Diplomacy and Commerce 23

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January 2018 | ISSUE No. 23 | Price 350 RSD

9772466380002

WE WANT TO MODERNIZE YOUTH EDUCATION

MLADEN ŠARČEVIĆ

Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development

INNOVATION IS THE GROWTH DRIVER

14 WORLD DEC

IN 2018

I AM OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE ANA BRNABIĆ

Serbian Prime Minister

YANA MIKHAILOVA

President of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SSCC)

THE OPPORTUNITY GIVEN TO US, WE SHOULD USE

SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS ZORAN DJORDJEVIĆ

Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran, and Social Issues

France

Switzerland

IN FOCUS

DRAGOLJUB DAMLJANOVIĆ President of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce

H.E. FRÉDÉRIC MONDOLONI Ambassador of France to Serbia

H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia

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ED ITO RI AL

CO N T E N T S

Inadvertently Making a Star Dear readers, Do you recall, or have you ever heard of, the famous incident on the BBC regarding the Sex Pistols in December 1976? Broadcast live in a TV show hosted

by Bill Grundy, the show made the Sex Pistols famous, inadvertently. To remind you, Bill Grundy made an indecent comment about Siouxsie from The Banshees, to which Pistols guitarist Steve Jones responded, saying “You dirty s*d; you dirty old man”. Grundy was attempting to be funny and condescending, provoking Jones to use more profanities, which he did. Grundy felt satisfied when the show was over. The public’s reaction was, of course, twofold: the Sex Pistols gained notoriety, on the one hand, but were also transformed overnight from minor stars into superstars, with the counterculture considering them courageous. A similar thing happened recently when a show on Serbian N1 TV featured Arnaud Guillon, the founder of “Solidarity for Kosovo”, as a guest. The host sought responses to questions about Guillon’s previous far-right activities in France, with the show gaining an unpleasant twist that later led to accusations from both sides. However, ultimately, Guillon, who was previously unknown to many, was turned into a superstar. He appeared on the front pages of many magazines and began posting and tweeting endlessly. As he is a Serbian citizen, he can now form a political party and become, well, a new Macron. Was that N1’s intention? I'm sure it wasn't. The host tried to shed some light on Guillon’s “dark side”, but it didn’t work; the general public basically saw him as a humanitarian, not giving a damn about his “Identitarian” past. Some arguments just don’t work. The Sex Pistols weren’t condemned for their bad language or for wearing T-shirts with swastikas.

The attack backlashed, not the first time. And now we have a star who was accidentally created by liberals. What a mess.

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THE SUDDEN, SURPRISING RISE OF ARABIC ON ISRAELI STREET SIGNS Spreading the word

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I AM OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE ANA BRNABIĆ

Serbian Prime Minister

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SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS ZORAN DJORDJEVIĆ

Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran, and Social Issues

ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor-in-Chief

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OUR PROGRESS HONOURS OUR PREDECESSORS ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor in Chief

zikica.milosevic@color.rs

TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Editorial manager

tanja.bankovic@color.rs

VANJA KOVAČEV

PR&Event support Nord Communications vanja.communications @gmail.com

NATAŠA NEŠIĆ

ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD

Advertising manager

indigochild.ilija@gmail.com

DRAGANA RADOVIĆ

Art director

JOVANA MARKOVIĆ Advertising manager

jovana.markovic@color.rs

natasa.nesic@color.rs

Advertising manager

dragana.radovic@color.rs

RUŽA RISTANOVIĆ Magazine director

ruza.ristanovic@color.rs

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

robert.coban@color.rs

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STABILITY IS THE KEY MAJA GOJKOVIĆ

Speaker of the National Parliament

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CONSTANT INTRODUCTION OF INNOVATIONS SOTIRIS KOSTOUROS

General Manager of BAT Serbia and Montenegro

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AS WTO MEMBERS MEET IN ARGENTINA, THE ORGANISATION IS IN TROUBLE The World Trade Organisation

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YOUNG PEOPLE AS DRIVING FORCE FOR REACHING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS SDGs platform for cooperation between the Serbian parliament and UNDP/SDC

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SEVEN YEARS OF REFORMS FOR BETTER BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT USAID

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SCULPTURE ‘FROM THERE TO HERE’ IS A NEW BELGRADE LANDMARK Delta Foundation

Photos

GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ GETTY IMAGES Translation and lecturer

MRP EDITORIAL Translation

SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ

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S P RE A DIN G T H E WO RD

The Sudden, Surprising Rise of Arabic on Israeli Street Signs One area where Binyamin Netanyahu’s government is not so hostile to Arabs

Two years ago Ayman Odeh, the pragmatic new leader of Israel’s Arab parliamentary bloc, said that within a decade Arabic would be “on Tel Aviv street signs as part and parcel of the urban environment”. It is happening faster than he predicted. Across Jewish as well as Arab towns, Arabic signage is sprouting on highways, bus routes and, most recently, railway stations.

Some 40% of the digital panels on public buses now list their routes in Arabic alongside Hebrew, up from near zero two years ago. By 2022, says the government, the service will be fully bilingual. A new department pumps out road-safety warnings in Arabic.

In tandem, a five-year plan, Resolution 922, aims to narrow the gap between Jews and Arabs in education, housing and policing. Though not the first, it is by far Israel’s most ambitious.

It costs 15bn shekels ($4.3bn), and unlike previous plans was devised together with Arab representatives.

The government of Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, is often derided as chauvinist. So its espousal of integration surprises many. Mr Netanyahu often plays up the Arab threat, particularly at election time. However, he sees pragmatic reasons for treating Israeli Arabs a bit better.

Israel’s 1.8m Arabs are citizens, and Arabic is an official language which most Jews study in school. But for decades after independence the authorities left most Arabs isolated in ill-funded villages and towns without transport to the country’s economic hubs. As of 2015, 53% of Arabs were poor, against 14% of Jews. The gap fed resentment. Israeli Arabs now fly Palestinian flags at their rallies. For years security officials have warned that, without integration, Israel’s Arabs would rally behind Palestinians in the occupied territories. Government economists add that including Arabs more fully in the economy would give it a boost—much as immigrants from the former Soviet Union did in the 1990s, says Amir Levy, who drafted the five-year plan.

Since the plan was approved in 2015, a third of the budget has been spent. The transport ministry is connecting Arab towns to Jewish hubs such as Tel Aviv with over 300 new and upgraded routes. One aim is to get more Arab women into work. Last month Mr Netanyahu opened the first of 17 police stations to be staffed by Arab officers in Arab towns. “If we want Israel to be strong, we need our minorities

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MR NETANYAHU OFTEN PLAYS UP THE ARAB THREAT, PARTICULARLY AT ELECTION TIME. HOWEVER, HE SEES PRAGMATIC REASONS FOR TREATING ISRAELI ARABS A BIT BETTER to be strong, with the same rights and budgets as everyone else,” says Gila Gamliel, the minister overseeing the plan.

The new policy has sometimes been implemented insensitively. Arab cities like Jaffa, Acre and Nazareth are given Hebrew names on Arabic signs. Especially galling is “Awrushaleem”, an Arabised version of “Jerusalem” in place of “Al-Quds”, the usual Arabic name for the city.

Signs are also Hebraising what Arabs call “Tel Abib”: Arabic has no letter V, so the large sign at a Tel Aviv station has a workaround—three dots below the letter B—that make the sign look more like Urdu. “It’s humiliating to see Arabic treated with such disrespect,” says Mohammad Darawshe, an activist.

Some Israeli officials resist the spread of

Arabic. The mayor of Beersheva, a southern town of 200,000 Jews surrounded by 100,000 Arabs, tried to ban bus announcements in the language. And Israel Railways has refused to follow Jerusalem’s tramline in announcing stops in Arabic over the tannoy. “It would be too noisy,” explained its chief executive. Banks offer online services in Arabic. But the only Arabic that visitors could find in the central bank’s corridors were prohibitions against smoking.

Some Israelis fear that a bilingual country might become a binational one. Mr Netanyahu’s cabinet is backing a bill designating Israel the nation-state of the Jews and stripping Arabic of its official status. “The more Arabic we hear, the more the government wants to downgrade its status,” says Yonatan Mendel, an expert on Arabic education. Israelis are justly proud of having revived Hebrew as a spoken language—a feat akin to resurrecting Latin in everyday conversation. But for some, that is not enough; Hebrew should have no rival.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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I NTERVIEW

I am Optimistic About Future It is important that we understand that we are implementing the ongoing reforms for our own sake; for the sake of the Serbian citizens and business people in Serbia

ANA BRNABIĆ Serbian Prime Minister

The President of Color Press Group, Robert Čoban conducted an interview with the Serbian Prime Minister, Ana Brnabić on 14th December at the first gala dinner 'World in 2018' which took place in Belgrade. In the interview, the Prime Minister underlined that we lived in an emerging region, as well as the importance of e-government, personal contacts in politics, and finding reliable economic partners all over the world – from Russia and the US to the EU, the UAE, China, India and Turkey. Here is the entire interview which the Serbian Prime Minister gave for the first issue of Diplomacy&Commerce in 2018 in which she talks about Serbia’s further activities on the EU accession, the reforms that the government continues to conduct, and Serbia’s importance in the region.

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What are your impressions of the first gala dinner in Hong Kong where you were one of the keynote speakers?

— I am happy to see that, after Hong Kong, Belgrade is next to host the ‘World in 2018’ gala dinner.

Hong Kong was excellent, and what I consider especially important is that I, as the Serbian Prime Minister, had been invited to be one of

year for many important decisions.

If we demonstrate enough leadership qualities and bravery, and with a little bit of luck, at the end of 2018, the Balkans will look completely different and will relay a totally different message. The message being that we don’t constantly need someone from aside to tell us what we need to do and how to talk to each other, but rather that we can

INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE EU, OUR PATH IS AS IMPORTANT AS OUR GOAL. IF WE IMPLEMENT THESE REFORMS EFFICIENTLY, HONESTLY AND AUTHENTICALLY, THAN OUR EU MEMBERSHIP IS GOING TO BE A CONSEQUENCE OF THESE REFORMS the keynote speakers at such an important global event. I think that this was also important for both Serbia and the region. I also think that we used the given opportunity well, that we managed to send out a more positive and more optimistic message about the Balkans, and convey that, realistically speaking, 2018 could be a groundbreaking

demonstrate that we can do it alone and thus that we are mature and responsible enough to be a member of the European family of nations.

The Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, Daniel Franklin asked you a question about the relations between Serbia and Russia. What is your view regarding this issue?

— Daniel Franklin did not spare me in our conversation. One of the questions in this hard talk was about Russia bearing in mind that we are one of the very few countries that did not impose sanctions on Russia. This is a frequently asked question both in Serbia and abroad. Our response, to all of our partners, is always the same. The same response is given to the EU, as our strategic goal is to become an EU member as soon as possible.

The same response is also given to the USA and Russian Federation.

The faster economic growth is one of our key priorities. Last year, it stood at 2.8%, this year it will be 2%, while the projected growth for next year is 3.5%. However, we need at least 4% in order to develop faster. We can achieve this only if we have strong partners, including Russia with which we have signed the Free Trade Agreement considering how big and important is the Russian market. This is also one of the reasons why many investors come to Serbia. Traditionally, Russia is our friend because we have a similar language, share

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the same religion and the Slavic brotherhood that connect us. We are also connected commercially.

Also, we have been bolstering and upgrading our partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and China, through the 16+1 format. All of this just corroborates my previous statements. We have good relations with the Russian Federation because we need them as partners in order to achieve a faster and more intensive growth.

As for the United States, that goes without saying. We have been partners with them on several levels.

What are your expectations for 2018 in terms of the continuation of reforms?

— I am optimistic about the next year in regard to Serbia and our economic development because we have all the prerequisites to succeed in 2018. We are ending this year with higher pensions and public sector salaries, higher minimum wage, and tax exemptions primarily for startups and small business owners. In the future, new companies will be exempt from paying taxes during the first and second year of their operations. I do hope that this will provide a big impetus and a motive for people to launch their own business.

It is important that we understand that we are implementing the ongoing reforms for our own sake; for the sake of the Serbian citizens and business people in Serbia. The date of our formal accession to the EU is not important.

What would happen if the EU were to say that it would not accept new members in the next 10, 15 or 20 years?! What would change in our case? Nothing! Our three pillars on which the European integration process and development rest are the following – macroeconomic stability and economic power, efficient and transparent public administration with no excessive red tape, and the rule of law, transparent and efficient judiciary, and the fight against organized crime and corruption. We have to implement all of this independently from the EU. Our path is as important as our goal. If we implement these reforms efficiently, honestly and authentically, than our EU membership is going to be a consequence of these reforms, and we can peacefully wait to see whether the EU will open its doors to new members or not. It would not be a good thing if our membership in the EU was only formal, and that we are implementing the reforms

FASTER WE IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC SERVICES FOR AS MANY PERMITS AND PROCEDURES AS POSSIBLE, LESS CORRUPTION THERE WILL BE IN OUR SOCIETY also just formally. Yes, we can become an EU member in this way, but we are not going to progress at all, or feel the benefits of the membership. This is not an option.

Our focus in on reforms that we are implementing for our own sake because we want to be a society based on the European values.

You met with important state officials in Hong Kong and Budapest. How important are personal contacts in establishing good relations between countries?

— I think that personal relations

are of crucial importance, and that personal contacts play a huge role. We have witnessed this when my predecessor Aleksandar Vučić started to develop personal relations with the Albanian PM, Edi Rama. I think that we can agree that today Serbia and Albania have better relations than centuries before. Why? Because someone dared to make a personal contact. Edi Rama was the first Albanian PM to come to Serbia in 68 years following Aleksandar Vučić's invitation. We do have open issues with Albania, but it is

E-GOVERNMENT Implementing e-government is the fastest and easiest way to fight corruption which can be seen in the case of electronic issuance of building permits. Back in the day, this process was slow, the most corrupt out of all processes, and was carried out arbitrarily which was the perfect breeding ground for corruption. Now, that we have e-permits, there are no more instances of a person working behind a counter saying: “If you compensate us, we are going to put your application on top of this pile, and, if you don’t, it will continue sitting at the bottom of it.” Now

that we have a transparent process we know exactly how far along we are in processing the application.

We also know who gave a positive opinion about it, and who gave a negative one, and what are these opinions based on. We know how we act. Faster we implement electronic services for as many permits and procedures as possible, less corruption there will be in our society, the system will be more transparent, and all service users, i.e. citizens and businesses, will be much happier. And this is crucial – to create a system that is tailor-made to user needs

important that we talk.

