase government revenues, which are critical at this time. urofast Global Ltd. is a professional services group operating in Southeast Europe through fullyfledged offices in Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro, as well as through a number of carefully selected associates in Bosnia, Belarus, Kosovo, Croatia, Moldova, and the Ukraine. Their professional services range from payroll, accounting, tax and legal, and merger & acquisitions with considerable know-how in addressing various cross-border issues to effectively reach an optimum level in company expansions. We talked about servic-

50 CorD 66 / December 2009

es and business environment with Panayiotis Diallinas, Regional Operation Manager, Eurofast Global Ltd. Tax advisory services have been a part

MAIN GOALS IN 2010

y the end of 2010, we anticipate to have set up fully-fledged offices in Moldova, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Belarus. Through setting up our offices we will be able to enhance our services rendered to our clients and associates in those respective countries.

of worldwide business practice for decades, but have come to Serbia only recently. How do you see its development here? With a wide range of double tax treaties in force within 36 countries, combined with low corporation tax, Serbia offers tremendous possibilities for tax planning as well as investment opportunities for local and international investors. Consequently, tax advising in Serbia has developed substantially in the last few years. However, we do believe there is room for improvement and look forward to the future changes. You have been in the business for 30

OMPLEX ISSUE years. How do you see it transforming on a global level, and what kind of taxation trends can we expect in the future? It is not easy to predict what the future holds, since all countries worldwide are trying to recover from the crisis. Consequently, taxation is being used not only as a tool to attract foreign investment, but also as a weapon to increase government revenues, which are critical at this time.

in single meeting. Furthermore, we can efficiently address all multinational client needs and operations in each and every one of their countries during one single meeting at the client’s headquarters, using one single language for all the countries involved. What is unique about us is that our organization is administered by a single management team with a Western European philosophy. Based in Cyprus and Greece, we travel extensively around the offices of the Group in the Region, which enables us to implement and maintain our management policies and quality control standards at the highest attainable level across every Eurofast office.

Bulgaria and Romania, have already advanced their tax system? The EU membership of both Bulgaria and Romania necessitated their compliance with the EU Acquis Communautaire. Accordingly, substantial revisions in their legislation were required. Most of the modifications in the tax systems of both were made after their accession to the EU, as required in order to comply with the Community tax laws. To date, the Bulgarian and the Romanian tax systems are fully consistent with EU requirements with full adoption & implementation of the main EU directives. There is still room for further improvements, which are expected in the coming year.

There were several statements from the highest Serbian officials that taxation should be the “bread and butter” of Serbian economy. How would you comment on such statements, and what is your expe Having in mind Eurofast Coverage in rience, in reality? Foreign direct investment is pro Did the economic criEurofast is in the position to offer the Serbian moted in Serbia and such a trend is sis influence your busiexpected to continue to grow over ness? market a single point of contact for a range of In times of crisis, the years. Serbia is seeking to atprofessional services all handled in single meeting Eurofast may be the tract foreign direct investment via only firm in Cyprus the introduction OF financial and tax incentive. However, a country’s econo- the SEE region, what is your view on over- still aggressively recruiting, thus showing the momentum we are experiencing in our my is a complex issue. Generally, the taxa- all tax planning opportunities? tion system forms an important part of the The SEE counters have concluded a wide growth. We continue to build on our existing economy, but should not be the core of it. network of double tax treaties with other strengths and operations in our local markets Emphasis should also be given to other sec- countries, which can be utilized in the course in Southeast Europe through continuous intors of the economy, such as productions of tax planning in order to derive optimum re- vestment in our human capital. We believe and exports. What can Eurofast offer to the sults for investors. Cyprus, for example, has that groups of companies who have a stratSerbian market as its main “products”? We concluded favorable double tax treaties with egy in place will not be severely affected, provide a range of services including pay- most of the SEE countries, providing low or since they know where they are headed and roll & accounting as well as tax and legal, no withholding dividends, interest, and royal- what the aim is, and I’m pleased to say that specializing in cross-border tax planning. ties. Favorable provisions are also incorpo- we are part of this group. However, we have frozen our expansion plans for this year and Eurofast is in the position to offer the Ser- rated, leading to additional tax benefits. have implemented a cost control policy to bian market a single point of contact for a range of professional services all handled Would you say that the EU newcomers, mitigate any adverse effects.

TIME OF CRISIS

OFFER

TAX ADVISING

In times of crisis, Eurofast may be the only ﬁrm in Cyprus still aggressively recruiting, thus showing the momentum we are experiencing in our growth.

Eurofast is in the position to offer the Serbian market a single point of contact for a range of professional services all handled in single meeting.

Consequently, tax advising in Serbia has developed substantially in the last few years. There is room for improvement and look forward to the changes. CorD 66 / December 2009 51

ECONOMY|

Adria Top 100 Companies

NIS LEADS SE A large number of companies on the list, 38 of them, originate from Slovenia, followed by 30 Croatian companies and 23 Serbian companies. The majority of ﬁrms, operate in the consumer goods and energy sector he list of Top 100 companies in the Adria region (including Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia) published by the consulting and auditing company Deloitte includes 23 companies from Serbia. The first five positions on the list based on sales income earned in 2008 are headed by the Croatian Agrokor group, followed by INA from Croatia, Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), as well as Slovenian companies Petrol and Mercator. In addition to NIS, the top- ranked Serbian companies are the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) in 8th position, Delta Holding in 9th, and Serbian Post, Telephone and Telegraph in 12th position. Prevailing companies on the list repre-

sent the consumer goods and energy sector. A large number of companies on the list, 38 of them, originate from Slovenia, followed by 30 Croatian companies and 23 Serbian companies. The majority of firms, 34 of them, operate in the consumer goods and energy sector. Total sales revenues of companies coming from the energy sector increased by 22% annually, which is more than the average growth rate registered among Adria Top 100 companies, which was 16%.

The banking sector in the region marked a growth in assets albeit slower than it had been in previous years “The consequences of the global financial crisis started to permeate the economies of the Adria region during the last quarter of 2008. At this moment, it seems very likely that the average GDP in the region will decrease between 3 and 6 percent, which is, by far, the worst annual result registered since the early 1990s. Despite different structures in the economies in the region, the level of reductions in their GDPs will be similar. As a consequence of such a considerable and sudden plummet, aggravated by an even faster

spread of illiquidity, managing cash flows has become of paramount importance for all companies and state institutions in the region,” emphasizes Radoš Ilinčić, director of Financial Counseling Sector in Deloitte. The banking sector in the region marked a growth in assets albeit slower than it had been in previous years. Despite different levels of development in the region, all affected countries show some similar world trends, such as a decline in crediting activities. On the list of Top 25 banks in the region, the leading position is taken by NLB, followed by four banks from Croatia: Zagrebačka, Privredna, Erste and Raiffeisen banks. Only five banks from Serbia found their way into the list, headed by Banca Intesa in 11th place. As for insurance companies, four out of five leading positions are held by insurance companies from Slovenia, with Triglav Company in first place. Four insurance companies from Serbia are listed among the Top 25 insurers, including Dunav Insurance in 6th place, DDOR in 7th, Delta Generali in 11th, and Wiener Stadtische in 18th place on the list compiled by Deloitte. “Although the blow sustained by the region has definitely been significant, neither of the above-mentioned countries has actually fallen into a real panic. The banking sector is still relatively well capitalized, so none of

WITHOUT PANIC

“A

lthough the blow sustained by the region has definitely been significant, neither of the above-mentioned countries has actually fallen into a real panic. The banking sector is still relatively well capitalized, so none of the banks operating in the region are known to have suffered a breakdown nor are any of these banks known to be under considerable pressure of their creditors and clients.” concludes Radoš Ilinčić, director of Financial Counseling Sector in Deloitte.

