Diplomacy and Commerce No.45 by Diplomacy&Commerce magazine

November 2019 | ISSUE No. 45 | Price 350 RSD

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THE WHOLE WORLD IN BELGRADE 13-17 October - 141st ASSEMBLY OF INTER-PARLAMENTARY UNION

OUR MOTIVATION IS TO INVESTIGATE AND PROVE

COUNTRY IS VERY POLARISED TANJA FAJON

Chair of EP Delegation to Serbia

BELGRADE’S NORMANDY

An Art Deco gem at the heart of the capital city

BRANKO ČEČEN Director of CINS

I WAS TAKEN HOSTAGE BY THOSE WHO WROTE BETTER

RELATIONS ARE DEVELOPING IN EVERY SEGMENT

IMPRESSIONS ARE EXTREMELY POSITIVE

Film, TV and theatre actor

Turkish Ambassador to Serbia

German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy

RADE ŠERBEDŽIJA

Greece

GORAN TRIVAN

Minister of Environmental Protection

H.E. TANJU BILGIÇ

PETER ALTMAIER

Switzerland

H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX

Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia

EDITORIAL

CONTENTS

We'll Always Have Barcelona In early October, I spent three days at the W Hotel in Barcelona. On my last day in the town, just before lunch, I went to the Museum of Catalan History located in the former harbour building. Perusing through the exhibits in the dark of the museum and pondering over the historical facts that speak of the centuries-long aspiration of this Spanish province for autonomy, I forgot how beautiful the day was. I covered on foot the stretch between La Barceloneta and the W Hotel surrounded by thousands of tourists and locals spending a dreamy weekend on the Mediterranean coast. The next day I saw in the news that, following the sentencing of the leaders of the Catalan secessionists, tens of thousands of protesters took it to the streets of Barcelona, the airport was blocked, numerous flights cancelled and there were injured people on both sides. Alec Wainman, an American photographer who spent much of the Civil War (1936-1939) in Barcelona and at that time, one of the Republican mainstays, crossed my mind. I remembered the finals of the European Football Championship in Kyiv in June 2012. One hundred thousand people at Queen’s concert in Maidan Square, fans of Spain and Italy, the finalists, hugging each other, shiny billboards wherever you looked and neon signs on the buildings around the square. Only one year later, Maidan was burning, other parts of Ukraine followed, several people were set alight in a besieged building in Odesa, and a real war was waging in the east of the country, which, six years later, is still smouldering as a frozen conflict. How fragile is this world that we live in where everything can be turned upside down overnight, where bitter winter can quickly oust the sunny October days and where the peace and tranquillity of Vienna, Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Budapest or Prague can be replaced by street unrest or worse? How much can we predict future events even in parts of the world that seem completely calm and trouble-free? Did anyone imagine only a few days before Breivik did what he did in idyllic Norway or Brenton Harrison Tarrant in a mosque in faraway New Zealand that that would happen? The Europe we know and love might change quite soon and we might remember Barcelona from our romantic travels, like the hero of the movie Casablanca, dreaming of the idyllic pre-war Paris. We need to remember this when we are tempted to vote for an adventurous and so easily seductive political option in the next election.

PETER ALTMAIER

Professor DARKO TANASKOVIĆ

IMPRESSIONS ARE EXTREMELY POSITIVE German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy

CITIZENS DO NOT TRUST PROSECUTORS AND THAT IS BAD

TANJA FAJON

Chair of EP Delegation to Serbia

BRANKO ČEČEN Director of CINS

RELATIONS ARE DEVELOPING IN EVERY SEGMENT

I WAS TAKEN HOSTAGE BY THOSE WHO WROTE BETTER

H.E. TANJU BILGIÇ

Turkish Ambassador to Serbia

RADE ŠERBEDŽIJA

Film, TV and theatre actor

SERBIA HAS LOW PERFORMANCE OF DOMESTIC PRIVATE INVESTMENTS

BELGRADE’S NORMANDY

DEJAN ŠOŠKIĆ

Professor at the Faculty of Economics

An Art Deco gem at the heart of the capital city

BEST PRACTICE EXCHANGE WITH SERBIA MARCO PIRONTI

Deputy Mayor of Innovation, Smart City and ICT Systems, City of Turin

THE AMBASSADOR OF THE TIME MASHINE PROJECT ADAM SOFRONIJEVIĆ

Deputy Director of the University Library

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Director

TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Editor in Chief

tanja.bankovic@color.rs

SANJA ŠOJIĆ Journalist

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COUNTRY IS VERY POLARISED

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POLITICS

Emmanuel Macron warns Europe: NATO is Becoming Brain-dead America is turning its back on the European project. Time to wake up, the French president tells The Economist

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has warned European countries that they can no longer rely on America to defend NATO allies. “What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” Mr Macron declares in a blunt interview with The Economist. Europe stands on “the edge of a precipice”, he says, and needs to start thinking of itself strategically as a geopolitical power; otherwise we will “no longer be in control of our destiny.” During the hour-long interview, conducted in his gilt-decorated office at the Elysée Palace in Paris on October 21st, the president argues that it is high time for Europe to “wake up”. He was asked whether he believed in the effectiveness of Article Five, the idea that if one NATO member is attacked all would come to its aid, which many analysts think underpins the alliance's deterrent effect. “I don't know,” he replies, “but what will Article Five mean tomorrow?” NATO, Mr Macron says, “only works if the guarantor

of last resort functions as such. I’d argue that we should reassess the reality of what NATO is in the light of the commitment of the United States.” And America, in his view, shows signs of “turning its back on us,” as it demonstrated starkly with its unexpected troop withdrawal from north-eastern Syria

political instability.This toxic mix was “unthinkable five years ago,” Mr Macron argues. “If we don’t wake up [...] there’s a considerable risk that in the long run we will disappear geopolitically, or at least that we will no longer be in control of our destiny. I believe that very deeply.” Mr Macron’s en-

MR MACRON’S UNDERLYING MESSAGE IS THAT EUROPE NEEDS TO START THINKING AND ACTING NOT ONLY AS AN ECONOMIC GROUPING, WHOSE CHIEF PROJECT IS MARKET EXPANSION, BUT AS A STRATEGIC POWER last month, forsaking its Kurdish allies. In President Donald Trump, Europe is now dealing for the first time with an American president who “doesn’t share our idea of the European project”, Mr Macron says. This is happening when Europe is confronted by the rise of China and the authoritarian turn of regimes in Russia and Turkey. Moreover, Europe is being weakened from within by Brexit and

ergetic recent diplomatic activity has drawn a great deal of interest abroad, and almost as much criticism. He has been accused of acting unilaterally (by blocking EU enlargement in the Western Balkans), and over-reaching (by trying to engineer direct talks between America and Iran). During the interview, however, the president is in a defiant but relaxed mood, sitting in shirt sleeves on

the black leather sofa he has installed in the ornate salon doré, where Charles de Gaulle used to work. The French president pushes back against his critics, for instance arguing that it is “absurd” to open up the EU to new members before reforming accession procedures, although he adds that he is ready to reconsider if such conditions are met. Mr Macron’s underlying message is that Europe needs to start thinking and acting not only as an economic grouping, whose chief project is market expansion, but as a strategic power. That should start with regaining “military sovereignty”, and re-opening a dialogue with Russia despite suspicion from Poland and other countries that were once under Soviet domination. Failing to do so, Mr Macron says, would be a “huge mistake”. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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INTERVIEW

Text: BOBAN SPASOJEVIÄ&#x2020;

Impressions are Extremely Positive

The economic dynamism in the countries I visited is highly promising, and German companies are increasing their levels of trade and investment there

PETER ALTMAIER German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy

Minister of Economy and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany Peter Altmaier has come to Serbia accompanied by a large business delegation with the aim of discussing concrete measures for further improvement of cooperation between the two countries' companies. He assessed that the Serbia-Germany relations in recent years have been excellent and that there are conditions for their improvement. Minister Altmaier has come to Serbia accompanied by a large business delegation with the aim of discussing concrete meas-

ONE IMPORTANT JOINT CHALLENGE IS THE CREATION OF JOBS IN THE REGION AND THE SECURING OF THE SKILLED WORKERS NECESSARY FOR THIS

ures for further improvement of cooperation between the two countries' companies. Altmaier expressed confidence that his visit will yield concrete results in the further strengthening of economic cooperation between Serbia and Germany. In an exclusive interview for the November issue of Diplomacy & Commerce magazine, German Federal Economy Minister Peter Altmaier spoke about the EU and the Western Balkan states. You have visited Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. What was the reason for this official visit and what were your impressions?

Photo: Serbian Presidency / Dimitrije Goll

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I attach particular importance to the region of south-eastern Europe. I see a great opportunity for us to be able to complete

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the unification of continental Europe through the continued convergence of the countries in the region to the EU. I just visited Croatia, the newest EU Member State, and Montenegro and Serbia, two countries which are actively negotiating their accession to the EU with the European Commission. My impressions are extremely positive. The economic dynamism in the countries I visited is highly promising, and German companies are increasing their levels of trade and investment there. What conclusions will you take with you to Berlin, since you have visited Croatia, an EU member state, and Montenegro and Serbia, which are in the accession process?

— The most important conclusion is that EU enlargement is a success story which equally benefits both the countries in the region and the EU. And we should continue to work hard together on bringing the region closer to the EU – this will round off our EU

and enrich us politically, economically and culturally. How high is the Balkans on the list of priorities of the German economic and European policy? How do you feel about the situation in the Balkan countries today?

— Our conferences on the Western Balkans, which Chancellor

operation and the expansion of the necessary infrastructure. We are addressing forward-looking topics, such as digitisation. One important joint challenge is the creation of jobs in the region and the securing of the skilled workers necessary for this.

North Macedonia. It is regrettable that the European Council has not been able to arrive at a decision on this yet. I am convinced that we should begin the process of accession with Albania and North Macedonia as soon as possible. We must not lose time.

Does official Berlin share the position of the French President

Your forecasts for the coming year are very optimistic. With Brexit, the US trade war and Chinese competition, we simply have to ask where does that optimism come from?

THE MOST IMPORTANT CONCLUSION IS THAT EU ENLARGEMENT IS A SUCCESS STORY WHICH EQUALLY BENEFITS BOTH THE COUNTRIES IN THE REGION AND THE EU Merkel launched in August 2014, have placed the political dialogue with the countries in the region high up on the political agenda. The wide-ranging initiatives taken since then are dubbed the “Berlin process”. Together with the European Commission, the Regional Cooperation Council and of course the private sector, we have made great progress on regional co-

Emmanuel Macron, who wants the EU first to reform itself (before enlarging), or is Germany closer to the position of the European Commission whose officials are in favour of a parallel process of the Union’s integration and enlargement?

— The Bundestag voted by a large majority to commence accession negotiations with Albania and

— Our forecasts are rather restrained. We are predicting growth of 0.5% this year, and somewhat higher growth of 1% next year. That is much less than in previous years. Of course, a major role is played by the difficult external economic environment. However, I am optimistic that we will leave this temporary slow period behind us. To do this, Germany will have to improve its business environment. I have made proposals for this in my SME Strategy, e.g. on corporate tax reform and targeted funding for tomorrow’s technologies.

MEETING WITH VUČIĆ President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met with the Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany Peter Altmaier, which was followed by the ceremony of signing of bilateral agreements on cooperation in the areas of economy and education bringing the 300 million euros of investments. Minister for Economic

Affairs and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany Peter Altmaier said that his country has learned the lesson from the Second World War and it wants to assure a good future. German companies Brose and MTU will open their facilities in Serbia, and on that occasion the agreements were signed today in the Palace of Serbia. "Relations between Serbia and Germany have

been set in motion and started growing. Your Government seeks to employ the potentials of your country. We respect you and Germany wishes to offer an opportunity to the young people. Sixty thousand jobs depend on the German companies in Serbia", said Minister Altmaier after the signing of the cooperation agreement and added that the trade exchange between the two countries is on the rise, but that there are still more potentials. "We talked about how to interconnect German and Serbian companies. I wish to congratulate both companies for the agreements signed today and to assure you that we will do all on our side to support you", said Minister Altmaier. He emphasised that Germany wants cooperation and thanked for the conditions German companies are presented in Serbia. „We are able to ensure that the entire Western Balkans begets a European perspective and we know that Serbia will play a very important part in that", said the Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of FR Germany. President Vučić said that the facility for engines' repair and maintenance will be first commissioned, followed by subsequent production. „It seems to me that we do provide safety to the investors, but we still have much to adjust and improve. Our infrastructure is becoming better and better, both road and railway infrastructure. We have good, skilled labour force, talented and good people. There is no ideal ambience, but we are ready to hear of any problem and to make efforts to solve it. I can say with pleasure welcome to Serbia which you can consider your second home", said President Vučić and thanked the guests for their visit.

CORPORATE

Serbia Marked as a Strategic Country With our further investments, we remain reliable investor, who provides thousands of jobs contributing to the growth of economy, living standard and decreasing of unemployment rate in communities where we have our business

uting to the growth of economy, living standard and decreasing of unemployment rate in communities where we have our business. In addition to that, we will keep investing in our employees, in their development, new skills, because our success is directly linked to our people.

CLEMENS SACHS Managing Director, LEONI Wiring Systems Southeast d.o.o.

LEONI, a global provider of energy and data management solutions in the automotive sector and other industries, celebrated today 10 years since the beginning of its activity in Serbia. The employees are the most valuable resource of the Company and, consequently, they are continuously supported in their professional development. In this respect, LEONI has invested more than EUR 420,000 in training and specialization programs to enable the employees to perform in a very dynamic and challenging business environment.

This year, LEONI Serbia marks 10 years since its establishment and launch of operations. How do you evaluate the business climate in Serbia today? — I would say business environment in Serbia today is encouraging and challenging at the same time. The country is open and supports further investments which is really good. And that is the reason so many foreign companies, especially German com-

panies decide to invest here. That keeps bringing more new jobs and offering more career opportunities for people here that on the other hand affects the labor market that is quite changed now. The competition grows, but these challenges are also good for the business.

In the last ten years, LEONI has invested around EUR 111 million in buildings and equipment, delivering wiring harnesses for international premium car manufacturers. What are your future plans for investing?

In 2020, Germany’s Leoni will be employing over 10,000 people, which will make this company the biggest employer in the industrial sector in Serbia. What are the key reasons for the constant expansion of your production operations in Serbia?