Two months ago, Mr Rama and I opened an important event called the World Policy Conference in Morocco. The conference organizers recognized this as an important step for the Western Balkans, and wanted to demonstrate that it was possible to overcome centuries-old hostility in a short amount of time.

Although the hostility is not yet entirely eliminated, that does not mean that we cannot talk openly and sincerely despite not agreeing on certain topics. On the contrary, there are a lot of topics that we do agree on, and based on which we can build our partnership. Vučić has also established personal contacts with the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary.

Serbia’s advantage lies in the fact that it has a president and a prime minister who think that this is important and who, each in their own line of job and in accordance with their powers, are trying to position Serbia as the leader in regional stability. Serbia has pragmatic interests in the region. There is no healthy economic development without stability which is why we don’t need instability. Nobody will invest in Serbia if they perceive our country as unstable.

Serbia plays an important role in the region. How can we overcome the tensions in the region (Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, relations with Croatia)?

— In terms of the region, now is the right moment, and I think that we have a great opportunity, that appears only ever few decades, to resolve some important issues providing there are leadership and courage. Regional stability is very important for Serbia because we cannot record growth if our region is perceived as risky.

Speaking about the report compiled by the European Investment Bank (EIB), which says that, in terms of the corruption volume, the Western Balkans occupy the second place in the world, the first thing I would like to say that we are talking here about a perception of corruption, not the corruption per se. There is a problem with corruption, but I don’t think that we are as bad as we are portrayed to be. Fighting against corruption is something that we are definitely focusing on. We have to fight it, not because of the EU, but for our own sake, as I have said before. Which brings me to one of my favourite topics which is e-government.

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NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D E PA R T UR E S

in January & February

JANUARY

H.E. FRÉDÉRIC MONDOLONI

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New Ambassador of France to Serbia

H.E. Frédéric Mondoloni studied at Institute of Political Science in Paris.

From 2013. up to 2017. Mr Mondoloni was Counsellor-Minister at the Embassy of the Republic of France in Moscow.

He began his professional diplomatic career in 1998, in the Directorate for North Africa and the Middle East, and then served from 2000 to 2002 in the Directorate for Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament. During 20022003 he was an exchange diplomat at the State Department in Washington, and from 2003 to 2005 he held the post

H.E. KATI CSABA New Ambassador Embassy of Canada in Belgrade, Serbia

UKRAINE

of first secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of France in Washington.

From 2005 to 2007 he was a technical advisor in the Cabinet of the French PM, and from 2007 to 2009 served as a diplomatic advisor in the Cabinet of the Minister of Defence. Four years he was Director of the Office for Strategic and External Relations and Director of International Relations at the Atomic Energy Commission, after which he transferred to the position of governor for France at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.

Kati Csaba (BA [Political Studies and Russian] Queen’s University, 1988; MA [Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies] Carleton University, 1993) began her career at External Affairs and International Trade Canada in 1993, working on Canada’s assistance program to Hungary.

In the following years, Kati occupied several programming and analytical roles covering Central and Eastern Europe, including four Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) postings in the region: as second secretary in Kyiv (1995 to 1997), as head of aid in Sarajevo (1997 to 1999), as head of aid in Moscow (2005 to 2009) and as development director in Kyiv (2009 to 2012). In 2013, she was a member of the transition

Day of Unity of Ukraine

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AUSTRALIA National Day

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INDIA

Republic Day

FEBRUARY

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IRAN

National Day

team responsible for the amalgamation of the then Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the then CIDA, following which she served as the director of amalgamation implementation in Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada’s Sub-Saharan Africa Branch (2014 to 2015).

Most recently, she was the senior director responsible for Canada’s development program with Ethiopia, based at the Embassy of Canada in Addis Ababa.

Kati became Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro in December 2017 and is Ambassador-Designate in Macedonia since November 2017.

Ms. Csaba is married and has two teenage children.

H.E. SEYF ALLAH REJEB New Ambassador of Tunisia to Serbia

Ambassador Seyf Allah Rejeb (47) was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Serbia and Non-Resident Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Bulgaria and Montenegro, in August 2017.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in legal sciences, as well as a Certificate of Specialised Studies in Administration and Public Policies.

Mr Rejeb Joined the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994.

Assigned to the Directorate for Training and Perfection from 1995 to 1996, he transferred to the Diplomatic Institute from 1997 to 1999, where he advanced to the level of Counsellor. In 2004 Mr Rejeb be-

came a staff member of the Cabinet of the Tunisian Foreign Minister responsible for relations between Tunisia and Asian countries. In 2005 he was appointed as Head of Desk in charge of Japan, then in 2009 he became Deputy Director in charge of Libya and in 2014 became Deputy Director in charge of consular relations with Germany, Austria, Eastern European and Scandinavian countries. In June 2015 he was promoted to the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary, and in 2016 he was appointed Director of Consular Conventions, Litigation and Studies at the General Directorate for Consular Affairs.

H.E. GUSTAVO TRISTÁ DEL TODO New Ambassador of Cuba to Serbia

H.E. Gustavo Tristá del Todo (58) graduated with a degree in journalism. He started at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs began in 1980, when he spent a year at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo, department for Serbian language. From 1982 to 1986, Mr Todo was engaged at the Europe Division Official within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba.

Between 1986 and 1992 he served as Economic and Commercial Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Yugoslavia, followed by his return to Europe Division Official at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (19921999). Mr. Todo was appointed First Secretary at the Embassy of Cuba to Germany in 1999, and from 2005 to 2009 he returned to the Europe Division Official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2009 he was appointed Political Counsellor at the Embassy of Cuba in Spain, and from 2014 he served another three years at the Europe Division Official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Apart from Spanish, Ambassador Todo also speaks Serbian, German and English. He is a married and has two daughters.

ANA MILIĆ New Chairwoman of Executive Board of UniCredit Leasing Serbia

On 30th November, following the acquisition of required approvals from the National Bank of Serbia, Ana Milić was appointed Chairwoman of UniCredit Leasing Serbia's Executive Board after her predecessor Željko Lazarac decided to step down and pursue his career outside UniCredit. Ms Milić started her career in UniCredit Bank in 2005 as a financial analyst in the Corporate and Investment Banking Sector. After only

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a year, she was appointed associate in the SME Sector, and two years after that, she started working with large international companies in the bank. In late 2012, she was appointed head of the Corporate Sector, while in 2017, she became acting director of the Directorate for Corporate Clients and Public Enterprises. Ana Milić graduated from the University in Belgrade's Faculty of Economics, majoring in Finances and Banking.

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I NTERVIEW

Special Attention to the Most Vulnerable Groups ZORAN DJORDJEVIĆ Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran, and Social Issues

Although a lot has been done in the last three years, that does not mean that we can relish in social well-being as yet. Serbia still has to face many big obstacles and challenges in the future, while our Ministry focuses on helping the most vulnerable groups and their inclusion

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In the last three years, the Government of the Republic of Serbia has done a lot on building and functioning of new institutional mechanisms, coupled with a wealth of expertise and long-term projected vision of development, with clearly defined strategic determinations in the field of economy, international economic relations, foreign policy relations and other areas of importance for the entire social and economic development.

REFORMS AS GOVERNMENT'S PRIORITY

Despite the fact that a lot has been accomplished, and although we have covered the majority of reform path, this doesn't imply that we can just relax and relish in social

well-being. We still have to face many big obstacles and successfully complete important tasks.

From 1991, which marked the beginning of the transition in Serbia, to 2014, when Aleksandar Vučić was appointed the Serbian Prime Minister, there was no clear political determination in our country to abandon the old way of thinking. This hesitation regarding social reforms, demonstrated by the previous governments, embodied in the frequent implementation of populist measures that once protected social peace, but essentially extended the agony of rigid insistence on keeping the obsolete and ineffective social system alive, was so visible and manipulative that, during that period, the citizens of Serbia refused to give massive support to these rather vague, inconsistent and undefined attempts at re-

forming the society.

Such a collaboration between the political leadership and one segment of academic community in exacerbating social differences and tightening the measures towards those who they cynically called "the transition losers" has managed to create a sense of hopelessness and unpredictability in the majority of the citizens of Serbia, as well as a growing sense of dissatisfaction.

It was this civil discontent that proved to be a fertile ground for the reform programme that Aleksandar Vučić devised and proposed. Citizens recognized a clearly formulated proposal for a rounded and consistently implemented transformation of the society in line with the postulates of the market economy and improving the living standard of all citizens of Serbia, with no-one being privileged or

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excluded from that process so that the burden of reforms is thus evenly and equitably distributed.

ONGOING PROJECTS

In a short amount of time, the government has managed to achieve a sustainable balance between the reform goals and IMF's requirements. The initial budget savings put a stop to further negative tendencies and growing deficit. Successful large-scale projects in residential construction, road and railway infrastructure construction, greenfield and brownfield investments, industrial parks, investments in renewable energy resources, processing of wastewater, large investments in the Serbian metal processing and power generating sectors, as well as considerable investments in hotel and tourism industry are all good enough reason to continue being optimistic. We expect the economic development of such size and intensity to continue in the near future, and to trigger the development of all other segments of the Serbian economy and a real increase in the living standard.

In terms of the priorities of the line ministry that I helm - the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran, and Social Issues - we are devoting special attention to inclusion and care for citizens belonging to socially sensitive categories. This can be seen from the 2018 budget which has considerably higher allocations for the care of the most vulnerable groups. Perhaps the most important task regarding this care, that the Ministry is facing now, is producing social security cards.

SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS

On one hand, social security cards will help the state authorities in tackling corruption because they will contain information about assets and income of one person or several connected persons, while, on the other hand, it will facilitate the fight against social stigma since there are citizens who are ashamed of applying for welfare that is rightfully theirs.

Many countries in the region, like Macedonia and Montenegro, have formed databases that can be used by many state institutions. This ensures that certain population categories are not included in the relevant regulation because they are not eligible to have certain rights, while, on the other hand, those persons who are eligible will be able to exercise their rights more easily.

able to exercise their human rights, guaranteed by the Constitution.

MINISTRY'S PRIORITIES

The need to develop social security cards stems from the analysis of the state of poverty in the Republic of Serbia, the state of the social protection system and the state of development of information systems in the Ministry. This need was also mentioned in the exposĂŠ of

THE NEW INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS ARE STILL NOT FULLY FUNCTIONAL, PRIMARILY BECAUSE WE HAVE INHERITED OLD SYSTEMS WITH AN OLD ADMINISTRATION THAT ADHERES TO OLD WORK ETHICS AND HAS OLD WORK HABITS For now, only Scandinavian countries have such social security cards. They also have a population registry, a good tax administration, and systems based on which they can have an insight into what kind of assets and income a person has at any given moment. The system of social security cards will be introduced in Serbia with the aim of ensuring fair and economical distribution of welfare and other benefits which purpose is having a more just exercise of civil and other social rights. The implementation of this system will increase efficiency in the segment of social policy and assistance, as it will facilitate faster and easier implementation of citizens' rights while reducing possible abuse of rights and avoidance of obligations. Their ultimate purpose is for people to be

the Government of the Republic of Serbia's Programme at the National Assembly on 28th June 2017, and it is also set as one of the priorities of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs.

The implementation of the social security card system will prevent possible abuses, and allow for more equitable distribution with the view of social welfare reaching those people who really need it.

The importance of social security cards could be summed up in the following way - a social security card represents a documented way of measuring the socio-economic power of an individual, family, region, and total population. It includes indicators of the socio-economic situation of the population: records of the population structure (gender, age,

education, unemployment rate), working population, salary / income level, level of education and other indicators, and its content enables monitoring of the current, and planning of community development at two levels: 1) individual (micro level), which includes data about a person and a family (household), which helps state bodies to ascertain the person or the family's status, i.e. their rights and obligations, based on the data contained in the state authorities' databases.

2) regional and national (macro level), which includes status data and the data on the wider community's trends, based on statistical, aggregated data, with the view of facilitating social development planning in the future.

Based on the aforementioned data, and mimicking the model used in Denmark, the country that has perfected it the most, we, in Serbia, want to form a unique database that is based on the social status of our citizens and that is going to serve as a platform for public policies in the segment of social welfare, employment, pensions, healthcare and other areas.

I believe that with such just and fair approach, the state will have a better insight into who really needs a certain type of assistance and to what extent, as it will make sure that this assistance reaches those citizens that need it the most as soon as possible and without undue delays, in addition to effectively helping with prevention of possible misuse.

Overcoming economic and social crisis is not easy or simple.

Although we all believe in the fast and efficient accomplishment of the set goals, economic, social and other indicators show an even more complicated situation in the national and labour economy. The new institutional mechanisms that should replace the old ones are still not fully functional, primarily because we have inherited old systems with an old administration that adheres to old work ethics and has old work habits.

REFORMING THE VALUE SYSTEM Creating and implementing economic policy in the desired direction should be carried out parallel with the process of reforming the society's value system while, at the same time, encouraging the change of the current view of the world and redefining the attitude towards work, especially in the part of the population whose job involves taking responsibility

for other people.

I think we can confidently say that now, at the end of 2017, we can be cautiously optimistic based on the success of the overall development policy implemented by the Serbian government, as well as have faith that we are going to accomplish better results in 2018 while working towards the fulfillment of the set goals.

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Our Progress Honours our Predecessors

Stability is the Key We are responsible for maintaining stability

We have to leave a better regulated and more developed society to the future generations

MAJA GOJKOVIĆ

Speaker of the National Parliament

ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister

In her welcome speech at the conference, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, Zorana Mihajlović said that she believed that everyone wanted to leave behind the best possible heritage to the future generations, which includes a legitimate and legal political society, an institutionalized economic society, and a developed civil sector.

We need to transform our visions into reality and only by doing so are we going to be able to make big steps forward. We are all bound by this faith in a modern and developed Serbia. The only way to honour our predecessors, whom we often mentioned and think about, as well as the future generations is to continue progressing towards the better future which, for me personally, include the years prior to 2018, the year 2018 and all the years after 2018. We need to ask ourselves what are we doing for the future generations who should inherit a society that is better regulated, more modern and more developed.

In 2018, I expect a continuation of the current internal and foreign policy which was defined three years ago by Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian government. This policy restored Serbia's reputation, secured political and economic stability, and created a realistic future for everybody in Serbia.

Life is Serbia is now easier, compared to the last and the previous five years. Becoming an EU member remains our policy, and the Ministry for European Integrations is an example of how committed is our government to

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accomplishing this goal. The world has finally accepted Serbia as it is, with all its flaws and virtues.