52 CorD 66 / December 2009

RBIA

the banks operating in the region are known to have suffered a breakdown nor are any of these banks known to be under considerable pressure of their creditors and clients. A surge of optimism that started in the summer 2009 argues that economies in the region will soon collect themselves. This will sure-

The first five: Croatian Agrokor group, INA from Croatia, Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), and Slovenian companies Petrol and Mercator

Radoš Ilinčić, director of Financial Counseling Sector in Deloitte ly have a positive impact on consumer behaviour in the months that follow, keeping in mind that according to western standards, the debts’ burden still does not weigh too heavy on consumers in the region. A great majoriSales revenue

EUR million Rank

ty of young educated people in Belgrade, for example, still have no mortgages to pay, although the number of those who will soon be able to afford such expenses is growing,” concludes Ilinčić. EBITDA

Net proﬁt 2007

Total assets

Company

Country

Ind. sector

2007

2008

2007

2008

Agrokor

Croatia

Consumer Business and Transportation

2,822

3,830

212

267

2008 33

2007 2,398

2008 3,171

INA Group

Croatia

Energy and Resources

3,284

3,758

387

371

119

-152

3,401

3,633

NIS

Serbia

Energy and Resources

3,151

3,713

168

151

-49

2,104

1,957

Petrol Group

Slovenia

Energy and Resources

2,109

2,950

(40)

(55)

1,115

1,209

Mercator Group

Slovenia

Consumer Business and Transportation

2,445

2,709

172

194

2,070

2,540

Petrol

Slovenia

Energy and Resources

1,934

2,605

(61)

(64)

1,055

1,169

Poslovni sistemi Mercator

Consumer Business and Transportation

1,703

1,780

111

127

1,679

2,032

JP EPS Beograd

Serbia

Energy and Resources

1,406

1,683

404

501

(1,245)

(315)

7,798

6,922

Delta M

Serbia

Consumer Business and Transportation

1,221

1,644

1,576

2,042

Konzum

Croatia

Consumer Business and Transportation

1,355

1,609

103

725

873

HEP Group

Croatia

Energy and Resources

1,285

1,465

245

269

4,242

4,456

PTT

Serbia

Technology, Media and Telecommunications

1,165

1,397

421

581

159

220

3,294

3,320

Gorenje Group

Slovenia

Consumer Business and Transportation

1,293

1,331

1,001

1,258

Merkur Group

Slovenia

Consumer Business and Transportation

1,151

1,267

979

1,158

Hrvatski Telekom

Croatia

Technology, Media and Telecommunications

1,170

1,217

529

547

337

320

2,088

2,072

Revoz

Slovenia

Manufacturing

1,248

1,212

527

432

Direkcija EPS

Serbia

Energy and Resources

1,028

1,164

(37)

(29)

4,616

4,308

US Steel Serbia

Serbia

Manufacturing

919

1,039

401

480

Telekom Srbija

Serbia

Technology, Media and Telecommunications

916

1,013

368

451

145

2,518

2,378

Krka Group

Slovenia

Life Sciences and Health Care

781

950

240

308

133

156

1,121

1,271

OMV Slovenija

Slovenia

Energy and Resources

501

890

222

225

Skupina HSE

Slovenia

Energy and Resources

982

873

139

191

1,629

1,748

Merkur

Slovenia

Consumer Business and Transportation

914

852

912

1,271

Telekom Slovenije Group

Slovenia

Technology, Media and Telecommunications

780

842

298

312

1,741

1,788

Krka

Slovenia

Life Sciences and Health Care

687

826

213

275

127

161

1,057

1,224

CorD 66 / December 2009 53

FROM THE WORLD PRESS he did not like to travel by car, saying: “I will not purchase one until every Albanian and Serbian household in Kosovo and Metohija has an automobile.” The Patriarch supervised the first official Serbian translation of the New Testament, which was published in 1984.

NEW RECRUIT DESTINED FOR NATO FORCE IN BALKANS - THE MURCIAN MULE PATRIARCH PAVLE Patriarch Pavle, who died on November 15 aged 95, had been head of the Serbian Orthodox Church since 1990, a period which saw the devastation caused by the Balkan wars and later the collapse of the regime of President Slobodan Milosevic. If Pavle’s predecessor, Patriarch German, had been forced to walk an ecclesiastical and political tightrope, Pavle’s tenure was even more difficult. With the collapse of communism, tensions between Yugoslavia’s Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim faiths generated conflicts that were frequently punctuated by atrocities. That Pavle often denounced the violence was not enough to silence those who accused him of failing to curb priests who stoked the flames of Serb nationalism and allegedly blessed paramilitaries who committed war crimes in Croatia and Bosnia. But at the same time, he was to abandon his Church’s traditional stance of political neutrality by demanding, in 2000, an end to Milosevic’s regime. It was an important development, helping to lend momentum to the revolt that toppled the president later that year.

Patriarch Pavle was to abandon his Church’s traditional stance of political neutrality by demanding, in 2000, an end to Milosevic’s regime.

The Milosevic regime, however, was to lose the support of the Patriarch and his Church, and Pavle made efforts to find common ground between the various opposition groups. Traditionally the Church remained outside politics in Serbia, but at a synod meeting in June 1999 – after Nato had ended 11 weeks of air strikes – it called for Milosevic to stand down. Six months earlier, in a sermon in Belgrade, the Patriarch had declared that the struggle for Kosovo, where Albanians outnumbered Serbs by nine to one, would be decided as much by demographics as by the outcome of war. “Who has the most sheep in the field, that is his field”. In July 2005 the Patriarch shocked many liberal Serbs when he appeared at a nationalist rally organised by the far-right Radical Party, whose former leader, Vojislav Seselj, was being tried for war crimes at The Hague. Pavle remained popular among his flock, who admired his humility. He was said to make his own shoes, and tended to use public transport – 54 CorD 66 / December 2009

Nato forces operating in the Balkans are introducing a form of transport that they have found is better at navigating treacherous mountain passes than the high-tech vehicles favoured by modern armies – a breed of mules from southern Spain. According to local Spanish officials, the German army has identified mules from the Murcia region as the perfect answer to their problems on peacekeeping missions in areas where even tracked vehicles cannot go. They bought several mules to test last year and decided they were up to the task. Last week the Germans went back for seven more, paying €3,500 for each animal. “Their use will be for transporting pieces of heavy military weapons in mountainous areas and for peace and humanitarian missions being carried out by European armies in difficult terrain,” explained Angel García Lidón, of the Murcian regional government’s agriculture department. The mules were due to go into training in Bavaria before joining KFOR, the Nato mission to Kosovo. The animals are only 1.5 metres (5ft) tall, making it easy for soldiers to lift heavy loads on and off their backs. They can carry 200kg (32st) each and refuel on grass, hay or anything they find to eat along the way. The Murcian mule, which used to be a favourite for mule trains and ploughing, has all but disappeared from the Spanish countryside. A handful of farmers still breed them, though they admit this is mainly out of nostalgia for an animal that was once a key part of the local economy. “One is sad that they are going because we have bred and raised them here,” said Antonio Ruiz, 58, who breeds them on his farm near the south-eastern city of Lorca. “But a mule is a working animal and we do not have room for many of them here.” He added: “Only a few livestock farmers have them and that is mainly out of love for their breed. “I am happy for the Germans to take them. They have shown that they know how to look after them.” German army bought several mules to test last year and decided they were up to the task. Last week the Germans went back for seven more, paying €3,500 for each animal.

t 5IJT BSUJDMF XBT BNFOEFE PO 0DUPCFS UP NPSF DMFBSMZ BUUSJCVUF the story to Spanish officials, and to correct a headline saying that Nato had unveiled its new recruit.

EU CHOOSES UNKNOWNS FOR NEW TOP JOBS EU leaders have chosen Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy to be the first president of the European Council, while UK trade commissioner Catherine Ashton will become the bloc’s foreign policy chief. Welcoming the decision on Thursday evening (19 November), Swedish leader Fredrik Reinfeldt said: “What we were seeking were people to create continuity” and “to be the voice and face of Europe throughout the world.” Mr Van Rompuy, from the centre-right political family, is a trained economist and has been running Belgium for less than a year. He writes Haiku (Japanese verse) and is known for his low-key style, which includes a line in self-deprecatory humour and caravan holidays. He came to prominence after Germany and France a few weeks ago agreed between themselves to promote him. Several diplomats subsequently suggested that his short term in office stood to his advantage as he has had no time to make enemies among other EU leaders. The presidency decision - nominating a person from a small country with no international profile - confirms the speculation of recent weeks that the majority of member states wanted to choose a person whose main role will be that of an internal fixer, rather than someone who can open doors in Washington and Moscow. With the EU president being a man, from a small country and from the centre-right, Ms Ashton balances the scales in terms of gender, coming from the left and being from a big country.

Mr Van Rompuy underlined his low-key approach by saying he intended to be “discreet” and that his personal opinions were “subordinate” to the council. He talked up the importance of member states and their diversity and noted that he would “put forward the positions that the council has approved” at international meetings without stepping on the toes of the European Commission president. Catherine Ashton, meanwhile, emerged relatively late in the race to be the EU’s top diplomat. Her name appeared after UK foreign secretary David Milliband, the preferred candidate at the beginning, said he was not interested in the job. With the EU president being a man, from a small country and from the centre-right, Ms Ashton balances the scales in terms of gender, coming from the left and being from a big country. Balancing these criteria is a part of any major EU decision, with conservatives laying claim to the presidency post early on in the game and the left later saying the top diplomat should be one of their own. Ms Ashton, trade commissioner since October last year, has no foreign policy experience and has never held a senior ministerial post.

She said it was a measure of “her slight surprise” that - unlike Mr Van Rompuy - she did not have a prepared speech but pledged to “represent [European] values across the world.” Ms Ashton, who still has to be approved by the European Parliament, highlighted her skills by pointing to her success in negotiating a free trade agreement with South Korea, the EU’s largest ever bilateral trade deal.