— Due to our already achieved results and the increasing of production capacities and interests of our customers, premium European car makers, Board of LEONI Group marked Serbia as a strategic country and decided to expand our business here. Aside to that, from

THE COMPETITION GROWS, BUT THESE CHALLENGES ARE ALSO GOOD FOR THE BUSINESS — Our business here is stable and keeps growing, since in addition to our plants in Prokuplje, Doljevac and Nis, we are building our forth plant in Serbia, in Kraljevo that is about to employ close to 5000 people by 2023 and it will be our biggest plant. We plan to invest huge amount for the construction works and entire equipment there. With our further investments, we remain reliable investor, who provides thousands of jobs contrib-

the very start of our business here, in Prokuplje, in 2009 till now, 10 years later, we have had several most important preconditions to invest here. First of all, here in Serbia, you have great human capital potential, highly educated, skilled and experienced people with great work ethic willing and available to work. Since we are mainly manual industry relying on the people, this precondition has been very crucial. Not less

important is good infrastructure we found here, nearness of highway etc. And finally, I would like to mention the support and openness of the Government of Republic of Serbia and support from the all local Self –Governments, municipalities and cities where we are located which were essential from the beginning of our business here. I would add that our 10 years expansion and existence in Serbia directly contributed to growth of Serbian economy not only through our investment, but also through foundation and growth of many small and medium enterprises who became our suppliers here.

The digital transformation is progressing quite steadily at LEONI: how has this changed the company so far? — Digitalization in LEONI is the process that is constantly being improved, since our production process requires developing various digital tools so we could be able to produce, to monitor the production process in real time and to create the valid data reports. It is based on software for gathering and data analysis in order to support and to improve production process. LEONI Serbia is implementing all new systems coming from the headquarters, following global trends. Our local IT department is in charge for digitalization process here and so far they made a lot of best practices examples, developing couple of applications for planning and production control which made significant changes and savings in our company.

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INTERVIEW

Text: TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Country is Very Polarised Some even claim that Serbia is a captured state and that of course is a reason of concern. It is clear that the role of the opposition is weakened by their boycott of the parliament. However, I do take note of criticism that the EU is not objective towards the Vučić government and is supporting his autocratic acts

TANJA FAJON Chair of EP Delegation to Serbia

Tanja Fajon is the new Chair of the European Parliament Delegation to EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee. She has been a member of the European since 2009. As an MEP from Slovenia, she has been the Rapporteur on visa liberalisation for several Balkan’s countries, achieving a visa-free regime for Balkan citizens and was strongly advocating for Kosovars to also get an opportunity to travel around Europe without visas. She was also a Shadow Rapporteur on Serbia, raising attention on decreasing freedom of speech in this country. Having always had harsh and critical rhetoric towards political elites in the region, some media called her an “MEP that sees what others do not want to see”. Tanja Fajon was visiting Serbia, and we had the opportunity to talk to her about further steps and plans, as well as her views. You have been recently appointed the Chairwoman of the Committee for Stabilization and Ac-

cession of Serbia to the EU. What will be your priority tasks in this position?

— It is of great importance to continue the European path of Serbia and to allow its integration to move in a positive direction. I will be completely devoted to the accession process of Serbia into the EU. My vision is that the complete Western Balkan should become a

far, 17 have been opened and only two have been closed. Therefore, there is room for improvement especially with regard to the pace of the progress made. This will depend a lot on the willingness of the Serbian government but in my new role I will will give advice to my Serbian colleagues while also supporting them in their reform efforts wherever I can. I will do

MY VISION IS THAT THE COMPLETE WESTERN BALKANS SHOULD BECOME PART OF THE EU AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO WORK HARD ON THAT part of the EU and it is important to work hard on that. It is necessary to continue with the reforms that Serbia started since it was identified as a potential candidate for EU membership at the Thessaloniki European Council summit in 2003. Continued dedication to reforms, particularly in the area of rule of law, good governance and economy, and establishing good neighbourly relations are key for Serbia’s European future. These will ensure a better life for all Serbian citizens. As it is widely known, 35 accessing chapters need to be completed. So

everything that is in my power and try my best with the experience that I got, to help Serbia in accomplishing the accession. How would you rate Serbia’s efforts so far in terms of the EU accession?

— Serbia is committed to its reforms and it has displayed crucial progress in some areas. I have taken notice of the positive economic development in the country, which has resulted in increased GDP growth and the reduction of public debt. Further, I am pleased

to see the ongoing constitutional reform process in the fight against corruption and the cooperation that is taking place between the Serbian government and civil society to draft a new media strategy. However, it can’t go unmentioned that even when new rules and legislation are adopted, they are often not properly implemented. And, unfortunately, the practical implementation is what counts the most when the EU assesses Serbia’s progress. This is especially the case for the implementation of laws regarding the protection of the “vulnerable” groups, political interference in the judiciary and of the strong pressure that the Serbian officials put on critical media outlets. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to create more space for genuine cross-party debate, in order to forge a broad pro-European consensus, which is vital for the country’s progress on its EU path. It is a pity to see that no crucial progress has been made regarding the freedom of expression, which is a serious concern for the EU. These things need to be improved for Serbia to advance towards acceding the European Union. On the other fields, especially when it

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comes to economy and market regulations, there is some progress, which is good. In addition to that, Serbia’s judicial system has some level of preparation. Some progress was achieved during the recent period. Moreover, it is also noticeable that there was limited progress in the fields of fighting against organised crime and corruption. Also, Serbia overall remained committed to good bilateral relations with other enlargement countries and neighbouring EU Member States and is an active participant in regional cooperation, what I find very good. It is of utmost importance that Serbia remains engaged in the dialogue on the normalization of relations with Kosovo. To sum up this question, it could be said that Serbia is dedicated on the implementing of reforms on its European path, but in some fields, there is still hard work to be done.

tions with Kosovo, also represent a great challenge for Serbia – but also for Kosovo that also aims to enter into accession negotiation someday. It is my hope that in the near future, both sides find a satisfactory agreement, from which everyone can benefit. This could possibly be the biggest obstacle, especially because of the current tensions. Nevertheless, as stated before, I hope that every side will have common sense and avoid further deepening of this issue.

What is the biggest obstacle Serbia has to overcome to become a full-fledged member of the EU?

— The reality on the ground proves that the country is very polarised. There have been manifestations on the streets for weeks against the current government and I am receiving letters from citizens who are concerned about constraints on the freedom of media and speech and the limited space for democratic dialogue. Some even claim that Serbia is a captured state and that of course is a reason of concern. It is clear that the role of the opposition is weakened by their boycott of the parliament. However, I do take note of criticism that the EU is not objective towards the Vučić government and is supporting his autocratic acts.

— It is hard to say what the biggest obstacle is. The accession to the EU is seen as a path during which many laws and norms are harmonized with the European ones. There is not a differentiation between though and easy ones. Rather, the whole process is seen as one package. Therefore, it is important for Serbia to be equally devoted to all chapters. Currently, we can see that Serbia faces problems with the chapters 23 and 24. These concern judiciary and fundamental rights and justice, freedom and security. Hence, of the biggest obstacles currently are reforms on the rule of law. I hope that Serbia will pay sufficient attention to this and that it will work hard to establish the rule of law in order to avoid possible future setbacks on the European path. As we all know, chapter 35, which includes reforming the rela-

Late last year, you said that there was a big gap between the EU’s documents on Serbia and reality. How are things today?

part of the EP delegation?

— The situation regarding the elections in Serbia is currently not ideal. There is a need to conduct them in democratic and fair conditions, where all parties are equally represented. In addition to that, the situation on the media scene needs to improve. The current polarization of media and the frequent aggression on each other is unacceptable. It seems that both private and public media are not completely free. Therefore, it is important to create a level playing field for all political parties participating in the elections including having equal access to media and especially the public broad-

IT IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE THAT SERBIA REMAINS ENGAGED IN THE DIALOGUE ON THE NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH KOSOVO

The European Parliament has announced that it will mediate talks between the authorities and the opposition on improving electoral conditions. What do you think of that and will you participate in the dialogue as

caster (RTS, RTV). This cannot be achieved if the mainstream media in controlled by one side. On the other hand, the opposition’s boycott of the elections and the parliament would not be a good development and I doubt that it will bring positive changes. Regarding all those facts, my opinion is that the European Parliament mediation is necessary and that it will improve the electoral situation in Serbia. It is quite important that we, all together, the EU, the government and the opposition are striving to find a solution that will satisfy both sides and which settle the tensions in Serbia. In mid November I will join the dialogue between the government and opposition. I do hope it brings the progress in the parliamentary dialogue. What do you expect from next year when it comes to continuing the process of Serbia's accession to the Union?

— Nowadays, we are witness-

ing that the enlargement of the European Union has come to a stalemate, which the European Parliament regrets. I hope that the situation will change in the soon and that Serbia will be able to continue on its European path with the opening of new chapters. The possibility of opening new chapters could be discussed in the next European Council meeting in December; however, it is difficult to make any predictions in this regard – as we have seen in the case of North Macedonia and Albania. Furthermore, it is important that Serbia remains equally determined to the implementation of the reforms. It is necessary that Serbia overcomes the current obstacles regarding the level of democracy, the freedom of media and fair elections in order to speed up the process. In addition to this, at the end, the pace of the opening and closing of the chapters depends on Serbia and its contribution to this. Although this question is rather difficult to reply to, when we can expect Serbia to become an EU member?

— I would agree that it is difficult to give a concrete answer on this question. The European Commission has said 2025, but there is some talk also of a later date recently. I would not go into further forecasts and speculate with the years, because it depends on many factors and it would be irresponsible from my side. However, I, as a chair of the SACP delegation, will remain fully determined to bring Serbia closer to the European Union. My personal hope, wish and obligation in the next presidency will be to try to move forward on this issue as far as possible and if it would be conceivable to accomplish something like that. I see Serbia as an equal member of the EU and a part of the family of European countries.

RELATIONS BELGRADE AND PRIŠTINA Is there any chance that talks between Belgrade and Priština on normalizing relations will resume soon? — I sincerely hope that there is a possibility for continuing the talks, especially after the Kosovo elections held in the beginning of October, which will probably see a new government being installed that will hopefully abolish the 100% tariffs on Serbian goods. That is important for the stability of the whole region. This is the only way in which both sides would be able to continue their European integration. Moreover,

the European Union and the rest of the international community are looking forward to the continuing of the negotiations. And let us not forget that the talks between two sides are of great importance for the improvement of living standards for all ethnic groups that live in Kosovo. I think that it is best to overcome the burden of the past and to put aside the differences; we, all together, should start to look forward and to move closer in order to provide a better life everyone in Europe. After all, we all see a common future in the European Union.

INTERVIEW

Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Relations are Developing in Every Segment As a Balkan country, Turkey only wants peace, stability and prosperity for the region

H.E. TANJU BILGIÇ Turkish Ambassador to Serbia

This year marked the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Serbia. In a special interview for Diplomacy&Commerce, H.E. Mr Tanju Bilgiç, the Turkish Ambassador to Serbia, talks about President Erdogan's visit to Serbia, bilateral relations and potential for cooperation. In October, President Erdoğan paid a two-day visit to Serbia. How important is this for the relations between the two countries?

— President Erdoğan’s visit on 7-8 October 2019 was successful and important in many respects. I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to President Vučić and all Serbian authorities for making the visit such a success.

Turkey and Serbia have been experiencing the best period in their history of bilateral relations which are developing in every segment. The contribution of the Presidents of the two countries to these relations is huge. Both leaders are visionaries. They paved the way for us and we diplomats/bureaucrats are walking down this path.

create a similar momentum. The investments made by the Turkish businesspeople in Serbia to date have exceeded $200 million and have created 8,000 new jobs. We have signed nine agreements, opened six factories and had a groundbreaking ceremony for one. Also, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Belgrade-Sarajevo high-

TIKA HAS COMPLETED 257 PROJECTS ON WHICH IT SPENT OVER $30 MILLION TO DATE Exactly two years ago, President Erdoğan had a very successful visit to Serbia. After that visit, the trade between the two countries substantially increased. The number of Turkish businesspeople investing in Serbia has increased. The two countries have also begun to cooperate in many areas, and we have experienced frequent bilateral visits. I believe that President Erdoğan’s recent visit is going to

way took place, while the renovation of the Novi Pazar-Tutin road has also begun. TIKA launched renovation projects too. These are all elements that will contribute to the already positive agenda of the relations between the two countries. It was also good that the visit coincided with the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Another important aspect

of the visit in terms of relations between the two countries was that we received a positive response to our request to open a Consulate General in Novi Pazar. Sandžak region and Novi Pazar are the bridges that bring our countries closer. The opening of our Consulate General will help further develop the relations between the two countries. The High-Level Cooperation Council also had a second meeting during the President’s visit and further opportunities for cooperation were discussed. Another factor that made the visit important was the Trilateral Summit among Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia and Turkey which had not materialized for a long time. These are very important steps concerning not only our bilateral relations but also regional stability and prosperity. What was discussed during this visit?

— As I mentioned above, very concrete steps were made during

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the visit. Nine separate agreements were signed in the segments such as military, security, social security and family, protection of cultural heritage, industry and technology, electronic communication and postal services, science and technology, and protection and promotion of SMEs. So, our areas of cooperation are going to expand. Several groundbreaking ceremonies that marked the beginning of road projects took place. Factories and completed renovation projects were opened. We know that the road to peace and stability in the Balkans passes through Serbia. As a Balkan country, Turkey only wants peace, stability and prosperity for the region and we view our relations solely in this context. All these topics were discussed during the visit, namely how to improve our relations and how to contribute to the region's prosperity and stability. Concrete steps have been made in this direction. Can you elaborate on the Belgrade-Sarajevo Highway Project? What are the deadlines?

— The Belgrade-Sarajevo Highway Project is not just a road project, as President Vučić has always pointed out. It is a peace project that will connect the two countries, peoples and even hearts. Therefore, it is extremely important. This project also coincides with Turkey’s approach to the Balkan region which is very clear. We want peace and stability and greater prosperity before everything else in the Balkans. It is our greatest desire to have the project completed as quickly as possible.

ment. Serbian people, just like the Turkish people, are very welcoming and friendly. This is also a plus for you. Besides, the knowledge of foreign languages is very good here, especially in big cities like Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad. As tourism is ultimately a service sector, these elements are very important. I think Serbia is on the right path to improve its tourism capacity. I would also like to underline the importance of good communication and promotion strategy here. When it comes to cultural exchange, which projects are you the proudest of? Which segments still have untapped potential, and in that sense, what are your plans for the future?