Serbia's strategic relations with China, Turkey, the UAE, and Turkey are often misunderstood, but these relations are not only the result of the economic development but also of the long-standing, decade-long friendship and cooperation. Nobody wants to lose friends today. We want to have them in every part of the world, and as long as we can adapt this policy, I think Serbia will be fine.

OUR VISION IS TO HAVE MINISTERS WHOSE NAME IS NOT IMPORTANT, BUT RATHER FOR OUR LIVING STANDARD TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WE LIVE IN A STABLE AND MODERN SOCIETY In regard to the Corridor 10 and 11, we have built a total of 200km of motorways with 17 million more cars using these motorways today compared to 2014. The value of investments in infrastructure is close to 16 billion EUR, with each invested euro generating three euros in return through new jobs and companies. There are 23,000 active construction sites in Serbia, we are buying new trains and we are connecting to regional countries. When I think of Serbia in 2018, I have no qualms.

The most important tasks for Serbia in 2018 are preserving independent foreign policy and regional stability in complex circumstances, as well as maintaining the course of fiscal stability and economic growth.

This is an excellent opportunity for everyone, as participants in different panel discussions, to talk about the challenges that await Europe,

full-fledged EU membership remaining one of the foreign policy priorities of Serbia. Concurrently, we want to preserve the best possible relations with Russia, China, the US and other countries. In the past period, the Serbian Parliament has established cooperation at the highest possible institutional level with the Russian State Duma and the National People's Congress of China.

THE ANSWER TO THESE CHALLENGES HAS PROBABLY NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT AS IT IS NOW BECAUSE THE RATE OF CHANGE OFTEN LEAVES NO TIME FOR ADJUSTMENT the world, and Serbia in 2018.

Today, we are truly living in a time of changing geopolitical reality, and global challenges and changes, such as terrorism, cybercrime, refugees, migration, economic difficulties, climate change and many others. The EU itself faces political, economic and security challenges. The answer to these challenges has probably never been more important as it is now because the rate of change often leaves no time for adjustment. All of this reminds us that we have to look at Serbia's position; first and foremost, at our national and state interests. Political and economic stability is the key and prerequisite for Serbia's progress, and it is our responsibility to preserve them.

Our policy is clear, with the

The parliamentary debate about the 2018 budget is finished, while the reforms have resulted in stable public finances which, in turn, facilitates higher civil servant salaries and pensions, as well as higher investments which we predict will grow by 30% next year. We can confidently say that the citizens of Serbia will live better in 2018. Good relations and cooperation with the region are one of the priorities of Serbia's foreign policy, with the goal of building these relations on the basis of mutual trust and understanding in which the Berlin Process plays an important role.

I am convinced that only economic development can contribute to the stronger region as a whole, its stability and its willingness to deal with all kinds of challenges.

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Brave New World Four ambassadors to Serbia – the US ambassador H.E. Kyle Scott, the German Ambassador H.E. Axel Dittmann, the Croatian Ambassador H.E. Gordan Bakota, and the Hungarian Ambassador H.E. Attila Pinter – partook in the panel discussion titled ‘The Brave New World’. Aleksandar Simurdić from the European Movement in Serbia was the panel’s moderator while the heavy political burden from 2017 and projections for 2018 were the panel’s topics.

H.E. KYLE SCOTT

the US Ambassador

The biggest challenge is on the economic front.

The economic growth has to encompass the entire globe. Prosperity has to be evenly spread all over the population so we need a 3.5% growth.

Secondly, there is a global disorder, which is something diplomats have to take care of. There are pockets of despair, poverty, radical elements, and terrorist organizations, and this is the failure

on the part of governments. The international norms are frequently breached and violated. The weapons of mass destruction are in the hands of irresponsible people. Global health should be improved but not to the detriment of our economic growth. We are concerned about the crumbling cohesion of the EU, but we are optimistic since consolidation usually follows after such steps.

H.E ATTILA PINTER

H.E. GORDAN BAKOTA

the member states should support. Four countries from the region are going to preside over the EU in the immediate future - Bulgaria, Romania, Austria and Croatia - and I expect spectacular results to be accomplished. Serbia opened 12 out of 35 chapters in the accession process and this is a good result. The final problem could be illegal migration.

Together, we have managed to close the so-called Balkan Route. There will be a lot of migration pressure from that part of the world, and we have to prepare for it.

provides 50% of the development assistance in the world. We need to act preventively in order to help African countries with a potential migrant crisis. The EU needs to improve its defence mechanisms, and thus become a stronger factor in the world in preventing situations from arising in the region and wider. This is a special soft power that official Brussels has to use. It is also exceptionally important to implement the Minsk Agreement regarding the situation in Ukraine.

Furthermore, Mr Juncker’s state of the union speech provides a great encouragement. Considering all of the aforementioned and the positive economic trends, we can say that we have enough reason to be optimistic.

We also need to avoid populism as a solution to problems.

Hungarian Ambassador

I suppose that this region is more stable and safer than ever. However, the countries in the region still have a lot of open political issues. The other challenge for the region could be hundreds or even thousands of ISIS fighters returning to their homelands. The third challenge is the EU accession of the regional countries which

Croatian Ambassador

Both migrations and formation of the European defence pillar, PESCO are significant because if Europe wants to ward off terrorism and deal with migration, it has to have a clear defence capacity. The migrant crisis from two years ago, and the one from today are not the same. There is awareness now that 8% of the world population lives in the EU, and that the EU generates 22% of the global GDP and

H.E. AXEL DITTMANN German Ambassador

I believe that we are better equipped to deal with the latest challenges like climate changes, migrations, and economy. None of the individual countries can address these issues individually. I appreciate Serbia's commitment to the fight against climate change.

Terrorism is a huge threat. We, in the EU, have taken a number of steps towards fighting terrorism, and we are working together with the countries like Serbia.

The Agreement with Turkey regulating the issue of

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refugees is functioning, and we have also concluded agreements with several African countries. The economic growth in the eurozone is not limited only to the north and this is great. The number of new jobs is growing and so are investments. We see an enormous amount of progress. We will work on Brexit although we have to say that we are disappointed. Regardless of Brexit, we still have to work on building a new, long-lasting relationship with the UK.

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In Which Direction is Serbian Economy Going?

A panel discussion called “In which direction is the ship called Serbian economy going?” took place at The Economist – World in 2018 conference. During the panel, economy experts and managers discussed economic future of Serbia and the region

The panel discussion titled “Which direction is the ship called Serbian economy taking?” gave us answers to questions about development capacity of the Serbian economy and its future. Editor-in-Chief of magazines Biznis and Ekonometar, Radojka Nikolić was the panel’s moderator, while the Chairman of the Managing Board of AmCham, Zoran Petrović, the President of the Foreign Investors Council, Yana Mikhailova, the Deputy Chariman of NALED’s Managing Board, Goran Kovačević, the President of the Serbian Association of Managers, Stanka Pejanović, and economy expert Miodrage Zec participated in the panel.

Representatives of the business community agreed that Serbia did make progress but also said that a lot more work had to be done on reforming the public administration, and on a more efficient implementation of laws, faster court proceedings and less pronounced shadow economy.

Chairman of the Managing Board of AmCham, Zoran Petrović said that many factors should be taken into account in attracting investments, adding that Serbia had good laws that were not sufficiently implemented. He also said that, from his personal experience of cooperating with investors, they had problems with state institutions, land registry, and long

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and expensive court proceedings. „The rampant shadow economy is another problem that puts all of us, who operate legally, into a very awkward position because we play the same game but under different rules. The situation in the field and court processing of cases are both in an awful situation, and the problem lies in the incompetence of those who are involved in processing commercial cases. There is also good news too like the stable fiscal policy, lower deficit, lower public debt and other indicators that make us "a normal country".

Progress has been made in the La-

at defining projects and at their implementation. Having a strong state, in terms of investments, can lead us to a faster growth", Petrović pointed out.

President of the Foreign Investors Council, Yana Mikhailova underlined the importance of innovations, new technologies and new products that can lead to more jobs and a better business climate. "It is important to reduce administrative burdens. If Serbia wants to maintain long-term competitiveness, it is important to keep up with the times. There has to be political will to change things in order to make

SERBIA IS PROGRESSING, BUT IT IS ALSO BEING SMOTHERED BY THE ADMINISTRATION AND SLOW JUDICIARY. HOWEVER, SOME PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE THAT HAS TRANSFORMED US INTO A NORMAL COUNTRY ECONOMY-WISE bour Law too, and the good thing is that something is being done regarding the public administration reform, because both citizens and companies want to spend less time on dealing with the state. In my opinion, more investments are needed in order to have a higher GDP growth. And I don’t mean only private investments, but more state ones. As a state we do not invest enough, and we do not even spend all budget funds that are allocated for that purpose. We are not good

the economy more competitive", Mikhailova concluded.

Deputy Chariman of NALED’s Managing Board, Goran Kovačević said that, in order for Serbia to achieve a faster GDP growth, public spending had to be reduced, the system had to be de-monopolized, and the domicile economy had to develop. Kovačević added that there were many obstacles in reforming the system. NALED’s recommendations, contained within the Grey Book, suggest over

100 changes that have to be dealt with, but the book had little effect.

"When we talk to the authorities there is no opposition from them, and we all agree. However, the realization is the problem. In the last five years, 8.25% problems identified in the Grey Book were resolved, while around 13% have been taken under consideration.

We are not talking here to personal resistance (to changes), but about inconsistency of legal regulation and a mountain of non-compliant laws“, Kovačević warned.

President of the Serbian Association of Managers, Stanka Pejanović pointed out that the economic patriotism should be promoted, i.e. raising the awareness that consumption level depends on salaries. Also, she added, we shouldn’t be recognized as the country of cheap labour. „I think that the workforce leaving the country is one of the basic problems here. We need to advocate more money being allocated to science, in which we are severely lagging behind the regional countries and Europe. We have the know-how that we have to keep here“, Pejanović said.

Economy expert, Miodrag Zec underlined that the economic image of Serbia in 2017 was marred by a growth that was smaller than expected, and a lack of significant results in restructuring and privatization. Additionally, the reduction of pensions was legally contentious and the state was not restructured. „The biggest problem that awaits us in 2018 is resolving the issues in the public sector, reforming the administration and tax system, shadow economy, and new quality of growth. Austerity measures and their contribution to the economy and the planned budget for next year have a two-fold effect – the consolidation generated from reducing pensions and civil servant salaries has been exhausted, while, in addition to the GDP growth rate and investments, it is the quality of growth that is crucial here, as well as technical progress that comes through investments“, Zec said.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

All Roads Lead to Serbia

A panel discussion called "All Roads Lead to Serbia” took place at The Economist – World in 2018 conference, dedicated to situation with infrastructure in our country.

The State Secretary in the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Imre Kern, the President of Confindustria Serbia and a representative of Cosco Shipping, Erich Cossutta, and the Chairman of the Serbian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Dr Žarko Obradović participated in the panel discussion which was moderated by Marija Kambić from eKapija.

IMRE KERN

State Secretary at the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure

We are building infrastructure also because we expect a huge growth in railroad cargo transport, particularly from the direction of the Piraeus Port. With this mind, I think that the speech given by Mr. Cossutta is really encouraging. The capacity of the Belgrade-Budapest railroad, which is currently under construction, is exceptionally big; much bigger than 1,000 trains annually. The 2018 state budget stipulates 54 billion dinars for capital investments, which is somewhat higher than in 2017, and substantially higher than in 2016. This is a development-conducive budget. Reconstruction of the Serbian and Hungarian railways are currently the biggest projects in the region. In terms of motorways, we have

allocated funds for completion of the corridors 10 and 11 and the Belgrade bypass, because motorways don’t mean much if they don’t have bypasses. They are necessary because all the time you save driving fast on motorways is lost in traffic jams in Belgrade. Next year, the construction of the Požega-Preljine motorway segment is going to start, as will the construction of the Niš-Priština motorway. There is no economic development without adequate infrastructure. The licenses for truck transport to and from Italy are not the only problem. The licenses for transport to and from Hungary and Germany have to be liberalized, but since we are not an EU member, there is nothing we can do regarding this problem.

ERICH COSSUTTA

President of Confindustria Serbia

Inadequate market perception is the first obstacle we have encountered in this market, and this is also a regional problem. The moment we mention railways, people get anxious because trains are usually perceived as being late and problematic. However, we did manage to convince our partners that trains are an excellent idea, and now we have a train that goes to Piraeus. We had an excellent cooperation with the state authorities regarding the operational segment. However, customs clearance and paperwork remain a big problem, and unfortunately, nothing has changed for better regarding this in the last 20 or 30 years. This simply has to change. Although, Italy is

Serbia’s biggest external trade partner, we are facing problems with the goods delivered from Italy being stuck at the border for two or three days, waiting to the customs to process a mountain of paperwork. The only solution lies in the initiative launched by the PM Ana Brnabić which is digitalization of documentation. Europe has demonstrated that it is possible to do everything digitally so that we can move the goods faster. The second problem lies with bilateral licenses. My family has always been engaged in the transport sector, and licenses have always been a nightmare to deal with even back when my parents did transport. We really need a faster flow of goods.

ŽARKO OBRADOVIĆ

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairmanof Serbian Parliament

The One Belt, One Road project is primarily a Chinese development endeavour, launched in 2013, by the Chinese President Xi Jingpin. Serbia is one of the very few countries in this part of the world that has a comprehensive strategic partnership in the framework of this project. We are an active partner, both now and in the future, and we have only Greece as a strategic partner in this. Serbia participates in the 16+1 programme and is at its helm in terms of the number of projects implemented during the programme, which is huge. We have projects like the Kostolac thermo power plant, power lines and various others. The main prerequisite for the implementation of this project is nurturing good bilateral relations with other countries, and this is also where we are regional leaders. We are also cooperating in industry and culture. The Danube Bridge, built by Chinese companies, is the first bridge in Europe to be built solely by the Chinese. They also bought the Smederevo Iron-

works. Serbia and China have abolished bilateral visas, and we now have a direct flight between the two countries, with more to come. Also, we are building science and technology parks together. We are at the very beginning, and, despite being a small and relatively poor country, we have managed to become a reliable partner to such a superpower as China. All of this makes sense if we look back in our history. Serbia means to China same as what Yugoslavia meant to China. Our actor Bata Živojinović is still an icon in China, and we have an excellent standing in the cooperation with China. Both Prime Minister Brnabić and President Vučić have done a lot in improving these relations, which were quite poorly in 2000. The tradition is on our side. The relations between the EU and the People’s Republic of China are multi-faceted, global, and bilateral. In the 16+1 programme, the 16 countries see the cooperation with China as an excellent opportunity to develop infrastructure projects.

