D&C 10

Diplomacy&Commerce www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

December 2016 | ISSUE No. 10 | Price 350 RSD

SERBIA IS GETTING CLOSER TO SUCCESSFUL MODERN COUNTRIES

9772466380002 PAGE 20

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ALEKSANDAR VULIN

UAE NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATED

Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Issues

OPTIMISM IS HALF OF SUCCESS

1st December

PAGE 4

PAGE 12

Helping Serbia to Build Resilient Communities DARIO SCANNAPIECO, Vice-President European Investment Bank (EIB)

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DRAGOLJUB ZBILJIĆ

Proprietor of EnergotehnikaJužna Bačka, Novi Sad

REFRESHED, YOUNG, MODERN, COSMOPOLITAN

Cautious Optimism TONY VERHEIJEN

World Bank Country Manager for Serbia PAGE 25

PAGE 54

New Prospects for Closer Cooperation PAGE 11

GEORGE KATROUGALOS

LEONARD JAKOVINA

Director of the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre

Special

SUPPLEMENT

Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, responsible for European Affairs and International Economic Relations

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EDITORI AL

Trumpeuphoria, Trumpophobia And Seven Europes

C O N T EN T S

Dear readers, The world is once again divided. Some moan, mourn and send regretful messages to each other, “fearing World War III”, since there is “an unstable man in the White House, with a finger on the red button”, while others are relieved because “WWIII is not going to happen”, celebrating the pensioning off of an “aggressive woman who would start a war with Russia over Syria”. Some protest and refuse to accept the “new normal”, while some others are pretty euphoric, like many in Serbia. As my friend, an America-loving singer from Novi Sad, said, “God bless Trump, because now finally Serbs will start loving America!” Ironic, huh? The same happened in Russia, as I have been told. We have Trumpophobia on the one side and Trumpeuphoria on the other. Europe is divided over Trump, and it is not as though there are only two Europes. There are seven of them. Even the EU is split into four parts. The UK is one, okay, so it has always been special. Now the country is preparing to leave the Union. The Northwest is okay with fiscal discipline and immigrants, and the people there are the “EU ruling class”. The South(west) is not comfortable with fiscal austerity (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and partly France), but immigrants do not annoy them too much. The East (or the Intermarium) is not alright with either austerity or a multi-faith/multiracial society, since they haven’t reached the average level of development of the pre-2004 EU-15. Some of them are even flirting with Russia. Then there is the Russian bloc, the so-called Eurasian Union. The sixth group is the no man’s land stretching from Azerbaijan and Ukraine to Bosnia and Montenegro, neither in Heaven nor on Earth. And Turkey is preparing a referendum to denounce its EU-accession process. By failing to create an all-inclusive Europe from Vladivostok to Iceland, the EU has allowed our continent to become a geopolitical jigsaw puzzle. Like in the 1989 to 1993 period, we are once again living in historically disruptive times. Every day is a winding road, says Cheryl Crow. We agree, in every way. ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor-in-Chief

04 HELPING SERBIA TO BUILD RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

45 “SUPPORT RTV” IS NOT POLITICAL, IT'S A PRINCIPLE

DARIO SCANNAPIECO

MILICA KRAVIĆ

08 CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

48 WEEKEND OF NEW VISIONS FOR SERBIA’S BETTER TOMORROW

Vice-President European Investment Bank (EIB)

TONY VERHEIJEN

World Bank Country Manager for Serbia

11 NEW PROSPECTS FOR CLOSER COOPERATION GEORGE KATROUGALOS

Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, responsible for European Affairs and International Economic Relations

12 OPTIMISM IS HALF OF SUCCESS DRAGOLJUB ZBILJIĆ

Proprietor of Energotehnika-Južna Bačka, Novi Sad

Diplomacy&Commerce www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor in Chief

zikica.milosevic@color.rs

JOVANA MARKOVIĆ

ROBERT ČOBAN

jovana.markovic@color.rs

robert.coban@color.rs

NATAŠA NEŠIĆ

Photos

Advertising manager

TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Advertising manager

tanja.bankovic@color.rs

DRAGANA RADOVIĆ

Editorial manager

natasa.nesic@color.rs

ILIJA PETROVIĆ ”INDIGOCHILD”

dragana.radovic@color.rs

ilija.petrovic @color.rs

RUŽA RISTANOVIĆ

VANJA KOVAČEV

ruza.ristanovic@color.rs

Art director

Advertising manager

Advertising manager

Magazine director

Director

GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ, GETTY IMAGES, MLADEN SEKULIĆ Translation and lecturer

MRP EDITORIAL

38 THE FRONTLINES HAVE MUTATED

RTV radio (and former TV) anchor

Serbian Vision multi-conference

49 THE FUTURE AND FUTURE LEADERS OF EUROPE AT THE CROSSROADS Regional Youth Leadership forum

50 IT: ONE OF THE NOBRAINER TICKETS TO PROSPERITY Belgrade Venture forum

54 REFRESHED, YOUNG, MODERN, COSMOPOLITAN LEONARD JAKOVINA

BOŠKO JAKŠIĆ

Director of the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre

44 THE RISE OF POPULISM

56 AN UNLIKELY PLACE FOR THIS SPORT TO FLOURISH

Political analyst

Easy solution for complicated problems

American football in Serbia

Translation SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ

vanja.kovacev@color.rs

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ISSN 2466-3808 = Diplomacy & Commerce COBISS.SR-ID 303269895

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Helping Serbia to Build Resilient Communities The EIB is the largest lender to the Serbian economy with EUR 4.7 billion of the approved financing, and it welcomes Serbia’s effort to speed up the implementation of the already approved projects. Atop of that the EIB will support those communities that are struggling with the influx of refugees

DARIO SCANNAPIECO

Vice-President European Investment Bank (EIB)

After some slowdown, Serbia become more agile in implementing projects supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB). This was mostly visible in infrastructure investments, says Mr. Dario Scannapieco, EIB Vice-President, who recently visited Serbia and discussed with the Government further priorities in the mutual cooperation. Apart from its traditional sectors of support, the EIB will use its Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) to support sustainable growth, vital infrastructure and social cohesion in local communities facing recent refugee and migration crisis.

This new initiative was endorsed by the European Council in June 2016 and is focused on the Western Balkans and Southern Neighbourhood.

The Bank is also focused on support to SMS and midcaps and their innovation capacities which were recognized the major driver of growth. “In the Western Balkans, as elsewhere in Europe, it is critically important that companies get the finance they need for innovation including adoption of advanced technologies and innovative practices in order to move towards the technological frontier and raise productivity levels”, says Scannapieco.

Since 2011, the bank of the European Union has financed nearly

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30 projects in Serbia. Are you satisfied with the pace of implementation of these projects?

— The Bank’s support to the country started in 2001 and today the EIB is the largest lender to the economy with EUR 4.7 billion of the approved financing.

From 2012 onwards, the difficult economic environment and budget constraints have led to a significant decrease in new infrastructure investments and a slowdown in implementation of EIB’s ongoing project. However, progress has been noticed recently in the implementation and disbursements of projects, in particular in the road sector.

What are in general the priorities when it comes to the new

and energy where the EIB support will complement the grant financing of the European Commission, which will provide Technical assistance contribution in the range of EUR 25-30 m and Investment grant contribution of some EUR 100-150 million annually for 2014-2020 for the Western Balkans region.

Potential investments may be considered in sectors such as renewable energy and energy efficiency and the environment, which have a positive impact on climate change. This year and beyond, the Bank will continue to support health, education, research and development and judiciary infrastructure projects, municipal infrastructure, but we also envisage continuing support of SMEs,

THIS YEAR AND BEYOND, THE BANK WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT HEALTH, EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND JUDICIARY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AND SMES IN SERBIA EIB projects in Serbia that were discussed during your recent meeting with the government?

— The EIB will continue lending to the ‘traditional’ core infrastructure.

Further support will be considered for projects falling under the Connectivity Agenda, such as transport

Diplomacy&Commerce

through the commercial banks and the Government.

More support for Serbia’s resilience to migrant crisis is also being envisaged in the upcoming period.

Can you tell us more details about the EIB Projects in the

fields of infrastructure, social housing and migration?

— The EIB has launched its Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) to increase its support and help build resilience in countries hit by the recent refugee and migration crisis, namely in the Western Balkans and Southern Neighbourhood.

The countries in both regions are already facing significant economic challenges, including high levels of public debt, low growth and high levels of unemployment, especially amongst young people. The influx of large numbers of refugees is putting poor infrastructure under additional strain. Existing financial instruments do not adequately meet the regions’ requirements.

Nor do they provide financing on sufficiently favourable terms for the critical investments required to stimulate growth and job opportunities and ensure basic public services to both the local and refugee populations.

The ERI is evidence of the EIB’s determination to help meet these challenges. It is a new initiative endorsed by the European Council in June 2016. It will focus on raising additional investments to support of sustainable growth, vital infrastructure and social cohesion, including through creating new jobs and opportunities for both host and refugee communities. This will

involve support both for the public and the private sectors including in Serbia. In line with the Bank’s already existing activities, investments will strive to support young people, women and climate action.

With these investments, we could improve services like clean water, energy and electricity in regions where services are stretched, and improve education, healthcare, local transport and urban services. This will help to ensure that refugees and local communities alike have access to education and healthcare. We can also support the creation of jobs through more support for small businesses and micro-enterprises, encouraging them and other companies to grow their businesses and in so doing to increase job opportunities.

The ERI will support efforts by the public sector including municipalities and public sector entities, but also by providing support to the private sector through additional risk taking capacity and more volume as well as Concessional lending (combining loans and grants).

In addition the ERI would allow the Bank to accelerate the finalisation of key infrastructure projects and provide additional financial and

technical support on the ground where it is needed.

How the EIB will support the development of research and innovation in the information technology sector in Serbia?

— As we all know, innovation is a fundamental ingredient for ensuring long-term competitiveness. Investments in research and development can create positive spill-overs onto products and processes.

to facilitate access to finance for innovative businesses in Europe and have developed a new generation of financial instruments including equity, to help innovative firms access finance more easily under the new European strategy for the Horizon 2020 programme.

The EIB has outlined the new instruments available to support investment by innovation-focused and growing companies under the InnovFin programme. Financing

IN THE WESTERN BALKANS, AS ELSEWHERE IN EUROPE, IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT COMPANIES GET THE FINANCE THEY NEED FOR INNOVATION. THAT IS WHY THE EIB GROUP AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION MADE IT A TOP PRIORITY In the Western Balkans, as elsewhere in Europe, it is critically important that companies get the finance they need for innovation – not only for research and development but also for adopting more advanced technologies and innovative practices in order to move towards the technological frontier and raise productivity levels. That is why the EIB Group and the European Commission have made it a top priority

is either provided directly or via a financial intermediary, usually a bank. In addition to more financing being made available, InnovFin also offers a greater range of loan and guarantee products which can be tailored to innovators’ needs, including technical assistance programme.

You are overseeing the financing of the SME and Mid cap sector.

How do you estimate the poten-

tials of the sector in Serbia?

— Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important drivers of growth, employment and innovation in Serbia as well as in Europe.

SMEs in Serbia employ over 70% of the active working population. Supporting access to finance for SMEs and midcaps is a top priority for the EIB Group.

The role of the EIB Group is to facilitate access to finance for SMEs at better financial conditions and channel increased funding sources intensify our partnership with the banking sector. Since 2009, EIB has signed loans for EUR 1.5 bn with banks and leasing companies in Serbia, supporting over 3,000 investments carried out by SMEs, Midcaps and local authorities.

These operations have involved the largest banking groups in the country, including among others, Credit Agricole, Erste, Intesa San Paolo, ProCredit Bank, Raiffeisen, Société Générale, Unicredit as well as the Republic of Serbia through the APEX loan schemes. These operations have been implemented with a high degree of success, providing considerable support to the SMEs sector which suffered significantly from the financial and economic crisis.

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BR EX I T R EP ER C US S I O N S

Ireland may suffer the most from Brexit Making it one of the few European countries that wants to be kind to Britain

On October 25th John Bruton and Bertie Ahern, two former Irish prime ministers, appeared before a committee in Britain’s House of Lords to discuss the impact of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union on its western neighbour. Both men were sombre. Brexit, said Mr Bruton, might deal Ireland’s economy an even heavier blow than Britain’s—even though, as he added wryly, “we had no say in that decision.”

Since 1973, when both countries joined the EU’s precursor, the European Economic Community, Irish businesses have become intertwined with British ones, said Mr Ahern. Unpicking those ties would be “devastating”.

The first blow has already fallen, says Fergal O’Brien of IBEC, a business lobby group. As sterling has weakened, exports to Britain have become less competitive, and imports from Britain cheaper. Britain takes two-fifths of Irishowned firms’ exports, and a similar share of all agricultural exports. Beef and dairy farmers are struggling, and several of Ireland’s mushroom farms, which export four-fifths of their produce to Britain, have already closed. The pain will worsen as sterling’s fall and Brexit-induced business uncertainty hit demand in Britain, says Mr O’Brien. “When your partner shoots itself in the foot, you’re bound to suffer too.”

Once Britain actually leaves the EU, Irish firms will face further difficulties. Those thinking of exporting generally start with Britain, points out Alan Barrett of the Economic and Social Research Institute, a think-tank in Dublin. And many Irish workers gain experience and training across the Irish Sea. Post-Brexit, Irish firms will struggle to break out of their small domestic market and will recruit from a shallower talent pool. Distribution and supply chains criss-cross both islands. If customs

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checks and tariffs were reintroduced, those links would have to be broken. Trade would fall further as rules on everything from food labelling to environmental standards diverged.

Ireland’s government is particularly worried about the border between Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, and the southern Republic. For decades Northern Ireland suffered civil conflict between Republicans, who fought for a united Ireland, and Unionists committed to remaining in the United Kingdom. The Good Friday peace agreement of 1998 committed the British and Irish governments, and Northern Ireland’s devolved administration, to removing

THE LESS BREXIT HARMS BRITAIN, THE BETTER FOR IRELAND, POINTS OUT JOHNNY FALLON, A POLITICAL COMMENTATOR—AND THAT MEANS IRELAND MUST TRY TO PERSUADE THE REST OF EUROPE TO GRANT BRITAIN GENEROUS EXIT TERMS controls on the north-south border.

This has facilitated business, political and cultural links—as has the “common travel area”—a long-standing agreement that citizens of both islands can move freely between them.

Brexit could “wake a lot of sleeping dogs”, says Noel Whelan, a political analyst in Dublin. Unless Britain stays in the EU’s single market and accepts free movement of people—which seems unlikely—the north’s stability is at risk.

One mooted solution is to impose customs and immigration controls not between the two countries but between the two islands. British

officials would set up in the Republic’s ports and airports; Northern Irish residents would show passports to travel to the rest of the United Kingdom. That might be less unpalatable than reinforcing the north-south border. But that border will soon divide the EU from Britain, points out Dara Murphy, Ireland’s minister for European affairs, and the EU will have to agree to any deal the British and Irish governments might make. Ireland’s main concern, he says, is to ensure that both Britain and the rest of Europe understand the risks Brexit poses to peace and prosperity in both parts of Ireland.

The Irish government is seeking to salvage what it can. IDA Ireland, the national investment agency, is redoubling its efforts to sell Ireland’s well-educated workforce and low corporation tax to foreign investors. Financial services offer the most promise, says Feargal O’Rourke of PwC’s Dublin office. Irish consultants are touting the notion that banks based in London could keep the “passport” that entitles them to do business across the EU by moving a chunk of their activities to Ireland, which would be less disruptive than full-blown relocation. Some talk of Ireland gaining as many as 20,000 jobs from this.

Given the many ways in which Brexit will damage Ireland, these jobs would be merely a consolation prize. But there is no room for bitterness.

The less Brexit harms Britain, the better for Ireland, points out Johnny Fallon, a political commentator—and that means Ireland must try to persuade the rest of Europe to grant Britain generous exit terms. “Some in Europe would be very happy to see post-Brexit Britain collapse,” he says. “Not Ireland. We’re very eager to see Britain hold up.”

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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Cautious Optimism

Photo: Maja Planinac / BIZLife

The 2017 budget is a further step in the right direction toward sustainable growth, but a lot remains to be done.

Completion of critical structural reforms is essential if Serbia wants to move on the firm growth trajectory that is needed for the country to converge economically with EU member states

TONY VERHEIJEN

World Bank Country Manager for Serbia

Tony Verheijen, World Bank Country Manager for Serbia prizes the Serbian government for moving the country from the debt cliff but underlines importance of other reforms crucial for securing further growth and attracting foreign investors.

Does Serbia have to continue with tough austerity measures, or the current relaxation (rise of wages in the public sector, one off payment to pensioners etc.) is a reasonable response to somewhat improved situation in the budget?

— Given Serbia’s current macro-fiscal performance, austerity measures are no longer as critical as they were 2-3 years ago, when Serbia was at risk of falling off a fiscal cliff. However, we are far from having completed critical structural reforms that are and remain essential for Serbia to move on the firm growth trajectory that is needed for the country to converge economically with EU member states. As long as these reforms remain to be completed, there needs to be continued prudence in public sector wage and employment policy. The most crit-

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ical aspects of these structural reforms are the resolution of the remaining strategic commercial SOEs (which, due to their size, continue to pose a serious fiscal risk to the economy, and discourage investors from entering the sectors they dominate), the stabilization of the public utility and transport companies, the implementation of wage system reform in the public sector, and a significant reform in the way

be sustained and accelerated.

There are several other conditions. Continued attention for obstacles in the business environment is one. This is also an agenda were much progress has been made, but where significant implementation work remains. Getting Serbians to take economic initiative is another critical requirement. If especially the younger population continues to emigrate rather than

AN EXPANSIONIST PUBLIC SECTOR WAGE AND EMPLOYMENT POLICY OR STAGNATION IN IMPLEMENTING CRUCIAL REFORMS COULD STILL EASILY REVERSE THE HARD WON GAINS OF THE LAST FEW YEARS AND DISCOURAGE POTENTIAL INVESTORS public funds are allocated in the education and health sectors.