THE INVESTMENTS MADE BY THE TURKISH BUSINESSPEOPLE IN SERBIA TO DATE HAVE EXCEEDED $200 MILLION AND HAVE CREATED 8,000 NEW JOBS Forum was also held during President Erdoğan’s visit, with the aim of working towards expanding both the trade volume and investments. As I said earlier, 6 factories or new production units were opened in Priboj, Kragujevac, Žitoradje, Vladičin Han, Leskovac and Kraljevo, during the President’s visit. The groundbreaking ceremony for a factory in Ćuprija took place too. Our bilateral economic and commercial ties are the driving force behind our relations. I expect new Turkish companies to invest in Serbia in the future.

Turkish investors are interested in investing in Serbia. Are there any new projects on the horizon?

So far, the Turkish Embassy has coordinated large-scale investments in Serbia. How would you describe the Serbian market and current business climate?

— The value of the investments made by Turkish businesspeople in Serbia has exceeded $200 million and they have created 8,000 new jobs. The Turkey-Serbia Business

— Serbia offers many opportunities to Turkish investors. When you invest here, it is possible to reach wide geography without having to pay tariffs. Serbia is closer to Europe, so transportation costs

decrease automatically. Besides, the Serbian state offers advantageous opportunities for foreign investors. President Vučić's efforts in this regard are admirable. Turkey is a textbook example of a country that succeeded in maximizing its tourist potential by taking a very serious approach to this industry. What would you recommend to Serbia, as a developing tourist destination?

— Serbia is a country with strong tourism potential, as well. Also, it is located in the midst of the Balkans which makes it easy to reach it both from Europe, Turkey and the surrounding areas. It is important to facilitate travelling with infrastructure projects. Better roads, more airports and more railways should be built with this purpose in mind and I can see that Serbia is already investing a lot of effort into this. Improving accommodation facilities is another important ele-

— Turkey and Serbia are cooperating in various segments with culture being one of them. We are very proud of the work that Yunus Emre Enstitüsü and TİKA do. The number of our Serbian friends who have studied Turkish at the Yunus Emre Institute has reached 900. TIKA has completed 257 projects on which it spent over $30 million to date. These include humanitarian and development assistance, as well as some renovation projects. I am the most proud of the restoration of the Ram Fortress, on which we have spent $3 million. I have witnessed that the restoration of this Fortress, which is one of the most beautiful fortresses on the Danube and it contributes greatly to the development of tourism in the region. During President Erdoğan’s visit, we also signed an agreement on the reconstruction of the Kasapčić Bridge in Užice, which was destroyed during the German bombing in World War II. If we can make progress on this project before my tenure ends, I will leave Serbia much happier. I also think that the two countries should cooperate more in sports. Serbia is successful in almost every sport. Although Serbian athletes have been contributing to the Turkish sport for years, we should benefit from this potential more.

TURKISH STREAM GAS PIPELINE What is happening with the Turkish Stream gas pipeline? — The Turkish Stream project envisages the construction of a gas pipeline across the Black Sea to Turkey’s territory in Europe and further onto the border with Greece. The seabed section will be 910 kilometres long and the land section will extend for 180 kilo-

metres into Turkey. As you probably know, the seabed section was completed almost a year ago. The project is going to have two segments – the first will be used for supplying gas to the Turkish market, and the second for supplying gas to the Southern and Southeastern Europe. Each segment will have an annual capacity of 15.75 billion cubic metres.

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NATIONAL DAYS

in November & December

ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

NOVEMBER

H.E. ANTHONY F. GODFREY New Ambassador of the U.S.

Ambassador Godfrey, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, arrived in Serbia on October 23. He served from 2015 to 2019 as Political Minister-Counselor, and then Deputy Chief of Mission, at U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia. He was Director of Iraq Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State 2013-2015, and Political Minister Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad 2012-2013. During almost 40 years of service in the U.S. Navy and the Foreign Service, Ambassador Godfrey has become expert in central and southern European affairs. Ambassador Godfrey was Director for Turkey and Eurasian Energy at the National Security Council, 2011-2012, and Political-Military Affairs Counselor at

the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, 2008-2011. He was Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Yerevan, Armenia, 2004-2007, and Political Officer at U.S. Embassy Zagreb, Croatia, 2001-2004. He was International Affairs Officer in the Office of Russian Affairs, Bureau of European and Eurasian affairs, 1998-2000, and Deputy Head of Group, OSCE Assistance Group, in Chechnya, Grozny, Russia, 1996-1997. His U.S. Navy service, 1980-1992, included tours in Turkey and Japan, and he studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. He speaks Russian, Serbo-Croatian and Turkish. Mr. Godfrey is married to the former Anne O’Toole, whom he met while posted in Dublin. They have three children.

MOROCCO

Independence Day

LEBANON

Independence Day

ALBANIA

"Dita e Pavarësisë"

- Independence Day

DECEMBER

ROMANIA National Day

02 UAE

National Day,

formation of the federation of seven emirates on independence

H.E. JØRN GJELSTAD New Ambassador of Norway

Jørn Gjelstad was born in 1955 and has a master’s degree in International History from the University of Oslo, a bachelor's degree in history, literary science and political science and completed music teacher training at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Barratt Due Institute of Music. Prior to serving as

Norway’s Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic and to the Republic of Cyprus, Gjelstad was director of the Middle East and North Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for policy development in a number of areas. Ambassador Gjelstad is married and has three children.

FINLAND

I ndependence Day of 1917

IRAQ

National Day

H.E. YORGOS DIACOFOTAKIS

UNICEF

New Ambassador of the Greece

UNICEF Day Yorgos Diacofotakis born 1961 in Alexandria, Egypt, and began his career diplomat since 1989. He has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of the Athens Faculty of Law, National School of Public Administration and a DEA in International Relations, University PARIS 1 - Sorbonne, PhD in International Law in Panteios University, Athens. During the last decade, he has served as a Defence Counselor Permanent Representation of Greece to NATO in Brussels; Deputy Director of

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, A5 Directorate on Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Caucasus, the Black Sea and Central Asia; Policy Coordinator on EU human rights policy in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, Chef de File on OSCE Human Dimension European External Action Service, Brussels; Director of MFA, A12 Directorate on European CFSP & CSDP. Ambassador Diacofotakis speaks English and French and has a good knowledge of Arabic (Egyptian). He is married and father of four children.

THE NETHERLANDS Kingdom Day

H.E. THURAIN THANT ZIN New Ambassador of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Thurain Thant Zin born in 1959 in Meikhtila, Myanmar. He has bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in defence affairs. Thurain Thant Zin served in the Myanmar Armed Forces holding various ranks - the highest being Colonel - and has served as director-general of the Protocol

Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in Tokyo, and until now as ambassador-designate of the Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in Belgrade. He is married and has a daughter and a son.

INTERVIEW

Text: SANJA ŠOJIĆ

Serbia Has Low Performance of Domestic Private Investments There is room to improve the volumes, and especially the efficiency of these investments. But Serbia has extremely low performance in terms of domestic private investments

DEJAN ŠOŠKIĆ Professor at the Faculty of Economics

“Most important factor that influences Serbian economic performance in recent years is relatively low level of gross investments in Serbian Economy. Simply put, without investments, economy cannot grow”, says at the beginning of the DC interview Dejan Šoškić, Professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade. In its latest analysis, the World Bank indicates that Serbia will not succeed in achieving a 3.5 per cent growth and that the Serbian industry is, as they say, disappointing. What led to a slowdown in GDP growth?

— Investments as part of GDP have been on decline since 2012, coming down as low as around 16% of GDP (in 2015) and slowly rising to around 19% of GDP (in 2018). To put

this in perspective, average level of investments in South East Europe (SEE) is around 23% of GDP, economies that experienced episodes of rapid growth had their investments at a level of at least 25% or even 30% of GDP, and some rapidly growing economies in the world have even higher levels of investments. And this has to be sustainable and maintained for years to see real results in terms of sustainable

portfolio investments. Serbia is doing well in terms of FDIs, and portfolio investments are mainly in government securities, since capital market (trading in corporate securities) practically does not work. However, episodes of rapid economic growth in various countries around the world have shown that foreign investments, although important, are not essential for economic growth. Essential is what

IF WE WANT TO GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF LOW ECONOMIC GROWTH, WE NEED TO LOOK DEEPER INTO THE STRUCTURE OF INVESTMENTS increase in growth rate of GDP. If we want to get to the root cause of low economic growth, we need to look deeper into the structure of investments. We can break down gross investments into foreign and domestic part. Foreign investments can be divided into foreign direct investments (FDIs) and foreign

goes on in the domain of domestic investments. Domestic investments can be divided into public and private. Serbia does not fare well in public investments. There is room to improve the volumes, and especially the efficiency of these investments. But Serbia has extremely low performance in terms

of domestic private investments. And these investments are crucial for economic growth of the country. That is also an important factor contributing to low level of growth of credit activity of Serbian banking industry, and explains why banks are turning their activity towards households, mainly consumption, with low impact on economic growth. Low level of domestic private investments means that local entrepreneurs are not investing enough. If we know that part of domestic private sector exists dominantly operating with government sector, and takes part of the pie of domestic private investments, it means that real market oriented, competitive private sector, that is a major pillar of increase of sustainable growth of the economy as a hole, invests even less. This brings us to fundamentals of the problem. Any country that erodes institutional capacity (mainly through excessive and destructive political influence over institutions) faces a

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realistic possibility that residents (who understand local modus operandi best) may perceive local business environment as incapable of protecting private ownership, contract, and fair market competition. In such circumstances local entrepreneurs do not invest. Eroded institutional capacity, weak rule of law, and high perception of corruption has become a serious limiting factor for higher economic growth in Serbia. Some could say that this is now a wider problem, since Western Balkans cannot really move forward if Serbia, by far the major economy of this group of countries, is trapped in years of low economic growth, and without policies in place that can change growth prospects for the better. You said recently that local business people must be encouraged to invest. How can that be done?

— Yes, local business people are drivers of domestic private investments that are crucial for economic growth. As we know, these investments are very low in Serbia. Encouragement to invest comes from favorable business environment. This means among other things, effective rule of law, fair market competition, low (no) corruption (not capable to distort market competition), simple business administration, increase in overall institutional capacity, etc. In addition, (much) better excess to finance for micro, small and medium size enterprises, especially if they are part of so-called tradable sector of GDP. Civil servant salaries and pensions in Serbia went up on No-

ries and pensions were a bit higher then should have been. Although wages are rising, what is the real purchasing power of Serbian citizens? What about a consumer basket; hasn’t its value been growing for years too?

LOCAL BUSINESS PEOPLE ARE DRIVERS OF DOMESTIC PRIVATE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE CRUCIAL FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH vember 1st. Is this a good economic decision in the long run?

— Not really. To some extent there was room to increase certain salaries, but not in the extent and in a way it has been done. Much more important work has not been done, and that was to introduce higher level of order among salaries in overall public sector, and to give a positive bias towards education, science (research and development), judicial and health care professionals. These professionals have been for years neglected and are of most importance for well functioning of a society as a hole. At the same time, these sectors need to be reformed with the aim

to substantially increase their capacity. Well educated, skilful, and healthy individuals are a cornerstone of every competitive economy and can substantially determine the position of a national economy in a global market as well as future wealth of the nation. As for the level of increase of pensions and civil servant salaries, one thing not to forget is that rate of increase of wages should not exceed rate of increase in productivity (plus inflation). If, however, we do this we will increase socalled unit labor costs, hampering competitiveness of the economy, and also increase cost push for inflation. In short, increase in sala-

— Yes, there is inflation in Serbia, but it is low. And yes, real purchasing power of household income is decreasing due to inflation (measured in Serbia with Consumer Price Index – CPI). However, at the same time, in Serbia we are also delusional with the value of our salaries expressed in Euros, as if that was the real value of our salaries, not the purchasing power of our salaries in terms of goods and services we can buy for our incomes. And this delusion of level of salaries in Euros is promoted even by some politicians. The problem with this is that expression of salaries in Euros neglects inflation in Euros. So when salaries in Euros increase, that does not mean that the living standard has increased, at least not in the same proportion. In addition, if exchange rate is fixed (or appreciating) as is the case in Serbia in past couple of years, we may have so-called real appreciation of local currency (if local inflation is higher than inflation in anchor currency). This has the effect that increase in salaries in Euros, again, does not necessarily mean that there is an increase in purchasing power of our salaries. Since Serbia is on average a very stagnant economy in the past decade, there is no real room for significant real increase of salaries. That is the main reason why we need to invest, and to grow more.

SERBIAN MONETARY POLICY You were the governor of the National Bank for a while. What is your opinion of the current monetary policy of Serbia? — Monetary policy is for years back, more restrictive than necessary, because effectively it has shifted from Inflation targeting (which is officially still our monetary model) to Exchange rate targeting what the NBS is doing in practice. This has contributed to lower rates of economic growth since 2012. At the same time, almost nothing has been done in the domain of Dinarization which is crucial for Inflation targeting to work. And that also proves that NBS is really not interested in making Inflation targeting work, but rather to fix the exchange rate. Fixing the exchange rate is technically very simple but then effectively there is no monetary policy. But it seems that what is important is that it is very popular. Importers can more easily import

and sell on domestic market. Government can have lower levels of debt to GDP levels (since majority of debt is in Euros and Dollars), and can claim that salaries are rising in Euros. Citizens can more easily repay their loans in Euros and pay for vacations abroad. Companies face no fx risk, and even NBS easily brings inflation

to low levels since there is no so-called passthrough effect of depreciation into local prices. In a short, everyone seems happy in a short run. However, this has a price. The price is that the most important part of the economy, local producer using local inputs, becomes less and less competitive on local and international markets, and in the long run, economic growth has to slow down. At the same time, trade deficit starts rising, as we now see that it is happening in past couple of quarters, and that can increase current account deficit and gradually bring Serbia back on the trajectory of increasing debt. In short, fixing the exchange rate may be an option for Serbia, but it should be done officially and with understanding that for it to work in the long run, it has to go hand in hand with substantial increase in investments, economic growth and productivity growth.

