Diplomacy&Commerce 18

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August 2017 | ISSUE No. 18 | Price 350 RSD

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MULTIPLE BENEFITS FOR SERBIA

Prof ŽARKO OBRADOVIĆ PhD, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman of Serbian Parliament

GOVERNMENT STRONG, PRESS WEAK

02 SWISS NATIONAL AUG page 41

DAY WITH SERBIAN TRUMPETS

WE ARE COMPLEMENTARY, NOT RIVALS Prof HUANG PING

Director-General of the Institute of European Studies in China

LJILJANA SMAJLOVIĆ

Columnist of weekly Nedeljnik and former President of the Journalists’ Association of Serbia

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT “GLAC“

PRIVATE FACULTIES – KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE COMBINED Prof VIOLETA TALOVIĆ

The Dean of the Faculty for International Politics and Security of the Union - Nikola Tesla University

China

India

IN FOCUS

Prof RICHARD MILES

Professor of Roman History and Archaeology University of Sydney

H.E. NARINDER CHAUHAN Ambassador of India to Serbia

H.E. LI MANCHANG

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China

ED ITO RI AL

New Kid, Old Blocs

CO N T E N T S

Dear readers, It is like this world never learns anything. New “kids” entered old palaces, like Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump, albeit with varying degree of success. For most of the world, Macron is something between JFK, James Bond, Alain Delon and Barack Obama, signifying new hope and the strength of the French Republic, with the energy that Hollande lacked. France is the new fresh power that can be, together with Germany, a new driving force of the EU, and not a passive observer of German leadership. Trump, on the other hand, turned out to be a great disappointment: The Congress and Senate blocked him in every positive aspect of his promised politics, such as détante with Russia. After a new set of sanctions against Russia, North Korea and Iran, it seems that America is doing worse than ever in creating world peace. Even those small steps taken by Obama, like Cuba and Iran, might be reversed. Not to mention the pathological obsession with Russia and its interference in everything. A satirical comment appeared in the English language press a few days ago suggesting that “the KGB launched the Sex Pistols and the punk movement to corrupt Western youngsters”. Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll read a serious analysis of how the KGB initiated the hippie movement, Woodstock, anti-Vietnam War protests and LSD usage in the ‘60s in order to corrupt the sound body and military strength of America; or that ‘gangsta rap’ was a Soviet attempt to turn Afro-Americans against the white mainstream. It is becoming so ridiculous and Trump cannot defend himself, lost as he is in the Twittersphere. New hostilities between China and India, a deeply destabilised Latin America after years of progress – that is our world. However, as Morrissey sang, world peace is none of your business, the rich must get richer and the poor must stay poor, you fool... New kids, old blocs. ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor-in-Chief

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BUFFETED BY BOTH INDIA AND PAKISTAN, IT IS THE KASHMIRIS WHO SUFFER MOST Kashmir is trapped in a tragic cycle

ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor in Chief

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Politics

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BRITAIN: BACK TO BEING THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE?

Prof HUANG PING

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WE ARE COMPLEMENTARY, NOT RIVALS Director-General of the Institute of European Studies in China

PEOPLE & EVENTS

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT “GLAC“

EUROPEAN VALUES Time to renegotiate

Prof RICHARD MILES

Professor of Roman History and Archaeology University of Sydney

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Columnist of weekly Nedeljnik and former President of the Journalists’ Association of Serbia

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PRIVATE FACULTIES – KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE COMBINED Prof VIOLETA TALOVIĆ

That 1970s show

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LJILJANA SMAJLOVIĆ

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WHY SERBIA NEEDS KOSOVO?

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GOVERNMENT STRONG, PRESS WEAK

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The Dean of the Faculty for International Politics and Security of the Union - Nikola Tesla University

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CEREBRAL AND TENSE, “DUNKIRK” IS A REMARKABLE FILM A new classic

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THE PIANO CITY FESTIVAL Town Piano Celebration in Novi Sad

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CALENDAR & EVENTS

GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ GETTY IMAGES Translation and lecturer

MRP EDITORIAL Translation

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VA L E O F DA RK N E S S

Buffeted by Both India and Pakistan, it is the Kashmiris Who Suffer Most Kashmir is trapped in a tragic cycle

Louis Joxe, the French statesman who signed the peace agreement ending Algeria’s bloody war of independence, later reflected that it was the magnificence of the country’s landscape that intoxicated France. “It went to our heads,” he said. Kashmir has a similar effect.

Juxtaposed with the torrid flatness of the vast north Indian plain, its cool green highlands exert a magical pull. “We are twisted and coated in this beastly beauty,” laments Aijaz Hussain, a grizzled journalist in Srinagar. “In a way it holds us hostage.”

History has not been kind to Kashmir. In 1846, after the British had defeated the Sikh empire that then ruled the Indian north, a vast chunk of it was sold to the Dogra family for 7.5m rupees. So was born the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. One of the many odd satrapies under the British Raj, its rulers were Hindu but their subjects mostly Muslim, particularly in the Vale of Kashmir. This was the jewel in the turban: a rich, well-watered upland plateau the size of a large English county whose people spoke their own language, Koshur.

At partition a century later, both new countries staked a claim to the state. Its maharaja dithered, toying with independence. Pakistan pre-empted him by sending armed “volunteers” to foment an uprising, for surely his Muslim subjects longed to join their new motherland.

In lowland Jammu some Muslim-majority areas joined Pakistan, and tens of thousands of Muslims fled there. But the Vale did not rise up, even when the maharaja signed away his inheritance, inviting India to oust the invaders.

The brief war that followed left Pakistan with a slice of Jammu and a sliver of Kashmir, along with Gilgit-Baltistan, a vast tract of spectacular mountains. India kept the mostly Hindu rest of Jammu, the Vale itself and the desert-like fastness of Ladakh. The UN suggested they both pull back their troops and hold a plebiscite.

When Pakistan balked at withdrawing, India used this as an excuse to avoid a vote. And so things have stood, uncomfortably and with intermittent violence, until now.

While India and Pakistan spar, it is the Kashmiris who suffer. Some more than others: Jammu and Ladakh are loyally Indian, and in truth the Kashmiris of Pakistan have few links left with their cousins across the border. The trouble lies with the 7m inhabitants of the Vale, who have chafed at India’s mix of democratic carrot

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and military stick. “They treat us like a servant in a Brahmin kitchen, who has to be scolded twice a day to be kept in line,” says Mr Hussain.

THE VIOLENCE PEAKED IN THE EARLY 2000S, AND EVENTUALLY FELL TO A TENTH OF THAT LEVEL, BUT IN A RENEWED BOUT SINCE LAST YEAR MORE THAN 400 PEOPLE HAVE DIED

Economist.com

Yet Pakistan is no better. Repeating their folly and expecting a different outcome, the generals have kept sending waves of armed “volunteers”.

India, forced to maintain a huge garrison on permanent alert, hunts the intruders as terrorists, trampling on ordinary Kashmiris as it does so.

Public opinion on both sides remains in a state of agitation. Pakistanis see the Vale as a stolen inheritance, and pity the poor Kashmiris who, in fact, enjoy greater freedoms than they do. India—particularly now under the Hindu-nationalist BJP—resents its beautiful “crown” being inhabited by traitors and ingrates, as it sees them. Since the mid-1980s political turmoil has killed at least 44,000 in the Vale, and sadly forced the flight of its ancient 150,000-strong Hindu minority. The violence peaked in the early 2000s, and eventually fell to a tenth of that level, but in a renewed bout since last year more than 400 people have died. “Whether by intent or de facto, there has repeatedly been collusion between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, mainly to deny a voice to the Kashmiris themselves,” says Siddiq Wahid, a Kashmiri historian. As for the Vale, the few credible polls suggest its people want neither India nor Pakistan but simply freedom, whatever that may mean.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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I NTERVIEW Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

We are Complementary, Not Rivals One Belt – One Road is a win-win situation, it is about mutual interest and partnership Professor HUANG PING Director-General of the Institute of European Studies in China

China has been doing a tremendous job of building infrastructure during the last 25+ years. Regular railways, high-speed railways, motorways and airports have been mushrooming all around China. Now the length of China’s high-speed railways surpasses the entire rest of the world combined, and almost every year China builds the complete length of Germany’s autobahns. Marco Polo travelled along the Silk Road centuries ago, but the first man to cross the continent by car was a

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Brit, who did so just a few years ago. The old Silk Road may have been forgotten, but China has one of the biggest infrastructure plans in the history of mankind. It is now unquestionable that China can connect the world. If you can do it in your country, you can do it in

project, and revive Eurasian continental roads connecting countries like Mongolia, Kazakhstan etc. Serbia will also benefit strongly from this project. In order to find out more, here we talk to Mr Huang Ping, Director General of the Institute of European Studies of China.

I THINK PEOPLE’S OPINIONS ABOUT CHINA ARE GRADUALLY CHANGING. THEY ARE GRADUALLY BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NOT RIVALS OR A CHALLENGE, BUT THAT WE ARE COMPLEMENTARY Eurasia and beyond. This is really important, given that we once had the old Silk Road but that maritime routes became more important over the last few centuries. Now China wants to rebuild the Silk Road, with its One Belt – One Road

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To what extent is the New Silk Road a peace keeping project and how much is it a political and economic project?

— Of course it is an economic project, designed to achieve prosperity and progress; a win-win result

in terms of the economy and in terms of employment. That is the Chinese aim. At the beginning of our reforms, in the late 1970s, we reached consensus on the idea that if we want to develop our economy we first have to develop the infrastructure, the roads. That was one of the main and key goals of China's management. So, if we have a win-win solution it will also, of course, bring peace along with it. If we know each other better, then we will not hate each other, nor have suspicions. If we know the culture, then it is not going to be an enemy culture, but a culture we know, and all the prejudices, or ignorance, will dissolve. Infrastructure comes first, but without cultural exchange and mutual understanding it will not work.

What does this initiative entail

and how much does it rely on tradition (the Old Silk Road), on the one hand, and on modern vision of the future (multiple Silk Roads) on the other? To what extent will it be built along older routes?

— I don't think it will be built on the older routes or older branches of the Silk Road, though of course it will rely on that to some extent.

Some people have called it “China's Marshall Plan”, but it is an initiative and we have to work with our partners to match their needs and their plans. It will work in the manner of a partnership. Of course, history always teaches and we can learn a great deal from it. And in the future it will be used for travel, for connecting people, for mutual understanding; it will be used for more than just silk. It will be more international, more comprehensive. This is our initiative and whoever wants to propose something that fits them whenever, they can do it. Even in terms of export/import. Secondly, it is a kind of continuation of China's trade, after the closure of China in the 19th century, during the late Chin dynasty.

Now it is all based on interest, with no more coercion.