In the latter two in particular, a large adjustment agenda remains, which Government has only just started on.

Is the expected GDP growth of 2,8% in 2017, sustainable in the long run, given the pace and scope of reforms envisaged in the coming period?

— This goes back to the previous question, where I noted one condition for growth to

establish enterprises in Serbia, sustaining growth levels will be impossible. Creating better conditions for higher female labor market participation (the lack of which costs Serbia an estimated 16 percent of GDP) is another one. For growth levels to top 4 percent, Serbia will need to work on its business climate, as well as convince its citizens to take economic initiative, and get its youth and women to participate more actively in the labor market. This, combined

with longer-term policies to expand early childhood education, significantly reform education curricula and the structure of secondary education, and invest in infrastructure and better health care, would create the conditions that can make 4 percent growth possible.

How do you evaluate the proposed 2017 budget in terms of the long term stability of public finances?

— The 2017 budget is a further step in the right direction, it has modest wage increases (and the reason why these need to remain modest I discussed before), keeps the ceilings on public sector employment in place, moves some more resources to investment projects and retains the low deficit levels that are critical for Serbia to reach a situation where interest payments on public debt as a percentage of GDP will be below growth levels, at which point debt reduction will become self-reinforcing.

The budget also finances the essential further restructuring efforts in public enterprises (railways, EPS and Srbijagas) and a continuation of resolution efforts on high cost and high risk enterprises like MSK (which costs up to 100,000 Euro per job

C O R P O R ATE to keep operating), Azotara, RTB Bor and Petrohemija.

How the expected rise of dollar might affect debt position of the country and did the government set adequate buffers?

— The government is making efforts to diversify its debt stock (including the issuance of dinar denominated bonds with EBRD support), but the risk of dollar appreciation remains. Continued efforts to rebalance the debt portfolio into instruments that pose lower volatility risks would be prudent.

We have confidence in the Public Debt Administration’s ability to handle this risk What are the major reform goals in Serbia the World bank is to support in the near future?

— It is critical to keep legacy reforms on track and this will remain, at least in 2017, the most critical part of our work in the country. We will support the gov-

element mostly discussed in the public domain. Diversification, the decommissioning of redundant facilities, more competitive offerings to the corporate sector, cutting distribution losses and improving collection rates are all critical, and we are at the start of most of these efforts. Having a final decision on the CEO appointment is equally important, as otherwise one cannot expect reforms to move forward. Srbijagas is a very different case as, unlike in electricity, the gas sector is unlikely to be a growth sector in Serbia; we don’t expect gas use to expand significantly in years to come. In this sense, making sure Srbijagas operates without losses is critical, so that the company supplies this important service at break-even cost. For this, it needs to withdraw from participation in loss-making enterprises like Azotara, MSK and others. Railways has so far been the most surprising in the sense that restructuring efforts have

IF ESPECIALLY THE YOUNGER POPULATION CONTINUES TO EMIGRATE RATHER THAN ESTABLISH ENTERPRISES IN SERBIA, SUSTAINING GROWTH LEVELS WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE ernment through advice, budget support and result-based financing to continue reforms in public enterprises, to resolve issues in the financial sector (critical to get more capital to flow into investment and enterprise development) and continue the difficult agenda of public administration reform and the modernization of the judiciary. We will, however, also engage on more forward-looking efforts that build the Serbia of the future - which includes continued work on innovation and technology transfer, paired with reform of the R&D sector, investment in early childhood education and in critical infrastructure, including in energy efficiency in public buildings.

Are you satisfied with the reforms done in EPS and other state companies?

— We have made progress but are far from the end of the reform process. EPS, in particular, is a huge potential asset to Serbia’s economy, but it can easily become also its largest liability. The full implementation of the financial consolidation and corporate governance reform program is critical to the long-term success of the company, and includes many more aspects than rightsizing, which is the

picked up speed and Serbia now has a cargo company that can run without subsidies. Here investment in infrastructure is important, as well as reducing passenger services to a sustainable level.

How the current pace of reforms affects rising inequality and the level of poverty in Serbia?

— We are concerned about the development of pockets of economic exclusion that could become permanent, including older workers that were made redundant in SOE restructuring, youth that have never had a job, women that don’t sufficiently participate in the labor market, groups like the Roma that remain largely outside the formal economy and geographical areas that are isolated and not benefiting from the improving economy. That said, we also see plenty of examples where such groups that may overall be at risk of marginalization, actually drive economic revival. One example are parts of Stara Planina, where ecotourism and organic high-end agricultural production have taken hold, providing employment exactly to the kinds of segments of society that could otherwise be easily marginalized.

DEVOTED TO CUSTOMERS DARKO BABIĆ

CEO DHL Serbia

Since our foundation, back in 1991 we were extremely devoted to our goals. Exactly that kind of energy, shared vision and the desire that DHL Serbia becomes the first choice of our customers in the field of transport and logistics, is what sets us apart and makes us successful Our goal is that DHL Serbia becomes the number one logistics company, says Darko Babić, CEO DHL Serbia. Therefore, since its foundation in 1991, the company continuously invest in new technologies which improve its services.

What would you singled out for these 25 years when it comes to DHL business? How satisfied are you with the results?

— Quarter of a century of business on one market is a long period and quite sufficient for a serious analysis. Therefore I can say, on the basis of all relevant business indicators, that we are very satisfied with the results achieved in Serbia. Since our foundation, we were extremely devoted, full of energy and positive spirit. Exactly that kind of energy, shared vision and the

category. Today DHL Serbia is a modern logistics company that offers its clients a wide range of tailor made solutions - from express document shipping to supply chain management. That makes us proud. In 2016. we really worked hard and active in many fields. In September, we increased the capacity for air freight shipments at 18 tons, bring into the regular traffic DHL Boeing 737 cargo plane that imports and exports goods every weekday.

This year was marked by revenue growth and increasing customer base which ensures further development through additional investments and job creation.

What are you expecting in 2017?

— We recently launched an innovative software solution for payment via smart phones mDHL. It is an application that provides

IT IS CERTAIN THAT WE SHALL IN THE COMING YEARS, DRIVEN BY THE COMPANY'S VISION AND MISSION, OPERATE BETTER AND MORE EFFICIENTLY desire that DHL Serbia becomes the first choice of our customers in the field of transport and logistics, is what sets us apart and makes us successful.

Are you satisfied with the business this year?

— This year was very successful for us. I am very satisfied with the work and dedication of our employees, which resulted with DHL Serbia becoming the best company in Europe in its

simple, fast and secure online payment without additional fee, enywhere, enytime. We are proud and satisfied because DHL Serbia is the first in the DHL Group that starts using this application which represents the technological innovation. Otherwise, the application mDHL is a result of the strategic cooperation between DHL Serbia and domestic IT company Execom, and confirmation of the high competitiveness of the domestic IT industry.

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9

NATIONAL DAYS

ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES ANDREA ORIZIO

New Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia

in October

Ambassador Andrea Orizio, an Italian career diplomat, has been heading the Mission since 1 October 2016. He came to Belgrade from Rome where he served as Balkans Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. Between 2013 and 2014, he was Head of the Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime/G7 Unit at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2008 to 2012, he was Deputy Head of Mission the Italian Embassy to Egypt.

Between 2005 and 2008, he served as First Counsellor at the Italian Permanent Delegation to NATO in Brussels. Prior to that, he led the Western Balkans Department at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Earlier in his career,

he held diplomatic posts in Zagreb as Deputy Head of Mission and Prague, and served on the Africa Desk, the Defence Minister’s Diplomatic Counsellor office, the Armaments Authorization and Control Authority. Ambassador Orizio holds a degree in Law from the University of Milan and completed his post-graduate specialization at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in Milan, and at the Italian Society for International Organization (SIOI) in Rome.

He speaks Italian, French and English. He is a member of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law and “Cavaliere Ufficiale” of the “Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana”. Ambassador Orizio is married and has a son and a daughter.

1st December

ROMANIA National Day

2 December nd

UAE

Independence Day

6 December th

FINLAND

Independence Day

6th December

IRAQ

National Day

11nd December

UNICEF

UNICEF Day

ALEKSANDAR JOVIČIĆ

TANJU BILGIÇ

New chairman of NALED’s Executive Board

Appointed new Turkish Ambassador to Serbia

Aleksandar Jovičić was born in Srebrenica in 1987. He graduated economics, and completed his elementary, high school and university education in Belgrade. He is also the president of the Municipality of Palilula. From 2012 to 2016, he was the president of the SNS’ parliamentary group in the Belgrade’s City Assembly. From 2014 to 2016, Mr. Jovičić was also an MP in the Serbian National Parliament, a member of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee and the Economy, Regional Development, Commerce, Tourism and Energy Committee, as well as a member of the delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

He is Vice President of the Serbian Progressive Party’s Executive Board. He speaks English and is married. On Tuesday (29th November, 2016), Jovičić was appointed chairman of NALED’s Executive Board.

Tanju Bilgiç is appointed new Turkish Ambassador to Serbia. Tanju Bilgiç was born in 1971 in Turkey. After graduating from Ankara University – Faculty of Political Science – International Relations,1993. he started his work in Undersecretariat of Treasury and Foreign Trade as a Assistant Expert. He went to work in variuos embassies like Sarajevo, Copenhagen (third secretary), after which from 2003 to 2005 he became Deputy Directorate General for the Council of Europe and Human Rights – Second Secretary , First Secretary. He finished his MA Degree at Padova University - Human Rights and Democratisation Programme, 2003. He held various prominent positions before he took over the post of Consul General in St. Petersburg, Russia. He finished his PhD studies at Gazi University – Institute of Social Sciences - International Relations, 2012, and after Deputy Director General for Information he got his newest appointment in Serbia.

12th December

KENYA

Jamhuri Day (Independence Day)

13th December

ST. LUCIA

Feast day of Saint Lucy

15th December

THE NETHERLANDS Kingdom Day

16 December th

KAZAKHSTAN Independence Day

16th December

BAHRAIN

Accession Day of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa

16th December

BANGLADESH Victory Day

18th December

ĐOKA JANJUŠEVIĆ

New director of Tikkurila Company

Đoka Janjušević has been appointed new director of Tikkurila d.o.o. where he had been financial director prior to this appointment. With over 15 years of experience in key management positions in renowned multinational and national companies, like Droga Kolinska / Atlantic Group, Metro Cash & Carry, and Centro Štampa Holding, Mr. Janjušević will contribute to further consolidation of Tikkurila’s leadership position and its business expansion in Serbia.

In the last few years, Tikkurila, the

leading producer of decorative coatings in Finland, Sweden and Russia, and one of the leading manufacturers in the Baltic countries and Poland, has been facing great challenges in the Balkan region. Regardless of the unfavourable macroeconomic trends and volatile business environment, Tikkurila has managed to maintain the high quality of its products, and today it is stronger than ever in terms of the product quality, technology and innovation.

QATAR

Qatar National Day

18th December

NIGER

Republic Day

23th December

JAPAN

Emperor's Birthday

24 December th

LIBYA

National Day

26 December th

SLOVENIA

Independence and Unity Day

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COLUMN Text: ANA STANKOVIĆ

New Prospects for Closer Cooperation

We consider Serbia to be one of the pillars of stability in the Western Balkans and that is why we fully support its candidacy in the European Union. We will be helping as much as we can in the opening of the new chapters of these negotiations

GEORGE KATROUGALOS

Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, responsible for European Affairs and International Economic Relations

On the recent forum that hit the record of participations of both Greek and Serbian companies it was mentioned that bilateral exchanges between Serbian and Greek enterprises have approached the number of 500. However, this is just a start, says George Katrougalos, Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, with whom we discussed further improvements of bilateral relations between Serbia and Greece, Serbian EU integration process and the encouraging results of the Greek economy.

How do you evaluate importance of good bilateral relations between Serbia and Greece in terms of regional stability and EU integration process?

— We have, as you know very good bilateral relations on both the political and economic level. However, we think that they can always be better and that is why I am here.

We are going to have a number of dignitaries even on the highest level that will visit Serbia. In the next days a representative of the Greek parliament will also visit Serbia. In the upcoming year we can expect the visit of our Prime Minister . We consider Serbia to be one of the pillars of stability in the Balkans and that is why we fully support its candidacy in the E. U. . We will be helping as much as we can in the opening of the new chapters of these negotiations.

How Greece fares today in terms of economic and political stability and what the reshuffle of the government brings in?

— We are now back to economic

growth after the period of deep crisis which had important repercussions on the social level. Greece faced a record number of unemployed people, especially among the young generations. Now we are back to growth – there is a forecast made by international organizations that we can expect growth of at least +2,7% next year. Our main intention is to make this development fair so that the gains of the growth will not go just to some minority of the population. but to all of them. As for the reshuffle of the government, our goal is to enforce homogeneity of the government and to give a new impetus to this effort.

How do you see the future of the EU, having in mind the possible

the fundamendals of the European social model. I think that the first choice is an impasse, which has been reflected in the recent elections and referendums – from Italy to Brexit. However, there is alienation of the European citizen vis-à-vis European integration, not because it is not a noble dream. The majority of the European citizens are supporting this dream of European Unity, but they are reacting to the mix of policies. That is why, in my opinion, it is imperative to abandon this neoliberal orthodoxy and to reorient ourselves to a social unity.

How these developments are affecting EU integration process and the fate of the EU candidate countries like Serbia?

AS FOR THE FIELDS OF COOPERATION – WE HAVE MANY: TOURISM, FOOD AND BEVERAGE AND THE ENERGY SECTOR, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL outcomes of the elections in France and Germany and ongoing migrant crisis?

— I think that E. U. is facing now a dilemma: either they are going to continue the same policies of austerity or they are going back to

— As I said, it is not something concerning some countries, but all of them. In Greece, we have been hit harder, because it is the very same mix of policies which are implemented throughout Europe. What is crucial here is solidarity and

cohesion for any further extension.

I think they are two very closely interrelated issues, so we must eliminate all factors of disunity or disruption of cohesion. so it could be managed to expand further.

Although both countries, Serbia and Greece, were in crisis for a long time, do you see today prospects for closer cooperation and in which fields?

— We have good relations, but they can become much, much better.

We had this forum recently that hit the record of participations for both Greek and Serbian companies wthere it was mentioned that bilateral exchanges between Serbian and Greek enterprises have approached the number of 500. However, this is just a start and we must enhance political cooperation. There is also a room for improvement of economic cooperation. As for the fields of cooperation – we have many: tourism, food and beverage and the energy sector, which is one of the most crucial.

As you mentioned before, we can expect the visit of the PM Mr. Tsipras. What would be the major topics that Mr. Tsipras and Serbian leadership will discuss during his visit?

— The exact dates and the agenda must be confirmed through the diplomatic channels. But i am sure that it will include all of the topics that we have already discussed here:further strengthening of the close ties between Serbia and Greece and of course the European integrations perspectives of Serbia, with one of the main topics that might be discussed the overall stability in the area.

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I NTERVI EW

Optimism is Half of Success We see next year as a big opportunity for further growth and development. The contracted projects and the ones that are planned for next year will give us a chance to capitalize on our long-term effort and boost our company's operations

DRAGOLJUB ZBILJIĆ

Proprietor of Energotehnika-Južna Bačka, Novi Sad

Energotehnika Južna Bačka has become synonymous with high quality of executed works in the energy sector, and, year-on-year, the company's engagement in large-scale infrastructure projects has been growing parallel with the company expanding the cooperation with renowned partners. At the same time, the company has recognized new opportunities for boosting business through training staff in Serbia and then sending them to be successfully hired in Germany, a market that has an almost unlimited need for experienced, well-trained engineers and craftsmen. Furthemore, and prior to the implementation of dual education in Serbia, Energobačka has recognized the opportunity to establish the link between the needs of businesses and our education system, and, hence, has been cooperating extensively with the Mihajlo Pupin electrical engineering high school in Novi Sad. We are talking about this and many other topics with Dragoljub Zbiljić, the proprietor of Energotehnika Južna Bačka Novi Sad. How would you rate 2016 and what projects, that your company implemented this year, would you like to single out?

— Regardless of all the difficulties and challenges that companies

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like ours have to overcome on the domestic market, I can say that this year has been successful for us.

The fact that we have managed to accomplish most of the goals that we set at the beginning of this year gives us satisfaction, and is a stimulus and good foundation for the new business year. We have proven our dominance in the power engineering sector, and one project that we have implemented and that I am especially proud of is the TransBalkan Corridor 400-KV-power-line, the first one of its kind in Serbia.

How optimistic are you about next year?

— I am an incorrigible and eternal

and boost our company's operations considering all relevant business criteria.

Many of the renowned engineers and economy experts in Serbia call you the country's energy brand. How much of a compliment is this to you and how much an obligation?

— I have to admit that this is a real compliment that we often hear from the renowned individuals and institutions. This is also the acknowledgement of our work so far, as well as an obligation and responsibility to use our own example to encourage implementation and development of business

THE DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED QUALITY ENGINEERS AND CRAFTSMEN IN GERMANY IS PRACTICALLY UNLIMITED. WE HAVE RECOGNIZED THIS AS A CHANCE FOR OUR COMPANY TO GROW AND HAVE INVESTED IN OPENING OF A TRAINING CENTRE optimist, and this is an important criterion that I apply when choosing my closest associates. Enthusiasm and positive outlook have certainly contributed to our professional success so we see next year as an opportunity for further growth and development. The contracted projects and the ones that planned for next year will give us a chance to capitalize on our long-term effort

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norms that not only improve our own company, but are beneficial for the overall society.

We are exceptionally aware of our social responsibility and the example that we set for other people.