INTERVIEW

Best Practice Exchange With Serbia I am very keen in connecting Serbia with Italy through innovation and digitalization, hoping that a bilateral collaboration on innovation will grow and that the City of Turin will be involved at a urban level as City Lab

MARCO PIRONTI Deputy Mayor of Innovation, Smart City and ICT Systems, City of Turin

Marco Pironti, Deputy Mayor of Turin, in charge of for Innovation, Smart City and ICT Systems, was recently on an official visit to Belgrade. Mr Pironti arrived in Belgrade following the invitation of Confindustria Serbia, which organized the 5G and Enabled Technologies Conference on October 30th. In an interview for our magazine, Mr Pironti talks about aspects of 5G technology that have a beneficial impact on the daily life of Italian cities, touching upon Turin’s experience. He spoke about the cooperation between Serbia and Italy in this field. Turin has become the first city in Italy to experiment with autonomous driving in an urban context. Can you elaborate on that?

How does the Turin Smart City Lab work?

— The Turin City Lab is an open innovation platform which was launched 1 year ago by the city authorities to connect demand and offer of innovation, aiming to maximize the opportunity of enabling value creation from a public-private partnership pool. Under this platform, we have been setting some of the most promising innovation trends for the urban development and smart cities, such an autonomous car, 5G, drones and

robotics. The Turin City Lab is also designed to be the best gateway for proposing innovation projects and experimentation to the City of Turin. It is, in fact, possible to submit a proposal of innovation and testing through an open call directly on the website www.torinocitylab. com. Once submitted, a technical committee will meet and evaluate the proposal and give feedback within 60 days.

ing that a bilateral collaboration on innovation will grow and that the City of Turin will be involved at the urban level as City Lab. It would be great if there was a best practice exchange between Serbia and the Turin City Lab.

What can Serbia learn from your experience?

— 5G is recognized as a technology able to boost innovation and smart cities. Turin has launched a process to implement the 5G technology both at institutional level, as well as at citizen level. The City’s role in our vision is to enable experimentation in an urban context, balancing this forefront attitude with careful consideration of citizens’ impact and education. Our 5G approach is supported by several 'working groups' which are researching, discussing and evaluating activities on the implementation based on vertical know-how and public-private engagement.

— My recent trip to Serbia has been very positive and has allowed me to meet and talk with Confindustria and the Serbian Innovation Minister. I am very keen on connecting Serbia with Italy through innovation and digitalization, hop-

THE CITY’S ROLE IN OUR VISION IS TO ENABLE EXPERIMENTATION IN AN URBAN CONTEXT, BALANCING THIS FOREFRONT ATTITUDE WITH CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF CITIZENS’ IMPACT AND EDUCATION

Smart City Turin works thanks to the 5G network. Can you tell us more about this, given that it is yet to be established in Serbia?

— The city of Turin has been working towards creating and developing the Smart Road initiative, a consortium of public-private organizations interested in the advancement of the research, testing and implementation of autonomous vehicles and above all, future mobility. Since 2018, the city of Turin has been very active in adopting the Smart Road decree, plus there was some experimental testing of autonomous vehicles under the auspices of the Turin City Lab initiative.

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CORPORATE

Quality as an Investment

AbelaPharm is the recipient of the national award for quality improvement

DAVOR J. KORČOK PhD, specialist of pharmacy and specialist of food technology, Genaral Manager AbelaPharm

The 16th International JUSK ICQ 2019 Convention was held in Belgrade. The main objective of the conference was to provide an international forum for the exchange of know-how, experiences and research results on various aspects of quality management. Professor Valentina Marinković, PhD, Chairwoman of the United Association of Serbia for Quality, presented the pharmaceutical company AbelaPharm with the National Award for contribution to the development and expansion of the quality mission in Serbia and the advancement of the national quality movement. We spoke with General Manager AbelaPharm and specialist of food technology, Davor J. Korčok, PhD, specialist of pharmacy, about this recognition.

What did the AbelaPharm Company do to deserve this award?

— I think what matters most is that AbelaPharm views quality as an investment, not a cost. It is often the case, especially in Serbia, that senior management believes that investing in quality is an expense to be avoided which leads to a system collapse sooner or later. Although it is clear that every company is obliged to comply with regulatory requirements, AbelaPharm has set high standards in its business that go beyond regulatory ones, and this is one of the reasons why we have received this important award. We are the only company in Serbia that holds the international GMP certification as a quality certificate which is engaged in the production of dietary

supplements, medical devices and consumer goods. In addition, AbelaPharm is ISO 9001, ISO 22000, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, HACCP certified. I can proudly say that we have not hired a consulting firm to help us become certified for any of these quality systems, because AbelaPharm's team includes top experts in their respective fields. The quality sector is led by Nada Tršić Milanović, MSc, who is the holder of the ECA, the most prestigious certificate for good manufacturing practice.

This is an important year for AbelaPharm since you have recently expanded your business.

— Yes, you're right. We carried out two important acquisitions in the first half of the year. Considering the increasing demands in the domestic and foreign markets, a need

arose to expand our production facilities. In April, we bought a drug factory in Banovci from Stada, and shortly thereafter a company in Barice from the US-based company Alvogen. These two production plants will boost our capacity and ensure further expansion of AbelaPharm, as the company already exports to Europe, the European Union and parts of Africa. Product placement in Asia and other African countries is expected soon.

What are AbelaPharm’s future plans?

— The thing that is particularly important to us and that I am proud

ABELAPHARM WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES IN DEVELOPING NEW, INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND ENHANCING THE EXISTING PRODUCT RANGES AND TECHNOLOGIES

to point out is that in 2017, we were the first company in the region to introduce unique, innovative flow pack technology, which involves putting blister packaging into a special bag filled with inert gas, thus providing much better stability to a particular product group, especially probiotics. We are continuing to operate in this direction. We are also pleased to say that AbelaPharm will continue to invest significant resources in developing new, innovative products and enhancing the existing product ranges and technologies. We would also like to emphasize that, as always, our most important investment is people. Professional development of our employees remains one of AbelaPharm's main tasks.

This is an important year for you personally too. Early this year, you were appointed Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Committee for Pharmacy. How do you manage to balance your private and professional life? — That's right. In early 2019, I was appointed Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Committee for Pharmacy, a duty I will perform for the next four years. I have to underline that it is a great honour that my colleagues unanimously elected me to this very important position. In terms of reconciling my personal and professional responsibilities, that’s very simple providing you are well organized and like what you do. My day is precisely planned so that I manage to carry out all the duties of my job and also to devote myself to my private obligations.

INTERVIEW

Text: SANJA ŠOJIĆ

I am Not Fond of the Demarcation Idea Despite the gravity of the current situation and the assurances from various sides that a definitive solution must be found as soon as possible, I think the evolution of the overall situation regarding the Kosovo problem suggests that it is not advisable to rush and accept the imposition of anybody’s deadlines

Professor DARKO TANASKOVIĆ PhD, Orientalist and former Serbian ambassador

Darko Tanasković is a Serbian Islamologist, Orientalist-philologist, university professor, writer, translator, a Yugoslav diplomat and the Serbian ambassador to UNESCO. In an interview for Diplomacy&Commerce, he talks about Serbia's foreign policy, relations between Serbia and Turkey and the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. You were the Serbian ambassador to Turkey. What do you think of the current relations between the two countries and Erdogan's recent visit?

— For some time, the relations between Serbia and Turkey have been on an upward trajectory, especially in economic terms. On the one hand, Serbia's consistent openness to comprehensive and constructive cooperation with all neighbouring and regional countries, regardless of certain political differences, contributes the most to this. On the other hand, Turkey's current commitment to pursuing its interests more in the economic, communication and cultural segments in the Balkans, and less

through intrusive political action, is essential. This new course of official Ankara implies an appreciation of Serbia's position as a central state in an area for which Turkey has been traditionally interested, both in the present time and in the future. Even while I was the ambassador of Yugoslavia to Turkey during the difficult period of the 1990s, Ankara was viewing our country as a significant factor in the Balkans. However, the way they viewed Serbia’s importance, considering the then regional and international context, regardless of diplomatic

internal affairs, and today, we tend to interpret it as an expression of friendly closeness. There is a lesson to be learned here. And not to be forgotten! While being the Serbian ambassador to UNESCO, you said that "Turkey is among the most aggressive countries lobbying for Kosovo and Metohija's membership in UNESCO". Has anything changed in the meantime?

— Turkey was among the first countries to recognize the self-proclaimed independence of "Kosovo", establish full diplomatic relations

THE RELATIONS BETWEEN SERBIA AND TURKEY HAVE BEEN ON AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY, ESPECIALLY IN ECONOMIC TERMS rhetoric and the attempt not to completely disrupt the relations, was, objectively speaking, negative since they supported all enemies of Serbia. Even then, just like Erdogan today, senior Turkish officials used to say that they considered Yugoslavia “a neighbouring state, although Turkey had no common border with it." Back then, Belgrade perceived that as a pretext for malicious interference in our

with Priština at the embassy level and begin implementing a plan to assist Kosovo in all areas - from political, economic and military-security to cultural. In this respect, the Turkish factor is significantly present in Kosovo today. You just need to walk the streets in Priština or Prizren and see how many Turkish companies have opened their offices in this so-called country. At the political level, in the interna-

tional community, both bilaterally and multilaterally, in international organizations, Turkish diplomacy has wholeheartedly advocated the affirmation of Kosovo's international legal subjectivity. Official Ankara has been at the forefront of lobbying for Kosovo’s membership in international organizations, including UNESCO. In the course of a major campaign to support Albania's proposal for Kosovo to be accepted into this specialized UN organization for education, science and culture in 2015, Turkey’s political leadership became involved in the effort to secure the required number of votes for Priština. Official Ankara continues to support "Kosovo" even today, which is part of Turkey's neo-Ottomanist and Erdogan's deeply Islamist foreign policy doctrine. This is a lasting strategy, for which the Muslim communities in the Balkans are the main, but not the only, pillar of regional positioning. Given the current commitment to acting primarily through soft power in the Balkans and developing constructive and comprehensive relations with Serbia, with mutual acceptance of “the double track” when it comes to Kosovo, Ankara has become less vocal in publicly supporting Priština and is now

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behaving in a much more discreet manner, which is certainly a positive development as it creates more room for bilateral cooperation. What do you think of Kosovo investing such a huge effort into becoming a UNESCO member?

— The affirmation of independence, state sovereignty and international law subjectivity is a priority for Priština and its patrons at the international level. This goal is being pursued through “Kosovo’s” membership in as many international organizations as possible, with a particular emphasis on those operating within the UN system. “Kosovo’s” desire to join UNESCO should be viewed in this general context. As the UN’s unique specialized agency for education, science and culture, UNESCO has a special place and enjoys a special reputation in the world, so membership in this organization greatly contributes to the prestige of each country. It also allows for equal participation in principally non-political spheres of education, science and culture. Although Kosovo's request for admission is largely explained by the need to "provide unimpeded access to education, science and culture to this young state and its young population", there is no doubt that the motives behind Priština's efforts to enter the organization, to which it doesn’t belong in any shape or form, are primarily political. There is another special and very strong reason for “Kosovo” longing for the UNESCO membership, that is the rich Serbian, Orthodox cultural and spiritual heritage in the province. These are the Serbian Orthodox churches, monasteries and other sacral objects in Kosovo. The Kosovo authorities would like to acquire a legal position, under the coordinates of the international order, that would enable them to manage the destiny of our cultural and

spiritual heritage and monuments of universal civilizational value. The best illustration of what their management and counterfeit claim to this property would look like is best documented by the fact that four significant sacral sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church are included in the UNESCO's List of World Heritage in danger. Whom is this danger coming from? Certainly not from climate change! Kosovo had election recently, with political forces regrouping. Will that affect our relations in any way?

international power, especially those in the West, to return to the dialogue with Belgrade, without any illusions as to the final outcome the dialogue that both these centres and Priština consider to be the only possible, which is "mutual recognition of the two countries". As if Serbia needed “Kosovo” to recognize it! There will be various tactical maneuvers, promises and threats, made both to Belgrade and Priština, and to certain politicians, i.e. unacceptable proposals camouflaged in apparent concessions, steps forward and back... It is hard to believe, however, that these, in

THE VALIDATION OF INDEPENDENCE, STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW SUBJECTIVITY IS A PRIORITY FOR PRIŠTINA AND ITS PATRONS AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL — I am not that familiar with the political scene in “Kosovo”. In any case, regardless of differences and conflicts, all stakeholders on that scene agree that they will continue with their unwavering commitment to “Kosovo’s” independence and the hostility towards Serbs and Serbia. The only thing they are interested in is forcing or making Serbia agree to recognize the independence of a part of its national territory, which they illegally usurped with the help of the part of the international community. The regrouping that you have mentioned has occurred within the same general political option, which is an indivertible framework for all relations with Belgrade. This is the most important and fundamental constant of the Albanian position in relation to Serbs and Serbia. Of course, the upcoming political processes will lead to the formation of some kind of government in Priština which will be pressured from the centres of

many respects, farcical elections could change anything in the basic determinants of the "quadrature of the circle" that is “Kosovo”, and especially with regard to the quality of Serbian-Albanian relations. President Aleksandar Vučić brought up the idea of demarcation. What do you think of that? Can, in that case, the Albanians take ownership over some of our cultural monuments?