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Fifty Shades of Grey Economy In transitional countries, shadow economy has always been a substantial albeit illegal segment in the overall economy Curbing shadow economy and trying to legalize it are one of the most important activities of any government. This was also the topic that Regional Manager for Southeast Europe at VISA, Vladimir Djordjevic, the State Sec-

VLADIMIR DJORDJEVIĆ:

“The study that we did, which included 100 cities worldwide, has shown that Belgrade places quite well in terms of cashless payments; somewhere in the middle. Reykjavik and other Nordic cities occupy the leading positions, but this doesn’t come as a surprise. Another survey that we did together with Moody’s shows that cashless payments using VISA cards have contributed to GDPs around the world with 230 billion USD. Also, the annual growth of cashless payments is fascinating – it stands at 20%. According to some estimates, this growth will exponentially rise by 100 million USD each year. If all people were to use transparent methods of payment, i.e. electronic ones, the unemployment rate would drop by 1.5% annually, and I am talking only about Belgrade here. The effect that cashless payments have on the economy is huge. In terms of spending, cards are used in 10% of payments, while the rest, 90%, is cash. If the 90% cash payments were more transparent, could you imagine the effects?”

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retary in the Ministry of Justice, Radomir Ilić, a representative of the Serbian Tax Administration, Nada Novosel, the Chairman of the Committee for Combating Shadow Economy at AmCham, Ivan Miletić, the Deputy Chairman of

NADA NOVOSEL: “We have formed a strategic risk unit, in line with the tax administration transformation programme and the IMF’s recommendations.

To illustrate the unit’s contribution to combating shadow economy, I would just like to say that the unit has created a long-term fiscal discipline strategy, and that it identifies the threats to the same. It also detects economic branches that are exposed to risks the most, as well as threats and risks associated with fighting the shadow economy. In late 2016, we devised a tax regulation adherence plan according to which each operational body had to describe their activities in 2017.”

IVAN MILETIĆ:

„In 2013, I was pretty naive in thinking that this problem would be resolved by now. That year, the tobacco black market exploded, and we, in Philip Morris, swiftly lost one-third of our legal market.

I no longer consider this a sprint race. It's a real marathon! We are going to need a lot of time and effort to reduce the shadow economy's volume. A lot has been done

NALED’s Fair Competition Alliance, and a representative of the Association of Private Healthcare Facilities, Jasmina Knežević discussed at a panel discussion. Deputy Executive Director of AmCham, Amalija Pavić was the panel’s moderator.

already – certain budget revenue has been restored, substantial quantities of tobacco and medication have been seized, and many illegal channels have been cut off.

We are now waiting for important court proceedings to start, and for some smugglers to be convicted..“ VLADIMIR TIPSAREVIĆ:

“It’s the end of the year, and we are summing up the results to see what could be done. There are good and bad elements. We are happy that we have a nation-wide programme which is an institutional platform for establishing a partnership with the state authorities in combating shadow economy. The programme is now in its 3rd year running, it has survived growing pains, and is now developing. One of its goals is to animate citizens to support the fight against shadow economy. We are happy with the results since 90% of the citizens are supportive.

We are also working on harmonizing inspection oversight activities with sectoral laws so that inspections can do their job.”

RADOMIR ILIĆ:

“The problem is that smugglers are sporadically caught and they are not properly prosecuted. There is also a problem with a lack of knowledge and specialization.

Also, the state bodies are not communicating enough. Shadow economy is a form of corruption, and when parts of certain state bodies are involved in corruption, they are not keen to prosecute the perpetrators, but rather hide them.”

JASMINA KNEŽEVIĆ:

“The healthcare sector is growing strongly. There are over 1,300 healthcare facilities in our country, and 12% of medical workers are engaged in the private sector. We have launched an initiative to eradicate shadow economy in healthcare because illegal activities in this sector are damaging to the reputation of our university professors, which, in turn, results in young doctors and nurses leaving the country to work elsewhere. We need to create a different, respectful environment. Also, there is the unfair competition that makes our job harder, with the state losing on the revenue that it is entitled to.”

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Competent Analysis from the Profession

Several case studies, along with two overviews, gave us an excellent insight into the current situation in the Serbian and global economy, and provided guidelines for the companies in our market.

MARIJA DESIVOJEVIĆ Delta Holding

In the next two years, Delta Holding plans to invest close to 600 million EUR in Serbia and abroad. The biggest share of this amount will be invested in real estate. In Serbia, our plan is to build the Delta Planet shopping mall in Autokomanda, and we do hope that, in 2018, we are going to open this long-awaited construction site. We are also planning to construct a new building that will house Delta Holding, and an InterContinental hotel in Belgrade. In spring, we are going to start the construction of the Indigo Hotel in the very heart of Belgrade. Furthermore, we are going to continue expanding in the hotel industry in the region too, and we have already mentioned that Croatia and Albania as our markets of interest.

We are going to make joint investments in agriculture too, namely in increasing the number of apple

trees and new cherry trees, as well as invest in cattle breeding, and pig, sheep and cow farms. We are continuing with a big investment momentum and to that end, fulfilling all the administrative prerequisites will be one of our bigger challenges. On a wider plan, we have the same problems as the rest of businesses in this country. The purchasing power of our citizens is low as a result of the low living standard, and the GDP growth is not sufficient to secure a more rapid pace of matching the living standard in developed countries, and even in the neighbouring countries in the region. Hence, we are hoping that we are going to attain a higher level of safety and predictability in doing business which are the main prerequisites for attracting domicile and foreign investments which, in turn, will result in a higher GDP.

MILOŠ VUJNOVIĆ

DRAGAN VLAISAVLJEVIĆ

more in the state’s securities in dinars. Structural reforms and fiscal consolidation measures, along with the coordinated monetary and fiscal policy measures, were successful and continued to yield results, which ensured a certain relaxation of monetary policy during the year following a further decrease of the benchmark interest rate. Despite certain challenges that primarily affected the agricultural sector, Serbia achieved good results in the implementation of the set goals in 2017. As a result of the economic and export growth, accompanied by the reduced indebtedness, we are continuing to move toward a sustainable level of public debt, and boosting the potential for further economic growth.

better years for our hydro power plants. Serbia has much better power links to the neighbouring countries than gas links, and the electricity is mainly distributed from east to west, since Bulgaria and Romania have a surplus. 14 TWh of electricity is delivered at the Serbian border annually which accounts for about 40% of the power production in Serbia. The capacities for power generation from renewable energy resources have doubled both in Serbia and the region, primarily in terms of wind and solar energy. By 2021, Serbia is expected to generate 1 TWh from renewable sources, mostly from wind farms. EPS is facing a very competitive market, and hence has to continue with constant investing.

JUBMES

Serbia’s economic situation in 2017 is characterized by positive trends that illustrate the improved macroeconomic situation in the country. In that light, the economy has continued growing, with the improved labour market conditions and the annual inflation rate that did not exceed the target. Despite the prevailing appreciation pressures, the stability of the dinar / euro exchange rate has been maintained thanks to foreign investors investing

EPS

The electricity price for households in Serbia is well below the market’s price, and is expected to remain such in the long run. Also, the guaranteed electricity supply is substantially below the market prices, and this is also not going to change. Furthermore, the warranted supplier will continue to supply the guaranteed electricity market for many years to come.

EPS plans to increase its electricity production in 2018 to match the 2016 level which was one of the

NIKOLA ZEČEVIĆ Delhaize

Digital trends in the retail sector have to adapt to the needs of modern day shoppers. With that in mind, Delhaize Serbia has developed a very serious approach to maintaining its direction in online commerce. The task of the leader is not only to follow the trends, but also to create them. As the retail leader, the

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Maxi supermarket chain is ready to present in Serbia innovative solutions in online commerce that has been growing exponentially.

Last month, the chain launched a revised and redesigned e-commerce platform ( www. maxi.rs ) , as well as its mobile options, namely the applications for both iOS and Android.

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C O RPO RATE

British American Tobacco

Constant Introduction of Innovations

This trend will certainly continue in the years to come and we are very enthusiastic about offering new and improved concepts to our consumers

last few years. We strongly support their attempts in dealing with this important issue and our experts are working together with state institutions in joint efforts to reduce the level of illicit trade.

SOTIRIS KOSTOUROS General Manager of BAT Serbia and Montenegro

Mr. Sotiris Kostouros has been appointed General Manager of BAT Serbia and Montenegro following his position of the Finance Director of BAT France. We spoke with Mr. Kostouros about new challenges, development of tobacco industry, expansy in the region and further development of the factory in Serbia.

Considering that you came form France, could you tell us what are the main development directions of the European tobacco industry, in your opinion?

— Over the last few years we have been witnessing the constant introduction of innovations in tobacco industry, starting with slim cigarettes, various flavors, innovative filters, and packaging.

This trend will certainly continue in the years to come and we are very enthusiastic about offering new and improved concepts to our consumers. British American Tobacco has always been the leader of innovation in the tobacco category, introducing the products of new generation and this has been one of the biggest challenges for us - to be the most innovative and most successful in what we do.

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We constantly invest in the development of less harmful products and we are convinced that they are far more advanced than those currently available on the market.

Novelties we presented to consumers in Serbia were cigarettes with an innovative filter (ie Tube filter), as well as a double capsule filter. In the coming year, we are planning to continue innovating and meeting even the highest demands of our consumers.

How big of a challenge is a constant increase in cigarette excise duties for tobacco companies?

— The introduction of an excise calendar and a foreseeable increase in excise taxes is a core precondition for stable budget revenues. Moreover, predictable and gradual excise increase contributes to decrease in tobacco illegal trade, as well as to the growth of tax revenues. The efforts of the state authorities have given tremendous results in the struggle against the gray economy over the

Bearing in mind that BAT has recently expanded its presence in the region, and has invested in enlargement of its production facility in Serbia, could you tell us how the Western Balkans fit into BAT's global operative strategy?

— The Serbian market has always been strategically important for this part of Europe, and our company recognized export potential in the region as a logical result of consolidating the market position in Ser-

to CEFTA countries. Today, our plant in Vranje represents a production center for CEFTA member countries, and our products are exported to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia. Thanks to a more regulated market in Serbia, we expect further growth, higher exports and additional employment.

What are your main ambitions in terms of further development of the factory in Serbia?

— We are strategically oriented towards further growth and development of our business operations in Serbia, and that will remain our core goal in the future. As the largest British investor in Serbia,

OUR COMPANY RECOGNIZED EXPORT POTENTIAL IN THE REGION AS A LOGICAL RESULT OF CONSOLIDATING THE MARKET POSITION IN SERBIA bia. Significant investments in the new packaging line that started this year, as well as the new production line that was opened last year, have had a positive impact on the foreign trade balance of the Republic of Serbia and its position in the region.

Investments in production processes, in which we invested more than 8 million euros in just two years, significantly increased production capacities, and therefore exports

we will continue investing into improvement of our production facilities, which will lead to the opening of new workplaces. Since coming to the Serbian market, we invested in the training and development of our employees, implemented new technologies on the market, introduced the highest international standards of health and safety - which resulted in excellent business results.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBLE COMPANY As a social responsible company, we strongly cooperate with the community in the implementation of various community projects in which we invested more than one million euros in the previous period. Our latest initiative implies preventing the access of tobacco products to minors (under 18) through organized trainings and workshops held in the bigger cities of Serbia. Our contribution to the community is also reflected in the volunteer engagement of the employees, who actively engaged in the renovation of the city swimming pool in Vranje, where BAT took part in significant financial engagement.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

C O RPO RATE Windvison

Doing Business in Serbia is Challenging Serbia should rely more on cleaner energy sources and its wind potential

nessed that improvements were made in several areas such as construction permitting and e-governance. We interpret this positively and would like to complement the authorities for all the efforts and results that were made. Besides our good cooperation with the Serbian institutions, I would additionally like to thank Embassies of The Netherlands and Belgium for their continuous support.

Photo: Andjela Grozdanić

Your project is at the moment outside of the FIT quota. How do you see the future of your operations in Serbia taking this into account?

NEDA LAZENDIĆ Country Manager Windvision Serbia

WindVision is belgium-duch investor with company seat in Mastricht and operating head office in Leuven, engaged in the field of development and operation of the projects in the field of renewable energy sources, mostly windfarms. At the moment, Windvision has 105MW in exploatation that is specifically proud of - projects Le Nitis, France and Esstines Wind farm in Belgium. We have more than 1000MW in development in France, Belgium, Morrocco, Cyprus and of course Serbia. One of the projects Windvision counts at most is project in Alibunar, Serbia consisting of 2 phases and 58 wind generators od 3MW nominal power (174 MW).

How do you find business climate in Serbia?

— Doing business in Serbia is challenging, but I have to say that developing a wind park is not an easy task regardless the country you are working in. On average, it takes 7-10 years to develop and build a project, event in the Western Europe. In that sense, Serbia is not much different. Of course, each market has its own rules and one needs to take into account all the factors such as regulations, political environment, legal predictability, stability of the country, macroeconomic trends, etc. Windvision, as

— We are not in a hurry, and unlike some other developers, our goal is not to sell the project but to build and operate the Wind Park on a long run foundation. Serbia is still away from 2020 renewable energy targets and we believe that we could play a constructive role in filling in this gap. Besides that, the energy demand is just going to raise while need to have more diversified energy sources is undisputed.

I will just quickly remind you how severe problems in energy generation Serbia had during 2014, when the massive flood hit the largest Serbian coalmine Kolubara.

During that time electricity was constantly imported from abroad

WINDVISION, AS A SERIOUS AND GLOBAL COMPANY, HAS ANALYZED THOROUGHLY ALL THE FACTORS BEFORE WE MADE THE DECISION TO INVEST IN SERBIA a serious and global company, has analyzed thoroughly all the factors before we made the decision to invest in Serbia.

The country prospects look better as the country moves forward towards the EU. Since we started developing our project, we wit-

on high prices, and our GDP went down since we couldn’t produce and export the electricity ourselves. If there were more alternative sources available, this could have looked differently. I could easily tell you much more about importance of diversification,

and this makes us believe there is still lots of room for our project in Serbia. We are here to stay, and we believe that soon we will have a sustainable grounds to continue with the project implementation within the old or a new sustainable market conditions.