This is very much seen through our assistance to various sports organizations, educational institutions and the individuals who need help the most.

You have been hired to do some of the most important infrastructure projects in Serbia. Could you elaborate on these?

— We are currently engaged in many energy infrastructure, transport, oil & gas and similar projects including the construction of the Pančevo-Romanian border 400KV main power line, construction of the 100KV transformer stations in Kotor Varoš and Alibunar, construction of infrastructure for the coal homogenization project in Kolubara, construction of a boiler facility in Niš and a few others. All of these projects are very important for energy infrastructure and require multidisciplinary knowledge and previous experience on similar projects.

Apart from Serbia, Energotehnika – Južna Bačka also operates on the very demanding German market where you co-own company R+S Solutions from Fulda.

Your co-ownership also entails training people to be employed in Germany. What has this partnership brought you?

— First and foremost, through this partnership, which is based on founding a joint company with R+S Solutions from Fulda, we have managed to make a breaktrough in the German market. This cooperation proved to be successful, and, apart from financial benefits, there

is also a great benefit coming from exchanging the know-how and transferring new technology and work methodology.

We would especially like to underline that, thanks to this cooperation, 450 qualified workers from Serbia have been employed in Germany and this entire arrangement is also considered an export activity considering that we pay tax on these employment activities in Serbia.

the construction of a new boiler facility in Zrenjanin. The cooperation successfully continues to this day on projects like reconstruction of the boiler facilities and remote heating systems in Valjevo, Niš, Leskovac, Novi Sad, Novi Pazar and other towns. A 10MW cogeneration facility in Novi Sad has been recently completed and put in operation, and this is the biggest power plant built in Serbia in the last 20 years.

Energotehnika – Južna Bačka has secured participation in all of the aforementioned projects at international tenders launched by KfW Bank. The value of the projects implemented together with KfW Bank so far is close to 20 million EUR and we sincerely hope that this cooperation will continue into the future.

As of next year, you are also planning to expand the training to include other worker profiles – primarily welders and machinists. How much in demand are

You are the recipient of the 2016 Oscar of Quality Award in the Partnership and Resources category. What does this award mean to you?

these professions and how many people in Serbia have expressed interest in the training?

— The demand for qualified quality engineers and craftsmen in Germany is practically unlimited. We have recognized this as a chance for our company to grow and have invested in opening of a training centre that will be used in theoretical and practical training of the workers of all profiles.

A substantial number of people have expressed interest to be trained and work for our company in Germany and, I would like to use this opportunity for the workers of the relevant profiles to apply on our website. Also, I would like to point out that we are a forerunner of the dual education in Serbia because, in cooperation with the Mihajlo Pupin electrical engineering high school in Novi Sad, we have formed an entire class that is being educated in the Serbian and German language.

As the owner of such a large company I am aware that its strength depends on how good our staff are, how much do they know and how willing they are to undergo training and improve. In this respect, we have set high goals for ourselves, as

THE VALUE OF THE PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED TOGETHER BY ENERGOTEHNIKA-JUŽNA BAČKA AND KFW BANK SO FAR IS CLOSE TO 20 MILLION EUR AND WE SINCERELY HOPE THAT THIS COOPERATION WILL CONTINUE INTO THE FUTURE

well as created an appropriate environment to attain them.

Južna Bačka is also a partner to the German KfW Bank in the area of reconstructing heating

and cogeneration facilities.

How did this cooperation come about?

— The cooperation with the German state-run development bank, KfW started 5 years ago on

— Energotehnika-Južna Bačka is recognized as a company which has substantially increased its resources to compete internationally and, as a system, favours self-initiative, team work, punctuality and readiness to respond to growing business challenges. Our company is also recognized for implementing distinguished projects in areas like energy saving, alternative energy sources and asset maintenance.

All of this has lead to Energotehnika-Južna Bačka beating very tough competitors and winning the Oscar for Quality Award in the Partnership and Resources category which is given out by the

Serbian Chamber of Commerce under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy.

This award is very important to us and is a proof that we are on the right path.

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CORPORATE PROJEKT EKSPERT ADRIA D.O.O.

Trustworthy People Taking Care of Your Home Projects and problems are same everwhere while speed and trust are crucial

MARKO KRIZMANIĆ

Director and the proprietor of the company Projekt Ekspert ADRIA d.o.o.

Trust is one of those things that are difficult to earn, but quick to loose. Trust is precious and we all try to build it both in our private and work relations. We are constantly searching for trustworthy doctors, dentists, teachers, and hairdressers, and home is the place that we safeguard the most. Home is where we are on our own turf, protected and tucked away. Home is also the place where we won’t allow just anyone to come in.

Still, life puts us in certain situations that we cannot predict, or we have to deal with the things that we simply don’t have time to because of our fastpaced life style like decorating our own home.

Truth is that oftentimes we even don’t know what we really want.

Hence, it is of crucial importance to find a professional whose sensibility is similar to ours and who is going to recognize and implement what we want. You might think that wizzards with magic wands do not exist and you would be absolutely right. However, you don’t need a wizzard, you need a project manager which is why we are talking to architect Marko Krizmanić who has amassed years of experience in designing retail facilities in Serbia and the region (Romania, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro).

Once the need for organizing maintenance works, or providing professional assistance to private clients arose, architect Marko Krizmanić decided to use its extensive experience to tackle this

new challenge.

Projects and problems are same everwhere while speed and trust are crucial.

- Of course, there are many companies on our market that can offer construction and technical services. But I think that the fact that there are more demanding clients with specific life style, like foreigners in Serbia, who are used to customer service (something that most companies cannot provide), has created a business niche for me which I could cover in a professional manner. My company is considered a small company which gave us an edge over other companies from the get go and makes us easy to communicate with.

Personally, I am focused on the

furniture, or fix something, or tidy up your yard in spring, or you are coming home from a business trip or longer absence and you realize that your heating is not working and that your flat is cold. I believe that none of these situations are really pleasant. I and my team can fulfill such and similar needs.

In time, I realized that the needs of private residential clients bring enough business which I saw as a challenge that I constantly and repeatedly overcome. Additionally, and apart from establishing good business relations, I have managed to win the trust from our clients which is exceptionally important to me considering that, once I start working with them and come to their homes, I virtually become

MY COMPANY IS CONSIDERED A SMALL COMPANY WHICH GAVE US AN EDGE OVER OTHER COMPANIES FROM THE GET GO AND MAKES US EASY TO COMMUNICATE WITH

client and, through direct communication, I resolve the issue at hand, or meet the client’s need.

Simply put, imagine yourself living in a foreign country and your flat, for instance, gets flooded, or you should paint it, or buy a piece of

a household member. Oftentimes, clients and I analyze their and their families’ needs, wishes and ideas as if I were a member of their family. In this way, we are able to find the best solution for, let’s say, spring renovation of a house or a

yard, i.e. to implement different decorating ideas and to create a comfortable, functional and pleasant home – Mr. Krizmanic, who is the director and the proprietor of the company Projekt Ekspert ADRIA d.o.o. which he founded in 2013, said.

His biggest clients are foreign companies which have been developing their retail business all over our region. Projekt Ekspert ADRIA d.o.o is also present in neighbouring countries and focused on providing fast, quality services in line with the predetermined standards of its European clients.

“Being trusted in this business sometimes means more than the project implementation or the price itself. If you want to take proper and professional care of flats, houses and residences, you need to be constantly in touch with your client. This often provides enough room to collaborate with the client on solving problems and to participate in each stage of problem solving. Because our clients and their work are quite unique, we often have meetings outside working hours, or on weekends. After all, one can argue that we are helping them with their “family matters”. I admit that the most difficult part of my job is to stay professional at all times while being at the client’s disposal every day. I know how to listen to clients and formulate their wishes into proposals or solutions. It is up to the client when and how they should be implemented.”

Sava Centar | Milentija Popovica 9 | 11070 Belgrade | m: (+381) 64 84 00 002 | | t: @projektekspert | w: projektekspert.com

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PEOPLE & EV ENTS BORIS JOHNSON VISITED SERBIA

10th November

On Thursday 10 November the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, visited Belgrade. During his visit, he met the Serbian Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Speaker of Parliament, NGOs, Journalists, British Council and British businesses. On Friday 11 November he laid a wreath at a Remembrance event with the Serbian Prime Minister. “Because whilst it is perfectly true that we are leaving the treaties of the EU, we are emphatically not leaving Europe. We remain committed to our relationship with Serbia and of course to championing Serbia’s European vocation, which I strongly support.”

– he said.

H.E. Denis Keefe, British Ambassador, Boris Johnson and Maja Gojković

Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary and Maja Gojković, President of the Assembly of Serbia

HELLO TRAVEL: SKI SERBIA LAUNCH PARTY

10th November

In the Belgrade Hotel 88 Rooms, new magazine printed by Color Press Group was launched at the party especially organised on the occasion. Hello! Travel Skijališta Srbije is entirely dedicated to the 3 top ski resorts in Serbia, Kopaonik, Zlatibor and Stara Planina. Among guests were many known faces: Brent Sadler, N1 TV director, Dalibor Andonov Gru, hip hop singer and ardent snowboarder, Adrijana Čortan, TV host and model, Vesna Jugović and many others. The guests were greeted by speech by Žikica Milošević, editor-in-chief of the magazine, Dejan Ćika, Acting Director of Skijališta Srbije and Svetlana Kostić, director of the MK Resort Kopaonik.

Daniel Berg, EBRD Director of the Office for Serbia and Dragoljub Damljanović, President of the Franco-Serbian Chamber of Commerce

Jelena Savić, event menager at Color Media Communications and Žikica Milošević, Editorin-Chief of Hello! Travel

Svetlana Kostić, Manager of MK Resort Kopaonik

Sanja Ivanić, Director of the Franco-Serbian Chamber of Commerce Jean-Pierre Gastaud, Head of the Economic Department of the Embassy of France

FRENCH WEEK AND BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU

17th November

Dejan Ćika, Acting Director of Ski Resorts Serbia, in conversation with guests

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The French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce organised opening ceremony of French Week which was held on Thursday, 17 November, at the "Factory". French Week, which took place from 17 to 24 November for the fourth year in a row, this year has the theme "Creativity and Innovation". The opening ceremony begins to welcome the young French wine Beaujolais Nouveau for more than 300 guests, diplomats, directors of French and Serbian companies, eminent businessmen, journalists and public figures.

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MARTINOVANJE IN BELGRADE

17th November

In Belgrade, as every year, the Slovenian Business Club organised, at the restaurant Velika Skadarlija, an party dedicated to old Slovenian holiday of young wine, ,St. Martin's Day" (“Martinovanje”) which in Slovenia the most celebrated of all wine holidays. St Martin in Belgrade, marked with a cultural and entertainment program and rich gastronomic offer, was attended by numerous guests including the Mayor of Bled Janez Fajfar, Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia Vladimir Gašparič, representatives of tourist organisations in Serbia and Slovenia, members and business partners of the Club.

Janez Fajfar, Mayor of Bled, Danijela Fišakov, SPK President, H.E. Vladimir Gašparič, Slovenian ambassador to Serbia, and Suzana Mančić, Programme Manager

H.E. Vladimir Gašparič, Slovenian ambassador to Serbia and Janez Fajfar, Mayor of Bled

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PEOPLE & EV ENTS AMCHAM'S CRUCIAL ROLE IN SERBIAN BUSINESS

2th November

In today's business breakfast of the AmCham, US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott said that the US will continue to support Serbia in its integration into the EU and along the road, there is a very important role of AmCham, primarily in the further improvement of the business environment in Serbia. Interview with the Ambassador on behalf of AmCham was led by Zoran Petrović, CEO of AmCham and CEO of Raiffeisen Bank; first vice-president Jelena Pavlovic, CEO of Philip Morris International Services and the second vice president Vladan Zivanović, General Manager of NCR Serbia.

Wife of the Ambassador of Lebanon, H.E. Denis Keefe, British Ambassador, H.E. Toufic Jaber, Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon and British Ambassador’s wife

H.E. Kyle Scott, US Ambassador

LEBANON CELEBRATED ITS INDEPENDENCE DAY

22th November

H.E. Kyle Scott, US Ambassador and Board members of AmCham

On the occasion of the 73rd Anniversary of the Independence of Lebanon from France, the Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon Toufic Jaber and Mrs. Jaber organised the reception in Hotel Hyat Regency, Crystal Ballroom. The celebration was attended by many pominent figures and guests from diplomatic, cultural and political life of Serbia and Lebanese expat community and businesses in Serbia.

THE BELGIUM DAY

23th November

"The Belgium Day”, an event organised on 23 November, in cooperation of Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy of Belgium and the Belgian-Serbian Business Association gave some insights in possibilities of mutual trade. The first part of "How to do business in the market of Belgium" gives an overall picture of the market of Belgium, the possibilities for Serbian companies for a greater presence in this demanding market. The second part provides for "Open doors for cooperation," where in individual conversations with the economic and commercial attaché of the Commercial Section of Belgium the companies could discuss with Ms. Marijana Milošević Tufegdžić, director of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce in Brussels Mr. Zdravko Ilić, and director of the Belgian-Serbian Business Association Mr Hugo van Veghel.

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Hugo van Veghel, Director of the Belgian-Serbian Business Association, Ms. Marijana Milošević Tufegdžić, director of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce in Brussels, H.E. Leo D’Aes, Belgian Ambassador and Aleksandar Perić, PKS

H.E. Leo D’Aes, Belgian Ambassador

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AGENCY RUSKIN & HUNT BECOMES GOLIN BELGRADE

24th November

One of the world's leading integrated communications agencies, Golin, part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), has launched Golin Belgrade in partnership with Ruskin & Hunt, a leading communications agency in Serbia. “From our first meeting with the team of Ruskin Hunt, we realized that we share the same values and we were inspired by their energy, dedication and creativity,” said Matt Neale, EMAE President and Vice President of Golin in New York. Ruskin & Hunt has operated on the Serbian market for eight years, working with the most successful international and domestic clients in various industries with regional offices in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro.

Miljan Šćekić, State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Jana Ljubičić, Ivan Bender and Đorđe Odavić

“NINAMEDIA” CELEBRATES 15TH BIRTHDAY 24th November

Company “Ninamedia”, one of the leaders in monitoring and distributing media content in Serbia and the region, celebrated 15 years of successful operations at Ada Ciganlija’s “Jezero” restaurant. The celebration was organised thematically, in the mark of initial beginnings, thus the whole concept of the celebration was symbolically followed by the socalled “floppy disk”, which was ever-present during the beginnings of the internet, media and communication technologies.

Dragan Radić, Director of Ninamedia with guests.

Jelena Bulatović, SAM Director and Dragan Radić, Director, Ninamedia

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PEOPLE & EV ENTS BUSINESS WOMEN LUNCH

29th November

The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Hellenic Business Association, Croatian Business Club and the Slovenian Business Club held a Business Women Lunch. In a pleasant atmosphere, the successful business women discussed the topics like skills for successful utilization of digital marketing, possible misuse of marketing and whether digitalization can lead to a reduction in the number of traditional jobs. They had an opportunities to listen to an interactive lecture titled „The Effects of Digitalization on Labour Market – Challenges and Opportunities for Women“ which was given by an international strategy expert, Dragana Đermanović.

Dragana Đermanović

ROMANIAN UNIFICATION DAY CELEBRATED

30th November

Romanian Ambassador H.E. Dr Oana-Cristina Popa and the Romanian Embassy in Serbia have organised the formal reception at Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel to mark the National Day of Romania. The National Day commemorating the date of 1st December 1918, when the national unification of this country was achieved. The reception was attended by representatives of the Government of Serbia, members of the diplomatic corps and the Romanian community in Serbia, as well as business leaders, public figures and representatives of religious communities.

H.E. Dr Oana-Cristina Popa, Romanian Ambassador

UAE NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATED

1st December

Princess Katarina and Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević with Beatris Grozdanić, Special Advisor to the Minister Vulin

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The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Belgrade marked the country’s 45th National Day with a reception. Emirates Charge d’Affaires, Ibrahim Ali Al Darmaki, noted that this date marks the creation of the UAE, the foundations of which were laid by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his brothers, the rulers of the emirates, on 2nd December 1971. “The Emirates are interested in investing in Serbia, especially in the fields of construction, agriculture, industry, health tourism and military-economic cooperation,” said Al Darmaki.

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“POLES AND GERMANS – THE HISTORY OF DIALOGUE”

NEW YEAR’S GATHERING IN GREEK EMBASSY

1st December

1st December

An exhibition entitled “Poles and Germans – the History of Dialogue” has opened at the National Library of Serbia to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Polish-German Agreement on good neighbourly relations and friendly cooperation. The goal of the exhibition is to present Polish-German relations from the outbreak of World War II to the present day. The exhibition follows the history of relations between Poles and Germans in the 20th century and was opened in Belgrade by H.E. Polish Ambassador to Serbia Tomasz Niegodzisz and H.E. German Ambassador to Serbia Axel Dittmann.

H.E. Elias Eliadis, Greek Ambassador

H.E. Elias Eliadis, the newly accredited Greek Ambassador to Serbia, hosted a New Year’s gathering for media representatives at the Greek Ambassadorial Residence in Belgrade. Alongside embassy staff, the cocktail reception was attended by representatives of media and media agencies in Serbia, who celebrated the upcoming arrival of the festive season in an informal and friendly atmosphere.

H.E. Tomasz Niegodzisz, Polish ambassador in Serbia and H.E. Axel Dittmann, ambassador of Germany to Serbia

NATIONAL DAY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

2nd December

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Belgrade organised a reception at Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel on the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Korea. The reception was hosted by Kichang Park, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Serbia. The reception also included the presenting of H.E. Dae Jong Yoo, the new ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Serbia, who should soon submit his accreditation to Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić.