Because of the closures of China and Japan, all those countries that were economically inferior to you became superior and even invaded you, taking some ports.

Being closed in is not a good solution. Being connected can make you superior. The vision of a truly prosperous world is not one in isolation. Do you agree?

— I do believe in the kind of future where people have to be connected with each other, creating a network in a globalised world. Every country must find its own interests, but the network itself has to be open and inclusive. Protectionism won't work. Free trade, but fair, with dialogue among equals, will bring just and equal globalisation. There are people who have suffered from globalisation. Globalisation is okay, but what kind of globalisation? Unequal globalisation is not good.

IT TAKES TIME FOR WESTERNERS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE CAN BE A DIFFERENT, ALTERNATIVE MODEL; A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO PROSPERITY, A DIFFERENT TYPE OF MODERNITY China built the first tramway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and is now developing Kenya’s railways. Besides the One Belt - One Road project, China is doing a lot in Africa. Do you think next step will be the unification of the triune continent, with Africa connected to Eurasia?

— Of course, for China, Europe is important, and we are doing lots of things within the framework of our Europe-China partnership relations. Eurasia comes first, which is necessary because it is one continent, and Africa follows. Such connectivity will bring less poverty and less misery, less immigrants heading to Europe from Africa.

How much does the New Silk Road fit the existing geopolitical relations between the world powers? Is it going to change something or contradict the current status?

— I think that when we talk about the current order in the world, we are thinking about the post-World War II situation. Then two super-

powers controlled everything, and even during Cold War those superpowers were in control. Even after 1991, in the so-called unipolar world, some people called it the end of history. Even the UN was created as a consequence of World War II. Now in the globalised world the old order and the old world has to be upgraded and improved, since we now have more participating countries. I don't think there will be a next superpower, but the new order has to be built on peace and there should be no domination.

How much can these relations impact on overall relations between the EU and China? Do you consider the two to be friends or rivals, especially in Eastern Europe? How much do China's efforts to collaborate with CEE countries, including Serbia, fit into the European 'rules of the game', particularly in light of political and economic interests in this region?

— I think that the EU needs some time. They need to resolve what

kind of union they will be – is that just an economic union, or one with diplomacy and everything.

Secondly, the EU now has a huge Chinese presence, even financially.

And of late refugees have represented a serious challenge to the EU. There are lots of challenges, like Greece and also relations with Russia. China, on the other hand, has a very privileged relationship with the EU. And European enlargement has been very ambitious, like in 2004 when it expanded from 15 countries to 25. But enlargement is not only about increasing the number of member states, but also about the need to integrate them. And that didn't happen fully in Eastern Europe. Of course, China-EU relations have been very good, one of the best. Better than China-U.S. or China-Japan relations, China-EU relations are just next to China-Russia relations. We have a partnership for peace, for innovation, for culture, but China's One Belt – One Road initiative has raised many questions, such as regarding whether or not it is changing the rules, especially in the candidate states? But I think people’s opinions about China are gradually changing. They are gradually beginning to understand that we are not rivals or a challenge, but that we are complementary.

China has never been a colonial superpower. Even in older times when it had resources, China never made conquests either in Asia or Africa. If China was a superpower and a technologically superior nation with gunpowder and printing machines, yet it did not conquer the world, why would anyone be afraid that it will do so now?

— There is some prejudice and ignorance, and we also need to do a lot from the Chinese side. China did a tremendous job within the Chinese territory. Now we have to do a lot in order to do a great job outside our borders, and to convince people that we are doing it benevolently and with mutual interests in mind.

DIFFERENT MODERNITY, DIFFERENT ETHICS Europe frequently suggests that the greater permeation of Chinese capital would jeopardise the European social model, which entails a high level of respect for democratic rights, including workers' rights. Does that differ from Asian working ethics; should Europe be concerned??

— Asian countries followed in the footsteps of Europeans from the 19th century, though only much later, only after World War II. It will take time for the world, for the Amer-

ican people, Europeans and Anglo-Saxons to see that there can be another type and another kind of modernity, of working ethics. That is not necessarily in conflict with the existing Western model. It takes time for them to understand that there can be an alternative, a different model; a different approach to prosperity. They eventually understood that with Japan, then with South Korea, now they are gradually accepting China. They will need time, but in the long run I feel optimistic..

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PO LI TI C S Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

European Values Time to renegotiate

During my last interview with Teofil Pančić, we stumbled across the issue of so-called “European values”, which is a term or platitude that has been used far too many times without true understanding. Our discussion of European values far exceeded the space for an interview, which made it a natural choice to write a special article about this topic. So here it is.

WESTERN EUROPEAN VALUES

European values are often used to describe the values forged in Western Europe, i.e. primarily in the countries that formed the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951: West Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries. These countries usually have a consistent system of values, and when the European Economic Community encompassed almost all of Europe’s capitalist countries in 1985 (the UK, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland) there were some initial cracks between the cultures of North and South (which escalated in the recent German-Greek clash over the austerity measures championed by Wolfgang Schäuble. But at that time, before the collapse of European Socialism, European values were more or less clear: a social welfare state, moderate personal

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freedoms (more than in the Eastern Bloc), solidarity (as opposed to the extreme individualism of the U.S.), etc. There wasn’t even much fuss when Austria, Denmark and Finland joined in 1995, even during the turbulent ‘90s. However, things are not so clear now.

the FRG in 1990). As we see in the current quarrel between Hungary and Poland, on one side, and the European Commission, on the other, the Western countries have now shifted towards social liberalism (same-sex marriages, immigration etc.) and economic liberalism (the deconstruction of the welfare state that was initiated by Margaret Thatcher and accelerated by Tony Blair’s “Third Way”). Continuing secularisation in the West opposes the rise of religious sentiment in the East, which was (at least formally) suppressed for decades. In 1990 the Eastern countries hoped

EUROPEAN VALUES ARE THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR FOR ALL COUNTRIES INVOLVED IN EUROPE – GEOGRAPHICALLY AND NOT BY EU MEMBERSHIP. OTHERWISE THEY ARE LOCAL VALUES DO THEY APPLY TO ALL?

Now, of the 28 countries that comprise the European Union, 11 are from the former Eastern Bloc (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and, of course, the former East Germany, which was absorbed by

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to come back to the same values they had have left behind in 1945, but the West changed in the meantime and the East is not satisfied, justifiably or not.

NEW DEAL

Maybe it is the time for a new deal. The “European values” we

THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR European values have never been Western values after all. These should be values that can be easily applied to Iceland and Portugal, Russia and Turkey, Germany and Greece. They are the lowest common denominator for all countries involved in Europe – geographically and not by EU membership. Otherwise they are local values, not pan-European ones at all. You cannot “adopt European values”. I mean, you can, if you are in Asia or Africa, which would make these foreign values that you would like to adopt.

If you are in Europe, these values should be inherent to your society and common psychology.

mention every now and then are applicable to Western Europe, from whence they originated.

They are hard to apply even in Poland and Hungary, let alone in countries that are not in the EU but which are hopeful of getting there (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Ukraine, Georgia etc.), not to mention Turkey or Russia. We can clearly see the crack in the EU between the meaning of austerity (North-South) and the meaning of society in general (in the East), with new laws passed by courts in Poland and universities in Hungary, with the immigrant issue a subject of great division. The European values are, for example, the social welfare state or universal healthcare. These are European values. Low wages to entice investors cannot be European values, since they oppose the very essence of Europe. Conservative religious society cannot be a European value, nor can liberal atheism. They are peculiar to each country. And each country should be free to choose its local values, apart from the common European ones. It doesn’t matter if East joined West or West joined East; if we are all equal, each voice should be heard equally. Otherwise it is just another form of colonialism, and obviously Hungary and Poland are fed up of empires forcing them to accept “common values”: Habsburg values, Russian Empire values, Communist values. Values should not be imposed: they should already be here. And if they are not here, then there simply shouldn’t be attempts to refer to them as common values.

I NTERVIEW

Government Strong, Press Weak

Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

While the tabloids’ brutal vulgarity is disgusting, the hypocrisy of our self-proclaimed “quality press” is unforgivable

LJILJANA SMAJLOVIĆ Columnist of weekly Nedeljnik and former President of the Journalists’ Association of Serbia

Ljiljana Smajlović served for a long time as editor-in-chief of Serbia’s oldest daily newspaper, Politika. After a long career, she does not hesitate to speak her mind openly and with a clear attitude.

Could you assess Serbia’s political situation for us. Was Ana Brnabić’s appointment a case of Serbia adopting “European values” or depicting a liberal façade?

— Remember a year ago, when Aleksandar Vučić first appointed Ana Brnabić to a position in his government? That surprise move got him nothing but good publicity in the West, with no real downside in Serbia. Isn’t that exactly what they mean by a tour de force in politics? He is now going for a hat trick, and who can blame him?

After all, Ms Brnabić has no power base of her own, and she’s given us no reason to believe she can build one. President Vučić appears supremely confident in his ability to control his creation. His opponents are reduced to calling him a hypocrite, but people know they would gladly walk in his shoes.

Serbia has not changed overnight: Brnabić or no Brnabić, Serbs are not liberal like the Dutch. But put-

ting Ana Brnabić in charge of the government still marks a victory for progressive causes, regardless of the purity of Vučić’s motives.

Was he cynical and calculated?

Perhaps. But there is something irreversible about what he has done: he has created a watershed moment, and no one can take that away from him.

That does not mean it will be smooth sailing from now on.

Vučić’s ratings are high, but he will have to continue playing puppet master, and be seen as the puppet master, because Ms Brnabić’s legitimacy will need constant reinforcement. He will need to fill the power vacuum he left behind, over and over. Just now he is filling it with the Kosovo dialogue. So far, the strategy is working: he has put his opponents on the back foot.

What can they say: that dialogue is not good for democracy?

For the time being, I’d say the omnipotent Serbian leader is having his cake and eating it, too.

How should Serbia position itself in the clash of forces around us: EU, USA, Russia, Turkey?

— We should avoid being squashed like a bug. I fear war as much as the next person, and I do not like it when powerful countries appear to be on a collision course in our neck of the woods. Wars start when mighty rivals decide they would benefit from a realignment of forces and redistribution of power.

At the same time, Serbia has even less reason than our “frenemies” or allies to like the status

quo. I have no serious objection to the position Serbia has taken vis-àvis regional powers. I am delighted we’re well positioned to be part of China’s new strategic initiative. I am bored by cries that “we have to choose a side”. No, we don’t “have” to choose sides any more than we already have. It makes perfect sense to continue our balancing act and I see no reason to toss anyone overboard just yet.

How do you assess the quality and freedom of the press in Serbia?

— Let me make an uneasy parallel.

The opposition has been beaten so badly that the press needs to take some of the opposition’s traditional roles on itself. I believe this applies to both the U.S. and Serbia.