Is wind one of the solutions for pressing problems associated with climate change and volatile energy prices?

— I strongly believe it is. Wind power is much cleaner than coal, much safer than nuclear power and way less invasive to nature than hydropower. Wind energy is playing a crucial role in cutting down emissions to a reasonable and sustainable level, and it positively affects environmental conditions at national level since it does not create emissions. When it comes to economic benefits, since wind is a “free fuel” it is possible to have high level of predictability of energy prices especially under a FIT regime where the prices are fixed over a long period. Wind energy is renewable, eco-friendly, operates at low cost, improves energy sources diversity, lowers dependence on external energy supply and does not take up much land. At end of the day, one should not forget that wind is a domestic source of energy!

You are young women in business and a mother of two. How challenging is to fulfill both roles?

— Being good at your work and being a family person goes well along in my view. It does requires more of your time and energy, but my family and my work inspire me and make me run that extra mile forward. I am very happy to be able to stand behind this important project and such a team of people in our company.

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T H E WO RL D T RA DE O RG A N IS AT IO N

As WTO Members Meet in Argentina, the Organisation is in Trouble Not all those problems stem from the Trump administration, but some of the most serious do

“Everybody meets in Buenos Aires,” said Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Union’s trade commissioner, days before heading there for the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) biennial gathering of ministers, which opens on December 10th. Some non-governmental organisations have been blocked by the protest-averse Argentine authorities, but a meeting of people will indeed take place. One of minds is another matter.

Most participants can agree on one thing.

The WTO, which codifies the multilateral rulesbased trading system, needs help. President Donald Trump has railed against it and threatened to pull America out. Without American leadership, there is little hope of reaching new deals. And even as the WTO’s dealmaking arm is paralysed, the Trump administration is weakening its judicial one by starving it of judges.

Despite Mr Trump’s threats, America does not seem on the verge of crashing out of a system it helped to construct, to rely entirely on bilateral trade deals and remedies. He may think that true reciprocity means American tariffs to match Chinese ones. (For goods, America’s average 3.5%, China’s 9.9%.) But Congress is likely to stymie attempts to raise duties, and anything he does manage will face swift and painful retaliation. Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative, seems to be sticking to the WTO’s rules for now. On December 4th, for example, he requested evidence relating to solar-panel imports to help make the case that any tariffs would be WTO-compliant.

But an institution can be damaged without blowing it up. Over the past few weeks organisers of the meeting in Buenos Aires have been managing expectations down. No one

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thinks much will be agreed on. Some sigh that a committed American administration might have achieved an agreement on curbing fishing subsidies, revived one easing barriers to trade in environmental goods, and organised an ambitious agenda for e-commerce. Instead, the Americans have been bickering over the language in a proposed joint statement. They quibble with references to the “centrality of the multilateral trading system” and to “development” as an objective.

Still, it is unfair to blame the Trump administration alone for the likely lack of progress in Buenos Aires. The dealmaking arm of the WTO has not worked for years. India routinely holds agreements hostage to its demands. The Chinese scuppered an agreement over environmental goods. Some developing countries complain that deals to help them should be agreed on before

EVEN THE US AT ITS MOST CONSTRUCTIVE ISN’T GOING TO FIX THE SYSTEM WHERE IT IS NOW new areas are opened up. Updating the rules needs consensus among all 164 member countries, which is almost unattainable. “Even the US at its most constructive isn’t going to fix the system where it is now,” says Andrew Crosby of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, a Geneva-based think-tank.

The sabotaging of the WTO’s appellate body, however, is clearly the handiwork of the Trump administration. On December 11th the term of Peter Van den Bossche, the European judge on the body, will expire. He will be the third judge whose reappointment the Americans have blocked.

On the present course, by the end of 2019

too few judges will be left to rule on new cases (three are required). Mark Wu, a law professor at Harvard University, worries that gumming up the judicial arm may make countries doubt that the WTO is the best forum for settling disputes.

“The risk is less of an immediate explosion,” he says, “than a slower death by a thousand cuts.”

Mr Lighthizer has hinted at a return to the old, pre-WTO system of resolving trade disputes—by national muscle rather than lawyers. Ms Malmstrom says she cannot envisage going back to that. But the impasse has no obvious way out.

Any manoeuvre to bypass the American blockage of the appellate body would be politically, if not legally, untenable. And the Americans have not said what reforms they want.

BULL IN A CHINA SHOP

As the Trump administration kicks at the working leg of a limping institution, it is worth recalling that previous American administrations have also felt frustrated with the WTO. Few would disagree that it needs reform. In particular, China, described by Ms Malmstrom as the WTO’s “problematic client”, has an economic model that sits awkwardly inside the WTO system. The organisation’s rules were drafted in the early 1990s with transitional economies like those of Eastern Europe in mind. Hosuk Lee-Makiyama of the European Centre for International Political Economy, a Brussels think-tank, says they are toothless against China’s “state-capitalist model”, which is far more influential than was envisaged. A case working its way through the dispute-settlement system concerning China’s treatment by its biggest trading partners highlights an old tension between the WTO’s most important members.

If the frustrations are familiar, the strategy is not. To brandish a stick at China, the previous American administration sued it at the WTO for subsidising export industries. Dangling a carrot, it negotiated a big regional trade deal with “21st-century rules”. This administration is all stick and no carrot. Asked whether she thinks the Trump team wants to destroy the system, Ms Malmstrom says: “I don’t know.” Mr Trump may think that the system is so broken that it must be smashed before it can be fixed. His approach risks making that view self-fulfilling.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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C O RPO RATE

SDGs platform for cooperation between the Serbian parliament and UNDP/SDC

Young People as Driving Force for Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals Young people should play a central role in the implementing priorities from the 2030 Agenda – hold the Serbian MPs. a. The National Assemblyas a representative body pioneering work on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), organizes the first public hearing on SDGs and launched the dialogue between all stakeholders on the 2030 Agenda

„The Republic of Serbia is one of the signatories to the 2030 Development Agenda, which was adopted at the Heads of State and Government Summit at the UN on 25September 2015. The National Assembly is one of the most active institutions in Serbia committed to implementing this Agenda. Reducing poverty, raising people's living standard, improving health and education systems, environmental protection, promoting gender equality, reducing inequality, and creating more

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opportunities for young people to realize their potential are some of the priorities set within 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 Targets as part of the Agenda's wider context that Serbia has been focusing on“, said the Chairwoman of the Inter-Ministe-

rial Working Group for SDGs, Slavica Djukić Dejanović, at the first public hearing on „Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: the Role of the National Assembly“, which was organized by the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Com-

ALL CITIZENS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT ACCOMPLISHING SDGS IS PIVOTAL, HENCE, WE NEED TO SPEAK TO THEM DIRECTLY, DO THE WORK LOCALLY, AND INVOLVE YOUNG PEOPLE IN IT LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND

mittee on 8 November 2017.

The public hearing was held in collaboration with the National Assembly’s cross-party caucus the Focus Group for Development of Mechanisms for Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, supported by UNDP/ SDC Project. The Focus Group will more closely monitor the Government’s work on the implementation of SDGs to which Serbia is obliged by UN's 2030 Agenda.

SDGs are an extension of the efforts invested by the UN member states towards meeting the Millen-

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nium Development Goals (MDGs).

However, unlike the MDGs, SDGs aremore focused on“...leaving no one behind“ „The importance that the National Assembly attaches to accomplishing SDGsis also seen in the fact that two Deputy Speakers and chairpersons of the key parliamentary committees are members of the Focus Group for SDGs“, said the Chairman of the Focus Group MP Milorad Mijatović.The aim of the Focus Group is also to facilitate development and improve the quality of life of the Serbian citizens and ensure the local voice is heard at the central level where and when it matters.

In cooperation with the Inter-Ministerial Working Group, the parliamentary committees and local self-government bodies, the Focus Group will actively work towards oversight over the Government’s progress on achieving these goals.

The Deputy Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Dubravka Filipovski, underlined that SDGs complemented the EU

accession,. She also pointed out that the National Assembly would contribute to the implementation of the SDGs through the adoption of legal solutions, as well as through supervising the implementation of relevant laws and passing an umbrella document in form of a declaration or a reso-

because, their opinion matters and is crucial for determining the priority goals and targets for Serbia by 2030“, Filipovski added. „All citizens should understand the importance of approaching this platform for accomplishing SDGs and why it is important.

Hence, we need to speak to them

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ARE AN EXTENSION OF THE EFFORTS INVESTED BY THE UN MEMBER STATES TOWARDS ACCOMPLISHING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDG) lution, as well as other relevant accompanying documents. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and a member of the Focus Group, Gordana Čomić, said that including young people and acting locally were the key elements for achieving and monitoring of the implementation of SDGs. "Including young people in this process is extremely important,

directly“, Djukić Dejanović said. „For instance, we need to explain to them that meeting the Goal 4, among other things, also entails that, by 2030, every boy and girl in Serbia will have to go to preschool that will be free of charge, that all high school students will have to graduate, and that they will be freed from tuition . Other goals that we need to attain involve

good hygiene in all schools and creating a healthy environment.“, Djukić added.

The UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia, Karla Hershey, stated at the SDGs public hearing the importance of Serbian process for mapping public policies and identifying priority national indicators. She underlined the pivotal harmonized approach and widest consultation lead by the Government and monitoring of the National Assembly. Ms. Hershey commended the National Assembly for its proactive and leading role in raising awareness and taking concrete steps toward implementation of the Agenda 2030.

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda are the priority Platform for support in Serbia and Mr Hershey availed the support of the entire UN Country Team and in particular the Parliamentary Project being implemented with the kind support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Serbia.

SDGS SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOLKIT WORKSHOP FOR MPS The National Assembly is at the helm of the work carried out by Serbian institutions in incorporating SDGs into their agendas, and supervising the government's work on implementing these goals. On 27th September, the National Parliament formed the Focus Group for Monitoring Implementation of the SDGs implementation by the Government. In addition, the National Assembly and MPs have through other cross-party caucuses in the Parliament, such as GOPAC (Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption), supported by UNDP and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), introduced SDGs into its Action Plan, uploaded SDGs informational booklet on the NARS website, introduced SDGs into NARS’ multiyear Development Strategy. SDGs Focus Group convened a self-assessment for SDGs supported by UNDP/SDC Project and IPU (Inter-parliamentary Union) (https://www.agora-parl.org/resources/library/

parliaments-and-sustainable-development-goals-self-assessment-toolkit) to identify gaps and develop mechanisms for better monitoring.

Further plans by the Focus Group include promoting the SDGs amongst all Committees in the Serbian National Assembly, a Regionals SDGs Conference 24-25 May 2018 in the Belgrade supported by IPU and UNDP/SDC Project. Furthermore, the Focus Group will attend field visits and meetings at local level with students, CSOs and the Government.

In support of the efforts invested byMPs, UNDP CTreleased a publication 'Sustainable Development Goals'. http://www.parlament.rs/upload/documents/activities/UNCT%20Serbia%20SDGs%20brochure%20-%20ENG.pdf http://www.rs.undp.org/content/serbia/en/home/presscenter/articles/2017/07/19/national-assembly-spearheading-localizing-sdgs-.html.

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PEO PLE & EVENT S th 05 10

DEC

ANNIVERSARY OF HOLIDAY INN

The Hotel Party took place at BelExpo Centre in Novi Beograd in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Holiday Inn Hotel in Belgrade. Also, this was an opportunity for the Crowne Plaza Hotel to welcome its business partners. Over 1,100 guests from

the world of business, entertainment, sports and media attended this huge party. Singer Marija Šerifović entertained the guests, while Dejan Petrović's brass orchestra was the pinnacle of the musical part of the evening.

Živorad Vasić, Delta Holding Vice President

06 CANSEE CHRISTMAS DEC

COCKTAIL

The Ambassador of Canada to Serbia, H.E. Kati Csaba and the Canadian Serbian Business Association CANSEE hosted another successful traditional Christmas reception at the Canadian Embassy’s residence. Over 80 distinguished guests, CANSEE members, partners and associates, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps, Serbian political and economic leaders attended the event, which marked the end of another very successful year of CANSEE association.

The Represent team

Aleksandar Obrenović, President of CANSEE, H.E. Kati Csaba and Mirjana Dončić Beaton,Managing Director at CANSEE

th 06 15 ANNIVERSARY

DEC

OF REPRESENT

Over 400 guests from the world of media, communications and business gathered at the party to celebrate the 15th anniversary of one of the leading Serbian agencies, Represent Communications. At the party, the agency presented some of its biggest successes, as well as new services.

Today, Represent System comprises of RealTime Clipping, the BIZLife website and magazine, and Represent Communications, which consists of The Content Studio, Native Network, Represent Club and Element.

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11 QATAR'S DEC

NATIONAL DAY

Many guests from Serbia and abroad, as well as the representatives of the diplomatic corps celebrated the National Day of Qatar in Belgrade. On the occasion, the Ambassador of Qatar to Serbia, H.E. Sheikh Mubarak bin Fahad Al-Thani thanked Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić on Serbia having a neutral position in regard to the unjust blockade of Qatar which “breaches all international norms”. The celebration was also attended by Ministers Zoran Djordjević and Rasim Ljajić, as well as Tomislav Nikolić, Vuk Jeremić, the Crown Prince Alexander and Princess Catherine Karadjordjević and many actors, athletes, representatives of the diplomatic corps, and political and public figures in Serbia. The traditional Qatari dishes were served at the reception.

H.E. Jan Lundin

Crown Prince Alexander Karadjordjević, H.E. Abdelhamid Chebchoub, H.E. Sheikh Mubarak bin Fahad Al-Thani, Minister Zoran Djordjević, H.E. Yousef Ahmad S. Abdulsamad, H.E. Toufic Jaber, H.E. Syed Adil Gilani and H.E. Mohammed K. M. Nabhan

12 ST. LUCIA DEC

CELEBRATAION

The Embassy of Sweden celebrated St. Lucia, a winter holiday that the Swedes hold in honour of sunlight during cold and dark winter days. Gingerbread and cooked wine (glögg) were served while the choir performed the traditional Swedish songs. On the occasion, the Embassy also celebrated the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Serbia and Sweden, appropriately named SwedishSerbian100. "I am glad that the friendship between our two countries has never been interrupted, although we sometimes may not have the same views on certain topics", said Swedish Ambassador, H.E. Jan Lundin.