H.E. Juichi Takahara, Japanese Ambassador and H.E. Narinder Chauhan, Indian ambassador in Serbia

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PEOPLE & EV ENTS 15 YEARS OF LEADERSHIP 2nd December

In the presence of numerous guests from all over Europe, representatives of leading international and local companies, media houses, marketing agencies and employees from eight countries, Direct Media system celebrated 15 years of successful business in Belgrade. Direct Media was established in 2001 in Serbia as a media agency that is constantly was awarded years by years, and now operating in Montenegro, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria as well.

Regional expansion, pushing boundaries in the advertising industry and corporate social responsibility, with which this agency succeeded in setting the highest standards of media advertising across the entire region,marked the first fifteen years of the largest media system in Southeast region of Europe, despite the fact that it does not belong to any chain of global agencies.

“Our company consist of a multidisciplinary communication professionals whose constant work and improvement originate best quality and contribute to the success of our partners, at the same time with media, pushing the entire market forward. This is a celebrations of that joint leadership acquired in 15 years of continuous success of Direct Media and all our partners,” said Jovan Stojanović, Director of Direct Media in Serbia.

Jovan Stojanović, Director, Direct Media Serbia

Atanas Raykov, Zarena Kanheva and Vuk Brajović

Jasmina Stojanov, Zorana and Gordan Kičić

Michel Saint-Lot, Director of UNICEF, Serbia

Top management Direct Media system

Ivan Stanković and Draguljub Ljubičić

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THE TRADITIONAL STAR IMPORT ANNUAL DINNER FOR THE MEDIA COMPANIES

2nd December

Star Import Company, general distributor of Mercedes-Benz and smart vehicles in Serbia organised a traditional dinner for media representatives at the Metropol Hotel.

The Director-General Rolf-Juergen Seyer expressed gratitude to the media and said: "We expect a continuation of the favourable trends for the company with modern and attractive models in all segments, especially the new generation S-Class and E-ClasaCoupe and E-ClasaCabrio. Some of these models will be first presented at the International Elephant car in Belgrade next year.".

Ruža Ristanović and Nataša Nešić, Diplomacy and Commerce magazine

Rolf-Jürgen Seyerle, Managing Director of Star Import

DELTA HOLDING IS EXPANDING THE CAPACITY OF CONGRESS TOURISM IN SERBIA

3rd December

"Holiday Inn hotel Belgrade represents a gem that has much to contribute to the cultural, artistic, fair life of the capital. That is why Delta decided that this hotel, along with Belexpocentar should be incorporated into its business system" said Živorad Vasić, Vice President of Delta Holding, at a cocktail party on the occasion of the acquisition of this Belgrade hotel. In the next two years more than 2.5 million euros will be invested in the renovation. BelExpoCentar, which has 2,500 m2, will be completely rearranged so that it can be a host of various possible events.

Živorad Vasić, Vice President of Delta Holding

Milan Tešić, COO of Excecom, Darko Babić, CEO of DHL Srbija and Milan Vranić, General Manager PKS

DHL SERBIA MARKS 25 YEARS OF OPERATIONS

6th December

Miroslav Mišković, President of Delta Holdinga and Milka Vojvodić, Senior Vice President, Finance and Economics

DHL Serbia was awarded with a plaque by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce in honour of the company's 25 years of operations at a fitting ceremony with many friends and collaborators of the company, and the representatives of the state bodies, diplomatic corps and chambers of commerce in attendance. After thanking the Chamber for the plaque, director of DHL Serbia, Darko Babić said that he was satisfied with the company’s achievements so far and added: „Back in 1991, the leading global logistics brand DHL started doing business in Serbia. That was a difficult and turbulent period and it was no easy task to position the company on the Serbian market. A quarter of a century later, DHL Serbia is the best company in the DHL Group in its category, in Europe“.

DHL has also announced more innovative services and new investments..

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

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FRO M S C A R BO R O UGH TO THE S EYC HEL L ES

How the Seaside Emerged as the Holiday Destination of Choice Part of the answer lies in an enduring belief in the restorative power of seawater

In the 1730s, the bathing machine appeared on Britain’s beaches. A small cabin on wheels, it was designed to allow its upper-class occupant access to the sea in privacy. This unlikely contraption heralded a new habit among the nobility, who began to visit the coast not for travel or for work, but for health and fun.

By the turn of the 19th century the machine could be found on beaches across Europe, and reached rare levels of decadence; King Alfonso XIII had a luxury bungalow mounted on rails to allow the royal family to bathe in peace on the shores of San Sebastian. Today the bathing machine may be long forgotten, but seaside holidays are ubiquitous.

The story of how this British affectation spread across the world is told in a new exhibition, “Tous à la plage!” at the Centre for Architecture and Heritage in Paris. When the fashion for the seaside began, it was firmly rooted in an interest in the health benefits of seawater, promoted by a number of 17th and 18th century British physicians as a kind of miracle cure.

Richard Russell was one of the doctors who managed to profit from this growing interest among the rich and afflicted. “This wondrous collection of waters,” he declared in “A dissertation on the use of seawater in the diseases of the glands”, his unlikely bestseller, “performs the will of the omnipotent”. In the latter years of his life Russell set up shop in Brighton, the waters of which he recommended above all else. He administered therapeutic access to the sea in recommended doses to an assortment of wealthy urbanites and royals.

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Diplomacy&Commerce

Russell’s effusive recommendations helped to transform Brighton from a little-known fishing port into an international destination.

Architect John Nash helped to cement the town’s reputation in 1815 by designing the Royal Pavilion for George IV in an extravagant and extremely fashionable orientalist style.

Soon afterwards, industrialisation and the advent of railways created a whole new class of international holiday-goer, and increasingly urbanised seaside towns sprang up across Europe to cater to the newly-mobile masses. Ever

TODAY THE SEASIDE STILL ATTRACTS THE GRAND PLANS OF DEVELOPERS AND ARCHITECTS, FROM THE ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS OF DUBAI TO THE MORE MODEST I360 TOWER IN BRIGHTON more elaborate structures—such as the winter garden at Nice or the pier at Blackpool—were constructed in the hope of tempting more visitors. Casinos were increasingly banned on the continent after their emergence in the 1850s, but were tolerated at the seaside, becoming the economic drivers of most of the resorts well into the 20th century.

Even as the conservative woollen clothes of the Victorian era gave way to more skimpy fashions, the idea that the seaside was good for one’s health continued well into the 20th centu-

ry. Coastal holiday camps were set up in fascist Italy and Spain during the interwar period with a view to moulding children into perfect healthy national subjects. The Germans followed suit, with the Nazi leisure organisation Kraft durch Freude (“Strength through Joy”) constructing a vast facility called Prora between 1936 and 1939 on the Baltic, designed to hold 20,000 sea-goers. It still stands on the coast today, monumental and dilapidated.

The second world war wreaked havoc on many coastal towns, but by the 60s and 70s they had once again become the focus of fashion.

Companies such as Butlins and Club Med popularised the idea of purpose-built beach “colonies”, imposingly realised in buildings like Jean Balladur’s Le Grande Motte on the French south coast. Today the seaside still attracts the grand plans of developers and architects, from the artificial islands of Dubai to the more modest i360 tower in Brighton. But the rising sea levels and extreme weather of the modern era bring new threats to this global industry; last year it was predicted that even if global warming is restricted to 2˚C, sea levels could still rise by at least six metres, irrevocably changing coastal areas around the world. After almost 300 years of revelry, the long-term future of the seaside holiday looks a little more uncertain.

“Tous à la plage!” is showing at the Centre for Architecture and Heritage in Paris until February 12th 2017.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

CORPORATE BIOI NTEGRA

BioIntegra – Health Inside, Beauty Outside Stressful situations at work and home and chronic lack of time are all part of everyday life of people today. If we don’t react on time and fail to recognize what is happening in our body, the consequences can be very serious, and, in some cases, fatal We all want quick relaxation. Truth be told, this does bring temporary relief, but even if we manage to mask the consequences of the state that our body is, the cause of that state is still there.

We often forget that every man is a unique individual – genetically, physiologically and sociologically - and, as such, it deserves and demands individual approach. We are constantly changing as we age – what we were at the age of ten is not even close to what we become in our twenties and even more in our fifties.

Relaxation methods that are available to everyone, like onesize-fits-all clothes, can be useful to everyone, but, in all actually, don’t really suit anyone.

There are only a handful of places that nurture individual approach. One of such places is the revitalization centre BioIntegra, which is located in the Kumanovska Street in Vračar. BioIntegra is the place that combines known bio-methods with all other methods and knowledge with the aim of providing preventive health and aesthetics measures. Their concept is based on integrative medicine, a new medical branch that is, in its core, conventional and that takes into account the whole person.

Easy, simple, and expeditious – these are the words that best describe the services that our centre provides. Since everything starts with a conversation, we, at the BioIntegra revitalization centre, will welcome you in the same manner.

Highly professional staff will make sure that you get all the information about the state of your body in a simple and efficient manner, as well as the information about what has to be done in order

to eliminate possible physiological imbalances and improve the appearance of your face and body.

We will devise an individual programme which will yield results in a very short amount of time.

The holistic approach entails fusion of all methods and knowledge of the contemporary and traditional medicine applied individually. This is also why the image of a fingerprint has been chosen for the logo of the BioIntegra Centre.

People usually acknowledge only consequences for health and beauty which are a reflec-

metabolic status is improved and balanced out.

The quantum bio-regenerative procedure is used in almost all of the Centre’s programmes because it kickstarts the immune system, balances out the disrupted frequency of internal organs and initiates body’s own laboratory to produce the substances that will counteract physiological imbalances. The power of electromagnetic signals that are used in treatment is very low which just shows that we are not physically affecting the body, but rather passing on the

AFTER ONLY ONE SUCH TREATMENT, THE SKIN IS REFRESHED WITH IMPROVED TURGOR, FULLNESS, VIGOR AND GLOW. MIMIC AND DEEP WRINKLES ARE REDUCE

tion of our internal state. In order to achieve a successful result, it is necessary to implement an integrative medicine method that traces the route from the cause to the consequence, which is something that we apply in the BioIntegra revitalization centre.

BioIntegra is actually wellness but applied in an integrative manner. The centre’s slogan –Healthy Inside, Beautiful Outside – paints a picture of its philosophy. We integrate the know-how and skills with the use of various bio-products that are recognized both in Europe and here. Thanks to the Centre’s diagnostics (standard and specialized lab tests), patient’s

information that the body needs to start achieving the balance. This procedure is combined with phytotherapy, recommendations and programmes for healthy diet and possible use of supplements, different spa and manual physical therapy methods, and cosmetological and regenerative myofascial facial massages with the usage of products that are biological, natural and organic.

One of the most aggressive methods used in the BioIntegra Centre is tissue regeneration injections. These are cocktails that replenish active substances that we use up over time due to our age or excessive consumption.

Our specialized staff performs tissue regeneration treatments using mesotherapy which have both

aesthetic and medicinal purpose.

We use collagen as the base with added different medicinal herbs and active substances that regenerate and revitalize face and body tissue.

During our collaboration with the doctors from a Russian university, we came up with an idea of using 3D collagen which is an authorized way of non-invasive application of professional cosmetics based on live collagen.

After only one such treatment, the skin is refreshed with improved turgor, fullness, vigor and glow. Mimic and deep wrinkles are reduced.

All procedures and programmes are given along with advice, training on how to exercise face and body muscles, and recommendations about further care using the cosmetics and skincare products that the Centre’s expert team handpicked from the markets of Serbia, Russia and France.

Our procedures and programmes are intended for those people who want to age naturally and who wish to improve their aesthetic potential with non-aggressive methods while using active substances that are an integral part of the human body.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

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I NTERVI EW

The Frontlines Have Mutated The new “bears” are cleverer and you can’t “play dead until they go away”, says Boško Jakšić, talking about the role of “borderline” countries like Serbia

BOŠKO JAKŠIĆ

Political analyst

In a turbulent world in which the New Cold War is arising and the Middle East is experiencing tremors, every year is unpredictable.

Here we interview one of the greatest connoisseurs of foreign policy, Boško Jakšić, about future prospects.

As a long-time analyst of world events, could you say that this year's series of “surprises” around the world (Brexit, Trump etc.) were really surprises?

— They were surprises, and it’s significantly devastating. According to public opinion agencies and the media, who have – slightly less in the case of Brexit and absolutely in the case of Trump – attempted to create an atmosphere of wishful thinking. If there wasn’t such biased euphoria, it might be easier to identify the true mood that led to the UK deciding to leave the EU, and Trump’s move into the White House. In that case we would not be surprised, or we would be much less surprised.

Can we say that what happened in terms of the new wave of populist conservatism in the Islamic world – given that, 30 or 40 years ago, the Islamic world was much more liberal – is that from the Iranian Revolution to the Arab Spring (not to mention the Taliban and ISIS) everything was actually a series of anti-secular and populist revolutions?

— I would not accept the term “new conservatism”. In Islam, es-

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pecially the Arab world, political conservatism is a constant. Even in times of experimenting with socialism in Egypt, Syria or Iraq, these societies never even tried to get closer to liberal values, always remaining totalitarian. The problem is of another kind. With the exception of the oil-rich Gulf, “the Arab street” is sinking into despair, and corrupt and repressive regimes have not tried to solve the problems of unemployment or reform the education and healthcare systems.

The West, on the other hand, was interested in oil and arms sales, and despotic regimes suited them, as they were persecuting the Islamic fundamentalists who were increasingly entering public life with the slogan “Islam is the solution”. Over time, millions of malcontents became receptive to that slogan. The Arab Spring had a high degree of spontaneity in Tunisia and Egypt, while what happened later in Syria

they did not help the Arab world for decades to establish more modern, democratic societies, and why they stubbornly clung to the interventionism that radicalised Muslims.

Are events in the world “sinusoidal” – with merely the same cyclically alternating phases (nationalism - internationalism, liberalism - protectionism), or are we really heading in the direction of development?

— Ibn Khaldun, the famous Arab philosopher from the time of the "golden era" of Islam, is the creator of the theory of the cyclical movement of the history of civilisation.

It was created in the Far East, in China, shifted toward Mesopotamia and Persia, and then thawed from Greece to Rome. It then came to Europe and America and in many ways has today returned to China.

The large millennial cycle is completed. This kind of dialectic is true

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE OIL-RICH GULF, “THE ARAB STREET” IS SINKING INTO DESPAIR, AND CORRUPT AND REPRESSIVE REGIMES HAVE NOT TRIED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF UNEMPLOYMENT OR REFORM THEIR EDUCATION OR HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS and Libya is a more or less thinly disguised project of regime change.

No populism – there’s only radical Islam, and its protagonists are every time more organised, ideologically stronger and more brutal. The Americans have to answer for why

Diplomacy&Commerce

for all other phenomena, including those listed in the question. And do not forget that each stage contributed to the overall development.

Do you agree with The Guardian’s analyst Simon Jenkins

that “the identity apostles” and excessive political correctness (PC), “aggressive” protection of all minorities, women, the LGBTQ population, Latinos, immigrants, African-Americans and so on, led to Trump and Brexit, i.e. that the fact only poorer white men could be freely insulted led to this fury?

— The “aggressive” PC theory holds some truth. The problem is in the performance of PC, which is of course unquestionable. See contemporary film. If they want to get any prize, screenwriters must introduce characters from the LGBT community. If Muslims in Western Europe insist on the right of women to wear the hijab, then the Europeans had to insist that their women in Saudi Arabia do not have to go veiled, which they don’t, because of PC. That is irritating for part of the population. Islamophobia is on the rise, as we saw during the migrant crisis. It was a fear of immigrants that contributed to Brexit and the victory of Trump, who introduced himself as the protector of white Americans, but that was not the decisive factor. The key element is the dissatisfaction of the “victims of globalisation”, the tens of millions who did not benefit from free trade and the growth of general wealth, but rather began to regress.

Is globalisation dying or has it just been knocked down temporarily?

— Globalisation has brought great benefits to humanity. IT technology

is changing the world, but the form it has reached needs to be adjusted.

It has been knocked down, and the biggest problem is that the ruling political elite recognise that something must change. They will face an uncertain attempt to limit the power for global corporate capital to be misappropriated and turned into an all-powerful force for its own right. It will be a serious conflict.

Do you think Iran will be a new version of China or the Gulf States after its economic boom, as some predict? Of course, with a huge influx of capital.

— Iran has for decades been under severe economic sanctions and political isolation. Do not forget that Iran, even under the regime of punitive measures, succeeded in launching a satellite into space, produced missiles, built motorways and raised healthcare, while its investments in education are among the largest in the world. It is a serious country whose unique connection system of theocracy and the Republic functions despite the wishes of many. Iran has become crucial regional power. The involvement of billions of dollars that were frozen by foreign banks, and the knocking of Western investors (and China), suggest a new boom. How influential the Islamic Republic actually is can be seen from the recent OPEC agreement to reduce oil production and allow Iran to increase production to make up for its losses from the time of sanctions. Iran does not copy the Chinese model, nor would that work – as it has no intention of wasting its wealth like the conservative monarchies of the Gulf. Iran is a force in its own right, and it all comes down to how it will resolve its conflict with Saudi Arabia, a Sunni-Shiite conflict that has spread to the entire Middle East Region with unforeseeable consequences.

Turkey is experiencing a geostrategic turning away from Europe. How realistic is a global association of “rogue” states that are finding their own special ways out of liberal democracy on the Eurasian mainland, from Turkey and Russia, via Iran and India, to China and Mongolia?

— It was Europe that turned down Turkey, although negotiations on EU membership opened back in 1987. The neo-Ottoman, pro-Islamist agenda of PM Erdogan showed that Ankara wanted a future tied to the East. The (now slowed) economic boom brought Turkey back to historic areas where it once reigned:

the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, the Middle East. Turkey wants to regain the glory of imperial times, and this is manifested by its rejection of Western demands to respect the norms of liberal democracy demanded of any NATO member.