MEDVEDEV CALLS FOR REFORMS Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for a sweeping modernization of the country. While not criticizing his still-powerful predecessor, Vladimir Putin, Medvedev recommended several breaks from Putin’s legacy. While Medvedvev pushed for reforms that would transform Russia into a modern, democratic and economically diverse nation, he was careful to emphasize that the stability of the state remained the first priority. “In the 21st century, our country again requires modernization in all areas, and this will be the first time in our history when modernization will be based on the values and institutions of democracy,” he told an audience of about 1,000 political leaders in the Kremlin’s ornate St. George Hall. He warned, however, that “any attempts to rock the boat, destabilize the government and rend society under slogans of democracy will be stopped.” With Vladimir Putin, the country’s current prime minister, sitting in the front row, the speech was closely watched for signs Medvedev was moving away from the governing philosophy of his predecessor. While Forbes lists Putin third on its list of the world’s most powerful people, Medvedev is only ranked 43rd. Medvedev also pushed for an end to the paternalism that characterized the Soviet Union. “Instead of an archaic society in which leaders make all While Medvedvev pushed for reforms that would transform Russia into a modern, democratic and economically diverse nation, he was careful to emphasize that the stability of the state remained the first priority.

the decisions and rules, a society of intelligent, free and responsible people will emerge,” he said. His proposals included consolidating Russia’s 11 time zones, moving away from a dependence on natural resources such as oil and gas, and reducing the state role in the economy. He criticized the government-run corporations that saw a resurgence under Putin, saying such companies “have no future.” He added that “inefficient companies must be liquidated.” Competitiveness in the Russian economy is “shamefully low,” he said. CorD 66 / December 2009 55

CULTURE

NEWS

GORAN PASKALJEVIC WINS THE “GOLDEN ALEXANDER” AWARD

elebrated Serbian film director Goran Paskaljevic received the “Golden Alexander” Award at the International Film Festival in Thessalonica for his contribution to World Cinema. The most prestigious film event of the region, between November 13 and 22 saw the retrospective of 15 films by Paskaljevic. There has been a promotion of the book about Paskaljevic’s work in English and Greek, while the director held a master class at the festival. Fatih Akin, German director of Turkish descent, opened the festival with his film “The kitchen of Soul”. Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic, was the member of the international jury. Serbian film was represented by authors Vladimir Perisic and Darko Lungulov with works “Ordinary folk” and “Here and There” FILM THE COVE WINS THE “FREE ZONE” FESTIVAL

56 CorD 66 / December 2009

ilm Festival “Free Zone”, which took place between November the 6th and 18th, had an audience of more than 8000. Audience Award went to “The Cove”, by director Louie Pshyhojos. The award enabled this documentary, focused on ecological topics, countywide cinema distribution. “The Cove” is a thriller that tells an incredible story about how a chosen group of activists, filmmakers and divers, take on a secret mission of discovering a hidden gulf in Japan, which keeps a dark, deadly mystery. This American film won 17 awards before its coming to Belgrade. Audience awarded second best a documentary “Young at Heart” by Stephen Walker and Sally George. Audience also awarded films “The Yes Man Fix the World” by Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, “Defamation” by Yoav Shamir and “Burma VJ: Reporting from the Closed Country” by Anders Ostergaard. The popular festival of the “engaged films” Free Zone has been held for the fifth time. Total of 28 feature and documentary films were shown in the hall of the Culture Centre of Belgrade and in the Balkan Cinema. The income from ticket sales went to the humanitarian program for helping the hungry in Serbia – “Food for Everyone”. PLAY “THE FALSIFICATOR ” FROM BELGRADE DRAMA THEATRE AT THE FESTIVAL IN DRESDEN

roduction of the Belgrade Drama Theatre “The Falsificator” written and directed by Goran Markovic in co-production with Goethe Institut, was performed at the European Theater Festival in Germany between November 4 and 7. This festival was the finale of the international project called “After the Fall” which was organized to commemorate the 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. There were 15 European countries present at the festival with 17 productions. Seven of them were performed at a festival that took place in Dresden and Manheim between October the 31st and November the 8th. “The Falsificator” is the only production

from our region that was selected for the main program.. The production will visit Sofia in December as a part of the multimedia program of the Book Fair, where Serbia is the Guest of Honor. “RASA PLAOVIC AWARD” TO NIKOLA RISTANOVKI

acedonian actor Nikola Ristanovski is the recipient of the “Rasa Plaovic Award” 2008/2009, for the role of Ahmed Nurudin in the production “The Death and the Dervish” of the National Theatre in Belgrade. This important award is given for the best performance in Belgrade theatres. The decision to give the award to the young Macedonian actor was unanimous. Jury was made of Ana Tasic, President, and Aleksandra Nikolic, Ljiljana Mrkic Popovic, Slavko Milanovic and Milos Lolic. Ristanovski played dervish Ahmed Nurudin in the dramatization of the famous Mesa Selimovic novel “The Death and the Dervish”, adapted and directed by Egon Savin. The award was proposed by the National Theatre and the Union of Drama Artists of Serbia. CENTENIAL OF LJUBICA MARIC

his year marks a century from the birth of composer Ljubica Maric, whose opus stands next to those of the most significant composers of the 20th century Europe as well as next to the most significant people of the Serbian culture. The Government of the Republic of Serbia formed the Committee for marking the anniversary, lead by the Member of Serbian Academy, Dejan Despic. UNESCO listed the date of birth of Ljubica Maric among the most significant events of 2009. Belgrade, Kragujevac (the birthplace of Ljubica Maric) and other Serbian cities, marked the anniversary with a series of concerts, while a book “Notes by Ljubica Maric” has been promoted at this year’s Belgrade Book Fair. The main celebration took place on November the 4th in the building of the Serbian Academy in form of an exhibition on life and work of the artist. There were also concerts in the Academy building and in the City Hall. .

EUGENE CHOI AND KOLUNDZIJA IN KOLARAC

o mark the 20th anniversary since establishing the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and Serbia, a concert of Serbian violinist Jovan Kolundzija and Korean pianist Eugene Choi took place in Kolarac Hall on November the 5th. The concert was organized by the embassy of the Republic of Korea in Belgrade and the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The program included works by Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saëns and Sarasate. Jovan Kolundzija, the celebrated Serbian violinist who played at more than 4000 concerts at home and abroad, performed with the Korean pianist, who had her debut in Belgrade in April this year in the Philharmonics Hall. Eugene Choi graduated at the Music Conservatory of New England in Boston. She received the highest degree for her masters at the Music Academy in Frankfurt am Main. Choi debuted in 1997 in the USA in the Hall of the Boston Symphonic under conductor Keith Lockhart and later had solo performances in the Jordan Hall in Boston. BERTA SERRA MANZANARES VISITS BELGRADE

elgrade Cervantes Institute organized mid-November a round table: Modern Spanish Prose and Modern Spanish Poetry. The event brought to Belgrade writer Berta Serra Manazanares, whose novel “The Eyes of the Hurricane” was recently published in Serbia. The style of Manzanares is simple, with many characters and events. Novel “The Eyes of the Hurricane” deals with the period when Cuba flourished and many Spanish citizens emigrated, believing they will find wealth there. They found a different reality and special rules of society and economy. Berta Serra Manazanares, the professor of Spanish language and literature and the recipient of the “Adonais” award for poetry, spoke in Belgrade about her work, literary topics and incentives and also about modern Spanish literature and its authors.

FESTIVAL OF AUTHOR’S FILM

he 15th Festival of Author’s film, from November 25th to December the 2nd, presents 20 films. Among them are the winner of this year’s Cannes Festival “The White Tape” by Michael Haneke and the winner of this year’s Berlin Festival “The Milk of Sorrow” by Claudia Llosa. Aside from the official program in the hall of the Culture Centre of Belgrade, Balkan Cinema, Dom Omladine Hall, Kinoteka Museum, Art Museum Cinema and Culture Home Studentski Grad, there are six additional programs: New Romanian film, homage to John Cassavetes, to mark the 50th anniversary of his first film “Shadows” and the 20th anniversary of his death, retrospective of films by Aleksandar Petrovic upon the 15th anniversary of his death, program of music films, retrospective of documentaries by Sergei Dvortsevoy and program “To paint a film – Seventh Art as the interpretation of painting”. Competition program will have two awards: “Aleksandar Sasa Petrovic Award” for the best film and an award for the best film by a director younger than 35, which will be presented for the first time. FESTIVAL OF SCIENCE IN BELGRADE

rt-Production group “The Night of Museums” for the third year in a row organizes the largest regional Festival of Science, whose goal is to present scientific achievements in an interesting, attractive way, which is easy to understand. This year’s festival will take place between December 4 and 6. During that time, the visitors will be able to see the experiments by more than 200 scientists, professors and students. Festival activities will take place in the “KLUZ” department store in Masarikova No. 4 and in the Student Culture Centre of Belgrade. The program will be made of three sections: settings, lectures and mini film festival which will create a link between science and art.