The parallel ends where the U.S. has a vigorous press and we don’t.

So the lack of a strong, independent press, able to scrutinise the government without fear or favour,

I’LL TAKE A TABLOID BEFORE I’LL TAKE THE POLITICAL COMMISSAR is a very big problem in Serbia right now. The press was always strongest here when the government was weakest, as when communism started collapsing. The government is now strong and the press is weak. You hardly need censorship when journalists and editors know that they serve at the whim of owners who, for the most part, simply aim to please the government.

There is self-censorship galore.

Is the ongoing tabloidisation of society and the media scene in progress?

— Infotainment rules, here and elsewhere. I would not see too much harm in that, were it not for the fact that we lack viable alternatives to TV infotainment and tabloids. Our problem is that our quality press is not as good as it should be. I’m a faithful reader of political tabloids and I’ve little patience for the indignation of my colleagues, especially those who work for publications which offer little hard news and a lot of one-sided commentary. Why don’t they supplant the flow of information the tabloids provide? Why do they limit the range of political perspectives they offer? Do they not realize how tedious their political correctness can be? I’ll take a tabloid before I’ll take the political commissar. The brutal vulgarity of the tabloids disgusts me, the hypocrisy of our self-proclaimed “quality press” annoys me.

Why is there a trend of illiberal democracy in all of Eastern Europe?

— As opposed to where? I remember that, a decade ago, there were similar alarmist cries of Eastern Europe succumbing to the political right, but the right was on the rise everywhere: it was simply a case of taking this patient’s temperature more often than others’. Is Eastern Europe to blame for the rise of Donald Trump? The EU rejoiced when the Dutch Government was able to hang on to power, but little was said about the fact that it had quietly adopted its more extreme rivals’ policies in order to hang on to a weakened majority. I reject the notion that Eastern Europe is the sick man of the continent. Sometimes we do seem to be on the vanguard of bad things to come. But we are certainly not the disease, we are a symptom.

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NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D EPAR T UR E S

in August & September

AUGUST

H.E. CHRISTOPHE LECOURTIER

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New French Ambassador Appointed

H.E. Christophe Lecourtier has been appointed the new French Ambassador to Serbia. He had an extensive diplomatic career prior to this post, assuming his position as Ambassador of France to Australia in July 2014. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Ubifrance (French Agency for International Business Development), before which he served as Chief of staff and Special Advisor to Christine Lagarde. He worked for the French Ministry of Economy, Finances and Industry, where he was an advisor in charge of international economic relations. H.E. Lecourtier was also in charge for exter-

nal economic relations, holding the post of First Assistant Secretary in charge of Continental Asia at the Division of External Economic Relations of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, and he also served in the Prime Minister’s office, as responsible person for External Relations of the EU. He graduated from the National School of Administration and the École Normale Supérieure, holding a degree in political studies. He is a bearer of the Légion of Honour order and The National Order of Merit, both orders being equivalent to the rank of Knight.

PAKISTAN

Independence from the British Indian Empire in 1947

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CONGO

Independence Day

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INDIA

Independence from the British Empire in 1947

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SOUTH KOREA Gwangbokjeol Day

VALERY BRYLEV

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New Ambassador of Belarus

Valery Brylev has been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Serbia. Brylev was born on 1959 in Gomel. Graduated from Faculty of Architecture of the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute (1981), Faculty of Foreign Languages for professionals who go abroad of the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages (1989). Prior to this position, he worked as an architect, as a lecturer, then at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, already served in Belgrade (1996-1998) Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2010-2013. Member of the Union of Architects of the USSR (until 1991), member of the Belarusian Association of Architects. Speaks Serbian and English. Married, has a daughter.

SYED ADIL GILANI New Pakistani ambassador

Syed Adil Gilani has been appointed the new Pakistani ambassador. Prior to this function he occupied the post of Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission Consultant 2015 – 2017. He was born in 1944 and he holds a B.E. Degree (Civil) 1966, N.E.D. Engineering College, Karachi. A Civil Engineer by Profession has experience of 51 years in Pakistan and Nigeria in Public/Private Sector Government of Sindh 1966-1970, North Estate of Nigeria 1970-1975, Gammon Pakistan Ltd 1979-1989, Karachi Port Trust Government of Pakistan 1989-2000, Project Management and Advisory Services since 2000. Member as Port Consultant of the Sub-Working Group on Ports & Shipping, Government of Pakistan for Five Year Plan 20052010. He is a founder member of Transparency International Pakistan and was a chairman of TI Pakistan 2006-2011 and advisor July 2011-2016.

INDONESIA

Proclamation of Independence day

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HUNGARY

St. Stephen's day

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UKRAINE

Independence Day

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MOLDOVA

Independence Day

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KAZAKHSTAN Constitution Day

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KYRGYZSTAN Independence Day

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MALAYSIA Hari Merdeka

SEPTEMBER

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SLOVAKIA

RADOŠ GAZDIĆ Acting Director of the Development Agency of Serbia

Radoš Gazdić has been appointed the acting director of the Development Agency of Serbia. He was born on August 11, 1978 in Belgrade. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, and holds a master's degree in economics. After seven years of experience in the financial sector on retail, business, credit and risk management in Privredna Banka Beograd and Bank Poštanska štedionica, he worked with Volvo from 2007-2009 as development manager for Serbia and Montenegro. In the

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National Agency for Regional Development (NARR), he has been working in the SME sector and entrepreneurs since 2010, and since 2011 as an investment adviser to the Agency for Foreign Investment and Export Promotion (SIEPA). From April 2016, Radoš Gazdić served as the Director of the Strategic Investment Sector of the Development Agency of Serbia (RAS). In July, 2017, he was appointed to the acting Director of the Development Agency of Serbia (RAS). He is married and has a son, Vuk. She speaks English.

Constitution Day

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UZBEKISTAN Independence Day

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BRAZIL

Independence Day

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MACEDONIA Independence Day

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I NTERVIEW

Private Faculties – Knowledge and Practice Combined Students are taught in a way that produces experts who are not only well-versed in theory, but also possess the knowledge of how to apply it in practice. We are also very insistent on the importance of critical thinking Professor VIOLETA TALOVIĆ The Dean of the Faculty for International Politics and Security of the Union - Nikola Tesla University

With a better policy and concrete measures in the education segment, the state authorities should facilitate and develop private education. This would lead to a stronger competition, higher quality, and, in the future, smaller costs associated with the huge and over-spending state-run education system – says professor Violeta Talovic, PhD, the Dean of the Faculty of Diplomacy and Security.

How does the state treate private faculties?

— The state has done very little to make higher learning institutions stronger and of better quality.

Speaking about this problem I should say that the situation in the Western countries is much better than here, and that private faculties are largely recognized as the main driving force behind development and education of students. This certainly speaks volumes about

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not only the need to exercise better control over the activities of private faculties, but also about the need for concrete measures in terms of private faculties having equal treatment as state faculties in the eyes of the law. Formally, they might be equal, but essentially not much has been done about this issue. Actually, this is usually met with strong resistance.

The potential of private faculties should be recognized and utilized by the state in the right way. The

ulties. In order to do this, we need to move away from the current dead end. Of course, there are state and private faculties which are doing their job in a highly professional manner, just like there are those which don't. Hence, we need to up the control in both sectors.

Private faculties should serve as an example to state ones, and in that regard, we need to seriously tackle the faculties that are detrimental to our profession, regardless of them being state or private.

OUR FACULTY'S CURRICULUM IS ADAPTED THROUGH CONTINOUS MONITORING AND ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROCESS AND THROUGH LECTURES BY GUEST LECTURERS output quality of knowledge would be much better if a certain number of state-funded students were able to study at private faculties. In that respect, we need to work on students from welfare families having an opportunity to study at private faculties.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development should visit private higher learning institutions too. Through a dialogue we should be able to determine the criteria and the modalities for using state funds to advance private universities and fac-

Diplomacy&Commerce

What is the advantage of private faculties?

— The curricula in private education institutions are as good as those taught at the state ones. As it happens, they are often even better because they are better adapted to changes in the practice and void of unncessary content. Certain professors at state faculties are not willing to update their curriculum so the text books and the curricula they use are often ten and more years old.

The curricula at our faculty, that I am the dean of, complies with the

latest standards and it constantly changes to keep up with the modern trends. The staff at my faculty are top-notch professors, very renowned in their particular areas of expertise. Apart from extensive theoretical knowledge, our students are also given a high level of practical knowledge too. They are taught in a way that produces experts who are not only well-versed in theory, but also possess the knowledge of how to apply it in practice. We are also very insistent on the importance of critical thinking.

You have said that faculty curricula should be constantly adapted to modern social processes and changes. How is this done on your faculty?

— The curriculum at the Faculty of Diplomacy and Security is adapted not only through continuous monitoring and analyzing of contemporary social processes by our experienced professors, but also by students being given an opportunity to attend the lectures of guest lecturers at least once a month. By doing this, our faculty provides students with the knowledge of international relations and modern security challenges from several different sources. So, for instance, this year, the students were able to attend the lectures of the US Ambassador to Serbia, Mr. Kyle

Scott and the Russian Ambassador, Mr. Alexander Chepurin, as well as the ambassadors from many other countries.

Also, many renowned international politics and security experts gave lectures at our faculty. At the end of this semester, we are going to have one of the top geopolitical experts in the world, Professor Alexander Dugin giving a lecture.

As I have mentioned before, the faculty is very insistent on our students developing critical thinking, and it is up to us to give them the knowledge to do just that while leaving them, in the end, to form their own opinions about contemporary social processes. The faculty's curriculum is devised in such a way that the subjects cover topics like geopolitics, modern political theories, personal and collective security, Serbia's foreign policy, Serbia's political system, international law, the EU, the Balkans, religion, contemporary history of Serbia etc. Furthermore, students can learn English and Arabic language at our faculty, and we plan to add more languages too.

How do you apply this in regard to Serbia's current position in

THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT SHOULD VISIT PRIVATE HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS TOO

MORE FLEXIBLE At private faculties, classes are smaller and professors are more available to students. The quality of knowledge, that is imparted on students, is very high because private faculties are more flexible when it comes to adapting to fast-paced social changes in contemporary society.

Many social conflicts, fast development of technology, globalization, transition and the complex geopolitical situation in the world imply that faculty curricula should not be immutable.

the international integration process?

— In terms of analyzing international relations, we usually start with analyzing our country's position. Considering that Serbia's foreign policy is based on neutrality, and that it oscilates between Euro-Atlantic and Euro-Asian geopolitical concepts, our analyses should be carefully executed and presented to our students. We also need to show them the advantages and flaws of both concepts while underlining the fact that Serbia stands to gain a lot if its foreign policy were geared towards linking Euro-Asia and Europe.