— Considering all the current real circumstances, geo-strategic, political and demographic factors, as well as the strength and depth of animosity between the Serbs and the Albanians, it would be illogical for the idea of the demarcation of Kosovo and Metohija not to emerge. And this is nothing new! President Vučić was not the first person to come up with this idea. It was Dobrica Ćosić who formulated the idea of partitioning Kosovo and Metohija in the early 1990s but Kosovo and Metohija that would remain in Serbia, with "a positive

discrimination" in terms of the status of the Albanian part of the territory. A well-known lawyer and academician Miodrag Jovičić also advocated this idea in his proposal for regionalization. In the book “Kosovo between Historical and Ethnic Law (1994)”, a spatial planning expert and a great expert on the situation in Kosovo, Branislav Krstić, suggested that the parts of Kosovo, with majority Albanian population, should be given the status of "peacekeeping area". In 1996, the then President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Aleksandar Despić, spoke about the inevitability of demarcation. Cantonization, as conceived by historian and diplomat Dušan Bataković, had the elements of factual demarcation. The demarcation, as the worst and the last solution, was also mentioned by Nebojša Čović, Zoran Djindjić, Boris Tadić and, more recently, Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić. Were possibly all these people traitors, as a segment of the Serbian population calls anybody who speaks out about demarcation as a possible solution to the Kosovo problem?! I, personally, am not fond of the idea of demarcation if it entails the formal recognition of “Kosovo's” independence. Despite the gravity of the current situation and the assurances from various sides, accompanied even by threats, that a definitive solution must be found as soon as possible, I think the evolution of the overall situation regarding the Kosovo problem suggests that it is not advisable to rush and accept the imposition of anybody’s deadlines and calendars. Kosovo and Metohija belong to a different Serbian ‘calendar’ in which time is not measured by political measures. This is the time to which our sanctities in Kosovo and Metohija belong. Noone can take them away through physical and legal violence, as well as by forging history.

SERBIAN FOREIGN POLICY TODAY What do you think of the activities conducted by Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić in relation to Kosovo? Do withdrawals of recognition by some countries matter symbolically or substantially? — The actions of our diplomacy, led by Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, in relation to the entirety of the problem called “Kosovo”, in all its dimensions, have been well-planned, well-thoughtout, adequately organized and persistent in recent years which yielded results. “Kosovo” has,

so far, failed to break into any major international organization, and the number of states withdrawing or suspending the recognition of its independence has been growing. This is important both essentially and practically, in a political sense, because every state has one vote when voting in international organizations. This is also important symbolically because it materializes the failure to make false "arguments" stronger than reality through the use of force, hypocrisy, double standards and insane propaganda.

CORPORATE

All Roads Will Lead to Serbia Our business in the region, as well as in Serbia, is increasingly focused on air transport and export operations of bigger volume, which require more than quoting indicative costs and a defensive approach that is still characteristic of this environment

MAJA SUDJICKI TRZIN Managing Director and Partner, SAMER & CO. Novi Sad

With an extensive portfolio of 38 companies, Samer & Co Shipping is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The company is engaged in organizing maritime, air and road transport. We talked with Maja Sudjicki Trzin, Managing Director and Partner of SAMER & CO. Shipping, Novi Sad, about the company's plans in Serbia.

This year marks the company’s 100th anniversary and as a leader in the field of air and sea transport organization, you have recognized market needs and are significantly contributing to the success of import and export of goods in Serbia. Could you tell us more about the company’s experience so far and the results in this segment? Did your expectations come true concerning the results?

— Samer & Co. Shipping has celebrated a great anniversary this year and that is a whole century of uninterrupted business. When the company was founded in 1919, international transport was different from what we see today, both in terms of transport and the goods that were the subject of international trade. We have promptly adapted to each change in the market and even took part in some initiatives. 100 years of business means 100 years of trust and stability, which in this turbulent time means a lot to our clients. With the growth of trade, challenges become bigger too. The transport market has to follow the import and export fluctuations, but lately, there have been more and more

oscillations that occasionally upset the market. Monitoring these changes and responding to them in a timely manner is our main responsibility. Our business in the region, as well as in Serbia, is increasingly focused on air transport and export operations of bigger volume, which require more than quoting indicative costs and a defensive approach that is still characteristic of this environment.

Do Serbia and regional countries have the potential to become a solid link between East and West so that we can one day claim that “all roads lead through Serbia”?

— Thanks to its geopolitical position, Serbia is a link between East and West. With the development of transport infrastructure, this position will be even more solidified, but it will still carry challenges that we must resist. I am referring specifically to complicated customs procedures, crowded bor-

growth and open up new markets for Chinese goods and technology through infrastructural investments creates new opportunities in the international transport segment. Chinese interest in expanding the capacity of the Trieste port, where Samer & Co. Shipping has concessions, opened the door for greater participation of ports in the transport of goods from Serbia, which so far were more directed towards ports Rijeka, Piraeus and Bar. Establishing a railway line between Trieste and Serbia, a project that our company is heavily engaged in, will create

OPENING UP A NEW OPTION - THE PORT OF TRIESTE - IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE SERBIAN MARKET, AND SAMER & CO. HAS ALREADY TAKEN THE INITIATIVE THERE ders, and a growing lack of quality workforce. All roads will lead through Serbia, but those roads need to be adapted to the needs of the region's economies.

How important is the Belt and Road Initiative for your company?

— Without a doubt, the Belt and Road Initiative is one of the most ambitious projects today. The Chinese government’s decision to boost the country’s economic

new opportunities for Serbian companies to become more competitive in the global market by reducing transit time and offering better prices. The practice has shown that rail is the best option for container transportation but with the growth of imports and exports, its capacity remains limited. Opening up a new option - the port of Trieste - is in the best interest of the Serbian market, and Samer & Co. has already taken the initiative there.

What will be your focus in the next period?

— In addition to intermodal transport, which we have been developing with several other companies, we are also working hard to support small and medium-sized enterprises in their export operations for them to be as competitive as possible in the global market. The practice has shown that, besides the price of transport, being familiar with local regulations in the destination significantly impacts a company’s sales and this something that our company can help with thanks to its network of long-term partners. Exporters are currently in a bad position because of the strong Dinar that benefits importers. There is continued growth but imports continue to dominate.

Which segment of your business is the most interesting? — Our work is very dynamic and we often witness different situations. Sometimes this is a great example of how individuals can make interesting products for export, but also how often Serbia imports products that are already available in the country. We also transported oversized goods where the streets had to be closed but also transported pets across the ocean. The more interesting the product, the more challenging our job is.

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ECONOMY

How to Ensure Financial Firms Have Enough Cash The answer to the troubles in the repo market

Most people have— mercifully—not had to think about the money markets since the financial crisis, when obscurities such as libor briefly became part of the discussion. It is time once again to pay a bit more attention because New York’s “repo” market is not working as it should. Every day more than $1trn is borrowed and lent by financial firms through repos, which involve posting Treasury securities as collateral. The interest rate that borrowers pay ripples through the global financial system. Hence, if the repo market malfunctions, it matters. That is what happened in September, when rates briefly spiked as high as 10%; they should be much closer to the Federal Reserve’s target interest rate, which this week was cut to 1.5-1.75%. The surge indicated that some financial firms did not have enough cash and were scrambling to get hold of more. Although repo rates have eased back since then, the underlying problem has still not gone away. The cash shortage has three causes. As the Fed has reversed its policy of buying long-

term bonds, known as quantitative easing (qe), cash has been sucked out of the system. Also, the underlying demand for cash from financial firms and their clients is rising. That reflects a growing economy and lumpy factors such as a cluster of large tax bills. Higher demand also reflects the government’s budget deficit of nearly $1trn, or 4.6% of gdp, which requires record amounts of government bonds to be issued, the buyers of which have to pay in cash.

utational damage of miscalculating and of ever being found short of funds again. When a few big commercial banks hoard piles of cash, other financial firms, including investment banks and dealers, have less. What to do? Since September the Fed has opted for a short-term fix, by lending each morning somewhere in the region of $50bn-100bn overnight to ensure the financial system has enough money to keep repo rates under control. But this

THE FED HAS BEGUN TO PERMANENTLY INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF CASH HELD BY FINANCIAL FIRMS, BY BUYING $60BN-WORTH OF SHORTER-DATED TREASURY BONDS OFF THEM PER MONTH The third cause is that the cash sitting on the books of financial firms is largely held by a few big commercial banks. They hoard it partly because of post-crisis regulations that are meant to make them safer by requiring them to have big liquidity buffers and partly because they fear the rep-

is uncomfortable because it involves repeated overnight loans and because the recipients are often Wall Street banks and traders, who are not obvious candidates for the open-ended receipt of support from the Fed, even if the loans are safely collateralised. Another option would be to

alter the post-crisis rules that require banks to hold lots of cash. On October 29th Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, floated this idea. But that risks watering down the reforms made after the crisis. There is a better answer. The Fed has begun to permanently increase the amount of cash held by financial firms, by buying $60bnworth of shorter-dated Treasury bonds off them per month. Critics will say this represents more qe by stealth—but that is nonsense. Providing the bonds are short-dated, the Fed will have no mechanical impact on long-term interest rates—in contrast to when it conducts qe. And before the financial crisis, it was routine for the Fed to buy and sell short-term Treasuries in order to ensure that the money markets were transmitting monetary policy smoothly. Do this and, with luck, most people will once more be able to forget about the repo market. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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CORPORATE

You Know What Golf Players and Skyline Residents Have in Common? In the world of sports, golf takes a special place as it is more than just a sport as such. Golf is a test of one’s character, it is a social event, a great form of physical exercise

Its essence is embodied in the reluctant expectance of a memorable perfect shot. Golf is also the only sport that was played on the surface of the Moon, which is played by the wealthiest sportsman in the world and that evokes the unique feeling of envy. Skyline Belgrade has shown that

the aforementioned facts are not just a dead letter by gathering golf aficionados and organizing a golf tournament at the Golf club Belgrade. Forty-four players competed in A, B and C handicap categories and the wining title was taken by Mr. Radomir Beloševac. After the tournament, all the attendees got to enjoy the positive atmos-

phere and a joint lunch. In golf, as in apartment hunting, players’ strategy and strategic decision-making are the most important. When it comes to the sport of golf, there is no hurry, no stress and no strain. That is why pleasure, hedonism and luxury are what golf players and Skyline residents have in common.

INTERVIEW

Text: TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Our Motivation is to Investigate and Prove There is also something else; we do this because that's who we are. The best we can do is to investigate and prove that something is illegal or immoral. That is our motivation. Money is not our motivation because there is no money in this line of business what the prosecution says is the subject of the investigation. These kinds of situations are likely to affect potential insiders planning to contact your investigative centre with information. What do you think? Are people scared?

BRANKO ČEČEN Director of CINS

"We have taught politicians and business people that we cannot be influenced, that we cannot be bought and that we will always work solely in line with the rules of our profession, not the rules of the game that corrupt Serbia plays. Of course, that comes with a price, but also has good sides. We are free; both as people and as journalists. This is a huge benefit regardless of the price we have to pay for it," says Branko Čečen, Director of the Centre for Investigative Reporting (CINS) in his interview for Diplomacy & Commerce. Let's start with the recent case of a whistleblower being arrested. How does this whole situation look to you? Did the authorities adhere to the Law on Whistleblowers in this case?

— It is less relevant whether this particular whistleblower had a status of one. If he did not have the status of a whistleblower, then the law is inadequate and must be changed, because he did exactly what a whistleblower has to do. He did not sell the documents for

money or other personal gains but made them public. He did not want to address a repressive apparatus in which one of the main protagonists of corruption is the father of one of the most powerful people in the country, the Interior Minister. He did not want to hand over the matter to the prosecution, who persistently refuses to do their job and finally settle cases

— Aleksandar Obradović is an example of civic courage in the fight against corruption, and we should celebrate him for that, while the state should protect him and use his discoveries to root out corruption, and punish those guilty of corruption, provided they are proven guilty. The fact that only he was arrested, and no investigation was launched against the perpe-

MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY ARE WILLING TO RESIST WHAT THEY SEE AS INJUSTICE EVEN AT THE COST OF THEIR COMFORT AND WELL-BEING such as Savamala, for instance. After all, the law says that an activity on concealing a crime cannot be considered a secret. So, the indictment for publicly revealing a trade secret seems very problematic to me. After all, if what he disclosed was inaccurate, according to the Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanović, then Aleksandar Obradović did not disclose any secrets, but was mistaken and should be released and praised for having good intentions. And if it is true, then he has uncovered a crime and cannot be charged with

trators of what he had discovered, is a scandal in itself and a message to all brave citizens to keep their mouth shut otherwise they will end up in prison, regardless of law and justice. It seems that the repressive apparatus has "turned the game around" and has become an apparatus for protecting corruption and crime. Interestingly, although experience tells us that the fear of the regime's repression is indeed very strong, an increasing number of citizens have been contacting us with information about corruption and crime and taking

the courageous risk of letting us know what they know. I think that Aleksandar Obradović's example has a lot to do with that. Many people in our country are willing to resist what they see as injustice even at the cost of their comfort and well-being; they just need someone they trust would do something. Of course, those people should be prosecutors and the police, but this is precisely the watchdog role that the media in society have. If the system's institutions are not doing their job and protecting citizens from the power of the state apparatus, big business, crime or something else, we need to investigate, prove and publicize such an anomaly. Citizens do not trust prosecutors and that is bad, but it is even worse when everyone who is informed has excellent reasons for not trusting them. They trust us and that is nice and flattering to us. However, we should only be a mechanism of control that is triggered in the event of a minor omission of the rule of law. The conditions in which your stories are created are not very good. There are obstacles on all sides, from non-compliance with the Law on Access to Information to jeopardizing personal security. What kind of pressures are you exposed to and where do they come from?

— I would not like to frighten anyone, but we have repeatedly discovered hackers in the digital system who collect information about us and the topics of our investigations. Everything is en-

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crypted, of course, and our sources and documentation are secure, but they break into our mail, collect our addresses, etc. What do they need that for? They're bugging us and hopefully, it is the BIA or the police that are doing it, since it would be frightening if someone else was doing it. While it sounds unbelievable that resources of this kind are used on investigative journalists, this constitutes paranoia and tan unprecedented anti-democratic act. Our women journalists were openly followed by people from the crime world, as a form of intimidation. Tabloids and TV Pink have been accusing us of completely false things and attacking us on a personal level every time we publish a significant story. They cannot dispute the evidence from these stories, so they blame us personally and relativize our findings. But the real heroes are our colleagues who don't live in Belgrade. They suffer a lot more and if you are a good journalist or a local journalist you are a hero, however abnormal that might sound. There is also something else; we do this because that's who we are. We cannot just stand and watch the society dissolve, citizens' money being wasted and human lives destroyed, such as the life of our colleague Milan Jovanović or whistleblower Aleksandar Obradović. The best we can do is to investigate and prove something to be illegal or immoral. That is our motivation. Money is not our motivation because there is no money in this line of business. Can the current circumstances change somehow?