Professor Stipe Lovret, Jozo Duspara, Zemun Priest , H.E. Gordan Bakota and his wife Snježana Bakota

11 CROATIAN DEC

EMBASSY'S CHRISTMAS RECEPTION

Snježana Bakota, ambassador's wife, Ivan Sabolić, plenipotentiary minister in VRH Belgrade, H.E: Gordan Bakota, Marija Radulović, President of the Croatian Business Club in Belgrade, Pero Mijakić, Director of the HGK Representative Office in Belgrade, Velimir Pleša, Consul General of the Republic of Croatia in Subotica, Sanja Pleša-Macakanja, wife of the general consul in Subotica and Stjepan Glas, plenipotentiary minister VRH Belgrade

The Croatian Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Gordan Bakota and his wife Snježana Bakota hosted a Christmas and New Year’s reception at their Belgrade residence. The reception was attended by many distinguished guests from politics and business, as well as the

members of the Croatian Business Club. On the occasion, the Ambassador gave special thanks to the President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Serbia, Pero Mijakić, and the President of the Croatian Business Club, Marija Radulović on their help in organizing the reception.

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

12 CHRISTMAS DEC

CELEBRATION

The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) gathered its members at the traditional Christmas celebration held at the Nacionalna Klasa restaurant. The Chamber’s President, Dr Ronald Seeliger gave a welcome speech in which he mentioned an increase in the number of the Chamber’s activities in 2017, wishing everyone the successful next year. The German Ambassador, H.E. Axel Dittmann, the representatives of the media and Serbian institutions, along with 300 other guests attended the reception where they enjoyed in the music, dinner and last big gathering of the AHK Serbia members this year.

Stanka Pejanović, President of SAM

H.E. Axel Dittmann and Sanda Savić, Hemofarm

Dr Ronald Seeliger

The award winners

12 ANNUAL DEC

SAM AWARDS

The Serbian Association of Managers (SAM) has traditionally for the past six years in a row, awarded the "Annual Awards of the SAM" to the best in Serbia. Over 430 officials, businessmen, political, cultural and media officials attended the ceremonies at the Belexpo Center, as well as representatives of the Association of Managers from the region. Dragoljub Damljanović, Energy & Field Services VP SEE at Schneider Electric, was declared Manager of the Year 2017, while VIP Mobile Company was Employer of the Year. Nikola Obradović, Director and founder of No Solutions Development Ltd from Novi Sad, was given the award for Young Manager of the Year, while the award for the best personal heroic act was given to Arnaud Guillon, the founder of the organization Solidarity for Kosovo.

Danijela Fišakov, President SBC, Branko Greganović, CEO of NLB banka, Zoran Popopvić and Zoran Lazukić, members of the board SBC and Goran Križ, economic advisor at the Slovenian Embassy in Belgrade

13 NEW YEAR'S DEC

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MAGIC

The Slovenian Business Club's traditional New Year's cocktail party aptly called 'New Year's Magic' was a popular event with many guests in attendance. The party took part at the Focaccia Hall of the

Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade. Economic advisor at the Slovenian Embassy in Belgrade, Mr. Goran Križ gave a welcome speech and wished everybody happy holidays while The Big Deal band was responsible for good music.

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13 26th ANNIVERSARY DEC

OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF KAZAKHSTAN

The Embassy of Kazakhstan held a solemn reception to mark the 26th anniversary of the Independence of Kazakhstan. The festive event was attended by the Speaker of the Serbian National Parliament, Maja Gojković, the Minister of Social

Affairs, Zoran Djordjević, deputies, heads of diplomatic missions, business, public and cultural figures, and the media representatives. The Kazakh Ambassador to Serbia, H. E. Nurbakh Rustemov gave a welcome speech at the reception.

H.E. Alexander Chepurin and H. E. Nurbakh Rustemov

13 HANUKKAH DEC

PARTY

This year’s celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, took place at the official residence of the Israeli Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Alona Fisher-Kamm with only ladies in attendance who gathered to show support for women in society. The event assembled prominent ladies from the world of politics, entrepreneurship, women’s rights organizations, business, IT and NGO.

H.E. Alona Fisher-Kamm, H.E. Narinder Chauhan and Yana Mikhailova President of SSCC

21 AMCHAM AND PHILIP MORRIS SERVICES DEC

SELEBRATED SUCCESSFUL YEAR

American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (AmCham) and company Philip Morris Services have organized New Year’s Hello Change party in Belgrade’s cafe Kafeterija and left behind another successful year with assurance that 2018 will bring new changes and new accomplishments.

This event gathered representatives of 200 most successful US, international and locally owned enterprises, members of the country’s leading independent business association, who enjoyed in a pleasant atmosphere provided by the Vasil Hadžimanov band and special guest Bisera Veletanlić.

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

14 GALA DINNER: DEC

THE WORLD IN 2018

Exclusively, for the first time this year, after the end of the conference, Color Media Communications and Diplomacy & Commerce magazine organized a special event Gala Dinner: “World in 2018”, where the guests were distinguished guests, representatives of the Government of Serbia, diplomatic corps and economy in Serbia.

The host of the dinner was Robert Čoban, President of the CPG, and the key note speaker at the dinner was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić. Other speakers where Karla Hershey, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia, Dubravka Negre, Head of EIB Regional Representation for the WB, and Laza Kekić, The Economist. The gala dinner was the place where the guests from political, economic and diplomatic community had the opportunity to exchange opinions, attitudes and comments related to political and economic trends in Serbia, the region and the world.

Karla Hershey

Laza Kekić, Dubravka Negre and Robert Čoban

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Ana Brnabić, Serbian PM with Robert Čoban, CPG President

Ruža Ristanović, D&C with Zoran Djordjević, Minister

Tanja Banković, D&C and Hugo van Veghel, BSBA

Ruža Ristanović, D&C with Erich Cossutta, Confindustria Serbia

Joan Hoey and Laza Kekić, The Economist London

Miloš Jelić, Nelt, Ruža Ristanović D&C, Jelena Pavlović PMI and Miodrag Zec

Anja Vujnović and Miloš Vujnović, Jubmes Bank AD

Host of the dinner with Slavica Pavlović, Eurobank

Ruža Ristanović, D&C with Dubravka Negre, EIB

H.E. Kyle Scott, U.S. Ambassador with Robert Čoban, CPG President

Nenad Kačarević, Nataša Nešić, D&C and Dejan Jevtić, AMS

Goran Pitić, Societe Generale and Ostoja Mijailović, British Motors Ruža Ristanović, D&C and Draginja Đurić, Banca Intesa

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

13 CREDO DEC

EXPERIENCE FOR THE SELECTED FEW

Many guests have relished in the specialties and the beautiful ambiance of the CREDO restaurant, located on the first floor of the Marriott Hotel, at the gastronomic get-together with the special menu called ‘Five Senses’.

These unbelievably delicious specialties were prepared by the head chef of the CREDO restaurant, Nenad Jovanovic who has a wealth of experience of working in Michelin start restaurants.

The gastronomic delights comprised of 10 spectacular meals with each meal paired with a selected bottle of wine. On the night, the guests were able to enjoy in the wines provided by the Aleksic Winery from Vranje.

Apart from the menu, the guests were impressed by the elegant ambiance of the CREDO restaurant which has the most spectacular views of the historical Belgrade square.

The guests, who enjoyed both the ambiance and the tasty dishes and wines, included the Economic Attaché of the Dutch Embassy, Oliver Šarov, the Director of the New Media Team Agency, Aleksandra Radujko, singer Tanja Banjanin, the Wine & Gastro blogger, Zdravko Brkić, the fashion designer, Biljana Tipsarević, the representative of the PSP Farman Group, Ivana Karić, the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the N1 television, Brent Sadler, the Regional Distribution Director at FOX television, Meri Al-Jumaily, and the President of the Color Press Group, Robert Čoban.

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Biljana Tipsarević

Brent Sadler and Zdravko Brkić

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B USINESS NEWS UNICREDIT BANK DONATED A SMART BENCH TO THE INHABITANTS OF BELGRADE'S STUDENTS CITY

SIGNIFICANT RECOGNITIONS FOR DELTA HOLDING Delta Holding won two annual awards of the Serbian Association of Managers in the categories of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Best Talent Development Programme. The award was presented to the senior vice president of the company, Marija Desivojević Cvetković at the Gala evening held at the Belexpocenter. The "Young Leaders" Project has been successfully implemented in Delta Holding for 5 years.

From 2012 to date, more than 15,000 young, talented people without work experience have applied for this job vacancy, and 155 selected candidates have been recruited through the programme.

Today, many of them are in significant positions in the company. One of the socially responsible projects that is recognised as an example of good

practice is "For now for the Future" implemented by the Delta Foundation. It was launched in early 2015, with the desire to help socially vulnerable population, improving agricultural production in the field of fruit growing, horticulture and pig breeding. Financial grants are awarded to agricultural enterprises that employ poor people, rural women, people with disabilities, or provide support to associations representing the interests of people with disabilities. Within this project, 12 organisations and 165 people engaged in work were supported.

OTP BANK BECAME THE 100% OWNER OF VOJVOĐANSKA BANKA

OTP Bank Serbia announced that the purchase of Vojvođanska banka has been successfully completed, making OTP Bank the seventh largest bank in the Serbian market with a total share of 5.7%.

At a press conference held in Novi Sad, representatives of the Hungarian OTP Bank, OTP Bank Serbia and Vojvođanska banka announced that OTP Bank Serbia as a buyer and the National Bank of Greece

(NBG) as a seller closed the financial transaction, thanks to which 100% of NGB in the Vojvođanska banka and 100% of the NBG lease ownership transferred to OTP Bank of Serbia. As planned, integration will be completed by spring 2019. President of OTP Group and General Manager of OTP Bank in Hungary, Sándor Csányi wished a warm welcome to Vojvodina Bank as a new member of the OTP Group. “With this transaction and merger, we have shown our long-term and serious commitment to the banking market in Serbia, where we plan to continue our growth, and to establish ourselves as the largest independent banking group in the region of CEE” he said.

As of yesterday, all inhabitants of Students City can use „Strawberry Smart bench“ that UniCredit bank donated. Powered by solar energy, this modern urban mobile mobilier provides a free WiFi and charge for mobile devices with built-in cables, USB ports and wireless chargers. In addition to these functionalities, data on the amount of CO2, noise, air, and temperature and air pressure in the environment are collected. Regardless of winter, Smart Bench has a power storage system, so it works both during cloudy weather and the night. Csilla Ihasz, chairwoman of the Management Board of UniCredit Bank has stated: “Company Strawberry Energy, was led by the students in the moment when we supported them through competition Idea for better tomorrow, back in 2012.

We are convinced that Smart bench will create greater community feeling in this public space, as users will be motivated to chat and spend more time outdoors. This is another milestone in supporting Belgrade to keep the pace with other Smart Cities around the world.”

SOCIETE GENERALE SERBIA TOOK OVER A PART OF THE CREDIT PORTFOLIO OF JUBANKA

WE CAN DO BETTER TOGETHER - GIVE SUPPORT Greek company HELLENIC SUGAR as a socially responsible company together with the regional business magazine GLOBE, held a conference entitled A cube for a smile, regarding Migrants Day and a charity group project, presenting previous work and plans for the coming year. The aim of the action is for every migrant child to get the New Year gift by the end of the year, to return smile on their faces and show that there is someone who cares. Three collective centers have been visited by now, shared 155 gifts in Divljani, Pirot, and Dimitrovgrad.

The Charity was supported by Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs led by Minister Djordjević, Lebanon Ambassador his Excellency Tufic Jabeer

and General manager of the National Theater, Dejan Savić. During the conference several people gave speech, Milenko Nikić, chancellor in the Ministry of labour and Employment who is responsible for migrants, Toufic Jabeer, the Ambassador of Lebanon in Belgrade, Dejan Savić, General manager of the National Theatre in Belgrade, Hristos Alexopoulous, PR for Hellenic sugar and Mirela Krajinović editor in chief for the GLOBE magazine.

Societe Generale Serbia has taken over the loan portfolio of Jubanka's clients, formerly Alpha Bank, which, since April 2017, is a 100-percent owner of AIK Bank A.D. The loan portfolio, which is the subject of a contract concluded between Societe Generale Bank and Jubanka, includes housing and cash loans, retail credit cards and loans granted to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Societe Generale Serbia is the third largest bank in the Serbian banking market by volume of loans, and this acquisition confirms and applies its strategy of further growth in the domestic market. "The acquisition of a part of the loan portfolio of Jubanka is an additional confirmation of the strategic commitment of the Societe Generale Serbia to strengthen its operations in the domestic market and to contribute to the stability of the banking sector in Serbia," said Maria Rousseva, President of the Executive Board of the Societe Generale Bank.

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B USINESS NEWS “RIGHT” PR AGENCY GOT THE AWARD IN THE CATEGORY OF BRAND At the traditional annual award ceremony organized by the Association of Serbian Market Communications, “Right” PR Agency was presented with the award in the category of Brand PR with “Moja kravica” triangular project. The creators and implementers of this winning brand PR campaign are PR managers Mr. Miloš Duduković and Ms. Milica Spasojević, in cooperation with PR executives Mr. Miljan Perović and Ms. Emilija Katić. The “Moja kravica” triangular yoghurt PR campaign kicked off with a grand launch party in May 2017, followed by numerous PR activities, such as the traditional “Moja kravica” Triangular Yoghurt Family Day. The comeback of the “Moja kravica” triangular yoghurt after more than 20 years of absence from the market has reminded all consumers of the good old times and evoked the fondest of memories. This is the second award presented to “Right” PR agency in 2017.

RECORD NEW YEAR'S DONATION TO RED CROSS Delhaize Serbia donated 10 trucks of goods worth 120,000 euros to the Red Cross Belgrade. This largest individual New Year donation includes wardrobe, winter shoes, school supplies, personal hygiene products, home chemistry, as well as 60 thousand diapers. With this great human year-long action, Delhaize Serbia, the owner of Maxi, Tempo and Shop & Go shops, reminded everyone of the solidarity and care of all members of society, especially those most vulnerable. Representatives of the Red Cross presented Delegation Special Thanksgiving at the ceremony today. Delhaize Serbia is the biggest donor of food in Serbia. "We are very happy that our year ends with this donation from

Delhaize" said Ivana Marisavljević-Dašić, Secretary of the Red Cross Belgrade. "Social responsibility and concern for the community in which we operate is our strategic commitment that is regularly implemented throughout the year," said Mirjana Jovašević, director of corporate communications at Delhaize Serbia.