It is very important to mention that Serbia is on the European integration path, but it is also important to underline the challenges on that path. The road is not going ot be easy and Serbia should stick to its role of being the leader in regional stability in the Balkans, and a link between the East and the West. This is an image that we are trying to portray to our students because faculties have a huge responsibility to provide quality knowledge and skills that would enable students to deal with their professional challenges ahead.

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PO LI TI C S Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Why Serbia Needs Kosovo? ...And why Kosovo needs Serbia The problem of all problems in Serbian politics is the problem of Kosovo, and, vice versa, the main problem of Kosovan politics is how to resolve problems with Serbia. The “steps ahead” presented by each government are not taking anyone far… just as in the case of other frozen conflicts. And the two extreme solutions are neither viable nor desirable.

THE SPIRIT OF 1912

Serbia somehow did well for all of its history from 1804 to 1912. It gradually became all the same, all over again. You receive some territory as a territorial extension, you impose your rules on it, everybody becomes Serb by assimilation and names are changed if necessary (primarily Vlachs in Eastern Serbia and the Shops and Torlaks, who gained purely Serbian names after they were deemed Bulgarian during the Exarchate). The entire Muslim population was expelled to Turkey, even including notable Serbian Muslim families like Belgrade’s Izetbegovićs, and then 1912 happened. Serbia gained vast territories to the South that had a mixed population: Orthodox (Macedonians, Aromanians, Meglens, Serbs, Bulgarians), Muslim (Torbesh, Gorani, Albanians, Turks), Catholic (Albanians). And what do you do now? Make a multi-religious and multi-ethnic state, like the Habsburgs did in Vojvodina or Transylvania, or continue with old practises that would entail the huge exchange of non-Orthodox populations and the Serbianisation of the Orthodox? The reality was something in between, but the former group felt excluded. So it was not a good deal. And the Albani-

ans...? They couldn’t come to terms with the fact that – after the Prizren Declaration and all efforts exerted towards the creation of a single greater Albanian (“autochthonous”, as the map on the drone flag says) state – they now live in four different states. None of us can escape 1912 – not even the Macedonians and Bulgarians, but that’s another story entirely.

neutrality between NATO and Russia, nationalism and communism.

Georgia felt it too, like Moldova before. Macedonia resolved it in another way: through the inclusion of the minority. Anyway, the problems of the state (name resolution, EU or NATO membership, or membership in any other club for that matter) can only be solved by consensus. That means that neither Macedonians

THIS WOULD BE A TOUGH JOB FOR ALL, BUT SERBIA CAN NEVER ACCEPT KOSOVO’S INDEPENDENCE AND THEY ARE WASTING THEIR TIME, WHILE KOSOVO CAN NEVER ACCEPT FULL RE-ENTRY INTO SERBIA AND WE ARE WASTING TIME. THUS, ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS THE DANGER OF A MONO-ETHNIC STATE

The trouble is that everyone wants a mono-ethnic state that should be as big as possible, which is something of a contradiction.

Sooner or later you will come across a section of the population that cannot be assimilated or which feels excluded and rebellious enough to a move. Ukraine felt it the very moment it gave up the compromise of maintaining a balance between the Ukrainian and Russian languages,

nor Albanians can be too nationalist in the process, which is a good thing. Serbia should do the same, as what makes Serbia a good society in Vojvodina is the blend of peoples and tolerance, even if we don't agree.

STATUS QUO UPGRADED

A status quo exists in all of the aforementioned cases, but this status quo is unproductive. Cyprus is conducting some talks, while President Vučić initiated some great talks within Serbia about the

TRAGEDY OF MONISM Serbia without Kosovo is a sad country, mono-ethnic in its central parts, torn apart, with complexes, stuck in the past. Kosovo without Serbia is a country with no prospects or broader vision, dangerously small and landlocked, cocooned in its mono-ethnic culture of “war victory” – just like Ukraine is sad without its Russian-speaking part and Russo-centric population, including Crimea; just like Georgia is sad without Abkhazia and South Ossetia; just like Cyprus is a strange thing without the incorporation of the Turkish north. The culture of dialogue and mixing, even if we achieve it in the Dayton Bosnian way, the Hong Kong way or the Aland or Faroe Islands way, will be much better than constant hatred, hindering each other’s progress, blaming the other side for being stuck and, of course, consequent poverty.

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Kosovo question. And there is just an idea: what would happen if we amended the status quo and made a compromise, which is never quite popular anywhere, but let’s do a mental experiment: Kosovo wants to be a republic. Okay, Russia has autonomous republics. Could it be the Autonomous Republic of Kosovo, with license plates RSK? Well, if it is an autonomous republic, there’s no problem with the ‘R’ remaining. As for separate vehicle license plates, the Faroe Islands, Aland Islands and Transnistria all have them. And how about separate sports representations? Does anyone think Kosovo Albanians would play for Serbia? If they do compete separately, it is worth noting that 205 Olympic Committees represent 195 countries, which obviously shows that some 10 countries are not independent but are competing independently. Like Hong Kong, Bermuda or Puerto Rico. Everything achieved so far can stand easily.

Their compromise should be: accepting Serbian passports, like the ones in the Aland Islands (Albanian and Serbian inscriptions: Republic of Serbia/Autonomous Republic of Kosovo); giving up the idea of entering the UN and cancelling the drive for international recognition; establishing the Serbian Community of Municipalities as an autonomous territory. All the rest can even stay as it is. This would be a tough job for all, but Serbia can never accept Kosovo’s independence and they are wasting their time, while Kosovo can never accept full re-entry into Serbia and we are wasting time. Thus, one country, two systems.

CO RPO RATE

Mini Countryman, The Adventurer MINI Countryman is an adventurer that enjoys an extra mile or two. It has a pioneering spirit, open to taking opportunities. Its palette is earthy, its performance is robust, and though it wouldn’t wander completely off the map, it’s notably rugged around the edges.

Equipped with a versatile go-anywhere attitude, it transforms from undercover urbanite to intrepid explorer in an instant. It may know

its way around a city, but its heart is in the hills.

The new MINI Countryman is the biggest and most versatile model in the brand’s 57-year history. Having been completely newly developed, it now reflects considerable advancements in the areas of space, functionality, athletic flair and premium characteristics.

The new MINI Countryman achieves its unique standing among direct competitors due to

its powerfully expressive design, efficiently shaped bodywork and in particular its unmatched driving agility. The latest version of the all-wheel drive system ALL4 ensures driving fun beyond paved roads, too. What is more, the new MINI Countryman is the first model of the brand to be available with a plug-in hybrid drive.

MINI Countryman: a successful model with traditional roots.

Even with its model designation, the new edition of the MINI Countryman remains firmly rooted in the tradition of the British brand. A particularly versatile variant of the classic Mini once bore the same name back in the 1960s. Just like the identically constructed Morris Mini Traveller, the Austin Seven

Countryman had a highly versatile interior, and the version with wood frame panelling – popularly known as “Woody” – attained cult status that it continues to enjoy to this day. The MINI Countryman likewise offered additional ways of enjoying the brand’s hallmark driving fun when it was launched in 2010. It was the first MINI with four doors, a large tailgate, five seats and optional all-wheel drive and a total of more than 540 000 were sold worldwide.

MINI Countryman starting special price for diplomats in Serbia is 15.800€.

All information on regarding MINI Coutryman you can get on official website www.mini.rs, where also you can book a test drive.

THE NEW MINI COUNTRYMAN – AN OVERVIEW OF THE INNOVATIONS: – Powerful proportions, 20 centimetres longer than its predecessor has taken MINI Countryman to a higher class.

– Five fully-fledged seats, clear increase in space and versatility.

– Electrical tailgate control as well as touchless opening and closing of the tailgate.

– MINI Picnic Bench: fold-out load loading sill cushion as a comfortable seat on the luggage compartment lid and for general outdoor use.

– MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4: the first ever MINI with plug-in hybrid drive.

– New generation of engines and gearboxes, efficiency-optimised all-wheel drive system ALL4.

– Central instrument with touchscreen function for the first time.

– MINI Country Timer measures driving fun over demanding terrain.

– MINI Connected App as a personal assistant on a dayto-day basis and when travelling.

– MINI Find Mate: everything you need on board at all times – or in view.

- The AUTOHOME roof tent for the new MINI Countryman.

- Modern driver assistance systems: The standard collision warning with city braking function can be extended to include the Driving Assistant system with camera-based active cruise control, pedestrian warning with initial brake function, high beam assistant and road sign detection.

T H AT 1 9 70 S S H O W

Britain: Back to Being the Sick Man of Europe?

Constructing a scenario of British decline is all too easy

In the 1970s, Britain was dubbed “the sick man of Europe”, a role previously played by the Ottoman empire in the late 19th century. A poor growth record since the second world war combined with terrible industrial relations (29m days lost to strikes in 1979) to make many ask the question “Is Britain governable?”.

The reason Britain joined what was then the EEC in 1973 (at the third attempt) was, in large part, a desperate attempt to find a way of forcing the country to become more competitive. Whether Europe was the key factor, or whether it was Margaret Thatcher’s reforms, by the mid-1990s, the trick seemed to have worked. In particular, London, which lost a quarter of its population between 1939 and the early 1990s, became a global, self-confident city, attracting expats from all over the world. There was a point, a decade ago, when London started to talk of overtaking New York as the global financial centre.

But now there is the inexorable feeling of decline. Part of the problem, all along, was that the internationalisation that made London so successful was not shared, or indeed welcomed, by other parts of the country. One of my colleagues noted in 2014 the contrast between Cambridge, a university town, and Clacton, a faded seaside resort. Sure enough, when it came to the EU referendum last year, the former had one of the most pro-Remain wards in the country while the latter had a UKIP member of parliament. More broadly, two big problems have emerged since the 2008 crisis: the failure of real wages to advance and a very poor productivity record. These two problems are, of course, related. It is also possible that productivity was overstated before 2008 by the heavy weight of the financial sector.

What bodes ill for the outlook for the British economy is the political response. The EU became a convenient scapegoat for Britain’s ills, particularly in the tabloid press. But the Leave campaign, which didn't seem to expect to win, was divided between the nativist Faragist group and free-market right-wingers who believe Europe is in decline and that Brexit would allow Britain to become more globalised (Singapore-on-Thames as it has been dubbed).

This divide has dogged the government’s response to the Brexit vote. Theresa May, a Remainer during the campaign, became “more Catholic than the Pope”, appointing Leavers to the key cabinet positions and ruling out membership of the single market, the customs union

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or any role for the European Court of Justice.

She also interpreted the Brexit result as an anti-establishment vote (perhaps correctly) and used some anti-business rhetoric in her first year in office. But this shift was both insufficient to convince left-leaning voters (leading to the disappointing election result) and simultaneously sufficient to alarm business leaders.