— Of course, they can. But no European Union or twenty different civil society organizations will do it. No-one can do it except the citizens of this country. When a critical mass is reached and they realize that they will not be better off if they do not become exactly that - the citizens – rather than silent witnesses to the destruction of their society, things will start to change. No-one has ever given any freedom or a right to anyone. That must always be taken with some kind of pressure. And there are always casualties in the process - someone loses a

cent, have barbecues every weekend, drink beer, throw frisbee and watch football. And then we get surprised when we find out that the mainstream media have been lying to us all the time and that our hospitals don't have enough soap for staff and patients to wash their hands, let alone working scanners or enough doctors. If people were to read, just for half an hour, once a week, what is being written on our investigative journalism websites or independent media websites, things would be much different. And if we took to learning a little bit...

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT IN THE ECONOMY, SCIENCE, FINANCE, MEDICINE OR ANY SEGMENT OF LIFE, MUCH LESS THE MEDIA AND CIVIC CONSCIOUSNESS, IF ONLY 10% OF PEOPLE IN SERBIA HAVE A UNIVERSITY DEGREE? job, someone ends up in prison, someone argues with their family. That is why this needs to become a practice, a tradition, that once we have won a right to, let's say, unhindered access to information of public importance, we, as citizens, have to keep vigilant about this access, because the powers-to-be can abolish it in minutes, without batting an eyelid. They can destroy what we have been painstakingly building for ten years. So, to prevent people from being imprisoned or losing their jobs, and after we fight for our rights and win them, we immediately have to take it to the streets if these rights are even tiny bit jeopardized, rather than be compla-

We are an uneducated nation with an extremely low percentage of highly educated people, with many of them left or are about to leave the country. What can we expect in the economy, science, finance, medicine or any segment of life, much less the media and civic consciousness, if only 10% of people in Serbia have a university degree? And some of those degrees have been bought... We can't do it quickly and we can't do it effortlessly, but other nations have built societies where they live in dignity. So why shouldn't we?! Is there room for investigative journalism in the mainstream media? The impression is that

the Internet is the only available space for you.

— Everything is pretty clear. Over 70% of our citizens cite Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) as their primary source of information, along with TV Pink. We do not have access to TV stations with national frequency because they are controlled by the government, via the advertising market and institutional pressures. The same goes for the influential press. We are not in the mainstream media because the authorities don't want us there, no matter what strategies are being adopted and whatever the government promises to the Western diplomats, because they know that many people close to them would end up indicted based on what the investigative journalists have proven so far. If that happened, an average citizen's perception of this government would radically change within six months, and not for the better. But until then, we need to appeal to citizens with better and more tailored online media production and on all the other communication channels available to us, until those who understand the extent of corruption and the impact it has on their lives generate enough pressure so this society can be significantly democratized. Then we need to change laws and practices so that this media control, the systematic and blatant misrepresentation of citizens, and media attacks against those people who think differently are all made illegal and costly, never to appear again. I firmly believe that that is possible and that it will happen. And then I can retire.

FOREIGN FACTOR Do you enjoy the support from foreigners, since the Serbian authorities clearly do not support you? — Interesting question! We have support through international assistance from various Western governments, for which we have to compete. So, if our projects are good, we will have money to pay our journalists. That's the kind of support we get. I have been to the parliaments and ministries of the Western countries - from the US and Germany to, of course, Brussels - many times, and have had even more conversations with foreign political officials here, in Serbia. They all support and encourage us in our work because they are confident that what we are doing is in the best interest of building democracy and the rule of law in Serbia. However, it is also their job to work in the interests of their countries and that is their priority.

I also think that many foreign entities are now insisting on media freedom in order for our government to concede in other issues such as the negotiations on Kosovo's status. These are the moments we need to use their help to improve the media situation, regardless of the current situation and the ultimate goals of the international community. Whatever happens with Kosovo, media freedom can only be good for this country. In that sense, I think we need to learn how to interpret the interests of the great powers and find what is good in that for our society, but also to learn how the administrations and parliaments of the EU, its members, the USA and other powers function, because you can't expect from them something they cannot give you, like democracy in Serbia. Still, you can use them to help you with your work on improving the well-being of your country.

CORPORATE

Sustainable Community Through Responsible Business Operation NIS Company Invests in the Community in which it Operates Children are the most promising, but also the most vulnerable members of each society. Therefore, financially supporting the young and their development is the best investment in the future. For years, NIS Company has been allocating significant funds to support healthcare institutions in Serbia, especially those which treat the youngest patients. So far, NIS has donated about RSD 100 million towards procurement of state-ofthe-art medical devices and modern equipment. One of the institutions that have received support from NIS is the Dr Vukan Čupić Institute for Mother and Child Health in Belgrade. Thanks to NIS, this institution has received a modern operating theatre, while the company employees have decorated the hospital rooms for the little patients, their parents and doctors at the Institute. “The little patients’ smiles, curious glances and many questions for the parents and the staff when they saw the redecorated waiting rooms, elevators, pre-surgery area and the operating theatre just proved how happy they were with what they saw. The children are now calmer while waiting for medical examination or surgery in front of the operating theatre. Thanks to these improvements, their parents and people who accompany them to surgery, as well as doctors and nurses are more comfortable as well. They now find

NIS COMPANY HAS ALLOCATED THE SIGNIFICANT FUNDS TO SUPPORT HEALTHCARE INSTITUTIONS IN SERBIA, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHICH TREAT THE YOUNGEST PATIENTS more joy in doing their job when they are surrounded by children and parents in a composed and agreeable ambience”, stated Mr Radoje Simic, docent doctor and Acting Director of the Dr Vukan Čupić Institute. Novi Sad-based Institute for Children and Youth Health of

Vojvodina has received a valuable donation from NIS as well. Acting director of this institution, Ms Jelena Antic said that the donation of sophisticated medical equipment had contributed to safe and quality treatment of their patients. “NIS gave a contribution to promoting the quality of work and the safety of patients. Bearing in mind that our patients are children, this noble gesture gains on importance,” Ms Antic was quoted as saying. NIS’s donation has also helped the Studenica General Hospital in Kraljevo to procure a new laparoscope pillar that enables the application of modern surgical methods. “Before this donation, we used a device from 2004, and the new one will help us a lot and improve the work the medical experts do in our hospital. Once again I would like to thank NIS Company for recognizing our needs and showing that, by being a socially respon-

sible company, it cares about the community in which it operates”, said Ms Dragana Petrović, PR of the Hospital. NIS also has supported the work of the Tiršova University Children Clinic in Belgrade, the Clinical-Hospital Center in Kosovska Mitrovica, and the Burn Injuries Clinic in Belgrade, as well as Hematological-Oncologic department for children’s internal diseases in Niš. “This year, NIS took a step further in supporting local healthcare institutions. Under the auspices of its social responsibility programme called “Together for the Community”, our company allocated RSD 116.5 million to support 20 health institutions, in 13 cities and municipalities of Serbia, which treat the youngest patients. We hope that these donations will considerably contribute to improved quality of healthcare in the communities in which the programme is implemented and thus give a good example to other socially responsible companies to act in accordance with their capabilities and contribute to the health of our youngest fellow citizens”, Director of External Communication at NIS, Stefan Despotović stated.

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CORPORATE

Jubilee Year Marked by Great Business Successes for dm drogerie Markt Validation of very good business results this year too dm drogerie markt ended the business year 2018/19 in Serbia with a record turnover of RSD 13.3 billion and a 21.9 per cent growth. After 15 years of successful and responsible business, dm drogerie markt has a sales network consisting of 97 outlets in 27 cities across Serbia and almost 1,000 employees. In Europe, dm drogerie markt had a record turnover of EUR 11.2 billion. The dm drogerie markt Group currently operates in 13 European countries and has a network of over 3,668 outlets and more than 62,000 employees. “In the business year 2018/19, we generated a turnover of RSD 13.3 billion, an increase of 21.9 per cent compared to the previous year, which is a validation of our successful operations, but also of our commitment to the community and our customers. We have positioned ourselves in the Serbian market as one of the most successful companies. In addition to the realized profit, we continue to invest in the community in which we operate and live. As human being is dm’s pivotal value, this year we have tried to justify the trust of our customers, but also to develop and care for our most important resource - our employees. As we prepare for new investments and projects in the year ahead, we continue to grow together," said Director of dm drogeriemarkt Serbia and North Macedonia, Alexandra Olivera Korichi. With a range of more than 13,500 products, dm is the quintessential one-stop-shop whether we are talking about beauty products, natural cosmetics, organic food, personal hygiene, household and baby care products, all available at affordable prices. Furthermore, dm offers the largest selection of private brands in the Serbian market, with around 4,000 products. dm guarantees that its wellknown brands such as Balea, alverde, dmBio, babylove, Denkmit and others have the same quality

Alexandra Olivera Korichi and Vesna Stojanović, Directors of dm drogerie markt Serbia and North Macedonia

in all 13 countries in which the company operates. The dmBio brand has the widest range of organic food in Serbia, comprising more than 350 products.

By further enhancing the Korean cosmetics offer, our care and beauty segment has been significantly enriched, while the premium quality brand - SEINZ. – is the new addition to men's care seg-

AFTER 15 YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL AND RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS, DM DROGERIE MARKT HAS A SALES NETWORK CONSISTING OF 97 OUTLETS IN 27 CITIES ACROSS SERBIA AND ALMOST 1000 EMPLOYEES

ment, which, besides its attractive design, is noticeable for its packaging produced in accordance with the sustainable development principles. In the previous financial year, dm has donated over RSD 5 million to various charity projects. In the jubilee 15th year of operations in Serbia, dm drogerie markt has also implemented a number of projects aimed at supporting the community. In an effort to contribute to the development of the domestic market, the company, through the dm Incubator project, with the support of project partners USAID, RAS, SerbiaOrganica and the Faculty of Applied Arts, enabled 18 small and medium-sized manufacturers from Serbia to develop and present 57 new unique products from the food and beauty segment in the best possible way. The success of this project was validated by the fact that dm is the recipient of the Đorđe Vajfert National Award of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia for Corporate Social Responsibility. Another validation of the company's success comes in the shape of the Beogradski Pobednik Award which was given to dm by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia for the accomplished business results. In the segment of human resources, dm drogeriemarkt has proved to be a very desirable employer this year, providing its employees with strong support, attractive market-competitive salaries and many additional benefits - two additional salaries annually, free medical examinations, as well as free German language courses. On the occasion of 15th anniversary of dm in Serbia, each employee was given an additional jubilee fee commensurate with the amount corresponding to the years they spent working in dm. For the first time this year, the company organized the Family Day, where over 900 employees and their family members enjoyed doing various activities, while socializing and strengthening team spirit.

BUSINESS NEWS

Gebrüder Weiss

15 YEARS IN SERBIA

Fly Montenegro Travel

THE GOLD WINNER OF THE MARCO POLO AWARD

At the meeting of senior officials of 17 + 1 countries in Riga, which was also attended by the Minister of Tourism and Culture of China, Mr. Luo Shugang, China-CEE Tourism Cooperation and the Budapest-based Coordination Centre gave away the Marco Polo Award for contribution to tourism. The Marko Polo Award aims to promote regional cooperation between 17 Central and Eastern European countries and to showcase the local customs, history and culture of at least 3 countries in the region, whilst recognizing the importance and contribution of tourism organizations leading to the development of the best tourism

product for the Chinese market. Winning this award is important not only for the company itself, but also for the whole region because the tours, organized by Fly Montenegro Travel for the very demanding Chinese market, are obviously exceptionally interesting.

Nectar

FOUNDS “NIJE SVEJEDNO” FOUNDATION

Nectar, a leader in fruit processing and fruit juice production in Serbia and the region, has founded the Nije Svejedno Foundation whose focus will be on projects aimed at increasing the birth rate in Serbia, returning children to nature and educating and empowering young people in the agricultural business.The

first concrete project of the foundation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia, will be the establishment of a center for in vitro fertilization in health centers, as well as the establishment of a free national number which citizens can utilize to obtain all necessary information and psychological support in this process. Ana Radun, Deputy CEO of Nectar and representative of the Radun family, which is 100% owner of the company since its founding, addressed the gathering as the Foundation Manager and presented the first project.

Gebrüder Weiss, the oldest transport and logistics company in the world, has been successfully operating in the Serbian market for 15 years. During this period, the company has continuously expanded its services and today offers its customers land transport, air and sea freight, customs clearance, warehouse logistics and recently also home delivery. During his visit to Serbia, Wolfram Senger-Weiss, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss, said: “Gebrüder Weiss is one of the leading full service logistics companies. I am very proud that we provide the full set of high quality logistics services also in Serbia. This enables us to solve all logistical challenges for our customers in Serbia and the region.” With over 90 locations in this region and its established regular routes, Gebrüder Weiss is the leading freight forwarder in Central and South-Eastern Europe.

5G AND ENABLED TECHNOLOGIES CONFERENCE

Carlsberg Serbia

MINI BREWERY FOR FUTURE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERS

In order to improve educational and scientific work of the Faculty of Technology in Novi Sad, Carlsberg Serbia has donated a mini brewery, which will now give students of this prestigious faculty a better insight into the entire brewing process. In the presence of significant number of republic and provincial government officials, the Danish Embassy in Serbia, educational and scientific institutions and local government, the mini brewery was inaugurated by Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Mladen Šarčević and Carlsberg Serbia CEO Vladimir Vava. “With the donation of a mini brewery to the Faculty of Technology in Novi Sad we continue our long-standing

cooperation with this educational institution and strive to enable future professionals in the beer industry to acquire practical knowledge during their education that they will be able to apply later in their work. Support for science and education is the focus of our socially responsible projects and we will continue to pursue such activities”, said Vladimir Vava, CEO of Carlsberg Serbia.

5G technology will be the infrastructure for a new generation of innovations in technology that will shape the world in the next decade, enable even faster data transfers, as well as create new jobs and generate a need to employ the best engineers, Serbian Minister for Innovation and Technological Development Nenad Popović said. Speaking at the opening of a Belgrade conference on 5G networks, Popovic said engineers and IT technologies were Serbia’s biggest potential that could be harnessed through development of 5G technology. Last year, Serbia’s exports of IT products and services reached 1.35 bln euros, surpassing the agriculture sector for the first time, he noted. “The IT sector is seeing constant growth and we expect export revenues to reach as much as 1.5 bln euros at the end of this year,” he said. The Serbian government is determined to support the development of the IT sector through infrastructure development, he said, adding that over 80 mln euros had been invested for this purpose over the past two years.