The repression after July’s failed military coup has further alienated Turkey from the West. Turkey is therefore seeking new allies. Ankara has renewed its partnership with Russia - although there are uncertainties due to differences of opinion about the fate of Syrian President Assad.

The problem in the model of merging Islam and democracy promoted

by Erdogan is that there is less democracy and more Islam. This could easily prove to be an obstacle to cooperation with Russia and China

pened. How will the “frontlines” be drawn in the future?

— The frontlines have already severely mutated. There’s no longer a great ideological conflict. Fukuyama spoke about the establishment of a neo-liberal model that would last forever. The deep structural crisis of the West since 2008 destroyed the foundations of this theory, and it is obvious that the neo-liberal system has to be changed in order to restore natural values of social justice. Serious economic theorists are already talking about that, but politicians largely offer the cheap populist responses that have swept over America and Europe. Huntington, unfortunately, has not yet been denied. André Malraux, Minister of Culture under De Gaulle, predicted

I AM DEEPLY CONVINCED THAT THIS RISK CAN ONLY BE REMOVED THROUGH AN ABANDONING OF THE THESIS OF THE SUPERIORITY OF ONE CIVILISATION OVER ANOTHER, AN “ENLIGHTENED” RELIGION OVER THE “PRIMITIVE” OTHER – fearing Islamisation. Turkey, at the same time, shows an ambition to lead the Islamic world – which leads in to a collision with Iran. Turkey has in recent years regained the role of a great power in the wider region, but Erdogan's policy does not promise permanent alliances, since Turkey has moved from a doctrine of “zero problems with neighbours” to now having problems with all of its neighbours.

Fukuyama triumphantly announced the “end of history” 25 years ago, while Huntington announced the “clash of civilisations”. Neither actually hap-

that the 21st century would be the century of religion. There is the boom in Orthodoxy, the impact of the “Bible Belt” in the U.S., and of course Islam as the fastest-growing religion, as well as the threats of radical Islamists to kill all “infidels” or calls for a new crusade. I am deeply convinced that this risk can only be removed through an abandoning of the thesis of the superiority of one civilisation over another, an “enlightened” religion over the “primitive” other.

How do you explain the rebellion among the EU’s Eastern European member states that do not

want to follow the “excessively liberal” values of the Western EU, in terms of social, national or economic measures?

— The Eastern members of the EU are trying to prove their orthodoxy by promoting conservative values.

Therefore, Hungarian PM Orbán proclaimed himself “a guardian of Christian Europe” at a time when Angela Merkel promoted the opendoor policy. The circumstances that led to the division of the “liberal” and “illiberal” EU are important.

Extremely tense relations between the EU and Russia allowed Poland and the Baltic states to present themselves as a bulwark against Russia. The level of development of the West and the East is still very uneven. In recent times the EU has too often shown that it has a serious deficit of common policies. The debt crisis divided the EU to the north and the south, while migrant crisis divided its west and east. The EU is seen as being divided into regions: the Mediterranean, Central European, Germanic-Scandinavian, Eastern European… tomorrow perhaps the Balkans. The project of political integration is lagging far behind economic and financial integration.

Nations states are too strong and unwilling to give up their identity.

Brexit is the most serious blow to the European project since its inception.

Anti-European forces have strengthened throughout the Union, from France and Italy to the Netherlands and Denmark. The EU is facing serious risks to its survival.

Can we in Serbia and other “no man’s land” countries simply “play dead until the bears go away”, and shelter in the lee of world events, which we did not do in the ‘90s?

— Of course it feels great to be in the lee. The problem is that our Western Balkan “lee” turned into a “line of fire”, as John Kerry said. In the new Cold War atmosphere we cannot “play dead until the bears go away”.

The West and Russia, following the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, demonstrated that this is no longer a peripheral area of their interest, as they try to consolidate their positions, or at least prevent their rivals from doing so. These “bears” have learned lessons and are checking everyone. Further aggravation only means that they will say “if you're not with us, you’re against us”. This unpleasant either-or situation can be prevented with a lowering of tensions. Something that Mr Trump has promised. Then we could feel relieved. Otherwise it is either-or.

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B USINESS NEWS Carlsberg

CARLSBERG AND DUNĐERSKI GRANT SCHOLARSHIPS

Carlsberg and the Dunđerski Foundation have launched a new competition that will result in the awarding of ten scholarships to students of the faculties of law, economics and technology at the University of Novi Sad. The scholarships will be awarded as part of a three-year cooperation agreement signed between the Foundation and these faculties earlier this year. Eligible students are those enrolled in undergraduate studies at the Novi Sad Faculty of Technology, who can apply for four scholarships each worth 100,000 dinars, the Novi Sad Faculty of Economics, who can apply for three scholarships each worth 100,000 dinars, and the Novi Sad Faculty of Law, who can also apply for three scholarships each worth 100,000 dinars. The contest for scholarships closed in the first week of December and all conditions can be found on the website of the Foundation: www.cdfondacija.rs.

Carlsberg Srbija continues to nurture its rich tradition of investing in the welfare of society that has grown from the practices of two benefactors and passionate lovers of beer – Jacob C. Jacobsen, founder of Carlsberg Breweries in Copenhagen, and Lazar Dunđerski, founder of the brewery in Čelarevo.

Enso

WINTER IS BEST ON THE ENSO RESTAURANT MENU

You may wonder why fine dining restaurants so often change almost their entire menu. One of the postulates of this cuisine is that food must be fresh and of high quality, which is a prerequisite for ensuring that any meal is always perfect. Thus, at the beginning of the month winter quietly crept into Enso Restaurant at 8 Metropolita Petra Street, next to Belgrade’s Bitefartcafe club, with all those delicacies and desserts that ensure we look forward to winter.

However, the chefs did not play it safe, so the dishes that appear familiar will actually surprise you at first tasting and you will, for example, eat squid instead of pasta in carbonara sauce. Enso Restaurant’s chefs say that they want that all guests to be left breathless by their surprising tastes and unimaginable combinations.

“If you listen to guests, they say that they want food to be based on something they already know. If I love a good steak, when I eat it I'll definitely enjoy it, but it will never be – a unique experience. To ensure an unrepeatable experience, you must not listen to the guest,” says chef Ferrán Adriá, and this is confirmed by the chefs at Enso Restaurant. The kitchen is open from 1pm to 11pm weekdays and until midnight on weekends.

SAM

"SILVER SIGN" TO JELENA BULATOVIĆ The Management Committee of the Red Cross of Serbia has decided to grant Jelena Bulatović, executive director of the Serbian Association of Managers (SAM), the prestigious award of the Silver Sign of selfless dedication and support during the 2014 floods, in recognition of significant results achieved in realising the aims and objectives of the Red Cross. The Red Cross rarely proposed figures for this recognition, but in the case of Jelena Bulatović it made an exception, due to the fact that she offered her unreserved assistance in the short period following the beginning of the flooding. “The Red Cross of Serbia appreciates the awareness of the need to support among organisations like ours,” said Vesna Milenović, Secretary General of the Red Cross of Serbia. “It would not have been possible to achieve that without the help of all SAM members, who showed remarkable commitment to objectives directed exclusively towards the betterment of the community,” emphasised Bulatović. SAM members provided 4.3 million euros in goods and money for the victims of the 2014 floods within five days.

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Diplomacy&Commerce

Heror

MINORITY AND LOCAL MEDIA AS AN INVESTMENT IN TOTAL SOCIAL INTEGRATION

The 5th Regional Conference devoted to minority and local media was held on 10th November at Egység Castle, (Novi Sad), led by Magyar Szó, Media Association, Heror Media Pont and Giacomelli media.

Bojan Brezigar, from the MIDAS Board, welcomed their joint venture with Hungarian daily newspaper Magyar Szó.

As of 2017, this conference is raising itself to the European level, closing the regional circle. Minority and local media were defined as the protagonists of creating a modern society and the new strategy for minority policy, based on minority and local media affiliation and mutual cooperation, was praised by all conference participants.

PATRONS: Serbian Ministry of Culture and Information, Vojvodina Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations, Religious Communities.

PARTNERS: Gorenje, the Coca Cola Company.

FRIENDS: Novi Sad 2021, Matica Srpska Gallery, Novi Sad Culture Centre, the Slovenian Business Club, Vitorog and Grand Kafa.

Hellenic Petroleum Business Group

HELLENIC PETROLEUM PRESENTS BUSINESS RESULTS

Hellenic Petroleum Business Group, whose member – Eko Serbia – has operated on the Serbian market since 2002, through a network of 53 petrol station, has proudly highlighted the significant financial results achieved in its main areas of business compared to the same period last year. Commenting on the results of the third quarter of 2016, Hellenic Petroleum Business Group CEO Grigoris Stergioulis said: “Looking at the results achieved in the third quarter, we have reached a high level of achievement in all our activities. Consistent switching of the business performance of our refineries to the highest level consisted of a counterweight to the lower reference margins, while orientation towards sustainable export enables the full engagement of our production capacities, with an emphasis on international sales. Our refineries are working to their full capacity and achieved record quarterly production in the third quarter of 2016. The strong position of the company has led to significant demand for the issue of new bonds, as well as lower interest rates, leading to lower financial costs. I would like to thank all employees of all of our business units for their dedication and teamwork.”

Generali Society

TEN YEARS OF GENERALI VOLUNTARY PENSION FUND

Ten years after its founding, the Generali Society for Voluntary Pension Fund Management has increased its assets to 9.3 billion RSD and achieved a market share of 29%. Founded in 2006, it is the first association of its kind in Serbia. The company manages the Generali Basic and Generali Index funds, which have a combined total of around 53,000 members.

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of operations, president of the Executive Board of Generali Insurance Serbia, Dragan Filipović, said: “We are proud of the results achieved by our company for voluntary pension funds.

The financial results of ten years of operations, despite an incredibly demanding market environment, reflect the commitment of our people to keep their promises to clients.

Generali stands on solid foundations and is ready to compete and win in today's highly competitive market. As the first company for voluntary pension funds on our market, we have exerted great efforts in the development of the industry and raising awareness about the necessity of taking personal responsibility for saving for old age.”

HBA

KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE HBA SERBIA

EIF & Erste Bank Serbia

ERSTE BANK’S “STEP BY STEP” PROGRAMME

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Erste Bank Serbia have signed a guarantee agreement aimed at supporting micro enterprises in Serbia under the auspices of the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).The agreement will cover a loan portfolio of €4.7 million for around 850 Serbian micro borrowers, who will be able to benefit from loans under attractive terms, without having to provide additional guarantees. Applications for these micro loans became possible as of 5th December this year.

This is the first step in the implementation of the “Step by Step“ Social Banking Programme in Serbia, launched by the Erste Group in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Austria, aimed at supporting traditionally unbanked groups: start-ups, first-time entrepreneurs, social enterprises, civil society organisations and individuals at risk of poverty.

In the next five years €4.7 million will be placed with around 800 Serbian start-ups and social enterprises, with a guarantee agreement signed by EIF. In 2017 and 2018 comprehensive support to civil society organisations and persons at risk of poverty will be introduced. The CEE programme is aimed at helping to create 5,000 new jobs in CEE, providing financing for 500 social enterprises and improving financial stability for 25,000 people at risk of poverty by 2019.

UM & Coca-Cola

GOLD FOR UM AND FANTA

Media agency UM Belgrade and the Coca-Cola Company won the Gold Award at the 18th media trends Festival SEMPLER, held in Portorož, Slovenia. The international jury awarded the Gold Award in the category of best campaigns on social networks.

“The success of the campaign is the result of our knowledge of trends in today's time, when the media and consumers are changing on a daily basis,” said Dubravka Urošević, Regional Account Director for agency UM Belgrade.

“What makes this award so special is the fact that it is the result of very close cooperation between the company's cross-functional teams and our partner agencies. Working with YouTubers and influencers was a novelty for us, but obviously the common thinking combined with the desire for innovation proved to be a good formula for creating a successful Fanta & Yasserstain cooperation,” said Darko Stanojević, Connections Manager at Coca-Cola: Bosnia, Croatia, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.

DAY OF ITALY AT UŠĆE During his official visit to Belgrade, the Leader of Greece's New Democracy party, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, met with the members of the Hellenic Business Association of Serbia, on the working breakfast organized in hotel Metropol Palace.

The meeting was attended by 50 Greek businessmen from Serbia, as well as by representatives of political and diplomatic corps from Greece. The event was opened by the president of the HBA, Mr. Georgios Papanastasiou, who presented to Mr. Mitsotakis the goals and activities of the Hellenic Business Association, as well as the key business segments of Greek companies operating in Serbia. During the constructive dialogue that followed, the Greek businessmen had opportunity to discuss with Mr. Mitsotakis who presented his policy ideas for returning the Greek economy to robust growth, as well as his support to the operations of Greek companies in Serbia and abroad.

“Day of Italy” – a mini fair of Italian tastes, featuring travel options and a concert of Italian music, was organised at Belgrade’s Ušće Shopping Centre, in collaboration with the Italian Embassy, Confindustria Serbia, the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Culture Centre in Belgrade.

The event saw the presenting of Italian brands Monini, Rio Mare, Lavazza and Barilla Mulino Bianco, as well as domestic brand Alexandria. The Italian Culture Centre also used the opportunity to promote Italian language courses and the culture of Italy, with the help of travel agencies Kon Tiki and Big Blue.

The Day of Italy’s guests of honour included Sergio Monti, Deputy Ambassador of Italy in Belgrade, who addressed those in attendance, Fabrizio Cosimi, Commercial Attaché of the Italian Embassy, Marija Savić, representing the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and Irena Brajović, Director of Confindustria - the Association of Italian Entrepreneurs in Serbia. A concert of Italian music was performed by Italian artist Mattia Zanate and local guitarist Slobodan Bijelić, followed by a concert and video projection entitled “The Extraordinary Italian Taste”.

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B USINESS NEWS EKO Serbia

AWARDS LUCKY WINNERS

Sogelease Serbia

MARKET LEADER IN FINANCIAL LEASING IN SERBIA

Sogelease Serbia has been the absolute leader of Serbia’s financial leasing market since the beginning of 2016, with a total of 49 million euros in new loans. Sogelease has grown by as much as 75 percent in new loans over the same period last year. Sogelease’s market share in the third quarter of 2016 reached 22.6%, while the company is also a leader in the financing of new passenger vehicles, with a share of 24.3%, light commercial vehicles and buses (about 32%) and construction equipment and agricultural vehicles.

According to Boris Stević, President of the Sogelease Executive Board, “the results show that we are recognised in the financial leasing market as a company with high flexibility and simplified lending approval procedures”.

Sogelease ended last year in first place among leasing companies, with a total of 40.5 million euros in new loans.

EKO Serbia is organising a major prize game, “1,000 euros a day and at the end – a flat!”, to mark its completion of a successful calendar and fiscal year, and as a sign of gratitude to all of its existing and future customers.

One of the promoters of this campaign is Nikola Đuričko – an actor whose talents encapsulate all the benefits brought by membership in the EKO Smile Club and possession of an EKO Smile card.

Until 24th December, every consumer with an account worth a minimum of 1,500 dinars with any EKO petrol station in Serbia and an EKO Smile card will have the chance to win €1,000 every day. In addition, all customers will also participate in the draw for the grand prize - a 44m2 flat in Belgrade, with the winner to be selected through a public draw on 24th December. All customers, including winners of daily prizes, will participate in the final draw and have a chance to win the grand prize.

€60M OF SUPPORT FOR 3,000 SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES

AMBASSADOR WIVES BEAR GIFTS FOR THE CHILDREN AT THE SHELTER On Monday, 12th December, 2016, the wives of ambassadors visited the children at the Belgrade Shelter bringing them gifts that were received with a lot of joy. The gifts included winter hats, gloves and shawls to keep the children warm during winter, as well as toys and sweets that will hopefully help them to forget for a little while the misfortune that brought them to the Shelter, and to indulge in their sweet tooth over the upcoming holidays. These are the personal gifts from the women ambassadors, the wives of the ambassadors and the wives of the diplomatic corps officials in Belgrade who wanted to wish the children a happy New Year and all the best in their lives in this way.

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European Investment Fund (EIF) and Banca Intesa AD Beograd signed the first contract in Serbia under the COSME Programme for the SMEs at a ceremony held today in Belgrade. Thanks to the financial support of the European Commission, the EIF provided a direct guarantee which will enable Banca Intesa in the next two years to support 3,000 SMEs in Serbia with €60m loan on favourable terms - with a longer repayment period and without a mortgage as collateral. Minister of Economy Goran Knežević said that Serbia was increasingly turning to development and that the Government of Serbia puts SMEs and entrepreneurship in the focus, since they are seen as the bearers of development. EU Ambassador to Serbia Michael Davenport said that it is known that SMEs are t" he backbone" of any economy today and stressed that Serbia was no exception. Pier Luigi Ghilibert said: T " oday's agreement with Banca Intesa represents another important step for small and medium enterprises in Serbia. Sixty million is a significant amount that will contribute to improving the overall investment climate in Serbia. "

VIP’S LICENCE EXTENDED FOR 10 MORE YEARS RATEL Director Vladica Tintor handed to Alejandro Platero, CEO of Telekom Austria Group, and Dejan Turk, CEO of company Vip mobile, a formal decision extending all rights and obligations acquired by purchasing Serbia’s third licence for a public mobile telecommunications network and the provision of related services for the next ten years. The licence extension ceremony took place at Vip mobile’s new headquarters in New Belgrade and was also attended by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Rasim Ljajić.

Telekom Austria Group bought the licence for the third mobile operator in Serbia in November 2006, paying 320 million and one euro. Vip remains the biggest greenfield investor in Serbia, having so far invested more than 934 million euros.

As the fastest growing mobile operator in the region, Vip generated revenue of 161 million euros in the first nine months of this year, holding a 22.4% market share, with more than 2.1 million customers and more than 900 employees in Serbia.