The key question as Britain leaves the EU is this: what will persuade businesses, domestic

THE KEY QUESTION AS BRITAIN LEAVES THE EU IS THIS: WHAT WILL PERSUADE BUSINESSES, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN, TO COMMIT CAPITAL TO THE COUNTRY AND EMPLOY WORKERS IN BETTER-PAYING JOBS? and foreign, to commit capital to the country and employ workers in better-paying jobs? The Conservative Party seems to have moved away from being the “party of business”, putting nationalist ideology over that sector’s interests. A certain degree of ideological flexibility from the Tories is to be expected. The Conservative Party did not govern for much of the 20th century because people loved it; it governed because the public felt it to be more competent than the other parties. But the party is not oozing competence now. And in an ideological popularity competition, it is likely to lose to the Labour

Party, which is more in tune with the voters on issues like public spending.

Here is a very plausible scenario for the next two years. The Conservatives, divided and disorganised, limp through the Brexit negotiations, delivering a deal that satisfies neither Remainers (who want as close ties with Europe as possible) or Leavers (who want the reverse).

The Labour Party has the luxury of heckling from the sidelines, knowing that it will not take the blame for the deal. Labour looks more and more likely to win the next election and as business considers the prospect, it declines to invest. The economic outlook deteriorates and Labour’s opinion poll lead escalates.

Then Jeremy Corbyn comes to power in, say, 2020, and pushes through higher taxes on business and on executives; nationalises the utilities; and adopts an anti-Western foreign policy. (The nationalisation element will only be possible when Britain leaves the EU; a nice irony for the Brexiteers on the free-market right.) Public spending rises, but taxes do not go up enough to cover it and the deficit soars. Foreign investors demand higher yields to fund the deficit, weakening the economy further. Not only do businesses not commit new capital to Britain, but existing businesses withdraw. The world shakes its head and wonders how a country managed to become the sick man of Europe for the second time.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

PEO PLE & EVENT S

01 20th AFRO JUL

FESTIVAL

The jubilee 20th Afro Festival has been held at the Museum of African Art in Belgrade’s Senjak neighbourhood. The guests were also addressed in the Museum’s garden by H.E. Tajouri Sh. Tajouri, Libyan Ambassador in Belgrade and Maria Aleksić, Director of the Museum. Prizes for the winners of the fourth Art Competition were presented by representatives of daily newspaper “Politika” and company “Amfora”, while the programme culminated with the concert of Afro-Cuban band ‘Salsa and Punto’.

07 KOTRA DIRECTOR JUL

FAREWELL PARTY

In the Residence of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Tolstojeva Street, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea H.E. Yoo Dae Jong organised a garden party on the occasion of the departure of the Director of the Trade Section KOTRA. The reception was open for friends and associates of the Embassy in the field of Economics. In his welcoming speech, the ambassador emphasised that more and more Korean companies were interested in investing in Serbia.

Maja Gojković and H.E. Tanju Bilgiç

H.E. Yoo Dae Jong

Martin Knapp, AHK and Sanja Ivanić, FSCC

13 "15th JULY: A HEROIC STORY JUL

OF ONE NATION"

The first anniversary of the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, was marked at Kalemegdan by an exhibition of photographs that opened on July 13. As "one picture is worth a thousand words," 43 photographs showcasing the attempted coup in Turkey with the aim of thrown out democratically elected leadership and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were shown. Democracy was protected by ordinary citizens who went out on the streets to oppose a coup.

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

10 BIRTHDAY PARTY JUL

OF MAGAZINE "HELLO!"

A celebration took place at the Royal White Palace on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Hello! in Serbia, attended by over 700 guests from the world of art, sports, diplomacy, business and a large number of celebrities. The present guests were greeted by HRH Aleksandar II Karađorđević and editor of the magazine Nikola Golubović, and the chairman of the Color Press Group, Robert Čoban, spoke about the past 10 years of the Hello! magazine in Serbia: "For exactly 10 years in this same place, at the White Palace, we celebrated the release of the first edition of the Serbian edition of the Hello! magazine. In global terms everything started in 1944 in Spain when Antonio Sánchez and Mercedes Calderón launched the magazine Hola! In Europe, a war was raging, in Spain, Franco's dictatorship was in force, and in Barcelona a magazine that would become the most widely read magazine was launched. In 1988, it was launched as the British 'Hello!', Today there are over 20 of them all over the world. 'Hello!' is of course a magazine about famous people, but we deeply believe that it is the obligation of all of us who have been lucky enough to take care of those people who did not have that happiness: migrants in the centres in Bogovađa and Banja Koviljača, homeless people and our elders in Futog and Novi Sad and children with special needs in Veternik” - he said.

The celebration was supported by: Rauch, Knjaz Miloš, Apatinska Pivara, Vinarija Tikveš and Carnex.

Michel Saint-Lot (UNICEF), HRH Aleksandar Karađorđević, Dubravka Negre (EIB), H.E. Abdelhamid Chebchoub, Ambassador of Algeria and Ani Chijioke Mchardy, Charge D' Affaires, Embassy of Nigeria

H.E. Alona Fisher Kamm, Ambassador of Israel

Jelena Kojić and Moussa Camara, First H.E. Narinder Chauhan, Ambassador of India Secretary of the Embassy of Guinea

H.E. Sayed Adil Gilani, Ambassador of Pakistan with spouse and Beatris Grozdanić

D&C and CMC team: Ilija Petrović, Sanja Gligorić (New Kunst & Sago), Nataša Nešić, Jovana Marković, Ruža Ristanović, Tanja Banković, Ivana Radmilac, Jelena Savić and Dragana Radović

Dalila Petronijević, Media Association with spouse

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Robert Čoban (Color Press Group), Dubravka Negre (EIB) and Michel Saint-Lot (UNICEF)

Katarina Krstajić, Wiener Insurance

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13 THE FRENCH EMBASSY JUL

CELEBRATED THE BASTILLE DAY

The Embassy of France in Belgrade in the presence of the newly-appointed ambassador in Serbia, Christophe Lecourtier, hosted a reception on the occasion of the French national holiday of the Fall of Bastille, July 14th. Serbian Parliament Speaker Maja Gojković, Minister of Labour, Social and Veterans Affairs Zoran Đorđević, Minister for Innovation and Technology Nenad Popović, Serbian Secretary General Nikola Selaković, Democratic Party's leader Dragan Šutanovac, and many diplomats and representatives of the cultural and public life of Serbia were present.

Philippe Cerf, First Counsellor Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. and H.E. Christophe Lecourtier, new French Ambassador,

H.E. Tanju Bilgic, Ambassador of Turkey, H.E. Christophe Lecourtier, new French Ambassador, H.E. Alexander Chepurin, Russian Ambassador and Philippe Cerf, First Counsellor Chargé d'Affaires, a.i.

H.E. Juichi Takahara, Ambassador of Japan and H.E. Yoo Dae Jong, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea

Tim Cartwright - Head of Council of Europe and H.E. Pertti Ikonen, Finnish Ambassador

11 “OY, BRIGHT DAWN JUL

In honour of the Statehood Day of Montenegro, on July 13, the Embassy of this country hosted a formal reception at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade last night. The host of the ceremony, Ambassador of Monenegro to Serbia H. E. Branislav Mićunović, welcomed numerous officials from various spheres of public life, from politics and society through media and art.

The special InFocus Business Overview covering Monenegro was presented.

H.E. Branislav Mićunović

H.E. Branislav Mićunović and H.E. Giuseppe Manzo, Ambassador of Italy

OF MAY!” SUNG IN BELGRADE

Ivan Brajović, President of the Parliament of Montenegro

Zoran Đorđević, Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans' Affairs and Social Affairs, Brankica Janković, Commissioner for the Protection of Gender Equality and Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Energy and Mining

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

20 DOLCE VITA IN JUL

BELGRADE

In the garden of the Radisson Blue Hotel in Belgrade, the summer gathering of the members and friends of the Serbian-Italian Chamber of Commerce was held last night, during which there were tasting Italian food and drinks, and Italian brands were also presented at that occasion. In a stylish ambience and informal atmosphere, with the most popular Italian melodies and beautiful recordings of Italian regions, a special presentation of the Italian lifestyle was organised.

Giorgio Ambrogio Marchegiani, President of Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Director of DDOR

Mirjana Kojić, Secretary General of the Chamber

20 AUSTRALIAN FAREWELL PARTY JUL

FOR TWO DEAR FRIENDS!

Australian Ambassador H.E. Julia Feeney and her husband Mr Anthony Feeney organised a farewell party in Australian residence in Belgrade for two great friends ending their terms as ambassadors in Belgrade, H.E. Philip Pinnington of Canada and H.E. Gordan Markotić of Croatia. The farewell party was attended by many guests and they were entertained by jazz performance of Tanja Filipović.

H.E. Leo D’aes delivering speech

H.E. Julia Feeney, Australian Ambassador and H.E. Gordan Markotić, Croatian Ambassador

H.E. Filip Pinnington, Canadian Ambassador with his spouse and H.E. Leo D’aes, Belgian Ambassador

Erica Robin Pinnington and H.E. Filip Pinnington, Canadian Ambassador

26 BELGIAN JUL

SUMMER PARTY

To celebrate Belgium’s National Day, the Ambassador of Belgium H. E. Leo D’aes and his spouse organised a Summer Reception on Wednesday 26th July at Belgian Embassy residence. After the intonation of national anthems of Belgium, Serbia and European Union, the Ambassador held a speech after which the guests enjoyed Belgian delicacies, chips, cheese and a variety of Belgian beer.

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31 KING MOHAMMAD VI JUL

DAY OF ENTHRONING CELEBRATED

On the occasion of the Morroccan National Day, which is commemorated on the day when the current King His Majesty Mohammad VI was enthroned 18 years ago, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco organised a ceremonial reception at the Hotel Metropol Palace in Belgrade. After the introductory speech of H.E. Mohammed Amine Belhaj, the Moroccan ambassador dressed in national costume, the guests were entertained

by Moroccan music and splendid food.

Beatris Grozdanić, Maja Gojković and H.E. Narinder Chauhan, Ambassador of India

H.E. Mohammed Amine Belhaj, the Moroccan ambassador

H.E. Isabel Cristina de Azavende Heyvaert, Ambassador of Brazil, with her spouse and the H.E. Mohammed Amine Belhaj, Moroccan Ambassador with his spouse

02 SWISS NATIONAL AUG

DAY WITH SERBIAN TRUMPETS

As every year, the Swiss Embassy in Belgrade organised a traditional summer garden party in Belgrade. On the occasion of the national holiday of Switzerland, a reception was held in the gardens of the Swiss ambassador's residence on Senjak, once again confirmed the traditional friendship between the two countries and two nations. The cheese, beer and chocolate delicatesse enriched the programme.