The visitors will see that the achievements of physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, genetics, mathematics, physical chemistry, psychology and geology are not in the domain of the impossible and that science, accompanied by numerous visual effects, can be attractive. Last year’s festival had 15.000 visitors, which is twice as much as the first year. “Festival of Science 2009”, on a larger space and with more participants, is the largest so far and the last year’s number of visitors is expected to be exceeded. THE KEYS OF DREAMS – MILENA PAVLOVIC BARILI

xhibition The Keys of Dreams by Milena Pavlovic Barili, between November the 23rd and Decemebr the 12th, is organized by the Belgrade Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is one of many manifestations that mark the centennial of Milena Pavlovic Barili’s work. Pavlovic Barili is a Serbian Painter of Italian descent. There are 15 of her works presented at the exhibition. The exhibition is organized in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrade, under patronage of the Ministry of Culture of Serbia. “SUPERNATURAL” PUBLIC TENDER

he ecology movement “Supernatural”, which organizes music festival with the same name every spring in Belgrade and the “Architectural Society of Belgrade” opened an architectural tender for ideas solution for the Eko Paviljon. Architects and architecture students form Serbia younger than 35 can participate, either as individuals or parts of a team. The goal of the tender is to spread the awareness of the meaning of applied ecology in architecture and making the young architects more aware of the concept of sustainable development. CorD 66 / December 2009 57

CULTURE

CALENDAR

MYSTERY is the new show from Holiday on Ice Productions. This latest presentation, from the undisputed leader in the world of ice skating spectaculars, invites you into the world of magic, the mysterious, and the macabre.

“MEDELA MAGIC FEST 2009” CHILDREN’S MUSICAL FESTIVAL Sava Center, Great Hall December 27th, 14:00

Dejan Subotić, piano

Harlem Gospel Choir Sava Center, Great Hall December 2nd, 20:00

POP AND ROCK BACKSTREET BOYS Belgrade Arena December 15th, 20:00

CLASSICAL MUSIC SPECIAL EVENTS

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IN DECEMBER All Concerts are in Kolarac Hall at 20:00

“LA NUIT DES PUBLIVORES” (NIGHT OF THE AD EATERS) Sava Center, Great Hall December 3-4th Night of the Ad Eaters is a show that is now running in more 40 countries worldwide dedicated to illustrating the production of advertising among 60 different nationalities on the Big Screen in a crazy atmosphere!

DISNEY ON ICE “MICKEY & MINNIE’S AMAZING JOURNEY” Belgrade Arena 04.12.09 - 06.12.09. - Friday, December 4th at 18:30 - Saturday, December 5th at 11:30 - sold out - Saturday, December 5th at 15:00 - Saturday, December 5th at 18:30 - Sunday, December 6th at 11:30 - Sunday, December 6th at 15:00 Disney on Ice presents Mickey & Minnie’s Amazing Journey that transports audiences on a fun-filled tour to four exciting destinations filled with favorite Disney friends. More on www.disneyonice.com

HOLIDAY ON ICE - MYSTERY Belgrade Arena 25.12.09 - 27.12.09.

04. 12. 2009. Red Cycle Artistic leadership: Gilles Apap, violin Program: W. A. Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 A. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

11. 12. 2009. Blue Cycle Conductor: Imre Kollar Soloist: Rascher Saxophone Quartet Program: F. Liszt: Les Preludes I. Popovic: Silence and Something – BPO Commission B. Bartok: Two portraits (12’) Z. Kodaly: Dances from Galanta

18. 12. 2009. White Cycle Conductor: Jaakko Kuusisto Soloist: Ittai Shapira, violin Program: J. Sibelius: Tapiola A. Dorman: Violin Concerto U. Klami: Kalevala Suite

25. 12. 2009. Red Cycle NY Concert

Belgrade Composers for Trio Singidunum ARTGET Gallery, Belgrade Cultural Center December 14th, 21:00

TRIO SINGIDUNUM Stana Krstajić, flute Ksenija Milošević , violin 58 CorD 66 / December 2009

The famous pop band Backstreet Boys will perform in Belgrade Arena on December 15th! The core of Backstreet Boys is cousins Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, who both hail from Lexington, KY. The two began singing while they were children, performing in local church choirs, as well as festivals, where they sang Doo-wop and New Jack R&B in the style of Boyz II Men. Two of the other remaining members, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean, are natives of Orlando, FL, who met each other -- as well as transplanted New Yorker and fifth Backstreeter Nick Carter -- through auditions for local commercials, theater, and television.

THE BELGRADE DIXIELAND ORCHESTRA TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS GALA CONCERT Sava Center, “SAVA” Restaurant December 12th, 20:00 MASSIMO SAVIĆ Sava Center, Great Hall December 22 , 20:30

Massimo Savić is a popular Croatian pop singer, leader of the former Yugoslav pop group Dorian Gray. When Dorian Gray disbanded in 1986, Massimo started a successful solo career.

45TH GOLDEN PEN OF BELGRADE International Biennale Exhibition Art Pavilion Cvijeta Zuzoric Until December 12th.

OLIVERA KATARINA Sava Center, Great Hall December 24th, 20:30

+ Round Table - Illustration in Contemporary Media Art Pavilion Cvijeta Zuzoric, December 2nd, 11:00- 14:00

Bajaga i Instruktori, the very popular Serbian rock band, was founded in Belgrade in 1984 by composer, lyricist, and guitarist Momčilo Bajagić Bajaga. The group possesses a rich discography and a plethora of hit songs that place them at the very top of the all-time former Yugoslav rock scene, alongside other mega-selling bands.

ART Olivera Katarina is popular Serbian actress and singer (pop music, ethno, gypsy music) of the older generation.

BOZANA MARINCEK, PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION ARTGET Gallery, Belgrade Cultural Center Until December 16th

JELENA TOMAŠEVIĆ Sava Center, Great Hall December 26th, 20:30

10 YEARS OF SCENOGRAPHY AND COSTIMOGRAPHY Konak Kneginje Ljubice, Until December 12th The exhibition presents 10 years of scenography and costimography of the new millennium and authors of various generations. Organization- Association of Artists (Fine and Applied Arts) Curators- Mmes. Dijana Milašinović Marić, Maja Škaljac Stanošević

FILM PREMIERES IN DECEMBER New Moon, Begins December 3rd Diurected by Chris Veiz Starring- Kristen Stewart, Christina Jastrzembska, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch , Justin Chon , Christian Serratos Drama, Fantasy, Horror

Nordwand, Begins December 10th

The exhibition will present 45 photographs on different topics - nature, urban landscapes, people... Bozana Marincek, born in 1938 in Mionica, Serbia , has been a photographer for more than 40 years. Her work has been exhibited in 5 individual and 239 exhibitions in Serbia and abroad.

This popular Serbian pop singer will promote her latest CD, ‘Pantha Rei.’

BRANKA KUZMANOVIC, RE-CODE, DIGITAL PRINTS Art Gallery, Belgrade Cultural Center Until December 13th.

BAJAGA & INSTRUKTORI - NEW YEAR’S CONCERTS Sava Center, Great Hall December 28, 29, and 30th, 21:00

Branka Kuzmanović, born in 1967, graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 1994 and completed the postgraduate studies at the same Faculty in 1997.