I&F McCann Grupa

SYNERGY OF NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN EUROPEAN CREATIVITY

Managers and creative personnel from Nordic agencies operating within I&F McCann Grupa visited the company’s headquarters in Belgrade to discuss further development plans, joint projects and exchange practices.

Company founder Srđan Šaper said that this was the first visit since I&F McCann Grupa acquired agencies in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. “This meeting has turned Belgrade into an important point on the map of creative Europe. It’s up to us to take advantage of this huge potential for our countries, as well for the industry we represent, for all our employees and, of course, for our business partners. The synergy of the north and the south will give an additional quality to I&F McCann Grupa,” said Šaper.

Hans Martin Megard, Nordic CEO for Scandinavian Design Group, a leading design company operating as part of I&F McCann Grupa, said, “Šaper and his team have built a powerful system in SEE, and this is an inspiration for us, and our goal is to do the same with agencies in the Nordic region and to become even more successful globally.”

Vienna Insurance Group

VIG COMPLETES PROCESS OF BUYING AXA COMPANIES IN SERBIA

The Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) signed a share purchase agreement with company AXA Non-life insurance a.d.o.

Belgrade and AXA Life Insurance a.d.o.

Belgrade for their takeover back in July 2016. The transaction was completed on 30th November 2016, with the regulatory authorities having given final approval for the share purchase agreement.

“On the basis of the positive economic predictions, Serbia is, for VIG, the right market for growth and investment. Our goal was to increase our market share to at least 10% by the mid-term plan, and we are very pleased that we have already achieved that goal,” said Peter Höfinger, member of the VIG Board responsible for the Serbian market. These two AXA companies generated over 12 million euros in insurance premiums during the 2015 fiscal year.

The product range offered includes accident insurance, motor insurance, property and personal insurance. Through existing company Wiener Städtische Osiguranje, VIG has already been successfully present on the Serbian market.

FRENCH CITIES OF THE FUTURE

The Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia, the Embassy of France to Serbia and the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, under the auspices of French Week in Serbia, organised a business conference entitled “City of the Future: the French experience”, with the aim of presenting some of France's best solutions for the use of advanced technology to create sustainable cities. The conference was opened by CCIS Deputy President Miroslav Miletić, H.E. French Ambassador Christine Moro and French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce President Dragoljub Damljanović.

Egis’s Mathieu Lucia presented an example of a smart city through a half-hour 3D simulation of the project “Astainable”, carried out for the Kazakhstani capital of Astana.

This project, funded by the French government, included a large number of French companies.

The conference’s special guest was Pierre Gautier, a famous French urbanist from the PGA Architects architectural bureau, who presented the project for the future of the city of Strasbourg. This was followed by presentations of other French groups like Schneider Electric, Suez Environment, Veolia, Saint-Gobain, Alstom and Bouygues construction.

HBA

SPEED BUSINESS MEETING

The Hellenic Business Association of Serbia, the Slovenian Business Club and the Nordic Business Alliance organized the Speed Business Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Belgrade hotel, also the sponsor of the event, on Wednesday, November 9.

To the end of connecting foreign and local businessmen, 14 individual eight-minute “one-on-one” meetings were organized, previously determined by a draw. The SBM was attended by 35 companies from various sectors, which had the opportunity to connect and expand their contact portfolios to the end of developing and acquiring potential partners. Following the completion of formal meetings, a networking cocktail was organized, during which representatives of the companies had the opportunity to continue connecting with their partners and exchange additional information through informal meetings.

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POLI TI CS Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

THE RISE OF POPULISM Easy solution for complicated problems

In times of crisis, people tend to find easy answers. And they rebel.

And they want to protest and dismantle the system they loathe, believing that they are being oppressed by the system. And it is not the fault of liberals, but rather the Left. Đorđe Balašević, a famous Serbian musician, writer and poet, wrote some 25 years ago a memorable song in which he sang: “It's not the fault of the generals and moustache-wearing majors... They only knew to say “Fire!” ... It is our fault that we let them do so.” You cannot blame a wolf for being a wolf, nor a politician for wanting to get some power. Nor you can blame the people for being narrow-minded if you have done nothing to educate them. It is the vacuum that made the populists, and the liberals who are often blamed for creating it are not really at fault.

Basically, the political world functions in a dichotomy of Right and Left. They have lots of names.

Like Republicans and Democrats, Conservatives and Labour, Christian Democrats and Social Democrats and so on, depending on which country we are talking about. There is usually one side championing the rich, those who took their chance to get rich, or those who believe in a laissez-faire society. This side is now usually called Liberals, as opposed to some earlier times when “Liberals” opposed “Conservatives”. Basically, they hold a deep belief in the free market and a “small state” that does not control many things. They try to create an environment that is

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profit friendly, while social issues are downgraded to a second or third priority. Then there are Socialists, or Leftists, who are primarily concerned with workers, the middle class, the disenfranchised and hardworking people. Their primary concern is to protect the working people, to ensure health insurance, social security, to make a society capable of functioning without much conflict. Americans have usually tended towards the more Liberal spirit, while the UK was in the same wagon until the creation of Keynesian “Welfare state” after WWII. Reaganism and Thatcherism reinstated the earlier concept. Meanwhile, the Continentals, the Europeans, especially in Scandinavia or Germany,

cards is never a good solution, and that is precisely what it was.

And since the U.S.’s Democrats ceased to care about the workers in the post-industrial era, they “educated” people to join the new service economy (with jobs already relocated to China, Vietnam, Mexico) and elevate themselves. Okay, but how Homer Simpson and the like can be elevated? And there are many ordinary people incapable of “elevating” themselves. The idea was pretty racist at its roots. It seems that the Western World will only provide intellectual services, while the Third World will manufacture things without thinking. So, the Westerners are kind of “superior”, right? Wrong! Many people

WE CREATED A VACUUM AND IT CREATED POPULISM. JUST REMEMBER HOW GUILTY WE ARE FOR THE VACUUM. THE LEFT BETRAYED THE COMMON PEOPLE, AND THEY STRUCK BACK were on the other side: egalitarian, protecting “the little man”.

With the end of the Cold War, the Liberals thought they have secured a decisive victory; there is no other system than Liberal Democracy and the market controls all. And there is the catch. Socialist parties all around Europe started their tectonic shift from Left to Centre. It started with Tony Blair's New Labour, followed

by Gerhard Schröder and Jacques Chirac. There was no longer any Left, nor Right – just Left Centre and Right Centre; just mud in between. And then the only question was “when is it all going to collapse?” … A house of

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in the UK and the U.S. felt that they couldn’t do anything if traditional jobs were outsourced. Many of them had two jobs and still lived poorly. They felt as though the Democrats and the Labour Party were protecting the rich, while there was nobody protecting them. And such a situation could not last.

Thus, since every social group must have someone to champion them, the populists arrived… big time. And they combined Leftist rhetoric with some of Rightist ideas, a blend of ideas that are appealing to those who felt as though they’d been left behind. The National Front

in France, AfD in Germany, UKIP, Brexiteers, Trumpists, you name it.

So, Brexit succeeded and Trump succeeded, and Jutarnji List’s Ana Muhar explained it perfectly. We all feel closer to the globalist elites and the cosmopolitan people of Cairo, London and Moscow. We are much closer to each other than a cosmopolitan person from London and a hairdresser from Birmingham, both of whom are English. And the internationalists always existed, but the trouble is that the ordinary people stopped believing that these countries are actually theirs. They felt threatened and they reacted.

We forgot about them and failed to protect them in the globalisation process. So they started openly rebelling. And there is another catch: you cannot “educate” people to believe that free trade or global multiculturalism is great if they have an option to vote against it.

You can do that in the USSR in 1933; you can send some commissars to villages and factories and say “we are all the same now; Socialism has arrived; there is no God, all nations are equal etc.”, and they cannot vote against that. But in a democracy the people can vote against that, and we did not persuade them not to do so.

We created a vacuum and it created populism. In 1914 the nobility in Russia, the UK or Austria had more in common with each other than with the peasants and workers in their own countries. And in 1918 they were all ousted. Just remember how guilty we are for the vacuum.

The Left betrayed the common people, and they struck back.

I NTERVI EW Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

“SUPPORT RTV” IS NOT POLITICAL, IT'S A PRINCIPLE Following the Provincial elections this spring, RT Vojvodina underwent some changes in personnel, which affected the management and some famous TV faces, resulting in the cancellation of some popular TV shows

MILICA KRAVIĆ

RTV radio (and former TV) anchor

These events triggered street protests and web protests dubbed #PodržiRTV (“Support RTV”). Here we speak with one of the leaders of the movement, former editor of the RTV morning programme, Milica Kravić.

The problem with public service broadcasters is that they are not properly understood. In an interview with BBC director Salim Mukaddam, I made the mistake of saying “state-owned TV” and he corrected me, saying “public-owned TV, the state or the government has nothing to do with the BBC”. It is common, however, for people in this part of the world to confuse the two.

Why is that?

— That is the essence of the problem. The main problem is that this cannot be understood by the new management of RTV. Exactly 10 years ago, RTV became a public service broadcaster and ceased to be a state TV company. After many changes, it finally – some two years ago – reached a level that should have been reached and became a real public TV, with a good programme. That takes time. It had to have versatile programme and not be made to suck up to sponsors, like commercial TV, or to the state, like state-owned TV. Public service broadcasters should not be responsible to the government, but to the viewers and some regulatory bodies, which, regrettably, lost our trust recently. You have to have programming for the elderly, for kids, for everyone. We managed to get there. Some people said that RTV was the closest to the ideal of public

service broadcasting. It is far from ideal, however. There were, and still are, lazy bugs, but at least those of us who really worked were allowed to work. Now that has stopped.

Now one who is good at work is not allowed, but rather one who is suitable. One night, 14 to 16 people from the informative programme were sacked. That is horrible and has never happened before. The BBC has no pressure of that kind. The new management did not even know the definition of public service – we heard that in their speeches. The state made a clear censorship, broke the law, sacked Arežina, the director, which proves they have no clue what a public service broadcaster is. It is independent and paid for by citizens. We are on the road to once again becoming state TV. RTV became much better than RTS and the people from Central Serbia started to watch it regularly, to wake up in the morning see and hear you. “Državni posao” (State job) became pop-

started to watch RTV recently, but I am sure there were quite a lot.

We became a model TV station; we had revolutionary topics, religion, sexuality, nationality, no taboos.

We wanted to reach the audience in the morning programme, since everyone watches it. I was proud of the series and film programmes, as they were really engaged and good, with no senseless stuff. None of the old stuff that Vojvodinians eat and drink a lot, Hungarians are always in red boots etc. It was real life, not a film set. Vojvodinians have their life problems. No stereotypes. I feel nostalgic, as we worked for peanuts but did so with enthusiasm.

Yes, in 2010 I mentioned that I basically watch RTV because of the good series – Master and Margarita, House of Cards, Hero of Our times. There were some people who could recognise quality.

— If public service does not do it, nobody will do it. It is their task.

And we should talk about the results. Their result was excellent. I

WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO BRING QUALITY, NOT POLITICALLY DEPENDENT PEOPLE. PROFESSIONALISM SHOULD COME FIRST ular and the TV station became more influential than any other TV station.

— Yes, it was that awakening of a former small TV station and its conversion into a creative giant.

The people started to watch it and to listen to O-Radio, because quality always finds its buyer. We had splendid communication with the viewers through social networks.

I cannot say how many people

feel that there is injustice, since we are nobody's people, free thinkers, and therefore we are easy targets and endangered.

Is it better for those in power to have honest opinions from their employees and citizens in general, or to have yes-men who will go with the flow? If you speak the truth, they will have a clear picture of the situation.

— I showed my opinion by taking to the streets. A better friend is the one who tells you the truth. We went onto the streets so that they would know what we think. That is my attitude. I won't hide it. I meet colleagues that feel ashamed because of it all. I am not ashamed. Some people don't understand that the sycophants are not good friends.

I will never be one. I stood up and said “No! You are not doing the right thing”. They came here very arrogantly. I don't defend any party or person, I defend quality. The morning programme, since we were ousted, decimated its viewers. Now they don't even want to hear the results of viewership. It is disastrous.

It illustrates it all. I was not sacked, but rather transferred to the radio.

Now the protests have settled down after the spring wave, but you have changed the way of your struggle?

— Yes, we have formed a new platform. We became a citizens' movement, called Citizens' Front. My wish is to defend the public interest and public resources. We want to defend the right to live decently.

There are a wide range of organisations from all around Serbia. My wish is for us all to be united and to reach our goal. We united seven different organisations. It is very big at the local level. They showed in Niš that protests can be useful – they succeeded in lowering the gas prices. That’s like in Poland, with the abortion law. It shows us that protests are not futile! We are not giving up. We have to fight for the people who bring quality, not politically dependent people. Professionalism should come first.

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CONFERENCE

THE YEAR OF COUNTERING SHADOW ECONOMY This year, almost 40 billion dinars was paid in the Republic of Serbia’s budget as a result of the fight against shadow economy. The inspection bodies have discovered almost 6,000 unregistered companies and more than 13,000 undocumented workers, in addition to seizing substantial quantities of smuggled excise goods. These are just some of the results achieved in the first year of the implementation of the National Programme for Countering Shadow Economy that will be presented at the traditional National Annual Conference on Shadow Economy in the Palace of Serbia in late December.

The National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) are the organizers of the conference which will assemble the highest government officials, the heads of the institutions in charge of combating shadow economy, business people

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advocating fair market, and the presidents of local self-governments which experienced reduced budget revenues because of shadow economy. The conference will take place under the auspices of the Serbian government.

At the conference, all interested parties will be given an opportunity to discuss the best solutions for further development of inspection supervision and more efficient punishment of violations and criminal offenses stemming from shadow economy. The second important segment of this dialogue will be measures for promoting legal business and educating citizens and businesses about the damage done by shadow economy and the need to get the entire society involved in resolving what is one of the most urgent problems of the Serbian economy today.

The national conference will also mark the beginning of the Year of Countering Shadow Economy and a large-scale educational media campaign. Issuing recepits and the

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importance of paying taxes so that the state’s can provide better quality services, shopping in registered shops, facing the risks from purchasing undeclared products, and the goods traficking routes are the key areas that the public needs to be better informed on.

In the year ahead of us, the state bodies will invest even more effort in implementing the measures stipulated in the National Programme. With a view of improving the capacity of the state bodies, over 380 training sessions for inspectors have been carried out this year, who will pass on the knowledge to their colleagues, while 1,200 inspectors have been trained locally. Next year, the inspectors will be able to use an information platform (e-inspektor) and risk analysis software which will improve the coordination betwen them and increase the efficiency of inspection supervision.

As a result of the fight against shadow economy, the number of newly registered companies in

2016 grew by almost 19% relative to the period before the implementation of the Law on Inspection Supervision, while the percentage of closed companies fell by more than 17%. There will be two panel discussions at the conference at which the participants will be able to discuss how to make a concrete contribution to achieving even better results in countering shadow economy. The representatives of the Ministry of State Administration, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance, the Market Inspection, the Tax Administration and the State Prosecutor’s Office.

The panel discussion between the ministers who are members of the Coordination Body for Countering Shadow Econonomy will close the conference. This panel discussion will be dedicated to strategic reform guidelines with the view of establishing fair market practices and resolving the problems generated by unfair competition in the economy.

EUROBANK

PHOTO EXHIBITION OF THE BIG HEART CHARITY CAMPAIGN By staging an exhibition of photographs of reconstructed nurseries and schools, one of the longest lasting charity projects, ’Big Heart’ has celebrated yet another successful year. As a joint project of Eurobank and the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, since 2010, ’Big Heart’ has helped 38 nurseries and schools across Serbia that are attended by 25,000 children. The clients of Eurobank, i.e. over 22,000 holders of the Big Heart card, are the ones who have been continuously donating funds towards the campaign. So far, they have donated close to 5 million Dinars that were spent on equipping and reconstructing nurseries and schools. „We are proud of our Eurobank community of charitable people who have been a great support in the implemenation of the project. It is our desire for Big Heart to continue into the next year too because there are many more nurseries, schools and playgrounds that are waiting to be re-

constructed“, said Slavica Pavlović, chairwoman of Eurobank’s Executive Board. „We have managed to implement numerous initiatives through the Foundation’s work, but Big Heart is one of our longest-lived projects.

Through equipping and reconstructing schools and nurseries, we want to create better conditions for development and education of children“, said Ana Košel, director of the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation. „We are proud of projects like these and we would like to thank both the Divac Foundation and Eurobank on impressive results owing to which the conditions for growing up and education of our children in nurseries and schools have improved“, said Miloš Blagojević, a special adviser in the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.

The Big Heart photo exhibition is staged at the ŠTAB Gallery and is opened to visitors from 6th to 13th December, 2016.

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SERB I AN VI SION MULTI-CONFERENCE

WEEKEND OF NEW VISIONS FOR SERBIA’S BETTER TOMORROW The Serbian Visions Multi-Conference took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Belgrade on 26th and 27th November, 2016. It was organized by the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce The conference gathered 60 NGOs and other associations, institutions and professional organizations that are working towards better future for the Serbian citizens and the country itself. „We are organizing this event for the second consecutive time. We have assembled 60 organizations which staff is engaged in different fields with the same goal of finding a common idea about how to make life a bit better“, said Martin Knapp, Director of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce. „This multi-conference provides a platform for the participants to broaden and present their activities and ideas to their own and the general public. The fact that the number of this year‘s applications for participation in the conference has surpassed our capacity has demonstrated that these organizations have adopted this concept. Our surmise that civil society in Serbia is getting better organized by the day was confirmed this weekend and we are confident that we are going to organize such gathering next year too“, Mr. Knapp added.