FREE TRIP TO DISNEYLAND® PARIS FOR USERS OF BANCA INTESA MASTERCARD CREDIT CARDS

UEPS AWARDED MCCANN BELGRADE WITH 11 AWARDS McCann Belgrade Agency won 11 awards awarded by the Association for Market Communications of Serbia (UEPS) at a traditional ceremony on the occasion of the Day of the Propagandists. The awards were decided by a jury comprised of recognised experts in the field of market communications, and for the first time online voting was organised. "For us this is the year of the anniversary, at least 20 years of business. We are looking forward to adding this UEPS recognition to this year's success." says Olivera Perković, director of McCann Belgrade agency. Of the 15 campaigns announced, the McCann Belgrade Agency was awarded with 11 awards, which confirmed the success of the previous years. Gold won the campaigns realised for Infostud and the first hand-woven, or knitted Coca-Cola billboards. Silver and Black awards were geven to two campaigns for the MTS, two bronze medals were received by Salty Plazma, Pirulolci, BelhHospice, McCann Talks, Rosa, as well as two bronzes were received for Coca-Cola hand-woven / knitted billboards.

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Banca Intesa has announced the winner of the prize giveaway ttitled “When the magic comes to life in front of your eyes: priceless!”, who won two weekend trips for four to Disneyland® Paris, as well as 120 prizes in the form of vouchers for the amounts between RSD 5,000 and RSD 10,000 for purchasing toys from the Disney’s assortment at Dexy Co

Kids stores. The participants of the prize giveaway were all users of Banca Intesa Mastercard credit cards who have, in the period of November 6-December 3, 2017, used a credit card to pay their bill at any store, performed a transaction through On-line shopping or withdrew funds at an ATM in the territory of Serbia in the amount of minimum RSD 2,000, or EUR 20 abroad, and applied for participating in the contest by registering the transaction at the website www.bancaintesa.rs. With almost 8.000 transactions users of Banca Intesa Mastercard credit cards participated in the prize giveaway and the winners were drawn automatically, by random computer selection.

MEETINGS OF THE FRENCH, GREEK AND CROATIAN BUSINESS COMMUNITIES IN SERBIA Representatives of companies from the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Hellenic Business Association and the Croatian Business Club met at the Metropol Hotel again in a series of events at the "Speed Business Meeting".

Members of these business associations had the opportunity to expand their network of contacts and through this innovative format of the informal meeting to establish the basis for future business cooperation. More than 30 participants, members of the three chambers, from different sectors, had the opportunity to discuss "one on one" the potential forms of cooperation. After the formal meetings were concluded, a networking cocktail was organised for all participants, during which

the representatives of the companies had the opportunity to continue the business connection and exchange of additional information with the present interlocutors.

Speed Business Meeting was opened by Marija Radulović, President of the Croatian Business Club in Serbia, Director General of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce Sanja Ivanić and Executive Director of Hellenic Business Alliance Fanina Popaz-Kovačević.

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C O RPO RATE USAID

Seven Years of Reforms for Better Business Environment The project was launched in 2011 to boost Serbian economy, its competitiveness and improve the local business environment, management of public finances, and bolster the Serbian financial market

In mid-November 2017, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officially marked the end its seven-year-long Business Enabling Project (BEP) at Belgrade's Science and Technology Museum. The US Ambassador to Serbia, Kyle Scott Deputy PM, dr Zorana Mihajlovic, and other representatives of the Government of Serbia spoke at the closing ceremony to reflect on the project achievements. USAID BEP presented its results, which have positively contributed to the improvement of the business climate in Serbia, and created the solid and sustainable foundation for further modernization of Serbia.

-PERMITS AS A MAP E TOWARD SUCCESS

USAID BEP supported the government in introducing electronic construction permitting system, the first fully digital governmental service ever introduced in Serbia.

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Construction permits are today available through one click procedure on the internet. To introduce the innovation USAID BEP and its partners had to combine services in as much as 20 different institutions, go through a mountain of paperwork, and resolve complex issues such as different interpretations of

cured an impressive jump on the Doing Business List for Serbia was the unique cooperation between USAID BEP, the government, the business community and local civil sector.

The project supported further dialogue between the Serbian government and the most relevant business associations - the Serbian

USAID BEP SUPPORTED THE GOVERNMENT IN INTRODUCING ELECTRONIC CONSTRUCTION PERMITTING SYSTEM, THE FIRST FULLY DIGITAL GOVERNMENTAL SERVICE EVER INTRODUCED IN SERBIA existing procedures. This became in time the most tangible success of USAID BEP and its partners at the Ministry of Construction.

The reform ensured full process transparency for all stakeholders.

It also reduced the arbitrariness in decision making and standardized procedures in over 168 municipal institutions and public enterprises.

The key to the success, which se-

Chamber of Commerce, the Foreign Investors Council, NALED, the American Chamber of Commerce and the Serbian Association of Employers. The idea was simple - to identify the main problems that had curbed the improvement of the business environment, set priorities, and devise concepts and concrete measures to overcome identified problems.

EY TO SUSTAINABLE K REFORMS - ONE STEP AT THE TIME

The first step in reforming the construction permitting system was the analysis which identified obstacles, and served as basis for recommendations to overcome them in the most effective manner.

Although, initially, this issue was not a government priority, its importance was soon acknowledged, and included on the list of legislative and regulatory reform priorities. The Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure led the process and formulated the Law on Planning and Construction involving all stakeholders in the process, all with assistance from BEP. In a break off from common practice, BEP assisted the legislator in drafting all the necessary bylaws simultaneously with the law and trained local self-government units.

The New law, simplified the construction permitting procedures,

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and introduced electronic permitting system. The new system introduced a single electronic counter, as opposed to old system with as much as 20 counters scattered in different institutions. This was the first fully electronic service introduced by the Serbian Government.

This required a major technological innovation, namely the development of the electronic construction permitting software on which BEP worked together with German development agency GIZ and NALED, in addition to having an excellent cooperation with the line ministry and the Business Registers Agency. The software linked 1,368 state administration institutions, and 8,428 civil servants involved in the permitting process.

FIRST RESULTS

The construction of IKEA's department store was the first investment in Serbia under the new procedure and the first with electronically issued construction permit. Electronic construction permitting eliminated significant limitations in construction investments, an important catalyst of GDP growth. In the first year and a half, a total of 87,415 construction applications were submitted through the system, with 92% applications processed, and construction permits issued within six working days on average.

By November 2017, the number of construction permits steadily grew. In the first half of 2017, 70.6% more permits were issued than in the same period last year, and the value of construction works increased by 31.3%. The share of construction industry in the GDP in the observed period increased from 4.3% to 6.2%. In addition, the land development fee for production and infrastructure facilities was abolished.

Kyle Scott, the US Ambassador to Serbia

In only two years, as a result of these changes, Serbia jumped from 186th to 36th place on the World Bank's Doing Business list in the construction permit segment, leaving behind countries like Ireland, the US, Finland, Norway, Belgium and Austria. At the time, BEP was engaged in implementing the third stage of the regulatory reform.

I MPROVING INSPECTIONS – CREATING A COMPETITIVE ECONOMY

Improved inspection work was one of the major successes of the reforms implemented with USAID BEP assistance. An effective inspection oversight system was established following the passing the Law on Inspection Oversight in 2015. The system helped businesses to align their operations with relevant regulation, and encouraged unregistered businesses to leave shadow economy.

The current law, which incorporates the recommendations from

15% fewer cash penalties relative to 2015. Also, the volume of illegal trading in excise goods was reduced, the number of newly registered businesses went up, and the coordination between different inspections is now noticeably better.

In 2016, an inspection visit lasted 4 hours on average, compared to 12 hours in 2011. Instead of penalizing, inspectors now act in a preventive and advisory manner. 60% of business owners say that inspectors provide them with information, notices, advice and professional assistance while 80% think that inspectors are now more friendly, professional and knowledgeable in their approach. Concurrently, all inspections are now authorized to carry out inspection oversight of unregistered companies, which are one of the main causes of shadow economy.

The planned networking of all inspections under the e-inspector platform is the key step in the

TWO YEARS AGO, WITH THE HELP OF USAID BEP, SERBIA GRADUALLY STARTED REPLACING LINE BUDGETING WITH A NEW PROGRAM BUDGETING MODEL USAID BEP, ensures better coordination of inspections, introduces a risk assessment system in inspection oversight subjects, and requires all inspections to react to any form of shadow economy. Furthermore, the law directs inspections towards preventive measures that assist businesses in complying with the regulation, in contrast to the former repressive system.

Both businesses and the state are satisfied with the first practical results with more businesses now willing to voluntarily abide by regulation. In 2016, there were

entire system that will ensure the exchange of necessary data and documents between inspections, but also between other state instititutions, and thus more efficient use of all available resources.

Also, reorganizing and strengthening inspection capacity through hiring new staff, providing better technical equipment, particularly for field inspectors, and aligning specialized laws like the Law on Commerce, the Law on Tourism, the Law on Sanitary Oversight, and the Law on Tax Procedures and Tax Administra-

tion with the systemic law are some of the top priorities. This is done in order to counterbalance the operations of inspections, secure better legal predictability for business owners, and improve the business environment.

ON-BANKING FINANCIAL N INSTITUTIONS AND MICROFINANCING

Serbia is one of the few countries in the region where banks are the only sources of business financing, and where there are no available microfinancing modalities whatsoever. There are also no credit unions or any other way of crediting. At the same time, venture capital funds are insufficiently developed, while the capital market is almost non-existent.

With appropriate regulation and oversight, non-banking financial institutions could pledge EUR 870 million over the next four years.

This would result in creation of close to 100,000 new jobs, and opening of financial doors to small business owners who, under current conditions, cannot obtain bank loans.

Since its inception, USAID BEP has been supporting expansion of financing sources for Serbian businesses, due to the fact that startups, micro and small enterprises had very limited opportunities for borrowing money from commercial banks since they were considered high risk despite borrowing relatively small amounts of money.

Regulating the work of microfinance institutions would provide a greater opportunity for self-employment and easier access to resources for existing micro enterprises and entrepreneurs. It would also help them to compete with similar companies in the region and Europe. Although these institutions lend money at a higher

Ana Brnabić, Serbian Prime Minister

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Azza El-Abd, Director of USAID Mission in Serbia

cost than standard banks, they also provide clients with additional services including financial training and mentoring. Moreover, they spend more time on analyzing their clients' business ideas, and the possibility of marketing their goods and services. The result of such comprehensive approach is that microfinance institutions encounter fewer problems with lending than banks.

In the last six years, USAID BEP carried out a number of analyses and studies on the topic of microfinancing with a special emphasis on issues like oversight of microfinance institutions, their licensing and customer protection. A relevant law can be drafted in a relatively short amount of time based on these analyses and providing there is enough political will. The USAID BEP experts have suggested that the existing state programs should be supplemented with the national borrowing guarantee scheme, like the one in the Czech Republic, which would enable better inclusion of potential beneficiaries and better use of state money.

Additionally, venture capital funds should be supported and micro and small enterprises should be educated about the role of these funds and how they function.

PROGRAM BUDGETING

Two years ago, with the help of USAID BEP, Serbia gradually started replacing line budgeting with a new program budgeting model.

This model has significant advantages because, among other things, it ensures allocation of money to specific programs, projects and activities of budget beneficiaries, better management of cash flow, and measurement of results. At the same time, this type of budgeting is much more understandable to

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Dragana Stanojević, Director of USAID's Business Enabling Project

people who work on the projects budgeted in this way, as well as to taxpayers who have a clear and transparent insight into how is their money being spent.

Although it is too early to evaluate the effects of this financing method in Serbia, since 2015, major advances have been made in practice, primarily in certain ministries and local self-governments with the help of USAID BEP. Program budgeting and performance measurement are instruments that help to better prioritize expenditure, improve efficiency and economic benefits of consumption, eliminate unwanted costs, and identify areas in which savings can be made.

This method ensures that more

Dušan Vasiljević, Deputy Director of USAID's Business Enabling Project

The training of the state budget beneficiaries and local self-government units accompanied these changes. A total of six instructors from the Ministry of Finance's Budget Department received their instructor certifications.

At the national level, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management is the best example of how program budgeting works. As a result of this approach, the Ministry increased the amount of money allocated to key agricultural development programs, so over 80% of the total funds allocated to the Ministry were used to subsidize all of the planned agricultural measures.

Kyle Scott, the US Ambassador to

AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND WATER MANAGEMENT IS THE BEST EXAMPLE OF HOW PROGRAM BUDGETING WORKS is done for less money. It also entails a different work modality in state authorities because they have to set priorities and goals, plan the activities and the required resources for their implementation through the team work of all sectors. Thanks to USAID BEP, a total of 178 direct budget beneficiaries received support for the implementation of program budgeting.

All local self-government units began to apply the new methodology, and as a result, their budgets are much more transparent and understandable. Several "pilot" municipalities improved their decision-making system by having public discussions on spending priorities. Citizens participated in these discussions, and had their say in selection of the projects financed from the budget.

Serbia: „Improving access to financing sources could, in particular, help the information technology sector, which is exponentially growing in Serbia, to become the backbone of the domicile economy “ Ana Brnabić, Serbian Prime Minister: „The biggest credit for Serbia occupying the 47th position on the Doing Business list should be given to e-permits because owing to them Serbia has made it to the top 50 most successful countries in the world “.

Jospeph Lowther, President of the company CARDNO Emerging Markets USA and former Director of USAID BEP: „Business climate in Serbia has improved significantly since 2011. I am proud of USAID BEP having played an important role in implementing reforms “.

Azza El-Abd, Director of USAID

Mission in Serbia: „Our experience shows that when all stakeholders in public and private sector take part in reforming and drafting regulation from the very beginning, they have a much better understanding of the goals of each reform, and are more willing to implement it “.

Olin McGill, consultant: „What is even more important for foreign investors is for them to see that domicile investors support reforms by using their own funds, generated from safe and liquid projects, for the implementation of new projects. This happened immediately after Serbia carried out the construction reform “.

Dragana Stanojević, Director of USAID's Business Enabling Project: „Our greatest success is that everything that we have achieved so far was a result of an open dialogue and a cooperation between the state, the businesses, the community of experts and the general public “.

Dušan Vasiljević, Deputy Director of USAID's Business Enabling Project: „The fact that bylaws were drafted at the same time or only few months after the passing of the Law on Planning and Construction was perhaps the first signal that this was not yet another in a series of reforms that were stopped in their tracks by new laws, or have collapsed the moment they were implemented “.