Directed by Philip Stölzl Genre:Adventure, Drama, History Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek, Georg Friedrich , Simon Schwarz

Avatar, Begins December 17th

Directed by James Cameron; StarringSam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Peter Mensah, Laz Alonso... Genre- Action, SF CorD 66 / December 2009 59

CULTURE

THE SUCCESS OF

BELGRADE BOOK FAIR 2009

THE NEW CONCEPT

The 54th Belgrade Book Fair was formally closed when the Greek Ambassador in Belgrade, H.E. Dimosthenis Stoidis, passed the Open Book of the Fair to the Swedish Ambassador in Belgrade, H.E. Krister Bringeus. By Jelena JOVANOVIC reece was this year’s guest of honor, while Sweden will be next year’s. Ambassador Bringeus announced that next year, Sweden will present Belgrade audiences with samples of its classic literature and introduce authors of the new generation. Greece, this year’s guest of honor, divided its site in Hall 1 into 8 thematic sections. The country presented 12 contemporary writers and six publishing houses, among which the National Museum of the Modern Art of Greece. Aside from book presentations, the program, on a characteristic platform with a copy of an antique statue, consisted of workshops for children, screenings of films about Greece, lectures and talks on topics in modern Greek literature, the performance “From

60 CorD 66 / December 2009

Gods to Men,” and a presentation of Greek mythology. The Greek Ambassador emphasized, upon the passing the Open Book to his Swedish counterpart, that he is very satisfied with the way his country was represented at the fair. Aside from Greece, the fair welcomed participants from the

There were more than 130.000 visitors at the Fair, with 67 foreign journalists and TV crews following countries: Sweden, Japan, Canada, China, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Israel, Brazil, Iran, Angola, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. There were 800 publishing houses represented. Serbian publishers have tradi-

tionally presented the most significant titles of the entire year’s production. Numerous authors and new titles were presented. The fair was a unique opportunity to obtain titles at significant discounts. The most significant award of the fair – the Best Publisher – went to two publishing houses in Belgrade – Arhipelag and Kreativni Centar. Gojko Bozovic, Editor-in-Chief of Arhipelag, received the award on behalf of the company. Arhipelag is renowned for its high criteria when selecting books by both domestic and foreign authors. Criteria include a professional edition, an enviable level when it comes to standards of professional publishing, cooperation with many renowned publishing houses in Europe, as well as an excellent relationship with readers, the intellectual public, and the community. During 2009, Arhipelag published 37 books, organized a large number of cultural events in Serbian cities, and participated in domestic, regional, and world book fairs. Kreativni Centar, the other recipient, was awarded for quality, overall production, continuing development, and the well-deserved dominant position on the market in the segment of young people’s literature. The award for publishing achievement of the year went

Greece presented 12 contemporary writers and six publishing houses, among them the National Museum of Modern Art to Draganic publishing house and the Regional Registry for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Vojvodina for the two-volume monograph “Krusedol Monastery” by Miroslav Timotijevic.Publishing houses Mono and Manjana and Odisej shared the award for the best children’s book of 2009. The former won the award for the title Spyology, the second for “The Travels of Prose.” Summarizing this year’s fair, the President of the Organization Committee, Zeljko Ozegovic, said that this year’s concept, which included many innovations, was wellreceived by publishers and visitors, because it gave readers easy access to new titles. Ozegovic said that it was most pleasing for him to learn from the publishers that sales were comparable to last year’s figures. More than 50 writers, artists, critics and theorists, took part in the side programs of the 54th Book Fair. More than 1000 visitors participated in promotions, talks, and workshops, which covered six topics. Several thousand visitors viewed a number of significant exhibitions at the fair, like “The Georgian Manuscripts,” “The Culture of Cyrillic,” and “Todor Manojlovic – Citizen of the World.” One of the innovations of this year’s fair was the “talk rooms,” which brought together writers, readers, and a great number of visitors. These encounters were entitled: “Images of Serbia” and “Images from the Neighborhood.”A total of 14 authors form Serbia, Croatia, the Ukraine, and Spain took

EXHIBITIONS

he photograph exhibition “The Georgian Manuscripts” is a mutual project of the Pro Art & Co and the Georgian Embassy in London. It is made of 27 photographs on history on the development of manuscripts and literature in Georgia between the 5th and 18th Century. Among the most significant photographs, the exhibition listed The Astrologic Agreement, Four Gospels, poems and hymns by Michael Modrekli, the letter from Christ to King Augar, the book of poems of the national poet Shota Rustaveli from 1680, the first printed book in Georgian, Georgian-Italian dictionary from 1629, photographs of the ecclesiastical textile ‘The Golden Row’ on silk, dating from the 18th century.

xhibition “Citizen of the World” marks 125 years of the birth and 40 years since the death of Todor Manojovic, one of the most complex creators in Serbian art of the first half of the 20th century. The exhibition presented 52 posters of various formats, documents, photographs, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and other documents which illustrated the life and work of Todor Manojlovic.

he “Culture of Cyrillic” exhibition presented the letters of the Serbian alphabet in different variants, from the Cyrillic alphabet used in modern information technologies, to calligraphy and ornamented letters, and Cyrillic used in graphic and industrial design. Thirty authors, mainly teachers and students of technical schools, presented their works.

part in discussions. Among them were recognized names like Miljenko Jergovic, Igor Mandic, Vladislav Bajac, Vladimir Arsenijevic, and others.This Fair presented many new attractions, and hall space was much better organized. Stands were larger and the air conditioning issue was resolved as well. There were more than 130.000 visitors in all. A total of 67 foreign journalists and TV crews covered the Fair, setting high standards for the future of this significant regional event. CorD 66 / December 2009 61

CULTURE

VELVET

REVOLUTION

The exhibition was opened by Dr. Dragoljub Mićunović, chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, together with the Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Mrs. Hana Hubácková, and the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, Mr. Igor Furdík

By Jelena JOVANOVIĆ Photo Jana BALDIKOVA he exhibition “CZECHOSLOVAK VELVET REVOLUTION 1989”, presented at the Guarnerius Art Center from November 17th to November 22nd, commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Czechoslovak peaceful revolution. Organized by the Embassy of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the

20th anniversary Mrs. Hana Hubácková with Dr. Dragoljub Mićunović at the exhibition “Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution 1989”. 62 CorD 66 / December 2009

Slovak Republic in Belgrade, the exhibition recalled the historical events that changed European paths and history and the Czechoslovak transition from totality to democracy. The exhibition was opened by Dr. Dragoljub Mičunović, chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, together with the Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Mrs. Hana Hubácková, and the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, Mr. Igor Furdík. “Velvet Revolution “ was the joint exhibition of two Embassies. Its authors were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. The exhibition consisted of two series of panels with authentic photographs that described the events of November 1989 from the points of view of both nations that once made up a federation. The exhibition did not only focus on the 1989 revolution itself, but also on development before and after.The Embassy of the Czech Republic prepared the exhibition “1989” as seen by photographers. It presented the revolution, but also the events which preceded it – suppressed demonstrations commemorating the 1968 Soviet occupation, the death of Jan Palach, the mass exodus of Germans from the GDR via Prague to the West, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Embassy of the Slovak Republic prepared the exhibition “Following the way of the Velvet Revolution: Slovakia after 1989.“ Authentic photographs described the Slovak perspective of the events of 1989, and society’s development after 1989. “We have a long, successful history of cooperation with Art Centre Guarnerius, which began in November 2006 when the Embassy of the Slovak Republic organized an exhibition of paintings of the contemporary Slovak painter Stanislav Harangozó there. Last year, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic, along with the Embassy of the Czech Republic, opened an exhibition of photographs to commemorate the 40th anniversary of “Prague Spring,” a democratization process in Czechoslovakia led by Alexander Dubcek. This suc-

HISTORY

he Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution started on November 17, 1989, when riot police suppressed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague. That event sparked a series of popular demonstrations from November 19th through late December. By November 20th, the number of peaceful protesters assembled in Prague had swollen from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated half-million. A two-hour general strike, involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia, was held on November 27th.

cessful cooperation even led to the marriage of a Slovak diplomat with the PR manager of the Gallery at that time,” explained Martin Bielik, Third Secretary in the Slovak Embassy in Belgrade. The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution started on November 17, 1989. With the collapse of other Communist governments and increasing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on November 28th that it would relinquish power and dismantle the single-party state. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany and Austria in early December. On December 10th, President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-Communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on December 28th and Václav Havel the President of Czechoslovakia on December 29th 1989. In June 1990 Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946. Martin Bielik, Third Secretary in the Slovak Embassy in Belgrade, and Pavel Baldik, Second Secretary of the Czech Embassy in Belgrade, stated in an interview for CorD, how Slovakia and the Czech Republic will mark the significant anniversary this year. Martin Bielik explained, “In Slovakia, as well as in the Czech Republic, 17th November is a state holiday. This day has its own firm place in Slovak society because it brought us a new, free beginning. According to the latest public research, almost 60% of Slovaks view November 1989 in a positive way. In Slovakia we will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution with public meetings on the squares in Bratislava and in all major Slovak cities. Authentic documentaries from November 1989 will be presented at these meetings, together with music concerts. Leaders of the Revolution will also participate.” “The anniversary of the Velvet revolution will be commemorated in relation to Czechoslovak history of the 20th century, which is connected to a number of tragic events - Munich

1938 and the subsequent Nazi occupation, February 1948 with the Communist putsch, and last but not least, the year 1968 and the unfulfilled expectations of the Prague Spring broken by Soviet tanks. The year 1989 was a year of meeting expectations of democratically minded generations. After decades behind the Iron Curtain, in November 1989, Czechoslovakia started its reintegration into Europe,” said Pavel Baldik. Martin Bielik stressed that the Velvet Revolution had been a new beginning, a certain awakening from a long nightmare of totality. “It was just the beginning of a journey towards full-fledged integration into a family of democratic and economically developed countries, after the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia in 1993 to our own name of “Slovak Republic.” This journey was not an easy one. It had its obstacles and demanded the common effort of society as a whole to reach this goal. However, in the end, the Slovaks could say that it was a success story. The evidence is the fact that Slovakia is now a fullfledged member of EU, NATO and all relevant international organizations. Also, at the beginning of this year, Slovakia was the first country of Central Europe to accept the euro as its national currency.” Pavel Baldik went on to say that the transformation of Czechoslovakia after November 1989 and transformation of the independent Czech Republic and Slovak Republic since 1993 had been accompanied by a number of challenges. “The Czech Republic, however, has succeeded in becoming a full-fledged democratic country and has clearly ranked alongside other most developed democracies. During this period, the Czech Republic became a full member of NATO in 1999 and of the European Union in 2004. The successful integration of the Czech Republic into Euro-Atlantic structures is made obvious, among other things, by its active participation in NATO international operations in various parts of the world and also by the successful Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2009.”