H.E. Philippe Gérald Guex, Swiss Ambasador with spouse

Ani Chijioke Mchardy, Charge D' Affaires, Ambasada of Nigeria, Archbishop Luciano Suriani, Apostolic Nuncio In Serbia, HRH Crown Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević, H.E. Marco Antonio García Blanco, Ambassador of Mexico and Wa Malua A Soko MALET, Embassy of Congo

H.E. Isabel Cristina de Azavende Heyvaert, Ambassador of Brazil, with her spouse and H.E. Philip Pinnington with spouse and Mrs. Françoise Emmenegger Pittet

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B USINESS NEWS Direct Bank

Delta Holding

BETTER POSITIONING IN THE SERBIAN BANKING MARKET

PRESENTED 8th REPORT ON CSR Delta Holding has announced and presented the report on sustainable and responsible business for 2016 in Crowne Plaza Hotel. This is the 8th CSR report, and the accuracy of the information, at the request of the company, was checked by the audit firm KPMG. In the past year, the company invested 1.64 million euros in socially responsible projects. As a result, 67,155 people received aid within 427 humanitarian actions. "Our obligation is to recognize the challenges that society is facing and launch actions to address them. That is why we have included the topics of sustainable development in our strategic plans. "said Marija Desivojević Cvetković, senior vice president for strategy and development of Delta Holding. Delta Holding donated its second endowment, the center for sport and

rehabilitation of people with disabilities "ISKRA" to the City of Kragujevac. This sports center is fully adapted for people with disabilities and is the only one of its kind in Serbia. Following the presentation of the most important information from the report, a panel on the topic "Supporting the population in acquiring knowledge for career development and own business" followed.

French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce

TATJANA VUJOVIĆ IS THE STUDENT PRIZE WINNER

Tatjana Vujović, a student of third year of Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, received this year's award of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce in the amount of 1,000 euros sponsored by Schneider Electric.

Mihalj Bakator, Ph.D. Candidate from the Technical Faculty "Mihailo Pupin" in Zrenjanin won the second prize of 800 Euros delivered

by Elektrovat. The third prize and 600 euros of Enel PS sponsorship got Ana Nikolić,

student of the third year of the Faculty of Physics in Belgrade. The five finalists presented their dissertations to the theme "Sustainable development in the digital age" before the jury. The winner Tatjana Vujović presented a bold thesis entitled "When the dream of immortality becomes a reality" in which she showed the model of sustainable development in the health sector, through the implementation of ERP software (e-health) and implementation of new pharmacy or ways of placing modern drugs on domestic market, registration of new drugs and the like.

The works were also defended by Gordana Gligor, and the Anđela Arsović, first year student of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade.

Direct Bank AD Kragujevac has provided better positioning in the Serbian banking market, as well as expanding and strengthening its sales network after this year's acquisition of Findomestic Bank AD Belgrade. The new, consolidated bank now has more than 400 employees and twice a network of branches that will enable the improvement of the volume and quality of products and services that the Bank offers to its clients. Direct Bank in Serbia was founded in early 2016 by purchasing Kragujevac KBM Bank from Nova kreditna banka Maribor (NKBM) and since then has been successfully developing its operations throughout the territory of Serbia. It consists of three Regional centres: Kragujevac, for the territory of Central, Eastern and Southern Serbia, Belgrade for the territory of Belgrade and Novi Sad for Vojvodina.

Rio Tinto

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON THE PROJECT "JADAR"

BMW

STORE OPENED IN PORTO MONTENEGRO On the most luxurious location on the Montenegrin coast, within the complex "Regent Pool Club Residence" in Porto Montenegro, a special BMW salon was opened, called "BMW Store". The new BMW salon will offer customers and potential customers the latest models of BMW cars, motorcycles, and the latest Lifestyle collection. During the next period, exclusively for residents of Porto Montenegro, there will be a special fleet of BMW testing and rental vehicles, for the full experience of enjoying the premium car along the coast. Delta Motors, the exclusive importer for Serbia and Montenegro, and the BMW Group recognised

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the potential of Porto Montenegro and supported the opening of this unique salon at this beautiful and luxurious location, which is also a second store of the authorised dealer for Montenegro, Voli Motors.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia and Rio Tinto signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the Jadar Project which will enable the establishment of joint working groups in order to enable more efficient development of the Jadar Project is in the study phase and the process of obtaining licences in accordance With the law. The "Jadar" project, which Rio Tinto develops in Serbia, relates to the development of deposits of lithium and world class borate. The project is currently in the middle of a study phase with a start of production expected in 2023, if the feasibility studies confirm sustainability and if all the necessary permits for its implementation are provided. Rio Tinto's Energy and Minerals Executive Director Bold Batar said: "Rio Tinto sees Serbia as an attractive investment destination." Prime Minister Ana Brnabić attended the signing of the Memorandum: "In order for the domestic economy to develop equally, it is necessary to start economic development at the local, and the Jadar project will significantly influence the development of Loznica and the entire region."

Sberbank

BEST DIGITAL SERVICES IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE The renowned financial magazine “Global Finance” has rewarded Sberbank as the best in Central and Eastern Europe in three categories: “Best Bill Payment”, “Best Mobile Banking App”, and “Best SMS/Text Banking”.

Also, Sberbank’s digital retail banking was rated best in Russia and received its international award. Alexander Torbakhov, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank, said: “Our digital products are regularly acknowledged as the best on the market. We see that customers wait for us to deliver digital services in line with or surpassing the world’s best practices, and we are doing our best to live up to their expectations”. As part of its analysis, Global Finance takes account of quantitative factors, as well as subjective criteria. Objective criteria include the digital customer acquisition and service strategy, customer base growth, digital products’ functionality, development of new business areas, and innovative services. Subjective criteria include opinions of analysts, bank consultants, and other world-class professionals of the industry.

Apatin Brewery & Faculty of Applied Arts

FIRST SUNSHADE AND BENCHES FROM RECYCLED MATERIAL PRESENTED Apatin Brewery, in cooperation with the Faculty of Applied Arts, and within the educational project "You too Recycle - Artiklaža 2017" presented the first parasols and benches made of recyclable materials. The author of the setting is Professor Marko Lađušić, who for years now, together with his students, combines art and recycling through creativity within this project. "This is our fourth joint project, through which we want to point out to the importance of recycling packaging and environmental protection.

This time we wanted to create objects that have both artistic and usable value and show what everything can be made of recyclable materials" he said. The sunshades and benches made of recyclable materials were placed with sculptures of PET packaging in Apatin, so that the citizens of Apatin could enjoy them.

Erste Bank

SIRIUS ERSTE BUILDING A new Erste Bank Building at Milutina Milankovića 3a, in Belgrade was presented with a socialising at the barbecue party in a relaxed atmosphere. The new Sirius building, named upon the brightest star in the sky possess a new and modern look dedicated to both clients and employees. The party was an opportunity for a discussion about the modern concept of business in the enjoyable ambience of the new building.

Erste Bank acquired Novi Sad Bank in 2005, the oldest financial institution in our country, founded in 1864. Its focus is on retail business, local communities and small and

medium enterprises. Erste expands the borders in the areas of electronic banking and credit cards in the financial market of Serbia, and we are trying to respond to all of your requests, and this building is just another step forward to the whole service the clients.

Embassy of Israel & NALED

GENDER QUOTAS AND INCENTIVES FOR BUSINESSWOMEN

The gender quotas prescribed by the required number of women in managerial positions in public administration and economy have proved to be the most effective measure in developed countries for achieving gender balance in economic, political and social spheres, and Serbia should follow this example at all levels. This is just a part of the key messages from the round table "The Role of Women in the Economy and Society" organised by the

Embassy of Israel and NALED in Sombor as part of marking the 69th anniversary of independence of that country and 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. The host of the event, Mayor of Sombor and member of the Board of NALED Dusanka Golubović, pointed out that there is no quality society without the quality role of women and that it is necessary to adjust the role of women in contemporary conditions.

She also assessed that it is necessary for women to ensure autonomy and to have clear goals that will be supported with support. Israel's experience in empowering women to the round table was conveyed by Rina Bar-Tal, the emeritus president of the Israeli Women's Network and Ambassador Alona Fisher Kamm.

Amcham & MK Group

100 TREES PLANTED ON KOPAONIK

Kopaonik, the most famous mountain centre in Serbia, is richer for 100 new seedlings after the ecological action "Oxygen for Kopaonik" organised by the participants of the educational programme of the American Chamber of Commerce, together with representatives of Amcham and MK Group. The green action was attended by 40 of the most successful students of the Belgrade University and young managers of AmCham member companies, and they were supported by representatives of local self-government and employees of MK Group. The site was previously prepared by the employees of JKP "Zelenilo", and the first seedlings were planted by MK Group Corporate Communications Director Goran

Golubović and Mayor of Raška Mirjana Škorić. "This marks the International Environmental Protection Day everywhere in the world, and we are planting spruces that normally cover the highest forest zone on Kopaonik, and we wanted to give a symbolic contribution to the preservation of the planet Earth," said Goran Golubović, Corporate Communications Director of MK Group.

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B USINESS NEWS Mikser House

CROWDFUNDING FOR THE MIKSER HOUSE SARAJEVO CULTURAL CENTRE Belgrade Creative Collective "Mikser" opens in Sarajevo "Mikser House", a regional centre of urban culture that has been working with great success in Belgrade for five years. With over 500 different events throughout the year and over 250,000 visitors, Mikser House has become a cultural catalyst that is without any compromise struggling for a different cultural pattern in the Balkans than it inherited from the 1990s.

- The concept of "Mikser House Sarajevo" was created with the idea to present to the audience in Sarajevo all that we have been painstakingly building in Belgrade for years. I will remind you - from the very beginning, "Mikser House Beograd" in its subtitle defines its platform as "Balkan Design Centre". So - we are strongly formatted in the Balkans, as an emotional and cultural space and for years we have programs - from the product of design to performances and concerts "imported" from the entire Balkan region. These are the organic connections that gave us a wonderful reception in Sarajevo. We really feel at home - says Ivan Lalić, director of Mikser House, and said that they recently launched an international crowdfunding campaign to complete the work.

Nelt Group

OWNER OF 80% MONTENOMAKS C&L Neregelia, which operates within the Nelt Group and is a leader in the distribution market of Montenegro, on behalf of its founder, has recently been managing 80% of Montenomax C&L, which provides logistics and forwarding services. Montenomaks became the 13th company within the regional system of the Nelt Group. "As we recently announced during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of our company, we continue to expand our focus areas to focus on integrated logistics services. With great satisfaction, I can inform the public that the acquisition of Montenomaks has been completed, the majority of which we are managing today" said Neregelia Executive Director Ljilja Pižurica, adding: "Our strategic goal is to achieve business excellence from the distribution domain of Neregelia, and with many years of experience in logistics and freight forwarding, we present the market a unique service for integrated logistics services."