Majda Sedej, a BEP expert: „It takes a few years for the advantages of program budgeting to show. Nevertheless, we can notice even now that the process of budget planning itself has been improved as a result of the greater cooperation and more effective exchange of information between the state bodies and the Ministry of Finance“.

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C O RPO RATE

Delta Foundation

Sculpture ‘From There to Here’ is a New Belgrade Landmark

Delta Foundation officially handed over this two-piece sculpture, which is 7 metres tall and weighs almost 5 tonnes, to the City of Belgrade on 6th December

The sculpture called ‘From There to Here’ (in Serbian, “Odande Dovde”) will be erected on the pedestrian footbridge that stretches from Kalemegdan to the Sava Port. This art piece was made by the renowned sculptors Mrdjan Bajić and Richard Deacon, and is Delta Foundation's donation to Belgrade. The two sculptors started cooperating in 2006 and back then, an idea was born about sculpting a joint piece. It took a decade for this idea to be realized.

It was actually Mrdjan Bajić who invited Richard Deacon to be a visiting professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts. They met Marina Andrić, the then Director of Kalemegdan Fortress, and the idea about doing a sculpture together was born.

When asked why did it take them eleven years to realize this project, Mrdjan Bajić replied: „We became again interested in doing the sculpture after a forum in 2015, at which we promoted a book about this project. Richard and I decided to implement the project as a gift to Belgrade. Since the very beginning, it was obvious to us that if the city government managed to allocate money for it, it would only cover the infrastructural part of the project, but not the costs of making the scuplture. Nothing would have come off this project if Delta Holding and its Delta Foundation had not come on board following an initiative by Marija Desivojević who knew Richard's and my work from before, and was incredibly quick to recognize the validity of our project. The cooperation with Delta Foundation that ensued was

flawless. We constantly kept in touch with the professionals who made it possible for Richard to come over, for the production to be carried out in England, organized the transport and customs clearance and all other activities so that the „There“ part of the scuplture made it to „Here“. I think that this is the first ever corporate gift to the community in the segment of visual arts, and I hope that the visibility and the quality of this project will spur on similar endeavours“.

Delta Foundation officially handed over this two-piece sculpture, which is 7 metres tall and weighs almost 5 tonnes, to the City of Belgrade on 6th December.

“This piece of art is also Delta Foundation’s third endowment.

The Delta Holding Company established the Foundaton in order to restore the tradition of endowment in Serbia. In 2012, we gave Belgrade our first endowment – a daycare centre for people with disabilities called ‘Sunce’ located in Bežanijska Kosa. In 2016, we

donated to the Town of Kragujeac a sports centre for people with disabilities called ‘Iskra’. This year we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of our Foundation, and we gave to Belgrade our third endownment which will become one of the landmarks in this city that we live and work in”, says Aleksandra Jeličić, Deputy General Manager of the Delta Foundation.

Mrdjan Bajić gives us some insight into how the cooperation on this project evolved between the two great artistis: „First and foremost, I have to say and inform our public, who probably don't know this, that Richard Deacon is one of the most reputable scupltors today. This is an artist that has an incredible body of work who has introduced the architectural presence of internal constructive forms on the epithelium of the sculptural surface, and thus became a role model for generations of sculptors.

In addition, he is an incredibly good person, and I would like to thank him for spending so much of his time thinking about this project, even when we didn't know whether it would ever be realized.

The cooperation was very simple because we did not seek to har-

OUR WISH IS TO PERMANENTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE BETTER LIFE OF OUR FELLOW CITIZENS

monize our rhetoric, but rather ask questions and contemplate the validity of the solution. The whole project was based on logical consideration, analysis, accepting and abandoning of the basic idea which had many variants. Function, construction, and aesthetics led each other through a structure that begins as a bridge and ends up as a sculpture. " Mrdjan Bajić said that the project carried a great responsibility with the „key motive obviously being a convinction that we are doing something that is good for the community we belong to.“ „We tried to realize our professional conviction through a complicated process of persuading other people to believe in our initial idea. I was also motivated by the cooperation with the other sculptor, as well as with the team of engineers who brought gradual and rational logic (to the project)“, he added.

The cooperation with the CIP was also an important part in implementing the project since it was the CIP that made a 3D model of the footbridge based on which the sculptors could design the sculpture. Also, the City of Belgrade and architect Milutin Folić provided important support.

The Foundation's main motive for this project was to positively contribute to Belgrade's cultural and historic heritage. „Endowment is one of the areas that Delta Foundation is engaged in, and through which Delta Holding is advancing the community in which it operates.

Our wish is to permanently contribute to the better life of our fellow citizens, not only in the field of culture, but also through education, social entrepreneurship and support for the poorest and most vulnerable.

This is how we are building a better tomorrow for all of us", Aleksandra Jeličić concludes.

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J E E P S TA K E S

The Philippine Government Declares War on a Beloved Vehicle Is the jeepney a treasure or a menace?

Venetians have their vaporettos, Londoners their double-deckers, Japanese their bullet trains and Filipinos their jeepneys. None of those other vehicles, however, is as dirty, dangerous and uncomfortable as the jeepney, a Frankenstein’s monster of a minibus that was first cobbled together some 70 years ago. Yet when the government announced plans to phase jeepneys out, opponents accused it of trying to expunge the soul of the nation.

The first jeepneys were made from surplus jeeps that American forces left behind after the second world war. Enterprising Filipinos added benches and a roof, creating affordable public transport and a host of small businessmen, who owned and sometimes drove the vehicles. In due course, jeepneys were embellished with chrome decorations, colourful streamers, fairy lights and gaudy paintings of everything from Jesus Christ to fighter jets. Many are also fitted with deafening stereo systems. The supply of surplus jeeps dried up long ago, so the builders now take superannuated diesel trucks from Japan and add bodywork vaguely reminiscent of a jeep. A short hop around Manila costs 8 pesos ($0.16).

YET WHEN THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED PLANS TO PHASE JEEPNEYS OUT, OPPONENTS ACCUSED IT OF TRYING TO EXPUNGE THE SOUL OF THE NATION

But the passenger must crouch to climb in the back and squeeze onto an inward-facing bench, hunched under the low roof and crammed up against the passengers on either side and opposite. Air-conditioning to take the edge off the tropical heat and humidity is rare. The cramped space and single exit make the work of pickpockets and armed robbers easy. Breakdowns are frequent. The old engines spew smoke into the already filthy air of Philippine cities. Drivers pick up and set down

customers anywhere they like, often without pulling over, imperilling the passengers and blocking the road.

No wonder, then, that the government has decided to ban jeepneys that are more than 15 years old, starting next month. It wants drivers to use electric replacements instead, or at least vehicles with cleaner engines. Manufacturers have proposed new models that look less like jeepneys and more like—whisper it—minibuses, with such frills as side entrances, individual forward-facing seats, air-conditioning, automated fare collection and security cameras.

The government says it will provide cheap loans to buyers.

Angry jeepney operators drove in convoy through Manila on December 4th to protest against the plan. They say that most operators will not be able to afford the new models, which cost around 1.5m pesos. Such expensive vehicles, they maintain, will drive up the minimum fare to 20 pesos. And then there is the fact that the clapped-out, smoke-belching jeepney is a national treasure and an expression of collective genius.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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D I NE & WINE Salon 1905

www.salon1905.rs

DISHES FOIE GRAS PATE A juicy duck liver pâté, ideal on a warm, toasted home made brioche. Its made by steam melting the duck liver, with butter, porto cruz and a mix of spices.

After this, it is tenderly mashed until it becomes creamy and completely granule free. It is then formed into the desired shape and left to harden. The dish is served with a puree made from organic carrots with butter and (secret) spices, roasted almonds, herbs, edible flowers and a celery puree. The celery is thermally processed, with butter, milk and spices. It is then blended and manually mashed.

The Finest Dining in Belgrade If you want to reinvent the classics, you have to take things further. That is exactly what Salon 1905 does every day Situated in the iconic ‘Geozavod’ edifice in the very heart of Belgrade’s old town, Salon 1905 offers a truly one of a kind fine dining experience. The turnof-the-century landmark building is a masterpiece of mixed Baroque and Art Nouveaux architecture,

with a spectacular interior wrapped in glistening brass, marble and gold.

You step inside the breathtaking building reminiscent of the finest Viennese and Parisian traditions, and you immediately feel at home.

With all the lavishness inside, the style is tasteful and refined. Just like the food.

The food. Your tastebuds will sing and soar. We serve the real thing - the finest Mediterranean cuisine, using only fresh high-quality ingredients for each one of the dishes. The kitchen is known for keeping the recipes simple yet powerful. The team’s vast

international experience in the gourmet industry - lead by chef David Šimunić, the main creator of all restaurant’s delicacies - adds an extra layer of class to your experience every time. Insider’s advice: sit back and relax, and let the house do the magic.

If you’re looking to unwind after your dinner, the massive oak bar makes an ideal spot for a late night chill. And it’s open until 2 a.m. Also, you can spice up your weekend night out with the smoothest jazz in town, every Friday and Saturday.

Reinvention is what keeps classics alive. Welcome to a higher level of opulence.

VEAL CUTLET The veal cutlet is processed using a French technique - it is placed in a vacuum seal with fresh spices, and aged for 168 hours. The veal is then placed into a burning hot pan, with the addition of garlic and incense; the butter needs to begin foaming, as the cutlet is bathed in this way until it reaches the desired colour. Alongside this dish, a puree from organic sweet potatoes and ginger is served as a complimentary side, with mashed potatoes (made from baked potatoes), truffles, baby vegetables and a red wine sauce with sautéed truffles.

DUCK BREAST The duck breast is cleaned, and then marinated with honey, soya sauce and oriental spices. It is left to age for 48 hours within a controlled environment. It is served with a fresh pea puree, duck drumstick confit, quinoa, organic carrot puree and a red wine sauce with timut peppers.

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61

KOLARAC

C ALEND AR & NE W S

Concert hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

PANDEMONIUM 4 Jan 11, 20:00

Belgrade Philharmonic Hall Aleksandar Kojić

Conductor: Aleksandar Kojić Soloist:Dušica Mladenović, violin

Erik Satie’s piece Socrate for voice and piano was composed in 1917–1918 to Plato’s texts. Almost a whole century later, Irish composer Ian Wilson did a cover of this composition for solo violin, chamber orchestra and narrators.

The soloist in the world premiere of this piece will be the Belgrade Philharmonic violinist Dušica Mladenović.

I LOVE THE PHILHARMONIC Jan 13, 12:00

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation Branislava Podrumac

Conductor: Aleksandar Kojić Narrator: Branislava Podrumac

A gift concert to thank all participated in the contest “What Exactly Is a Philharmonic?”

CONCERT PROGRAMME January 2018

Tuesday, 2nd, at noon, Concert Hall

NEW YEAR’S PROM CONCERT

The Most Promising Young Musician in 2017– ArtLink Award Vuk Ovaskainen, cello Uki Ovaskainen, piano Production: Music Centre & AltLink Admission free Monday, 8th at 20:00, Concert Hall

MOJKOVAC BATTLE ACADEMY

Production: Serdar Janko Vukotić’s Guslar Association 700

OF THE PIANO STUDENTS

CHAMBER MUSIC

by Professor Jokut Mihailović Admission free

The RenaissanceEnsemble Production: Music Centre Admission free

Sunday, 14th at 11:00 Concert Hall

Monday, 22nd at 18:00 Music Gallery

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Piano quintet Mina Mendelson, violin Saša Mirković, viola Vladislav Mezei, cello Marija Đukić, piano Programme: Mozart, Brahms Production: Music Centre Admission free

LIDIJA BOJINOVIĆ

violin Admission free

Saturday, 24th at 18:00 Music Gallery

BRANKA PANIĆ

soprano Milan Panić, tenor Production: Music Centre Admission free

Tuesday, 16th at 18:00 Music Gallery

Friday, 26th at 20:00 Concert Hall

Friday, 12th at 19:00 Concert Hall

by Professor Jokut Mihailović Production: Music Centre Admission free

The Fourth New Year & Christmas Concert of Traditional Serbian Music 600

Wednesday, 17th at 18:00 Music Gallery Ovaskainen Family Concert Production: Music Centre Admission free

Conductor: Gabriel Feltz Programme: G. Mahler/ Symphony No. 9 Production: Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Information: 2630-744

Saturday, 13th at 12:00 Concert Hall

Friday, 19th at 20:00 Concert Hall

Wednesday, 10th at 18:00 Music Gallery Production: Music Centre Admission free

SERBIAN ORTHODOX CANTORS

FINAL PIANO CONCERT OF MASTER CLASS STUDENTS

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Saturday, 27th at 11:00 Concert Hall

AIR 3 Jan 19, 20:00

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation Cristian Mandeal

Conductor: Cristian Mandeal Soloist: Aleksandar Latković, violoncello

Shostakovich leaves us breathless. The dismal era of Stalin’s terror depress us as if it was carved in stone for a mighty orchestra. The best symphony of the great Russian.

EARTH 3 Jan 26, 20:00

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation Gabriel Feltz

Conductor: Gabriel Feltz

The farewell to the world by one of the most influential musical dignitaries of the 20th century. Gustav Mahler embraces our world in D major and D-flat major. Alban Berg referred to this piece as the most heavenly thing Mahler ever wrote.

THE FIFTH 2 Feb 02, 20:00

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Aleksandar Kojić Narrator: Branislava Podrumac John Williams: Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone, Children’s Suite for Orchestra Production: Belgrade Philharmonic Information: 011/2630-744 Saturday, 13th at 18:00 Music Gallery

FINAL CONCERT

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Cristian Mandeal Soloist: Aleksandar Latković, cello Programme: L. Boccherini, D. Shostakovich Production: Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Information: 2630-744 Sunday, 21st at 11:00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF

LITTLE SCHOOL OF ETIQUETTE

How to listen to music / The Beatles The Best Beat Production: Music Centre 200 Sunday, 28th at 11:00 Concert Hall

KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Cello Students of Faculty of Music Class of Dragan Djordjević Production: Music Centre Admission free

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Tijana Milošević

Conductor: Gabriel Feltz Soloist: Tijana Milošević, violin Nemanja Stanković, violoncello Gabriel Feltz, piano

Do you believe in ghosts? If you don’t, you will think again after this concert, because they bring the water (Dukas), summon the silence (Beethoven), use magic wands (Williams) and bring storms (Wagner) to the Belgrade Philharmonic.

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