The exhibition consisted of two series of panels with authentic photographs that described the events of November 1989 from the points of view of both nations that once made up a federation

CorD 66 / December 2009 63

LEISURE & LIFESTYLE

WHERE TO GO

TOB AND CORD RECOMMENDED

FOR CHRISTMAS

Christmas is the most joyous holiday for Christians. If you wish to travel anywhere these days, we recommend a few places near Belgrade. These are areas where peace and tranquility reign, and are perfect for this holiday season. For a good holiday, you do not have to venture far from home to ﬁnd an ideal respite from urban life.

(Rača), Kragujevac, Gornji Milanovac, Arandjelovac, and Mladenovac. At one time, Topola was Serbia’s administrative and political center. Karadjordje Petrovic chose Topola as his base for freeing Serbia from the Ottomans in 1804. Sadly, the fortified city was destroyed in 1877 under the rule of the Obrenovic dynasty. Karadjordje’s residence was turned into a museum, which displays his personal belongings and weapons from the period. The Church of the Holy Mother (Crkva Presvete Bogorodice), also known as Karadjordje’s Church, is sturdy and rustic. Its interior, adorned with lavish iconostas and engravings, features an impressive statue of Karadjordje. If you are visiting the church, you can attend religious services here. Both the museum and the church are reminders of the city’s glorious past.

TOPOLA If you are visiting the church, you can attend religious services here. Both the museum and the church are reminders of the city’s glorious past. SIGHTS The small town of Topola lies 80 km south of Belgrade. Nearby towns include Smederevska Palanka, Raca 64 CorD 66 / December 2009

Perched high above Topola on Oplenac Hill, the Karadjordjevic family mausoleum and St. George Church (Crkva Sv. Djordja) complex is one of the most historic sites in this part of Šumadija. The church features five spectacular domes and a white marble exterior. The mesmerizing interior features stunning mosaic frescoes of sixty Serbian monasteries. There are 725 compositions and 1,500 figures crafted from 40 million mosaic tiles in 15,000 shades. Explore further and you will find the tombs of Karadjordje and King Peter the First (19031921) in the central part of the church. King Peter designed the church, which took years to build. The church’s crypt contains the tombs of 22 members of the royal family. Prince Alexander and King Alexander the First are also buried here. When you visit the grounds of Oplenac you will pass through a security checkpoint. Make certain to visit the summer residence of the Karadjordjevic dynasty (Peter’s House). Today, the residence is a museum, which features exhibits about the reign of this dynasty. Next to the museum, you will find the villas of King Alexander and Queen Maria. A beautifully manicured park that abounds with pine, oak, ash, linden and pancic (Pančićeva omorika) encircles Oplenac. A stroll through the park, which is under state protection, is a must! ACTIVITIES This region is synonymous with good grapes and fine wine. According to historical data, the vineyards here produced such plentiful harvests during Prince Milos’ time that there was not enough space to store the grapes. Today, grape and wine are symbols of each village in this region. The King’s cellar in Topola has two floors of underground cellars maintained at a constant temperature of 8°C. Ninety-nine barrels of wine are stored here. Each barrel contains 4,000 liters of wine. Sample some for yourself! Named for wine, the village of Vinca organizes a traditional three-day grape picking ceremony (Oplenačka berba) dedicated to grape and wine every October. The hills of Topola abound with fruit, medicinal herbs, and edible mushrooms. You will find one of Sumadija’s oldest oaks in the village of Lipovac. The tree, which measures 5.5 meters, has inspired local artists to found the Lipovacka Painting Arts Colony. Ovsiste village is the birthplace of one of Serbia’s most prominent writers, Radoje Domanovic. Ovsiste is also home to a number of Serbian satirists.

PECINCI If you crave some delicious cuisine, sample the delicacies in one of several local restaurants in the lower Srem district’s Pecini (Pećinci) municipality. SIGHTS Pecinci’s strategic location close to Belgrade Airport and the Belgrade-Zagreb highway has attracted both foreign and domestic investment. Today, Pecinci receives the highest level of Greenfield investment per capita for any municipality in Serbia. Simanovci (Šimanovci) is the municipality’s well-known industrial zone, where European

CorD 66 / December 2009 65

LEISURE & LIFESTYLE

and other global companies have set up business. Apart from its booming economy, Pecinci also offers a range of beautiful destinations, from charming villages to scenic nature spots. Visit Kupinovo village and explore Luke’s Church (Crkva Sv. Luke), the 15th century royal church of the House of Brankovic. The main square of the village is also an ethno-park that showcases traditional construction techniques. ACTIVITIES If you crave some delicious cuisine, sample the delicacies in one of several local restaurants in the lower Srem district’s Pecini (Pećinci) municipality. If you are seeking a quiet spot to enjoy the great outdoors, head to the nature reserve surrounding Obedska Pond, just 35 km from Belgrade along the Sava River. The reserve encompasses the Jakovo, Progar, and Kupinovo villages and is listed as one of UNESCO’s natural habitats. If you visit the small island in the center of the Obedska Pond, you will discover the ruins of the medieval Kupinik fortress. The 15th century structure once belonged to the Despot Stefan Lazarevic and the House of Brankovic. For details on overnight accommodation and restaurants, contact one of the tourist organizations in the area.

KOVACICA

Take a stroll through the city and you will notice that every home is marked with a plaque listing its owner and the year it was built. SIGHTS Located 50 km north of Belgrade, Kovacica (Kovačica) is well known for its ethnic Slovak community and naïve painting tradition. The surrounding area is beautiful and you will likely see fields of sunflowers as you drive toward the town, which features a quaint central park and church. Take a stroll through the city and you will notice that every home is marked with a plaque listing its owner and the year it was built. ACTIVITIES The naïve painting tradition in Kovacica began in 1939 when two locals, Martin Paluska and Jan Soko, started creating art in this style. As the movement flourished, Paluska, Sokol and other gifted residents established a painting club in the 1950’s. Without formal training of any kind, they gathered interested villagers of Kovacica, Padina, and other neighboring towns, and created a specific style, painting scenes from daily life. The first exhibition of naïve painting in Kovacica took place in 1952. Three years later the first Gallery of Naïve Art was established. The tradition continues today. From 52 weekends in Serbia by National Tourism Organisation of Serbia

66 CorD 66 / December 2009

Christmass Shopping Guide 2010 Belgrade - London - New York

70 CorD 66 / December 2009

Shopping

London

THE REGENT

THE KNIGHTSBRIDGE

Price: € 690

The Regent hamper is a landmark in its own right. This collection is an epicurean delight, packed with festive cheer and a selection of the finest wines and, in a starring role, Winston Churchill’s Champagne of choice, Pol Roger.

LA SPINETTA VALEIRANO 2005 12 LITRE Price: € 2.240 Country: Italy Region: Piedmont Grape variety: Nebbiolo Vintage: 2005 Valeirano 2005 12 Litre La Spinetta large format bottles have all been personally signed by Giorgio Rivetti.

Price: € 280 The Knightsbridge hamper has a particularly festive feel with Christmas coffee, Christmas tea, Christmas biscuits, buttery mince pies and irresistible Christmas pudding.

SHÂTEAU PETRUS 2003 DOM PERIGNON WHITE Price: € 2.180

GOLD JEROBOAM 1995

Country: France Region: Bordeaux Grape variety: Merlot, Cabernet Franc Vintage: 2003 Alcohol: 13.5% Bottle size: 75cl Château Petrus is one of the best known and highly rated wines in the world.

Price: € 9.680 Country: France Region: Champagne Grape variety: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier Vintage: 1995 Alcohol: 12.5% Bottle size: 3L Closure: Cork This bottle is plated white gold bottle cover.