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Stihl

INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE WORTH 333 MILLION DINARS After only four years of business in Serbia, STIHL doo, the first representative of STIHL Group on the post of the former Yugoslavia, became the owner of the land in Novi Beograd. In accordance with the strategic decision of STIHL Group to build STIHL Centre in Belgrade and thus permanently connect the market in the region, STIHL purchased land in Block 53, in the Economic Zone of the Autoput, total area of 3.2ha. Director of STIHL doo, Dijana Peškir, said that the previous four years of successful business operations confirmed the strong

connection between STIHL and its users on the Serbian and Montenegrin markets, which lasts over six decades.

Tikveš Winery

TROPHY FOR VRANEC SPECIAL SELECTION TIKVEŠ

At the ceremonial ceremony held in London, representatives of the prestigious international wine competition International Wine Challenge (IWC) - awarded the annual "Quality Trophy" award to "Vranec Special Selection" from the vintage 2015 year, made by Tikveš winery. This is the first winery in the region that received such a

prestigious recognition at this competition is yet another confirmation that Tikveš is in the club of elite world manufacturers. This award is received by less than 1% of all registered wines in the competition, and this year one of the best known wine critics, Tim Atkin personally handed over the prize to the president of the Tikveš Wine Management Council Svetozar Janevski. Mr. Janevski and members of the Tikveš administration had a meeting with one of the most famous British wine authors Robert Owen, better known in the wine world as Oz Clark. These two critics have had the opportunity to see the top quality Tikveš wine.

UniCredit Bank & EBRD

SUPPORTING WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Long-term partners, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and UniCredit Bank Serbia, presented the Women in Business programme at a press conference attended by a special advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister for Gender Equality, prof. Branka Drašković and hosts from the two institutions mentioned. The goal of the Women in Business programme is to increase access to finance and provide advisory services for women entrepreneurs. Under this programme, the EBRD provides a €5m line for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises run by women, with the first risk of loss and technical support covered. Companies will have increased access and funding opportu-

nities, as well as more favourable prices, lower security and professional support, which will be provided by the EBRD Small Business Advisory Programme. Funds are approved for working capital and investments with an annual interest rate ranging from 2.7% and a maximum amount of up to 500.000 euros, in dinar countervalue.

I NTERVIEW

The Archaeological Project “Glac“ The location to which the project relates to is located near the archaeological site of Sirmium bles from across the Roman Empire including red porphyry from Egypt which was traditionally only used for imperial building projects.

There is an ancient account that the late third century AD Roman emperor, Maximian, built a palace for his parents, on land where they had

Prof. RICHARD MILES Professor of Roman History and Archaeology University of Sydney

The archaeological project Glac is a multi-year Serbian-Australian undertaking that will engage a team from the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade and the University of Sydney. The team will undertake a five-year program, of archaeological excavations, research, publication and conservation on the Roman site Glac near Sremska Mitrovica. It as an archaeological park late-antique villa Glace, which is located in the immediate vicinity of Sremska Mitrovica (the ancient Sirmium). The idea is to establish it as a demonstration site where modern archaeological research technologies will be applied and where students from Serbia and Australia will receive a high quality training and gain practical knowledge about the archaeological investigations.

Please tell us more about the purpose of the Archaeological Project “Glac” and its importance?

— The purpsose of the archaeological project at Glac is to excavate an extremely large and important late Roman (3rd to 5th century AD) villa site at Glac a small hamlet 2km from the town of Sremska Mitro-

THE PURPSOSE OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT AT GLAC IS TO EXCAVATE AN EXTREMELY LARGE AND IMPORTANT LATE ROMAN (3RD TO 5TH CENTURY AD) VILLA SITE AT GLAC vica, ancient Sirmium which was once one of the capitals of the Roman Empire. What makes this villa site very exciting is not only its vast scale but the opulent materials with which it was constructed including different exotic marbles and mar-

worked as peasants, close to Sirmium. It would be brilliant if Glac was the site of that palace.

How the idea was conceived at the first place and how the site of the project was selected?

17 ROMAN EMPERORS What would be the long term results of the project?

— Our major long term ambitions for the Glac project are to make a successful excavation using the latest scientific techniques. Another major aim is to create a long term educational and scientific cooperation between Serbian and Australian archaeologiists and students. Lastly we want to leave a well presented site that will provide the Serbian peope with an accurate and exhilarating vision of their history, a history that included producing 17 Roman emperors!

— The idea was first put to us by my friend and co-director Dr Stefan Pop Lazic from the Serbian Archaeological Institute who has worked and led many archaeological projects in Sremska Mitrovica and other areas of Serbia. As soon as Stefan showed me the Glac terrain, I immediately knew that this was a project to which I wanted to be involved in. I should also mention that this project would never have happened without the strong support and cooperation of tbe Serbian Ministers of Culture and Agriculture, the office of the mayor of Sremska Mitrovica and the Australian Ambassador to Serbia and her team, and the Archaeological institute of Serbia. It really has been a team effort!

What is the timeline of the project and what activities the project envisages?

— The project will initially run for five years but due to the size of the site, it is envisaged that it will run for many more years. As well as excavation, we are commited to the latest conservation methods for the site. We also want to ensure that the site is presented to the public in the most comprehensive and attractive way possible.

Which experts from the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade and the University of Sydney will be engaged and what would be their tasks?

— I am co-directing the excavation with Dr Stefan Pop Lazic from the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade.

We have assembled a truly international team of archaeologists and students from Serbia, Australia, UK and Germany. It’s a team which both Stefan and I are delighted with not only for its high level of technical expertise but also for its friendship and camaraderie.

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A N E W CL A S S IC

Cerebral and Tense, “Dunkirk” is a Remarkable Film Christopher Nolan’s war epic boasts interlocking storylines, elegant cinematography and an unforgettable score

This extraordinary new film is almost as notable for what it doesn’t do as for what it does. What it does, first of all, is to recreate the evacuation of 300,000 British troops from a beach in Nazi-occupied France in 1940 from three different perspectives. One section is set on and near the broad beach, where a bedraggled young soldier (Fionn Whitehead) is hoping to catch a lift back to England, and where a brisk naval officer (Kenneth Branagh) is overseeing operations. Again and again the soldier thinks he’s homeward bound; again and again he is flung, like Sisyphus, back to where he started.

Another strand is set on the English Channel, where a middle-aged civilian (Mark Rylance) is steering one of Operation Dynamo’s fabled “little ships”. And one is set in the sky, where two unflappable RAF Spitfire pilots (Tom Hardy and Jack Lowden) maintain their cool professionalism as their fuel runs low.

This might seem conventional enough; “Dunkirk” is hardly the first war drama to cut between several storylines. Christopher Nolan’s stroke of genius is to have his storylines running at different speeds. The beach sequence unfolds over a week, the sea sequence over a day and the sky sequence over an hour. And yet Mr Nolan, who wrote as well as directing “Dunkirk”, intertwines these strands so that they all appear to be happening at once—a time-bending trick he tried out in “Inception” (2010). It’s only later in the film that you spot the connections; you realise that the ship that capsized after half an hour in one strand is the same ship that capsized after an hour in another one. As in Mr Nolan’s breakthrough film, “Memento” (2000), there’s a jigsaw puzzle for the viewer to assemble. By the end it’s clear that he has written three seemingly separate short stories which are bound intricately together.

While he was refining his screenplay, his office wall must have been papered with flow charts and diagrams.

The music is nearly as radical as the structure. Composed by Hans Zimmer, it is, appropriately, the kind of nerve-shredding score you’d associate with a horror movie, or a Hitchcockian psychological thriller. It’s relentless and insistent, with ticking noises and wave after crashing wave of strings heightening the tension. Bursts of staccato white noise build momentum like a steam train accelerating through your skull. It’s impossible to ignore.

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“Dunkirk” is blatantly the work of a clever film-maker who loves to experiment with innovative techniques. But the elements that Mr Nolan leaves out are significant, too, elements which can be categorised as: “everything you might expect from a war movie.” An opening caption mentions that “the enemy have driven the British and French armies to the sea”, but that’s all the scene-setting we get. Mr Nolan drops the viewer straight into the frantic heart of the action—so that we are as bewildered as the protagonists—and he keeps us there without respite. There are no scenes in the Cabinet War Rooms or on the home front, no sign of either Adolf Hitler or Winston Churchill, no stirring rhetoric or bonding conversations.

Mr Rylance and Mr Branagh have a few onthe-nose lines which sketch in some context, but otherwise the dialogue and exposition are pared back to the bone.

IT TAKES A 77-YEAR-OLD STORY AND MAKES IT NEW Amazingly for a war film, not a single soldier pulls a dog-eared photo of his fiancée from his pocket, or tootles a wistful tune on the harmonica. Nor are there any German characters. We see the bombs falling and we hear the hellish shriek of the Messerschmitts, but Mr Nolan’s stark, immersive film focuses tightly on the everyman-ish British troops, and their minute-by-minute struggle for survival. It is also striking that “Dunkirk” doesn’t draw attention to its cinematography or editing. Ever since Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” rewrote the genre’s rules in 1998, the standard way to

shoot a battle sequence has been to have the camera swinging around madly, as if the camera-operator were dodging bullets, and then to edit the footage into the rat-a-tat rhythm of machine-gun fire. Mr Nolan, in contrast, opts for clarity and classicism in his shot choices. He keeps things as simple as possible, presumably trusting that the traumatic events on screen are vivid and powerful enough without the need for any extra gimmickry. He resists the temptation to shock the viewer with exploding heads and severed limbs, as so many post-“Private Ryan” war movies do. Instead, he manages to make a wholly believable and deeply stressful film with almost no blood in it—or, for that matter, any swearing or sex. There is more explicit second world war gore in “Wonder Woman”, which means that “Dunkirk” will soon be an essential component of British school history lessons.

If there is a downside to Mr Nolan’s refusal to go down the easy, manipulative route, it’s that he doesn’t quite reach the viewer’s heart.

He may exercise the brain and the adrenal glands, but “Dunkirk” is too high-minded to get you sobbing or praying for a favourite character (though some over-zealous fans of Harry Styles, a boy band heartthrob who plays a young soldier in the film, have been worrying about his fate). But that’s a small price to pay for such a major achievement. Intimate and epic, minimalist and expansive, intellectual and visceral, “Dunkirk” feels at once like a cerebral art installation and classic war movie. It takes a 77-year-old story and makes it new.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

CO RPO RATE

The Germans Have a Working Summer

The preparation for the biggest business event in Serbia, 2nd AHK Oktoberfest, as well as for the only multicongress Serbian Visions and two study and business trips of Serbian companies in the German regions of Bavaria and Brandenburg are ongoing

The second AHK Oktoberfest, a closedtype manifestation organised by the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) for its members, their partners and guests, as well as the German-Serbian business community, with the support of this year's partner, Messer Tehnogas, will be held on 13 and 14 October in Belgrade.