The two-day-multi-conference was brimming with presentations, panel discussions, lectures and film screenings at which the participating organizations showcased their activities, solutions, ideas and projects. The conference was also attended by their members, friends and guests.

The discussion topics ranged from human rights, education, European integration, economy, and environmental protection to culture and safety. The numerous panel discussions covered the topics like advantages and opportunities of franchises in Serbia, the truth and myths about loans indexed in Dinars and Swiss Francs, opportunities for young people to connect to sucessful companies, contemporary media, economic empowerment of women over 45 years of age, climate change and renewable energy sources, opening of the Chapter 19 (social and labour issues) in the EU accession negotiations, protecting employees from mobbing, the future of textile industry and many others.

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REGI ONAL YO UTH LEADERSHIP FORUM Text: ALEKSANDAR SIMURDIĆ

THE FUTURE AND FUTURE LEADERS OF EUROPE AT THE CROSSROADS

In the period from 20 to 22 November 2016, Novi Sad hosted the Second Forum of young leaders in the region (Regional Youth Leadership Forum), organized by the European Movement in Serbia - Local Council in Novi Sad, the European Fund for the Balkans and the Belgrade Fund for political Excellence

The Forum brought together over two hundred socially active young people aged up to 30 years, from the region and Europe. Forum has also provided support to the work of the Regional Office for cooperation and exchange of youth, established in the framework of the "Berlin Process", the Paris Summit in July this year, which is expected to open in 2017.

Guests of Novi Sad and Vojvodina were members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission, the diplomatic corps, academia, civil society and media from the region and Europe.

After the plenary session which had the tile The youth and technology - how to adapt for the economy of the future (organised in partnership with BEUM), soon followed

a special event: The impact of creativity, innovation and technological development on economic growth in the region, with eminent guests like Mirko Topalski, CEO of EIPIX; Ivan Jelušić, Owner and CEO of u:Plug, Osijek, Croatia; or Dr. Jörg Krywkow - member of the EU office of the University of Applied Sciences in Osnabrück. The first day was continued with the expert panel discussion: European idea on the crossroads- make up or break up?

During the panel the participants, Dejan Jović, Professor, Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia; Jolanta Szymanska, Senior Policy Analist, The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM); Vedran Džihić, Austrian Institute for International Politics; Corina Stratulat, Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Center; and other discussed the tricky situation in today’s EU.

The economic growth and social inclusion – European role during the last 25 years was the discussion in which Radovan Jelašić, Chairperson of the Management Board of Directors, CEO, Erste Bank Hungary and ex-Governor of the National Bank of Serbia presented his views.

In a conversation with Vedran Džihić, Austrian Institute for International Politics „Reclaiming Democracy - A Quest for a Democratic Polarisation: From the Western Balkans to Europe and back and the problems of our region and the EU in whole. During the second day, Lazar Džamić discussed with the guests and the panels explained the role of the new politicians Europe needs in such crisis times like ours.

The panels and case studies also enlightened the role of Middle East – as a region with religious and ethnic diversity as a permanent conflict

potential, and Balkan media’s reality as a distorted world. The third day hilightened the Transatlantic relations and a entrepreneurship spirit among the young.

At a time when the region, Europe and the world face great challenges, there is a need for more dialogue at all levels, in order to strengthen the resilience of societies to the crisis and a better understanding of the world around us. We reasonably believe that it is young people who, freed from the constraints of the past, can and should be a strong support for dialogue and cooperation in the region in the future. To give the aforesaid process a chance to succeed, today it is important to introduce them to each other, connect and encourage the cooperation and exchange of opinions, attitudes and confront the argument in the time ahead.

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B ELGRADE VENTURE FORUM Text: STEFAN ĆULIBRK

IT: ONE OF THE NO-BRAINER TICKETS TO PROSPERITY Belgrade Venture Forum held in the beginning of December in Belgrade, showcased the new trends in the IT industry, which is one of the most propulsive industries worldwide and especially in manufacturing-deprived and deindustrialised countries like Serbia

AS NASSIM TALEB WOULD SAY, OUTSOURCING BELONGS TO MEDIOCRISTAN, HOME OF BUSINESS MODELS WHERE REVENUES ARE LINEAR TO THE HOURS WORKED

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Serbia's IT community has been rapidly expanding in the recent years, driven by the success of outsourcing shops. These days junior engineers doing the heavy lifting go for 600 to 1.200 euro a month. Runway for competing successfully on cost and quality of service is long. To put it in perspective, IT is still 4% of Serbian exports. Engineer salaries are multiple times the average. It is one of the no-brainer tickets to prosperity for the generations to come.

Industry experts note that long-term success depends on the upgrade from a cost-driven edge to an idea-driven one. As Nassim Taleb would say, outsourcing belongs to Mediocristan, home of business models where revenues are linear to the hours worked. Software products belong to Extremistan, where marginal dollar of revenue requires very little labour and the upside for those involved is infinite.

Belgrade Venture Forum stands for the biggest forum of enterpeneurship, innovation and investments in the Balkans. Regionally focused venture capitalists, angel investors and start-ups meet to discuss ideas, challenges and investments.

Local start-ups welcome the attention of the VCs, with whom they trade ownership stakes and promises for funding, know-how and connections in the Valley. This is likely their only available source of funding. Local banks haven't moved on from an asset-heavy view of businesses. Their mindset revolves around securing hard collateral for loans. The fact that the same overvalued collateral got them into sky-high non-performing loans is somehow ignored.

Belgrade Venture Forum proved that the

ecosystem is booming. Outsourcing shops breed skilled developers that excel working on challenging projects for established foreign players. Developers grow into product guys that add tremendous value to the ecosystem. Not to say that everyone can bootstrap a Nordeus (they can't). Extremistan is a destination, but in a country where millions are living under 400e a month, we don't need to choose. Change in the right direction of a 20-year status quo in living standards will happen with outsourcing as well.

Participants of Belgrade Venture Forum pitching contest didn't lack bold product ideas. Voice recognition software for Croatian language, an app designed to engage idle basketball fans by allowing them to punt on directions of the game, social media influencing network that aims to grow revenue exponentially through an expansion in Asia are some of the notably bold ideas. To be fair, there is still a substantial knowledge gap between the harsh but fair questions of the VC jury and the responses of the participants. Certainly there is selection bias at play. The very best fly straight to San Francisco. Not to mention the old fashioned startups that make enough money off the bat and don't need funding.

Packed room for Nebojsa Lazić's talk on tech investing is an encouraging sign that entreprenuers are looking to mend their mistakes.

His remarkably humble demeanour, down-toearth attitude and focus on fundamentals are a fine balance to local entrepreneur's audacity.

Looking forward to see what they'll do together.

The quality of local startups is only going to improve through iterations. BgVF and the growing network helps. Looking forward to the next BgVF!

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FI N A N C I A L MA R K ETS

Trade-offs Brexit means...a lot of complex trade decisions

Politicians campaign in soundbites but reality deals in awkward paragraphs. For all the sloganeering (Brexit means Brexit) and the prevarication, the British government must finally decide what kind of trade-offs it is willing to accept when it leaves the European Union. The UK trade policy observatory at the University of Sussex has an excellent new paper out on the choices facing the country, which was the subject of a lunchtime seminar today.

The British government seems to have four red lines. It wants to stop free movement of labour; to be allowed to pursue an independent trade policy; not to contribute to the EU Budget; and to break away from legal oversight by the European Court of Justice. (All of these can be summed up by the slogan "taking back control"). The EU's sole red line seems to be that Britain cannot benefit from "cherry picking"— for example, benefiting from membership of the single market in terms of goods trade, but not allowing free labour movement.

To understand the trade-offs, we must first understand the terms. The single market is an idea that Britain originally pushed for—a trading area where the regulations are harmonised so that goods and services can be traded on an interchangeable basis. Without it, there is the danger that trade is restricted because, for example, Slovenia might impose rules on car design which mean that it effectively excludes vehicles made in other EU countries. But in order to make the single market work, there have to be common rules; and the imposition of those rules is something that British voters seemed to rebel against. A further confusion is between access and membership. Every country in the world, even North Korea, has access to the single market; it is membership that makes it easier for companies to sell their goods.

Then there is a customs union. This simply means a free trade area where all members have common tariffs against goods from outside. Again, such a deal is efficient but prevents member countries from agreeing separate deals with other countries (as Britain wants to do). Then there is the European Economic Area (EEA) which is a peculiar type of free trade agreement, operated by just Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein. This gives some freedom to negotiate deals with countries outside the EU but requires accepting freedom of movement and budget contributions. Then, there is falling back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules; these would involve trading with the EU but with tariffs imposed on goods and with possible barriers to trade in services.

Britain's red lines mean that being part of the

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EEA or the customs union would be impossible.

And falling back on WTO membership would be economically damaging. So the hope seems to be, as Brexiteers have argued, that Britain could have a free trade agreement similar to those signed (just) with Canada or South Korea.

But that is where the trickiest bit of the negotiations would occur because of the EU's red line; it does not want Britain to benefit from a cherry-picked deal that might encourage other countries to follow the path to the exit.

THE UK SEEMS TO BE MORE WEDDED TO ITS RED LINES BUT ALSO RISKS LOSING MORE BY NOT MODIFYING THE A free trade agreement would avoid tariffs but still require agreement on rules of origin.

These would require British manufacturers to show that more than 60% of the goods they export to the EU were made in their home country—tricky in a world of global value chains where cars, for example, use a lot of imported components. It might also involve a mutual recognition agreement, so that EU countries could accept that Britain's standards for testing and certification. Without such agreements, British goods could face barriers just as steep as those deriving from tariffs. But here is the rub. If Britain agreed to mutual enforcement of

standards with the EU, it could not then agree to sign a separate deal with other countries (such as China) involving separate standards.

Perhaps Britain could do a deal in which certain sectors were effectively part of the Customs Union, as the government seems to have promised Nissan? Such a deal would have to be ratified by all other EU members, making it hostage to one intransigent Parliament.

Worst of all, Canada's free trade deal does not cover services, the area where Britain tends to have a trade surplus; 37% of Britain's services exports go to the EU. A deal that lets German cars into Britain but prevents British accountants and lawyers from selling to German clients would not be not a good one. As the paper concludes.

All this will require a lot of patient negotiation, which seems unlikely to be completed by March 2019 when the formal date for EU exit may occur. So that may require an interim period in which Britain maintains the EU trading arrangements, including free labour movement and budget contributions. That might be economically sensible (some think Britain may choose to continue in this limbo forever). But it would be politically tricky; Theresa May would face the 2020 electorate with Britain still effectively in the EU. From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

CORPORATE LI FE CENTAR

To be Happy is to be Yourself

Photo: Mare Milin

Dragana Jovanović is a renowned life, health, business and personal development coach. Following in the footsteps of her contemporaries and coaching gurus from the West, she has established herself as the regional leader in stress management and selfmanagement programmes for business people

DRAGANA JOVANOVIĆ

Life, health, business and personal development coach

Dragana Jovanović is a highly acclaimed life, health, business and personal development coach. She teaches corporate clients how to live and work from the place of authenticity, how to manage their energy and stress, and how to define life priorities. „There is no success without personal development tools, owing to which we have developed a invincible mindset“, Jovanović claims. Recently, she demonstrated her knowledge and skills to the visitors of the Serbian Visions 2016 multi-conference.

sion which results in imbalances that primarily affect their health and work productivity. A Day for You is intended for managers and it has a team-building format. It is tailor-made for modern day managers and addresses them them as rounded off human beings who should be successful and happy in all areas of their lives.

In your work, you pay special attention to women managers and entrepreneurs. Why is this so?

managers or business owners.

In which way does Office Yoga

by Dragana Jovanović help corporate employees who work in a very stressful environment?

— Office Yoga is a 20-minute-programme that contains techniques from yoga therapy, coaching, and meditation with a goal of restoring peace, focus and energy in business people during working hours.

As the title says, Office Yoga is conducted in the workplace and me

Could you tell us something about the self-management and anti-stress programmes that you have crated?

— These are the programmes that I have personally created and they are called 'A Day for You' and 'Office Yoga by Dragana Jovanović'. Both of them have been recongized as modern corporate programmes aimed at managing stress in the workplace. I have been successfully implementing them together with the companies like Japan Tobacco International, Societe Generale Bank, Prva TV, B92, dm-drogeriemarkt Serbia and others. The Day for You seminar is one of my most popular seminars and, for me personally, one of the most important ones because I think that, in this day and age, this is something that people really need in their workplace. Weighed down by too much work and communication they don't have time to spend on themeselves in order to regenerate and release the ten-

satisfaction. The tools that I teach about and sell to female managers and entrepreneurs at my 3R seminars are the tools that are used to properly channel stress because, in the modern world, if you don't manage stress, stress will manage you. I am going to give a lecture about these tools and the importance of managing stress in the workplace at the biggest regional conference of female entrepreneurs called „Women Entrepreneurship in Southeast Europe“ that I will open in Zagreb, on 8th March, 2017, on the International Women's Day. The conference will assemble close a thousand women entrepreneurs from the entire region.

You are known for your quote that happiness creates success and not vice versa. What is the message here?

THERE IS NO CONTINUOUS SUCCESS WITHOUT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT TOOLS, OWING TO WHICH WE HAVE DEVELOPED A INVINCIBLE MINDSET — I have been an entrepreneur for twenty years and I know how many challenges we have to overcome to be successful business women, mothers and wives. Women are working more, know more, achieve more, give more and demand more today. This is a global trend that is happening here too.

Hence, a segment of my seminars is intended solely for women and it specifically targets business women which are multi-tasking every day, whether they are corporate

and my team exercise with every single group individually.

You have also been conducting a specialized anti-stress programme for women managers and entrepreneurs in the region called 3R – Recharge, Renew, Reboot. Is stress a common denominator that links female managers and entrepreneurs in our region?

— We are constantly balancing between work and family which creates a lot of tension and dis-

— Happiness is the secret and vital part of success. If you are not happy in your work, your work will not be successful. The true success is being yourself, and presenting the best part of yourself in any given situation. I talk more about this in my book „Uspeh je u nama – čarobna kutija alata za lični razvoj“ (Success Lies in Us – Magic Toolbox for Personal Development) which is a practical guide for all the people who attend my seminars, but I would also like to recommend it to everyone wishing to live authentically and successfully.”

You can learn more about Dragana Jovanović's seminar on her website: www.draganajovanovic-bodysoul.com booking@draganajovanovic-bodysoul.com and + 381 (0)65 431 0431

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I NTERVI EW Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

REFRESHED, YOUNG, MODERN, COSMOPOLITAN The guest performance of the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre as part of the Belgrade Dance Festival, after a long time, will certainly be a good opportunity to look at the new production of this troupe that is marking 140 years of its existence

LEONARD JAKOVINA

Director of the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre

Two Croatian choreographers, Maša Kolar and Marjana Krajač, bring a sensational interpretation of Ravel’s “Boléro” and the poem about the unknown entitled “A dark landscape”. We asked Leonard Jakovina, director of the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre, about the HNK Ballet.

The Croatian National Theatre Ballet celebrates its 140th birthday this season. The first mention of ballet dancers on the stage was published in a programme guide dated 3rd November 1876. This oldest, largest and most important ballet ensemble in Croatia bravely began a new story on 11th November. Modern dances with courage on the big stage, the world premiere of two young Croatian choreographers, with beautiful music, a good adaptation of Boléro and elegant costumes and aesthetically compelling scenery, caused more than 1,200 spectators to get to their feet! Behind the curtain, and behind another in the series of successes of this ensemble, stands the young director of this ballet company, Leonard Jakovina.

the First Ballet Academy in Munich, and then I got my first engagement at the Munich Opera. I later continued my career with the Berlin State Ballet. My experience is the result of many years of working with excellent teachers and choreographers.

Each of them left a mark on my artistic maturing, and for that I am immensely grateful. With the Zagreb Ballet I want to establish a creative and constructive work. The im-

You caused surprise among many with your decision to end your career in Berlin and take on the position of director of the Ballet Theatre in Zagreb. How do you see that switch today?

— I think it was a healthy and logical decision. I have fulfilled my dreams as a dancer, and that road

I FOUND A TECHNICALLY BRILLIANT ENSEMBLE, WHICH I REFRESHED WITH EXCELLENT YOUNG DANCERS WHO FIT WELL AND GAVE NEW STRENGTH TO THE ENSEMBLE, WHICH IS ALWAYS WELCOME AND INTERESTING FOR THE AUDIENCE

You spent a long time working abroad. What experiences do you bring back from Germany and what is it that you are trying to transfer to Zagreb?

— I spent a number of years In Germany. I completed my studies at

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portant thing is mutual trust, along with order, work and discipline.

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led me to many world stages. I am proud that a new chapter of my life has emerged in time.

What is the ballet’s repertoire like today? Who are the dancers in your ensemble? Do you have a lot of foreign dancers?

— The repertoire of Ballet Theatre in Zagreb is such that it can satisfy lovers of classical, neo-classical, modern and contemporary expression.

We try to follow the reaction of the audience, and I would say that we have succeeded in that. This is my third season. I found a technically brilliant ensemble, which I refreshed with excellent young dancers who fit well and gave new strength to the ensemble, which is always welcome and interesting for the audience. The Zagreb ensemble is international: we have over ten different nationalities and foreigners comprise almost half of the ensemble. I choose the quality in dances and I am satisfied that the good dancers keep going for longer, because that means that we have an interesting and varied repertoire. Top players can dance only interesting and attractive choreographic manuscripts.

What is played on other stages in Zagreb and Croatia?

— Croatia has two other professional ballet ensembles, in Split and Rijeka. Both ensembles try to provide the audience with a rich

Two young Croatian choreographers, Maša Kolar and Marjana Krajač, had an interesting premiere with the dancers of your ensemble a month ago. That was on the main stage of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

What were the reactions like?