PERRIER JOUET BELLE EPOQUE HAT BOX Price: € 6.250 Country: France Region: Champagne Grape variety: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier Vintage: 1999 Alcohol: 12.5% Bottle size: 75cl Founded in 1811, The House of PerrierJouët has long been associated with the

creative arts, perhaps most famously in 1902, when Art Nouveau protagonist Emile Gallé to created the eye-catching enameled anemone bottle for Cuvée Belle Epoque. The House of Perrier-Jouët and leading milliner Stephen Jones have collaborated to create the ultimate luxury accessory of the season: a personalised limited-edition leather hatbox and matching designer hat, exclusively available at Harrods. CorD 66 / December 2009 71

Shopping for him TW STEEL CANTEEN ANALOGUE WATCH

London

Price: € 350 TW Steel’s Canteen collection is distinguished by the clock-inspired stainless steel cases with the hook/ crown cap and leather straps with two steel dots. Bold numeral indices and large hands add to the unisex appeal.

TW STEEL DIVER’S CHRONOGRAPH Price: € 580 An impressive piece of engineering, this oversized Swiss-made divers watch by TW Steel boasts some impressive gadgetry. A connoisseur’s timepiece which looks as good with a wetsuit as it does with graphic tee and denims

TW STEEL STAINLESS STEEL CHRONOGRAPH WATCH Price: € 660 Product Code: 1852426 TW Steel’s Tech Collection is chic yet tough at heart. The bezel is connected to the back case using pillars and engine screws, which gives a multidimensional, structured feel. Pairs wonderfully with casual and formal attire. 72 CorD 66 / December 2009

TECHNOMARINE UF6 COLORS CHRONOGRAPH WATCH

Price: € 910 Complement a sporty, urbane profile and display your of-the-moment style credentials with this luxury supersize watch. Distinctive black bezel, white silicone strap and luminous inner dials make this a directional choice for today’s style seeker.

TW STEEL ROSE GOLD PLATED CHRONOGRAPH WATCH Price: € 590 Short for Collection ExraOrdinary, TW Steel’sCEO collection takes the original oversize aesthetic to luxe new heights with precious materials and refined styling. You’ll find the signature clock-inspired faces and metallic bezels paired with practical features that give a sporty yet offbeat feel.

TECHNOMARINE MOONSUN Jubilee Chronograph Watch Price: € 780 This watch features a ceramic bezel with rose-gold plating to create an immediately striking feature on TechnoMarine’s Jubilee chronograph watch. This collection offers all the powerful enigma and exceptional quality.

for her BURBERRY CHECKED BRACELET WATCH Price: € 373 Classic and elegant, this gold Burberry watch brings together a polished finish with a luminous, glowing dial and a clean-cut link bracelet. This Swissmade watch also references Burberry’s famous check – every other link is engraved with an abstract interpretation of the iconic pattern.

JUICY COUTURE DALTON ANALOGUE WATCH Price: € 373 Perfect to pair with your summer tan, Juicy’s arctic white Dalton watch completes a polished look. 32mm stainless steel bezel with pavé-set Swarovski crystals. Quartz analogue movement Mother-of-pearl dial with bold numeral indices 1.6cm-wide white crocodile-embossed leather strap with stainless steel buckle. Water resistant up to 30 metres Winding stainless steel crown with pendant

TOYWATCH BLACK MOTHER OF PEARL CHRONOGRAPH Price: € 211 From label-of-the-moment Toy Watch comes this season’s It-watch. This luxe chronograph features a black mother of pearl dial with contrasting pinkgold tone bezel and a clear strap. For men and women with impeccable design credentials. CorD 66 / December 2009 73

BODY BUTTER NOURISHING ACTION ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Organically Cultivated Olive oil, rich in vitamins, antioxidants and anti-aging factors. Nourishes, reconstructs and softens the skin, while protects it from the environmental effects. Provitamin B5, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Sweet Almond oil, Sunflower oil and Allantoine offer hydration and elasticity as well as nourish and reconstruct the skin. PROPERTIES: A body cream, rich in nourishing ingredients that deeply hydrates the entire body. The Olive oil and further active ingredients soften the dry skin and restore its elasticity. USE: Apply the cream on the entire body after shower and massage gently. Use once or twice on a daily basis insisting on dry areas. PARABENS FREE, MINERAL OIL FREE.

74 CorD 66 / December 2009

Shopping

Idole d’ ARMANI EDT 30 ml 4.800,-; 50 ml 6.840,-; 75 ml 9.660,

Beautique is Mercator’s brand of perfumes, which has been developed in Serbia since 2001 and is now on sale at Mercator Centers in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and Cacak as well as in Rodic shopping malls in Sremska Mitrovica and Novi Beograd, and in Roda Centers in Kragujevac and Sabac. Beautique offers an extraordinary choice of decorative and preparative cosmetics along with a variety of the world’s most well-known perfume, including Lancome, CK, Armani, Dior, Givenchy, Clarins, Bvlgari, Kenzo, Hugo Boss, D&G, Chanel, Collistar, Shiseido, Clinique, Este Lauder, Kanebo, La Praire, and Biotherm. Beautique will contribute to the fullness and distinctiveness of your style with its fantastic array of products from renowned cosmetics houses. Treat yourself to high-quality products for treatment and make-up, fine perfumes, and many of the little things that make life beautiful, while discovering the secrets of beauty, freshness, and charm. In addition to affordable prices, the Beautique perfume shop offers regular discounts and promotions of attractive goods, and our customers frequently receive valuable gifts. Through 20.11.2009, you will receive a 20% discount on all Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Bvlgari perfumes in all Beautique shops.

Discover the Magic of Beauty and Seductive Perfumes Bvlgari II EDP 75ml 8.370,-

CK Free EDT 30ml 3.390,-; 50 ml 4.650,-; 100 ml 6.290,-

Euphoria EDP 50 ml 5.700,CorD 66 / December 2009 75

Shopping

New York DOUBLE JE  BLACK LA POCHETTE ECRITOIRE  BROWN $1,550.00 Document case with center lock closure

DIRADOURIAN BLOCK SCARF  MULTI $295.00 Cashmere scarf with brown and navy green block stripes. Contrast red and navy border. 20 cm width. Available in Multi. Handmade in Nepal. Cashmere. Dry clean.

JUXTAPOSE TIE  BLUE $140.00 Silk woven tie. Navy background with yellow, orange, purple, green, and white squares. Handmade in England. Silk. Dry clean. 76 CorD 66 / December 2009

$4,500.00 Two-gusset leather flap front sac with push-lock closure, engraved script rolled leather handle and rear flap pocket. Holds two shirts. Available in Black.

DIRADOURIAN IRREGULAR STRIPED SCARF  BLUE $365.00 Cashmere scarf with tonal blue stripes and rolled hem. 30 cm width. Available in Blue. Handmade in Nepal. Cashmere. Dry clean.

LA POCHETTE ECRITOIRE  BROWN $1,550.00 Document case with center lock closure.

PLAID FRINGE SCARF  YELLOW $420.00 Cashmere blend scarf in yellow, purple and brown plaid with long tassel fringe. 21 cm width. Available in Yellow. Made in Italy. Cashmere/ wool. Dry clean.

FLOWER TIE  NAVY

FLOWER TIE  BLUE $155.00

$150.00 Silk woven tie. Navy background with pink flowers. Made in Italy. Dry clean.

Silk woven tie. Navy background with large lavender flowers. Made in Italy. Dry clean.

CASHMERE LINED GLOVES

TWOTONE DRIVING GLOVES

MOTOCROSS LEATHER GLOVES

$315.00 Perforated leather driving gloves with contrast palm and cashmere lining. Available in Yellow/Navy, Ivory/Red and Ivory/Tan.

$295.00 Nappa leather perforated gloves with stitch details. Ribbed cashmere lining. Available in Ivory Bone.

$325.00 Hand-stitched nappa leather long gloves with cashmere lining. Available in Bordeaux, Black, Stone Grey and Yellow. Imported.

MEDIUM PEBBLED NIGHTINGALE  BEIGE

MEDIUM COUTURE PADDED NIGHTINGALE ACID YELLOW

MEDIUM COUTURE PADDED NIGHTINGALE  BLUE

$1,975.00 Quilted leather satchel with top zip, logo-embellished leather handles and removable shoulder strap. Fabric lined interior with zipper pocket and two small organizational pockets. 31.5cm x 36cm x 16cm. 7.5cm handle drop. Available in Acid Yellow. Made in Italy.

$1,975.00 Pebbled leather satchel with top zip, logo embellished leather handles and removable shoulder strap. Fabric lined interior with zipper pocket and two small organizational pockets. 31.5cm x 36cm x 16cm. Available in Beige. Made in Italy.

LANVIN WEDGE KNEE BOOT  BEIGE $1,550.00 Leather taper toe pull-on knee boot. 110mm covered wedge. 37.5cm shaft. Crepe sole. Available in Beige. Made in Italy.

LUG SOLE BOOT  BLACK

STRIATED ANKLE BOOT  NATURAL

$1,300.00 Leather round toe lug sole boot with adjustable buckle strap at topline. 40mm heel. 27.5cm shaft. Lug rubber sole. Available in Black. Made in Italy.