Through the original Bavarian blue and white ambience, along with beer, Bavarian cuisine and authentic costumes, as well as various competitions, 1400 visitors will feel the ambience of the original Oktoberfest in Munich within this two-day event. For the good mood of the guests, Dejan

German and Serbian companies and institutions.

November 25 and 26 is a weekend, reserved for the unique project of AHK Serbia, Serbian Visions, the third in a row multicongress in Serbia. More than 3000 visitors will be able to attend one of 60 two-hour events organized

by NGOs, professional associations, associations and institutions in order to advocate for a better future for citizens and the country. The only multicongress in Serbia will be held at the Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel in Belgrade.

In accordance with one of its main goals - improving German-Serbian trade and cooperation in all economic aspects - AHK Serbia, in cooperation with

NOVEMBER 25 AND 26 IS A WEEKEND, RESERVED FOR THE UNIQUE PROJECT OF AHK SERBIA, SERBIAN VISIONS, THE THIRD IN A ROW MULTICONGRESS IN SERBIA Petrović Big Band will take care with music tracks from traditional Bavarian to international and domestic music.

In October, the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce will also host a study trip to Berlin on Biomass and Biogas in the period from October 15 to 19, organised by AHK Serbia under the auspices of the German Ministry of Economy and Energy and in partnership with the German company Eclareon.

Participants of the Serbian delegation will have the opportunity to present themselves to their German counterparts in the field of biomass and biogas during their visit to their colleagues and exchange know-how in order to deepen the business cooperation between

the Bavarian State Ministry of Economy and Media, Energy and Technology, organises a study trip to Bavaria from 6 to 10 November 2017 under the Bayern - Fit for Partnership program, on the topic of Machines and plants for woodworking and furniture production.

All interested companies in the wood and furniture industries will be able to gain insight into the latest EU standards in the field of wood and furniture industry, as well as to obtain valuable contacts through participation at home (inhouse) fairs, cooperative exchanges and B2B meetings.

In the first half of the year, the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce organised 30 events which is an absolute record so far.

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FESTIVAL

The Piano City Festival Town Piano Celebration – from 8th to 10th September in Novi Sad

A brand festival Piano City was launched in Berlin in 2011 by the renowned German pianist and visionary Andreas Kern. Initially, the project was envisaged as a series of home concerts, or rather a unique amalgamation of the old, chamber music performance and new ways of communicating. However, it quickly outgrew the initial idea and spread into streets, squares, bars, museums and parks to become a town piano celebration.

During the three festival days, up to 500 piano concerts will be held in different locations in town.

The founding idea of the festival is to move the concerts from their usual locations like big concert halls, which entail certain behaviour rules and norms, and bring

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music closer to the audiences in new surroundings so that they can experience it in a brand new way.

After Berlin, other cities also acquired a licence to hold the festival with Naples and Milan being the first to do it. Novi Sad, as the fourth city, followed soon after and was given an opportunity to host a culture event as important and as big as this one. The idea was launched by the Mistyland Society, with the professors from the Academy of Arts of the University of Novi Sad, Maja Alvanović and Kosta Jevtić, at the helm. The Piano City Novi Sad Festival will take place at the prominent locations in Novi Sad from 8th to 10th September, 2017.

We are talking about the festival with Ivana Nožica, musicologist and expert associate at the Academy of

Diplomacy&Commerce

Arts of the University of Novi Sad, as well as a member of the organizational team of the Piano City Novi Sad. WHO CAN APPLY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FESTIVAL?

Any pianist, regarding of their age, the piano playing level and the genre, can apply to participate in the festival. The organizers have received numerous applications, both from Serbia and abroad, from musicians of various profiles. This festival is unique in many of its aspects, including the application process.

The selection of the candidates is entirely done online. The applicants are asked to post a YouTube video of their peformance, and to present themselves and the music they are going to play in a short form. Providing they are interesting enough and of required quality, these kinds

WHO IS GOING TO PERFORM AT THE PIANO CITY NOVI SAD FESTIVAL?

This year, during the weekend in Novi Sad when the festival takes place, there will be over 50 piano concerts. Most of the pianists will play a classical music repertoire, but there will be other genres too like jazz, mainstream and film music, and the music they wrote themselves. Novi Sad will also play host to international music stars like Zlata Chochieva, a very successful, world-renowned young pianist from Russia who is a winner of many international awards. She currently works at the reputable Mozarteum University in Salzburg.

After playing in the biggest concert halls in the world and collaborating with the most important ensembles and orchestra, she will perform her repertoire, comprising of the music

THE PIANO CITY FESTIVAL IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR NOVI SAD, WHICH IS THE 2021 EUROPEAN CULTURE CAPITAL, SINCE IT WILL DEFINITELY ENRICH THE CULTURAL LIFE IN THE CITY of video clips can attract people to come to the concert because they are also uploaded onto our website and, as such, available to everyone to watch. Apart from the performers, the citizens of Novi Sad were also given an opportunity to be a part of this event. They could play hosts to pianists in their own property (a flat or a house), and, by doing so, have an interesting concert staged for their families and friends.

by the biggest classical music composers, in front of the audience in Novi Sad too. Furthermore, we are going to have an Italian pianist Dario Candela performing, who is also an art director of the Piano Festival in Naples, and many music professors from the Belgrade Faculty of Music Arts including Ljiljana Vukelja and Olivera Radmanović, as well as the professors from the Academy of Arts of the University of Novi Sad like

Julija Bal, Irina Zagurskaya, Aleksandra Rakić, Jelena Bajić Bojanić and others. Apart from these pianist, we are also going to have performances from the guest pianists from Niš, Vršac, Kragujevac, Skopje, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Zagreb and Bratislava.

When it comes to the festival’s non-classical repertoire, there is the Ingmar Duet from Novi Sad who play contemporary music, as well as remakes of the popular music pieces. Then, there is the Piano Trinity trio who all play on the same piano and perform jazz, popular and film music. We are also going to have the pianist Dalida Grmuša who is known for her improvisations, and Nera Beljanski who is going to perform her own set of voice and piano compositions called The Heavenly Swing.

IN WHICH LOCATIONS IN THE CITY IS THE FESTIVAL GOING TO TAKE PLACE?

Many town institutions are supporting the festival and have offered their premises for concerts.

Apart from the usual locations in Novi Sad for this type of event like the Synagogue and the Town Hall, we are also going to have concerts at the Vojvodina Museum, the

WHEN IT COMES TO THE FESTIVAL’S NONCLASSICAL REPERTOIRE, THERE IS THE INGMAR DUET FROM NOVI SAD WHO PLAY CONTEMPORARY MUSIC, AS WELL AS REMAKES OF THE POPULAR MUSIC PIECES

Museum of Modern Art, the Institute of Culture of Vojvodina, many galleries, privately owned flats and even unusual places like the city main bus station, the city busses, the Dunavski Park, bars, alleys and even town roofs. In this way, everyone – the citizens, the music fans and passerbys – will be able to enjoy in the music.

WHERE DID THE IDEA TO HAVE SUCH INTERESTING CONCERT LOCATIONS COME FROM?

PROMOTIONAL CONCERTS During the promotional period, from May to August 2017, we had several concerts with the goal of having the audience and the pianists get acquainted with the idea and the concept of the Piano City Festival on time. In keeping with the festival’s general idea, we had concerts in very interesting places like private properties, the Moritz Eis ice cream parlour in the town centre and at the premises of the Kuća Čuvarkuća marketing agency. We are planning to have more similar concerts and all citizens are welcome to come.

The organizers of the Piano City Novi Sad Festival, who are also all seasoned pianists, were given an opportunity to perform at the Piano City Milan Festival in Italy this year. Apart from this peformance being important for their music careers, they also had a chance to talk to the festival organizers and got useful advice how to improve and develop the project over the next few years, as well as ideas how to expand the festival, increase the number of locations and have interesting and rather unusual events like silent concerts where each member of the audience is given headphones to listen to the pianists performing on the stage.

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C ALEND AR & NE W S

BALI WONDERLAND

INDONESIAN MARKET AND PERFORMANCE BY DYRO

Kalemegdan, August 26th

FILMSTREET Filmstreet open air cinema is non-profit cultural and educational project which aims to re-live spirit of watching movies under the open sky in the summer, by organizing and showing greatest cinematographic achievements from all around the world. During summer months (June-September), more than 25,000 Belgradians and other visitors will enjoy in more than 30 shows watching movies from Hollywood, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Bollywood, and domestic Serbian production. For the last seven years, Filmstreet

have been hosting young Serbian producers and actors with their work. In additional to movies, visitors will have opportunity to see 3 open air theatre plays, part of Filmstreet project which is getting more and more popular over the years. All events take place in most beautiful parts of Belgrade – Kalemegdan, Tasmajdan, Sava quay, Zemun, Studentski park, Cvetni trg, etc. All events are free of charge.

“NIGHT OF MUSIC” Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Belgrade in cooperation with Jungle Travel, will organize one of the most interesting events this summer called “Bali Wonderland" on August 26th, during the traditional Kalemegdan Summer Festival. This time, from 7-10pm, “Bali Wonderland“ will open with an interesting concept called "Indonesian Market" and from 11 pm onwards, the party with the world music star Dyro will start!

The "Indonesian Market" is designed to present the culture of Indonesia to the visitors and give them the opportunity to feel the spirit of Indonesia in the very heart of Belgrade- Kalemegdan Fortress. Alongside with the famous Dyro, another special star of “Bali wonderland“ is the cultural group from the University of Indonesia “KRIDA BUDAYA” who will perform on the stage of the "Indonesian Market".

Visitors will also be able to enjoy traditional specialties, prize games and promotion of exotic destinations, various workshops, all in a specially designed ambiance!

Entrance to the Indonesian market from 7-10pm will be free for all visitors, while the tickets for the performance of Dyro, who will perform from 11pm onwards, can be purchased at all Eventim and DD tickets selling points.

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Project “Noć muzike” or “Night of music” represents first tradicional philharmonic orchestra open air concert in Belgrade. Second year in a row, Night of music will host National Broadcast service Choir and Symphonic orchestra, with special guest stars being famous children choir Kolibri. Concert is becoming tradition alike similar concerts in many world metropoles – Vienna, New York, Hamburg, London, Sidney, etc. Concert program was designed by most famous Serbian Conductor, Maestro Bojan Sudjic. More than 15,000 visitors will enjoy classical music and the entrance is free of charge and thanks to National Broadcast service, concert will be broadcasted live so many more thousands of people will be able to enjoy the symphonies.

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