— It is true that they set two different choreography pieces to the satisfaction of the audience, as evidenced by the standing ovation they received on 11th November, the day of the premiere. The first part was the work of Marjana Krajač and it is a contemporary setting, accompanied by completely original contemporary music. The second part is painted with quite different energy, signed by Maša Kolar with the extremely familiar, but this time specially arranged, Ravel's “Boléro”.

We offered our audience contemporary compositions, accompanied by carefully created set design and minimalist but elegant costumes.

These are certainly brave settings for the national theatre, and I am very happy to have attracted such acclaim from the Zagreb audience.

Will you bring that to the BDF?

— Yes, that will come to Belgrade.

We are coming for the first time after 15 years, and precisely with those titles, because we want to introduce our new original work and local

choreographers. In previous times we also presented to the Belgrade audience young Croatian choreographer Staša Zurovac, who then often worked successfully in Serbia.

What does the emergence of the Belgrade Dance Festival mean for you?

— The Belgrade festival has great

significance on the international scene and it represents enormous satisfaction and recognition for a troupe if you can be part of the programme. I think it is very important for the Zagreb Ballet to perform here and I believe that for the achieving

warm welcome and great interest.

What are the future plans? Will Leonard Jakovina dance again?

— Plans are always to improve the quality and the construction of the identity of troupes. Right now I’m focused on

ballet premieres. The first is usually in early November, just like this season – with the choreographic pieces of Marjana Krajač and Maša Kolar. The second premiere is administered as soon as the season of “The Nutcracker” ballet is over, Photo: Jelena Janković

repertoire, but always in accordance with financial possibilities. Even the National Theatre in Osijek now includes “The Nutcracker” in its ballet. Croats are big fans of ballet art.

RIGHT NOW I’M FOCUSED ON MY JOB AS DIRECTOR. HOWEVER, I MAY SOON DECIDE TO DANCE ON STAGE AGAIN of such a success we have to thank the special choreographic manuscripts of two talented female authors. If you ask me personally, my wish is for this cooperation to grow into a tradition.

How did the audience in Zagreb respond and what kind of reaction do you expect in Belgrade?

— The Zagreb audience simply loves ballet. We have a fantastic audience that faithfully follows our repertoire and rewards our dancers with rapturous applause. I look forward to meeting the Belgrade audience and I hope that we will find a

my job as director. However, I may soon decide to dance on stage again.

What are the dynamics of premieres at the Croatian National Theatre; and what else can your audience expect before the end of the season?

— Each season the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb has three

and it played this season as many as eighteen times, with all tickets having already sold out! This second premiere will be “Swan Lake”, which will be choreographed exclusively by my former colleague Vladimir Malakov. The season’s last premiere, but no less eagerly awaited, is the ballet adaptation of Miroslav Krleža’s novel “The Glembays”. It will be interesting to watch the psychological game of the characters, choreographed by the renowned Leo Mujić. Leo was born and raised in Belgrade, where he completed his education, and we know that he holds the Belgrade Dance Festival’s “Vip Calling” Award. Otherwise, he always creates a dramatic relationship among the characters in a very amazing way and that has contributed greatly to the huge success of his ballet “Anna Karenina”, which has been on our repertoire for several years.

Among these premieres, revival shows are also performed and include, among others, “Romeo and Juliet”, “La Bayadère”, “Peter Pan”, “Bluebeard” etc.

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AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN SERBIA Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

AN UNLIKELY PLACE FOR THIS SPORT TO FLOURISH

In a country located deep in Europe, and with not much love lost politically for America, it is quite strange that a quintessentially American sport like American Football has received so much attention, publicity and attendance figures Clubs have sprouted up around the country, stadiums have filled and players have quickly become popular sex symbols. Even foreign players, from America, came here to play and teach the game. We asked prominent trainers and players from three clubs about their history and the history of American football in Serbia.

BORIS LOKAS

NS Dukes, Novi Sad, former player and current coach How difficult was it to launch American Football in Serbia; and how did the NS Dukes appear?

— I can now say it was difficult, because American football in Serbia is still coping, although it have all advanced, let me say, 1000% from the very beginning. But from my perspective, as a player then, it was not that hard; it only required a group of enthusiasts, lovers of sport and more or less successful athletes in other sports. No proper facilities, bad conditions, no pitches, no equipment, no real balls, but then we were able

56

to practice without any changes to the paddock near the auxiliary field of Karađorđe Stadium in Novi Sad. At the very beginning, the quality was concentrated in three clubs: Belgrade Vukovi (Wolves), Kragujevac Wild Boars and Sremska Mitrovica Legionaries (the oldest club in Serbian American Football). But when the proper equipment arrived in Serbia, the sport began being played in the right way in Novi Sad. The NS Dukes took Mitrovica’s place in the so-called Big Three and not much has changed since then when it

achieved the greatest success in Novi Sad, Belgrade and Kragujevac as they are university towns and there are a lot of students, so therefore the base of players is bigger in these larger cities.

Clubs have gained some sponsors and the cities help them to a certain extent and today we in Serbia are bringing foreign players, mainly from the U.S., but also from Europe, who are here on a professional basis. In most clubs they are the only ones who are paid to play. Some local players are also paid in the form

THE FIRST CLUB IN SERBIA WAS THE SREMSKA MITROVICA LEGIONARIES, BUT NOW THE NS DUKES HAS REPLACED IT IN THE BIG THREE, ALONG WITH THE BELGRADE WOLVES AND KRAGUJEVAC WILD BOARS. THE INĐIJA INDIANS HAS THE BEST YOUTH ACADEMY IN THE COUNTRY comes to the quality of clubs. The two strongest clubs are still the Wolves and Wild Boars, and the Dukes can only be a decent partner, because the other two clubs won every title except one, in the 2015 season, when the Dukes won the title. This sport has mainly engaged lovers of the sport and it

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of scholarships, paid housing and food expenses, while there are domestic players whose quality has enabled them to go abroad to play.

The State only provides very little assistance for American Football, as is the case with all other sports in Serbia that are not football or basketball, and everything that

this sport has achieved is solely down to the support and efforts of individuals who love this sport and invest their personal money in its development. As for the Dukes, the club has worked on a minimal investment and without foreign players for a long time, and was still able to compete with Belgrade and Kragujevac. However, a few years ago we found sponsors, in construction company “Gat”, and the club has begun to function better, conditions have improved and we also improved playing and training personnel, and consequently the results improved, which led to us winning the first title in the club's history after many lost finals in previous years. Now we roughly depend on how much the sponsor is willing to allocate for the season ahead and the team makes plans for each upcoming season accordingly.

RADOMIR NIKOLIĆ

Former player and founding member of the Inđija Indians Where did the idea to start an American Football club in Serbia come from?

— The story of the Inđija Indians began in 2003-2004, at a time when NFL games were broadcast on our TV screens for the first time. As a new and interesting sport, it quickly found followers, and on weekends we gathered and played our version of ‘football’, with our own interpretation of the rules and a street ball made of newspaper and sticky tape, because at that time there was only one proper ball in the town.

We played in the snow, the sun, without equipment. The group of enthusiasts (not to say fanatics) grew bigger and we decided to establish a club.

How hard was to "transplant" this sport in our environment?

— At that time, few people knew about American football, and if someone tried to explain what it was, the answer would generally be: ‘Oh, that is a form of rugby'. Basic things: playing fields, goalposts, equipment, balls... did not exist or were expensive and complicated for us to get. But that did not stop us. We had a suitable pitch, made goalposts, often mowed the grass ourselves, while for the stands we arrived a couple of hours before the match to assemble them from scaffolding, and after the game we dismantled them. Nothing was hard for us.

Our enthusiasm was contagious and the story of this unusual sport spread…

How high is the quality of American Football in Serbia today?

players and coaches who were necessary for the transition to the professional level. A large number of players from Serbia now play in foreign leagues.

How does the club Meridian Indians function? And other clubs in Serbia, to the best of your knowledge?

— The Inđija Indians progressed a long way from a small group of enthusiasts, with paper balls and no equipment, to the super league, the best school of American football in Serbia, the junior and senior national team and four championship titles in 2016. The club tries to work on the youth categories, because someone has to continue what we have started and, as things stand, we do not have to fear for the future.

of them started to play... They gathered in many cities in Serbia, on various fields, parks and abandoned football pitches. That was the period when the egg-shaped ball started to be thrown in Serbia.

The boys from Sremska Mitrovica, Kragujevac, Belgrade, Pančevo, Niš and Požarevac were the first, and it was in these areas that the first clubs were formed. The Legionaries, Wild boars, Wolves, Panthers, Outlaws... Clubs numbered 30-50 players and began competing officially under the auspices of the newly formed League and Association. Interestingly, in the first few

DARKO ŠTABLER

Serbia U15 National team coach, former player and founder of the Sirmium Legionaries Where did the idea to start an American Football club in Serbia come from?

— The pioneering steps for American football in Serbia were taken

THE QUALITY OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL TODAY IS VERY HIGH. IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE QUALITY JUST TEN YEARS AGO, ALL SEGMENTS OF THE SPORT HAVE IMPROVED, FROM PHYSICAL EDUCATION TO TECHNICAL AND TACTICAL PARTS

— The quality of American Footyears we played without protective equipment, shirts, mouth-guards and boots.

How hard was it to "transplant" this sport in our environment?

— The guys who were brave or “crazy” enough to engage in playing American Football without helmets and body armour were met with a similar response in their communities, from incredible enthusiasm and respect to ridicule. With the arrival of the equipment, a new era began for this sport, with everything raised to a higher level: more players, clubs, supporters, spectators... ball today is very high. If we take a look at the quality just ten years ago, all segments of the sport have improved, from physical education to technical and tactical parts.

That was brought by the American

registered players in all categories, from pioneers to seniors, and for several years there have also been competitions for women. Players from America have been coming to play for our clubs for years.

Serbia is by far the strongest country in this part of Europe when it comes to American Football.

The level of play and quality of the players is at the level of the strongest European countries. The Serbian national team is ranked among the top ten and the best Serbian clubs, the Belgrade Wolves and Kragujevac Wild Boars, have achieved respectable results in

in 2001/02, with the first broadcasts of NFL games on the then 3K TV. Lovers of this sport always existed here, but with direct broadcasts from week to week the number of lovers magnified and many

How high is the quality of American football in Serbia today?

— Today we can say that this is one of the most popular sports in our country, as evidenced by the number of 30-odd clubs who play in three leagues, about 3,000

various European competitions.

However, the greatest success was achieved by the U15 boys, who won third place at the European Championship this year.

How does the Sirmium Legionaries club function today?

— The Sirmium Legionaries American Football team, as the oldest club in Serbia, has existed for 15 years. Hundreds of players have passed through the club and it has achieved significant results, especially in younger category competitions. There have been ups and downs, but the club managed to remain healthy, to survive and continuously create new generations of young players. Financial problems have existed since day one. But after all, as with all other clubs and with the help of the Municipality of Sremska Mitrovica and friends who help the club out, it has managed to play all these years.

The most important thing, however, is that the players themselves were able to maintain the club, to train and to leave their heart on the pitch. And what is most interesting is that they pay out of their own pockets when a season has to be pushed through.

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KOLARAC

CALENDAR & NEWS

Concert hall

CONCERT PROGRAMME

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra

FOR ADVENTURERS 2

Dec 9, 20:00

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Michail Jurowski Soloist: Boris Brezovac viola

FOR MEGALOMANIACS 3

Dec 16, 20:00

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Zsolt Hamar Soloist: Torleif Thedéen violoncello

FOR LOVERS 2

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION LAZA KOSTIĆ

Radoslava Vorgić Žuržovan, soprano, Mina Momčilović, Lenka Petrović, harpsichords, Programme: Mozzart, Faure, Britten

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Fabrice Bollon Soloist: Milijana Nikolić mezzo-soprano

Conductor: Fabrice Bollon Soloist: A Bu piano

Thursday, 1st at 18.00 Music Gallery

Thursday, 1st at 20.00 Concert Hall

Dec 23, 19:00

NEW YEAR’S CONCERT

December 2016

Dec 29&30, 20:00 Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Bojan Sudjić Daliborka Malenić, flute Mirjana Matić, soprano Sara Begović, violin Programme: Mozart, Verdi, Mendelssohn, Beethoven

Wednesday, 7th at 20.00 Concert Hall

CHAMBER OCHESTRA ŠLEZINGER Kragujevac Conductor: Vladimir Milić Darko Kodžas, violina Programme: Mozart

Thursday, 8th at 18.00 Music Gallery

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION LAZA KOSTIĆ Laza and Will Clhildren for children and the youth

STUDENTS OF THE STRING DEPARTMENT

Faculty of Music Arts

Bollon, Milijana Nikolić, mezzo-soprano, Programme: M. de Falla, E. Chausson, R. Shchedrin

Wednesday, 14th at 20.00 Concert Hall

Saturday, 24th at 11.00 Concert Hall

KOLARAC – YOUR MUSIC WORLD

Aleksandar Madžar, piano, Programme: Mozart, Schumann, Chopin Thursday, 15th at 20.00 Concert Hall

Saturday, 24th at 20.00

Conductor: Mladen Jagušt, Programme: Brahms "Requiem"

Saturday, 3rd at 20.00 Concert Hall

Sunday, 25th at 11.00 Concert Hall

15th Birth Aniversary

Master Art Virtuosi Programme: Bach, Kreisler, Paganini

Sunday, 4th at 11.00 Concert Hall

KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Thursday, 8th at 20.00

KOLARAC PODIUM OF Concert Hall CHAMBER MUSIC CYCLE: ARTIST AND Rocher Band EDITOR VISIT Radmila Vardalić, violin Selena Jakovljević, violin Dejan Rokvić, viola Filip Savić, double bass Lazaro del Toro Vega, percussions Programme: Evergreen & Jazz standards Sunday, 4th at 20.00 Concert Hall

THE ZAGREB SOLOISTS, CROATIA

Artistic leader and soloist SRETEN KRSTIĆ, violin Programme: Mozart, Krsto Odak, Vera Milanković, B. Papandopulo,Tchaikovsky Monday, 5th at 20.00 Concert Hall

MOZART "REQUIEM"

Choir "Orfelin" & Makris Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Predrag Gosta, Artistic Choir Director: Tamara Adamov Petijević, AnaMarija Brkić, soprano (Austria), Dragana Popović, mezzosoprano, Roberto Jachini Virgili, tenor (Italy), Sreten Manojlović, bassbaritone (Austria/Serbia) Tuesday, 6th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BELCANTO GALA CONCERT

Stanislav Binički Artist Ensemble, Conductor: Vesna Šouc, rogramme: Best opera arias Wednesday, 7th at 18.00 Music Gallery

CONCERT OF PARTICIPANTS OF VIOLIN STUDIO

Production: Music Centre

Diplomacy&Commerce

How to Listen to a Concert, Choir of Children Cultural Centre Host: Miloš Milovanović

ŠPANAC / ACADEMIC Concert Hall RTS CHOIR CULTURAL ARTIST & SYPHONY SOCIETY ORCHESTRA

QUARTET CINDERELLA

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SMALL SCHOOL OF BONTON

Biljana Gorunović, piano Guests: Boban Bjelić, accordion, Dragoljub Djuričić, percussion, Aleksandar Tasić, clarinet, Programme: Medtner, Prokofiev, Piazzolla, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff Friday, 9th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Michail Jurowski, Boris Brezovac, viola, Programme: H. Berlioz, R. Strauss Saturday, 10th at 20.00 Concert Hall

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

St. Efraim Male Choir, Hungary, Tamás Bubnó – artistic director Sunday, 11th at 11.00 Concert Hall

PIANO TRIO UHDE

Programme: Schubert, Dvorak Sunday, 11th at 20.00 Concert Hall

70TH ANNIVERSARY Academic Cultural Artist Society Branko Krsmanović

Tuesday, 13th at 20.00 Concert Hall

FACULTY OF MUSIC ARTS - CHOIR Programme: Carl Orf, Zoran Erić

Wednesday, 14th at 18.00 Music Gallery

CONCERT OF THE

Friday, 16th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Marc Piollet Soloist: Torleif Thedéen, violoncello, Programme: G. Kancheli, D. Shostakovich, S. Rachmaninoff

Sunday, 25th at 20.00 Concert Hall

CULTURAL ARTISTIC SOCIETY BRANKO CVETKOVIĆ

Monday, 26th at 20.00 Concert Hall

MUSIC SCHOOL LISINSKI

Sunday, 18th at 11.00 Concert Hall

Tuesday, 27th at 20.00 Concert Hall Energy of Tradition Serbian Folklore Ensemble Kolo

Piano Duo Elmazi

Wednesday, 28th at 18.00 Music Gallery

KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC Sunday, 18th at 19.00 Concert Hall

„OPANCI“ FESTIVAL Wednesday, 21st at 18.00 Music Gallery

MUSIC WORKSHOP

Concert of Master Art Academy Wednesday, 21th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BULGARIAN NATIONAL FOLKLORE

Ensemble Female Choir Soloist: Neli Andreeva Thursday, 22th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Fabrice Bollon, Milijana Nikolić, mezzo-soprano, Programme: M. de Falla, E. Chausson, R. Shchedrin Friday, 23th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Fabrice

STUDENTS CONCERT – VIOLINS The Faculty of Music Arts, Prof. Marija Špengler

Wednesday, 28th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BELGRADE STRINGS ORCHESTRA DUŠAN SKOVRAN Sreten Krstić, violin

Thursday, November 29th at 20.00 Concert Hall

NEW YEAR CONCERT OF BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC

Conductor: Fabrice Bollon, Soloist: A Bu, piano, Programme: Bernstein, Gershwin. Shostakovich Friday, November 30th at 20.00 Concert Hall

NEW YEAR CONCERT OF BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC

Conductor: Fabrice Bollon Soloist: A Bu, piano Programme: Bernstein, Gershwin. Shostakovich

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