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Members of the International Women's Club visit the Petrovaradin Fortress and Atelier 61 Color Media Communications has organized a visit for members of the International Women's Club (IWC) from Belgrade, who visited a segment of the Petrovaradin Fortress. As part of the tour, a special time was devoted to Atelier 61, which is a unique centre for tapestry art in Serbia and the Western Balkans. „What I liked most was that we could feel and smell the things we saw. This was, indeed, more than just perusing. I'm here and all my senses are on,“ said one of the Club members. The visitor group comprised of women from Austria, Pakistan, America, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, and foreign companies and embassies in Serbia. Afterwards, the Club members visit-

ed yet another art studio, that of the painter Bojan Kiridžić. Teodora Ž. Janković, a marketing and public relations associate at Atelier 61, explained to the visitors why that art studio was important and how tapestry was made and maintained. „The studio was established in 1961 with the aim of popularizing and nurturing a medium that is tapestry. Until 1961, tapestry art was unknown in ex-Yugoslavia. In 2021, this studio will celebrate its 60th anniversary. It is the same year when Novi Sad will hold the title of the European Culture Capital,“ she added. Teodora Ž. Janković also said that, in those six decades, the Atelier established itself on the European map as a tapestry centre with an abundant collection of tapestries, one of only five in Europe.

PANEL CONFERENCE "DEVELOPMENT AND IMPACT OF MEASURES ON THE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF THE BIOGAS SECTOR IN SERBIA"

Organized by the Serbian Biogas Association, Udruženje Biogas, the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia and the Biogas Association Germany, Fachverband Biogas e.V., the panel conference entitled "Development and Impact of Measures on the Sustainable Growth of the Biogas Sector in Serbia" was held on October 30th, 2019. The main motive behind the organization of this panel conference is to promote and raise awareness of the importance of the biogas sector in Serbia, as well as the exchange of experiences of key participants in this sector, with the aim

of defining proposals for the improvement and sustainable development of the biogas production sector. The conference was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, representatives of the Biogas Association Serbia, representatives of the Biogas Association Germany, representatives of organizations GIZ DKTI, UNDP, IFC, and EBA, as well as a representative of the German Embassy in Serbia.

FRENCH WEEK IN BELGRADE You will often hear that French cheeses are top-notch, that French kiss is unforgettable, that French wines are the best in the world and that the words fashion and France definitely go hand in hand. If you want to experience the French lifestyle, you do not have to go to France. Just visit the French Lifestyle Salon - Bonjour France, which will take place on November 23rd at the Rajić Shopping Mall. The plateau in front of the mall will

be transformed into a tasting and selling salon for French-inspired products from various segments such as fashion, cosmetics, decoration, wine and gastronomy. On that day, Ile de France cheeses - Brie, Camembert and Emmentaler - will be presented in a way that is fitting of France, and paired with premium French wines. Choose your favourite cheese from Mlekoprodukt's Ile de France range and reward yourself with moments of pure hedonism.

PEOPLE & EVENTS

14 AUSTRIAN OCT

NATIONAL DAY MARKED IN BELGRADE

The Austrian National Day was celebrated in Belgrade. The Austrian Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Nikolaus Lutterotti hosted a reception at the City Hall, which was attended by numerous guests. "Nationalfeiertag" is a national holiday of the Republic of Austria commemorating the departure of the occupying forces of the United States, Great Britain, France and the USSR in 1955. After the Second World War, the Allies

Austrian Ambassador with H.E. Radko Todorov vlaykov , Bulgarian Ambassador and H.E. Tomáš Kuchta, Ambassador of the Czech Republic

15 “THE EU AND OCT

SERBIA: SHARED DESTINY, A BELGIAN PERSPECTIVE”

- the United States, Great Britain, France and the USSR - divided the Austrian territory into four occupation zones, and until 1955, the state was governed by the "Alliierte Kommission für Österreich". From 1955 to 1964, October 26th was first celebrated as "Tag der Fahne", and from October 26, 1965, "The Flag Day" was renamed into "National Holiday" ("Nationalfeiertag"), which is solemnly celebrated all over Austria on October 26th.

Wolfgang Sobotka,President of the Austrian National Council

European Union is valuable for all member states for two reasons: peace and prosperity, and these are also the reasons Serbia should join, said the President Emeritus of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy in Belgrade. Speaking at the discussion “The EU and Serbia: Shared Destiny, a Belgian Perspective”, organised by the Belgian

Embassy in Serbia, Van Rompuy stated that the shared destiny means the same values and expressed his opinion that Serbia can also share the peace and prosperity of the European Union. “I really hope that you will become a member state and I am very proud that during my tenure Serbia became a candidate and opened accession negotiations”, stated Van Rompuy.

Herman Van Rompuy,President Emeritus of the European Council and Aleksandar Vučić, Serbian President

22 THE EMBASSY OF OCT

HUNGARY CELEBRATED THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE REVOLUTION

The Embassy of Hungary in Belgrade celebrated the 63rd anniversary of the revolution. A reception was held in the Hotel Yugoslavia on the occasion of the 63nd anniversary of the revolution in this country. The reception was attended by representatives of the diplomatic

H.E. Sem Fabrizi,Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia and Jadranka Joksimović, Minister for European Integration

corps, politicians, ministers, as well as media and personalities from the world of culture, while H.E. Ambassador Attila Pinter held a speech. We recall that the revolution in Hungary took place in 1956, when a large number of the inhabitants of this country temporarily flew into Yugoslavia..

H.E. Attila Pinter

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23 AMBASSADOR OF OCT

INDIA HOST DIWALI CELEBRATION

A Reception Dinner was hosted by Ambassador of India to Serbia H.E. Subrata Bhattacharjee to celebrate ‘‘Diwali – Festival of Lights”. Speaking on the significance of Diwali, Ambassador Bhattacharjee highlighted the similarities between the culture of

India and Serbia. He pointed out that Diwali also signifies the victory of the good over the evil, and underlined the need for continuing this battle, particularly against the menace of terrorism.

H.E. Subrata Bhattacharjee and Andrijana Savić, Mis Serbia

25 MARTINOVANJE IN OCT

BELGRADE

Slovenian Business Club traditionally celebrated the annual young wine event in Belgrade, Martinovanje. This year’s hosts were also the Tourist Organization of Portorož and the City of Piran. The event aims to promote Slovenia as a tourist destina-

tion, with the presentation of wines and products from different regions and cities. “The Slovenian Business Club mutually supports the cooperation of the Slovenian and Serbian economies,” said Slovenian Business Club President Danijela Fišakov.

Igor Novel, Director of the TZP, Friend of the Ambassador, Danijela Fišakov, President of the SBC, H.E. Iztok Jarc, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Serbia, Genio Zadkovich - Mayor of the Municipality of Piran

25 THE NATIONAL DAY OCT

OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

The National Day of the Czech Republic marked by reception at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Belgrade. Ambassador of the Czech Republic Tomas Kuhta welcomed all the attendees

Ambassador of the Czech, Republic Tomas Kuchta with his wife and H.E. Kathleen CSABA, with spouse

H.E. Tomáš Kuchta

and then toasted them and invited them to a festive cocktail. The reception was attended by representatives of other embassies as well as members of the Belgrade diplomatic corps.

H.E. Thomas Schieb , German Ambassador and H.E. Choe Hyoung Chan, Korean Ambassador

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PEOPLE & EVENTS

28 ROMANIAN OCT

ARMED FORCES DAY

Ambassador of Romania to Serbia H.E. Oana-Cristina Popa hosted a reception on the occasion of Romanian Armed Forces Day at the new building of the Romanian Embassy in Belgrade. Romanian Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Oana-Cristina Popa in her speech said that Romanian Armed Forces

Day is being marked for the first time in the new building of the Romanian Embassy in Belgrade. She said she is pleased that the Romanian army’s new technologies have been presented on this occasion. The reception was attended by representatives of political life, the diplomatic community and the media.

H.E. Radko Todorov Vlaykov, Bulgerian Ambassador, H.E. Oana-Cristina Popa and the military attaché of Robert Čoban, Color Press Group, H.E. Radko Vlaykov, H.E. Oana-Cristina Popa, H.E. Gordan Bakota, Croatian Ambassador and Rade Šerbedžija, actor the Romanian embassy

28 THE 74th OCT

ANNIVERSARY UNITED NATIONS

The 74th anniversary of the establishment of the UN was marked with a formal reception in Belgrade. The event was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dačić, the newly appointed UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia, Françoise Jacob, and the

Ivica Dačić,,Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Simona Miculescu,UN Secretary-General and the head of the Belgrade office and Francoise Jacob,UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia

29 96th BIRTHDAY OCT

OF TURKISH REPUBLIC

Military attaché of the Romanian embassy

representative of the UN Secretary-General and the head of the Belgrade office Simona Miculescu. The head of Serbian diplomacy said that Serbia remains firmly committed to implementing two UN strategic documents – the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Climate Agreement.

Simona Miculescu,UN Secretary-General and the head of the Belgrade office H.E.Anthony Godfrey, US Ambassador with wife andFrancoise Jacob, UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia

Turkish Ambassador to Belgrade Tanju Bilgiç said Serbian-Turkish relations are at the highest possible level because of excellent relations between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. At the ceremony marking the 96th anniversary of the

formation of the Republic of Turkey and the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Serbia and Turkey, Ambassador Tanju Bilgiç expressed his gratitude to the Serbian authorities for organizing a successful visit by Turkish President Erdogan to Serbia.

H.E.Tanju Bilgic,Turkish Ambassador to Belgrade and Rasim Ljajić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications

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14 THE EMBASSY OF ITALY NOV

MARKED THE NATIONAL UNITY AND THE ARMED FORCES DAY

Italian Ambassador H.E. Mr Carlo Lo Cassio hosted a reception marking the Day of the National Unity and the Italian Armed Forces at the residence of the Italian Ambassador. The reception was attended by distinguished guests, representatives of the diplomatic corps, culture

H.E. Carlo Lo Cassio,Italian Ambassador with wife,Serigo Monti, the Advisor and the Deputy Italian Ambassador in Belgrade

figures and the media. By marking this date, Italy commemorates the fallen soldiers each year. On November 4th, Italy celebrates both the National Unity Day and the Armed Forces Day. In honour of these two days, the Ministry of Defence organizes various events throughout the country.

H.E. Sem Fabrizi,Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia and H.E. Carlo Lo Cassio,Italian Ambassador

06 D&C CROATIA MAGAZINE nd

NOV

CELEBRATES ITS 2 BIRTHDAY

Diplomacy & Commerce Magazine celebrated its second anniversary in Croatia, with the celebration at the Mimara Museum in Zagreb. “It was March 2016 when the first issue of Diplomacy & Commerce magazine was launched in Belgrade. In November of the following year, we launched D&C Croatia. In the meantime, we also launched D&C Austria in February and D&C Slovenia in September this year. We plan to launch D&C Greece next spring too”, said Mr Robert Čoban, the CEO of Color Media Communications, which publishes the magazine. The event began with a procession of members of Academia Cravatica, the only institution in Europe and the world that has been studying, safeguarding and improving the necktie as a Croatian and global moving cultural heritage for over 20 years, while promoting Croatia as the homeland of the necktie.

Boban Spasojević, the CEO of D&C Croatia and US Ambassador to Croatia, H.E. W. Robert Kohorst

Robert Čoban, the CEO of Color Media Communications with H.E. Gaël Francois Veyssière, the French Ambassador and Boban Spasojević

Boban Spasojević and H.E. Mira Nikolić, the Serbian Ambassador

Robert Čoban, H.E. Josef Markus Wuketich, the Austrian Ambassador and Boban Spasojević

Robert Čoban, H.E. Diana Helen Madunic, the Swedish Ambassador and Boban Spasojević

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CULTURE

“Judy” is a Parable of Hollywood’s Evils The biopic shows the toll that decades of ill-treatment took on Judy Garland It has been three decades since she sauntered down the yellow brick road with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. As “Judy”, a new biopic of Judy Garland, opens, its subject (played by Renée Zellweger) is 47 years old, broke, homeless and on the verge of losing custody of her two children. When she finds herself at a swanky party in Los Angeles, surrounded by hippies in their 20s, she is ill at ease. That is, until a young and handsome man approaches her with a cocktail. “We can’t have the world’s greatest entertainer out here without a drink,” he says. “Frank Sinatra’s here?” she quips. Difficult though Garland’s circumstances are, her ability to win over an audience and deliver a bon mot is unhampered. She is still a star. “Judy” differs from most biopics in that it focuses on a small time period rather than offering a sweeping panorama of the heroine’s career. Adapted from “End of the Rainbow”, a stage play by Peter Quilter, the film homes in on a limited run of performances Garland undertook at Talk of the Town, a famous cabaret club in London’s West End, in 1969. For such a seasoned entertainer, it should have been a simple gig and easy cash, but the task threatens to overwhelm her. Burdened by loneliness and feelings of low selfworth, Garland deals with her pain by drinking to excess and taking pills. She tries to play the role of a star—both onstage and off—but she seems always on the verge of exhaustion. When she is able to make it out in front of a crowd it feels like a triumph. This fragility is explained by examining her past. In occasional flashbacks, “Judy” shows Garland’s mistreatment at the hands of Louis B. Mayer, an executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, to which Garland was signed for 15 years. As a naïve teenager, she is subjected to the mistreatment Hollywood saves for those young and female. She is forbidden from taking a lunch hour, despite