$1,295.00 Striated leather covered platform round toe ankle boot. 100mm covered wedge . Leather sole. Available in Natural. Made in Italy. CorD 66 / December 2009 77

Shopping

For Girls LES CLASSIQUES ANNABELLE

SYLVANIAN FAMILIES GRAND HOTEL

Price: € 86 A beautiful doll with pretty features, colouring and long, glossy brunette hair. Dressed in traditional, stylish French clothes with cute patent shoes. She is the perfect collectable doll for any little girl.

Price: € 136 A stay at the Sylvanian Grand Hotel is an experience all Sylvanians will love. It remains the perfect setting for celebrations, receptions and is ideal for visiting friends and family.

FUR REAL FRIENDS BISCUIT PUP Price: € 217 This life-like golden retriever features advanced animatronics, enabling him to respond to you just as a real puppy would.

DREAM TOWN ROSE PETAL COTTAGE Price: € 110 Beautiful fabric cottage opens up to provide a versatile playing space. Featuring working doors, curtains and mesh windows, this is the ultimate first property for children wanting a quaint new home 78 CorD 66 / December 2009

BARBIE SECRETS & SURPRISES CASTLE Price: € 98 The Secrets & Surprises Castle™ is modelled on the castle in the Barbie™ and the Three Musketeers movie and gives Barbie musketeers a unique place to play out their secret identities and adventures.

Shopping

For Boys BRIO BRIO FREIGHT YARD SET

RAZOR DIRT ROCKET BIKE Price: € 466 The MX350 introduces off-road rides for those who are not afraid of the dirt. Essentially a scaled-down motocross bike with an electric motor, the Razor MX350 Dirt Rocket is ideal for those who want to enjoy the dirt bike experience

Price: € 200 A durable wooden train track featuring 49 colourful wooden pieces, including tower crane and crossing bridge.

WOWWEE ROVIO

CHARACTER OPTIONS PRIME8 GORILLA Price: € 123 Prime-8 has over 90 animations and features and can protect your room from all manner of invasion. Put him on guard duty and be safer than ever!

Price: € 358 Rovio™ is the groundbreaking new Wi-Fi enabled mobile webcam that lets you view and interact with its environment through streaming video and audio, wherever you are! With Rovio, you will always be just a click away from the people and places that are important to you.

MIGHTY WORLD MIGHTY WORLD CONSTRUCTION SET Price: € 68 Over 125 piece set. The complete Mighty World construction set will build the next big project in Mighty Town! Run your own crew of six Mighty World building experts with all the equipment needed to complete any project from pouring the foundations to erecting the buildings themselves.

CorD 66 / December 2009 79

RESTAURANT REVIEW

In this issue of Cord, I present you Mythologia, a restaurant favoured by diplomats, politicians, establishment ﬁgures, as well as the general public who like and can afford its prices and relish the sense of afﬂuence in the air.

Upscale Restaurant By Jelena MICKIĆ t’s been more than a year now since I’ve taken upon myself this task of informing and perhaps humouring CorD magazine readers with my monthly gastronomic adventures in Belgrade restaurants. I’ve tried to be informative, educational and on occasion, entertaining. Whether I succeeded or not, it’s up to you are to decide. When I started, I had a clear checklist of requirements on how to judge a restaurant. My role model was the informative and unmercifully honest style of London Evening Standard’s Fay Maschler, but I’ve found myself more inclined to longer and more literary descriptions. During this past year, I’ve been to some stylish and expensive places that left me cold. Many of them did not make it to the magazine and somehow faded away into the murky abyss of oblivion as if they had never existed. Then again, I’ve been to some simpler places that warmed my heart, where the food and the whole experience lingered in my mind.

Wine Mythologia is proud of its extensive wine list that covers all signiﬁcant world wine producing regions 80 CorD 66 / December 2009

In this issue of Cord, I present you Mythologia, an upscale restaurant favoured by diplomats, politicians, establishment figures, as well as the general public who like and can afford its prices and relish the sense of affluence in the air. It is an agreeably designed space that can serve both business and leisure purposes. The restaurant consists of two units, a central one contemporary in feel and whose decoration is airy and light, and the other a conservatory built around two trees in the common yard of neighbouring buildings. Mythologia is known among better informed restaurant goers in Belgrade to be the place where the chef pays close attention to the quality and freshness of the produce used in his dishes. In fact, several friends of mine have mentioned this to me on different occasions. The menu offers an interesting mélange of the best European culinary traditions and local Serbian gourmet and grilled dishes, spiced with subtle influences of the Far East. And one more thing: Mythologia is proud of its extensive wine list that covers all significant world wine producing regions. We went to Mythologia on a Monday for lunch. The restaurant was rather empty, and we chose a table in the conservatory to have a view on the yard and for more privacy. While sipping our aperitif (apricot and pear brandy, average in taste) and waiting for our main dishes to come, we nibbled on wholegrain and white flour breadsticks and projica (savoury cornflour cakes). At first, the some Andalusian guitar tunes were being unobtrusively played in background, but after ten minutes of the same tunes and rhythm, I became slightly annoyed. Luckily for me, the cd was changed, and the

SALTIMBOCA

altimboca (in Italian “to jump in the mouth”) is usually made of a slice of veal, chicken or pork, wrapped in prosciutto and sage or basil and marinated in and served with a wine sauce. mellow sounds of Sting and other pop icons from the 80’s filled the room. Actually, while I’m writing this it makes me think about the importance of the every single detail that makes a guest’s experience in a restaurant. For me every single detail counts. Don’t you feel the same? For a main dish, my partner chose the turkey fillet with sliced fresh mushrooms and black truffles, while I had Saltimbocca Nero, which is basically young beef fillets wrapped in prosciutto in a red wine sauce. The turkey was grilled and sprinkled with just right amount of mushrooms and truffles on the top, and seasoned with olive oil, a little underseasoned for my taste, but the meat was tender and juicy and made a light, healthy lunch on a cold and windy November day. On the other hand, my dish came completely covered in a thick red wine sauce, which for a moment I took for chocolate. Saltimboca (in Italian “to jump in the mouth”) is usually made of a slice of veal, chicken or pork, wrapped in prosciutto and sage or basil and marinated in and served with a wine sauce. When I took the first bite, the sharp red wine and the saltiness of the ham tingled my palate, but the next moment I savoured the mellow tenderness of veal. All in all, the dish was rich, strong in taste, and fulfilling. Both dishes came with a small pot of crispy and nicely seasoned fried potato chunks. My companion had a tomato salad with grated feta cheese on the top, which tasted as every tomato salad does when the produce is not in the season. We finished our meal and skipped dessert, as we were full. On the gastronomic scale of Belgrade restaurants, Mythologia is on the pricey side. The prices range up to 1,800 dinars for goose liver pate. If you are up for less ordinary mixes, you can try the Saint Germaine beef steak in cherry and chocolate sauce or the venison fillet steak Cumberland in a forest berry sauce. Restaurant service was discrete and smooth, but I sensed a hint of boredom and lack of passion behind those frozen smiles, which made me feel like a passer-by who had stopped on her way and might never come back. Like many other restaurants in the city center, Mythologia has no parking of its own, but the comforting fact is that the nearby streets are in the third parking zone. Before I bid my farewell for this year I’d like you trust your inner feelings more and chose restaurants where you feel welcome and comfortable. Lastly, I wish you all many memorable gastronomic adventures to share with friends and your loved ones in the New Year. CorD 66 / December 2009 81

Approaching Christmas Holidays

Worst Christmas Gifts How about a stuffed rattlesnake or frozen potatoes? The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service, surveyed 250 advertising and marketing executives about their most off-the-wall office gifts. It seems that when coworkers exchange holiday gifts, some are in for more of a surprise than others. Those surveyed were asked, “What is the most unusual or unique gift item you’ve ever heard of an employee giving a colleague?” Here are some of their responses: 1. “A blackhead remover” 2. “Musical boxer shorts” 3. “A stuffed rattlesnake” 4. “Meat cook book” for a vegetarian 5. “A farting gnome” 6. A bag of grapes, just the one, with a BuyOne-Get-One-Free sticker on it! 7. Scented toilet paper

8. A portable female toilet called the “Whizz Off ” 9. Some diet pills! 10. Sausage making machine It leaves one wondering if these wacky gifts were given because the workers were in advertising or if this odd gift giving happens everywhere. “The advertising industry is full of innovative people, and the gifts coworkers exchange often reflect this creative mindset,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of The Creative Group. “In general, it’s best not to go too far out on a limb and instead give gifts that are thoughtful and can be enjoyed by the recipient.”

British retailer Selfridges is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The British ﬂagship store is bucking the recession trend and has reported its best year ever.

82 CorD 66 / December 2009