“JUDY” DIFFERS FROM MOST BIOPICS IN THAT IT FOCUSES ON A SMALL TIME PERIOD RATHER THAN OFFERING A SWEEPING PANORAMA OF THE HEROINE’S CAREER it being guaranteed in her contract. Her diet is constantly scrutinised and food withheld from her; her managers force her to take amphetamines to curb her appetite and barbiturates to help her sleep. When she works up the nerve to complain, Mayer threatens her with expulsion from show business, instilling a fear of failure that still paralyses her as an adult. At a time when the treatment of women in Hollywood is under

scrutiny, all this is an effective reminder that the cruelties of show business are not a recent phenomenon so much as a founding principle. Mayer coerces, bullies and manhandles Garland. Rupert Goold, the director, portrays Mayer almost as a monster, emphasising his enormity—especially when compared with the diminutive Garland—and half-hiding him in shadows. Ms Zellweger, whose cast-

ing was met with some scepticism, is in fact an inspirational choice for the role. Like Garland, she was a young star who struggled to find meaningful parts after years of ingénue roles, and whose appearance has been the subject of intense scrutiny and gossip. Ms Zellweger goes beyond mere impersonation to create a complex performance. She does not have the powerhouse singing voice, casually perfect dance steps and doe-eyed stare but then, at that point in her life, neither did Garland. “Judy” explores the difficulties of making a comeback, and Ms Zellweger’s sensitive performance deserves to gain recognition from the Academy. Unfortunately, despite its novel approach, “Judy” falls into the same traps as other biographical films. It reveres its subject too much. The cast of subordinates who flit in and out of her life—her handlers, her ex-husbands and her fans—are written not as fully-formed human beings but as reflections of the Garland mystique. In one particularly contrived scene, Garland spends a quiet evening at the apartment of a gay couple who call themselves her biggest fans. Over late-night cocktails, they share their sad stories. It could have been a meaningful moment of connection, but, with the couple given no defining characteristics outside of their sexual identity, it comes off more as a dutiful tip of the cap to Garland’s queer fans than anything resembling drama. Yet for many viewers, that will not matter. “Judy” tells the story of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars, and draws attention to the consequences of the industry’s abuse of women. It is a tale with a tragic ending: months after her stint at Talk of the Town, Garland died from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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CORPORATE

W Residences are Coming to Belgrade The only W Residences in Europe are located in London, while W Residences Belgrade will be opened in Belgrade Waterfront, on the bank of the river Sava W, one of the most innovative and exciting names in the world of hotels and branded residences, is finally coming to Serbia! The W brand emerged from the culture and urban chaos of New York City in 1998 and has been perpetually setting new housing standards for two decades. More than 60 W Hotels and 15 W Residences operate under the auspices of Marriott International, the world’s leader in branded apartments. W Residences are located in the most exclusive destinations in the world, such as New York, Miami and Bali. W Residences Belgrade will be opened at a spectacular location, on the Sava riverbank, within Belgrade Waterfront. The W brand's mission is summed up in one sentence - FUEL LUST FOR LIFE; that is constantly pushing the boundaries in a brazen and visionary manner while always demanding more. Residents of the W Residences live up to these values, in a world where everything they want is within reach. Branded apartments are an innovative housing concept for those people who want a hotel experience in the intimacy of their own home. They are often located in the same building as the hotel, which will be the case with W Residences Belgrade, which, together with the W Belgrade, will be in a first-class location, in the capital's centre, on the Sava riverfront. W Residences Belgrade will offer domestic and foreign buyers 168 branded apartments, ranging in size from 40 to 140 square meters. Residents will have access to the hotel's amenities: W Living Room, a unique rooftop concept with infinity WET® pool and bar, Away® Spa, FIT® modern fitness centre and other amenities. Also, there is a distinctive Whatever / Whenever service, designed to make life by W standards a truly unparalleled

THE LAUNCH OF W RESIDENCES BELGRADE IS SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 22nd, AT THE BELGRADE WATERFRONT SALES CENTRE experience. This concept allows residents to get what they want, whenever they want, without having to leave their home.

In line with the brand's global aspirations, the interior of Belgrade's W will be inspired by local cultural and historical heritage.

One of the central themes and inspirations for the design of W Belgrade and W Residences Belgrade is a local tradition, which includes Belgrade's taverns and bohemian lifestyle. The interior details will reflect Serbian history and culture and local artists will be in charge of some of the design. W Residences are for people who are constantly on the move and who always want more - urban, creative and ambitious individuals who particularly value luxury and comfort. For such people, W is always the starting point of exciting life experiences, travel, concerts and events that give them fresh motivation and the energy to do more and move forward. W Residences Belgrade will be situated in a spectacular location, with a direct entrance to the Sava Promenada, between the Sava Bridge and BW Residences, the first inhabited building of the Belgrade Waterfront. Among other things, thanks to this unique location, the infinity pool on the top of the building provides stunning views of the river. The launch of W Residences Belgrade is scheduled for November 22nd, at the BW Sales Centre at Sava Promenada. Belgrade Waterfront is a development that creates an urban community on the riverbank, right in the heart of the city, offering quality apartments and a variety of commercial and leisure facilities at your fingertips. The tallest building in Serbia, Kula Belgrade, will also be built as part of the Belgrade Waterfront development, and will have a spectacular public observation deck on the top. Galerija Belgrade, the largest shopping and entertainment destination in the region, will also be part of the project. The mall will offer a great variety of local and international brands, as well as have a diverse gastronomic selection, cinemas and numerous opportunities for fun and relaxation.

INTERVIEW

Photos: Dragana Udovičić

Text: SANJA ŠOJIĆ

I Was Taken Hostage by Those Who Wrote Better I am tired of representing others in my soul so much

RADE ŠERBEDŽIJA Film, TV and theatre actor

Actor Rade Šerbedžija has returned to the Belgrade theatre stage after 27 years, starring as George in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", by playwright Edward Albee, directed by Lenka Udovički. The play had its premiere on the Brioni Islands, while the Belgrade audience had the opportunity to see it for the first time on 8th October. Šerbedžija played George back in 1991 too, at the Belgrade Drama Theatre, with Dušan Jovanović as director and co-starring Mirjana Karanović, Željka Cvetan and Aleksandar Alač. Since the play was greeted with

a standing ovation, it is safe to assume that playing George was the crowning achievement of Šerbedžija’s career in theatre. For this role, he won the Zoranov Brk Award and the Zoran Radmilović

play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", which is centred around marital relations, was directed by your wife, Lenka Udovički. How would you describe this collaboration and is

YET, AFTER ALL, AND DESPITE SOME FERVENT NATIONALISTS WHO, FROM TIME TO TIME, THREW THEIR NASTY NATIONALISTIC JABS AT ME, I WOULD STILL DO THE SAME, ALL OVER AGAIN Award for the best actor at the 28th Zoranovi Dani theatre festival.

there a line that separates your private from your artistic life?

After almost thirty years, the Belgrade audiences had the opportunity to see you performing in theatre again. The

— I have been successfully collaborating with my dear Lenka, both privately and artistically, for 29 years now. There is, as people call it, real chemistry between us.

Sometimes we can be very fierce when, in rehearsals, we are trying to find all the answers to the questions posed by working on a drama that we are bringing to life at that moment. For instance, I will never forget when Lenka, who was, at the time, quite a young director, told me, during the rehearsal of “Mother Courage and Her Children” in Belgrade in 1991, while I was trying to perfect a detail which was not really important, and while she was putting finishing touches on the light setting: “Šerbedžija, get off stage! I have no more time!" I was a little offended but the premiere was great and Mirjana Karanović was absolutely brilliant. Once, when I was performing “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, I threw a book off

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stage and she later claimed that I was aiming at her, which was not the case at all. The truth is that, at the premiere at the Belgrade Drama Theatre, my acting partner Katarina Darvas hit me with a stiletto in the head, and that was Lenka’s idea, as the play’s director. Still it's amazing how well we get along and how we have such similar tastes and solutions in all matters of art. As far as our private life is concerned, she is the commander and I am her crazy-in-love subject. I would love if everything stayed exactly like that until I die. You played in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” with Mirjana Karanović, in Belgrade, twenty-seven years ago. Around the same time, you also played in “Mother Courage and Her Children”, which was an anti-war theatre piece. You participated in protests, spoke out against the war in every possible way, but also wrote that you still felt guilty for not doing more. What could you have done differently?

— All of us who, as public figures, were trying to stop the evil that was devouring our nations at the time, will always think that we could have done more. Yet, after all, and despite some fervent nationalists who, from time to time, threw their nasty nationalistic jabs at me, I would still do the same, all over again. I would be on the side of the weak, downtrodden, unfortunate people. And I will always be against the war.

women, and since he was a great and intelligent writer, he never slipped into triviality. All human beings can recognize themselves, with all their life problems and personal stories, in this piece. How much has the world changed since the early 1960s? I do not know. I would say that it has gotten rougher and more miserable. Nonetheless, there are still the same islands of love and happiness in these large and turbulent oceans we sail; we just need to know how to find them. It seems that Lenka and I have our haven in which we keep our children safe and in which we are building our loves and friendships. This play was co-produced by your theatre, ‘Ulysses’ and the Belgrade Drama Theatre, which

is yet another proof that cultural cooperation and exchange work well, unlike in politics. What does that say about artists and what about politicians?

— It says that this format is truly needed because it helps to implement artistic projects that bring artists from across the region of the former Yugoslavia and beyond together. We, as in the Ulysses Theatre, have been collaborating with Italy, England and America and would like to get in touch with the Balkan countries with which we share similar mentalities and historical memories. As for politicians, I do not know what to say or think about them. It seems that they are truly lagging behind contemporary social movements and that they pay inadequate attention to the direction in which the lives

THERE ARE STILL THE SAME ISLANDS OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS IN THESE LARGE AND TURBULENT OCEANS WE SAIL; WE JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW TO FIND THEM

Dilapidation of the world we live in and that we leaving to the next generations is one of the central themes of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”. It’s been 57 years since the play premiered on Broadway. What is your view of today’s world and what has changed since then?

— For me, Albee’s play is one of the best dramas of the 20th century. He so archetypally understands the relations between men and

of the peoples they represent are moving and to which they are aspiring to. You said that this might be your last role and that you were tired. What made you feel fed up?

— Actors often talk gibberish and even at their smartest, they sometimes run their mouth off, just like Hamlet. Of course, I belong to this category, although sometimes I happen to write and explain something in a meaningful way. Yes, I am tired of representing others in my soul so much. I’ll quote one of the many verses I wrote during my lifetime that best answers your question – “I was taken hostage by better written characters”. After the demise of socialism in this part of the world, you were one of a handful of public figures who still declares himself a socialist. On the other hand, nationalism is spreading its wings today. Is there any hope for the left?

— Humane ideas and movements have been created and have been persevering throughout our history while trying to make this world a better place. Sometimes that is really difficult and sometimes it seems impossible because this world is so damn imperfect. You are an actor who is known worldwide. You said once that “Yugoslavia would never wither away in your heart”. Do you still think the same? Have you ever been indifferent to this part of the world?

— Yugoslavia is not my political idea and programme. It signifies the place in which I lived and the people to whom I belonged. The people who have brought evil to this region and its population with their actions should be ashamed of their doings and ideas. I still feel only love and understanding for all the people and nations of the former Yugoslavia in my heart.

CONNECTED TO BELGRADE You are, by no means, a stranger to Belgrade, as you noted in an interview once. Your New Year’s concerts have become a lovely tradition. Unfortunately, some people and places are long gone, but memories remain. What connects you to Belgrade and can you still recognize it after all these years? — Of course, I'm no stranger to Belgrade. Belgrade was the capital city of the country where I was born and lived happily. I got married in Belgrade and Lenka’s and my first daughter, Nina, was born here. I made films with Živojin Pavlović, Dušan Makavejev, Miša Radivojević and Goran Marković

in Belgrade. This is where we founded a rather unique theatre, KPGT, with the ingenious Ljubiša Ristić. My closest friends - Ljuba Tadić, Dragan Nikolić, Milena Dravić, Sonja Savić, Bora Todorović, Zoran Radmilović, Bata Stojković and Nebojša Glogovac – lived here. The deceased live in me. My dearest Cvele, Voja, Tika, Djuričko, Koja and Miodrag Krivokapić-Brik also live here, as do my tennis buddies Goran Bubanj and Rade Marković. It would be very difficult to imagine my life in Belgrade without them. This is also where my parents, who signify the gravity of my life’s axis, are buried.

REPORTAGE

Belgrade’s Normandy An Art Deco gem at the heart of the capital city Thousands of citizens of Belgrade and tourists pass by one of the fairest edifices in Belgrade every day – the French Embassy building. Yet only the few get the opportunity to take a peek inside and we were one of them. History and story lead us through the reception hall, diplomatic consular premises, the office of the military attaché, the dining room used in special occasions. There is an abundance of legends and myths about this building, but let’s start from the facts. This month is the celebration of 90th anniversary of the start of construction of the building located between the Orthodox Cathedral (Saborna crkva) and Kalemegdan. Namely, after the purchase of the land in 1932 and the development of construction projects, corner stone was placed on November 6th, 1929. The news that the parliament approved a loan for the construction to King Aleksandar was announced by Marshal Franchet d'Espèrey. The edifice was completed in 1933. This was one of the first edifices that France built with

a specific purpose, as a diplomatic mission. The furniture, tapestries, dishes, they were made especially for the Embassy in the most prominent French workshops. Today, it is recognized worldwide as the pearl of Art Deco. Let us remind that when it was launched,

the famous steamboat, the SS Normandie was the epitome of the artistic Art Deco interior that well-known and unknown artists worked on, and many people of taste enjoyed. In that sense, the French Embassy building also resembles a ship.

NAMELY, AFTER THE PURCHASE OF THE LAND IN 1932 AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, CORNER STONE WAS PLACED ON NOVEMBER 6TH, 1929

Ambassador of France H.E. Jean-Louis Falcon is a great lover and connoisseur of Art Deco

The edifice is one of a kind, because it was purposefully built and decorated inside for the embassy, on the land purchased by the Republic of France. The white beauty is surrounded by a large garden surrounded by a huge catalpa, three platanus trees, white birch trees, several evergreen trees, two chestnuts, cypress, groups of flowers and a big blue swimming pool. The inner garden is divided by alternately placed stone surfaces, coated marble and greenery, with a fountain in the center – it’s a French style garden. The elegant building made of white Venčac marble, with a large garden and a swimming pool, is a work of French modernist architecture between the two world wars. The entrance from Pariska Street leads to the section with consular and diplomatic offices, while entrance from Gračanička Street is the entrance to the residence. The edifice that was designed in 1926 by the main architect of the French Government, Roger-Henri Expert, has a view of Kalemegdan and the rivers Sava and Danube. Each room within the

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building has natural lighting and ventilation. The salon for receiving guests is made mainly from marble, its walls are of impressive height with monumental pillars. The interior has been entirely preserved and it dates back from 1933, when the mission was opened. It was completely renovated ten years ago, and all the pieces of furniture stayed in Art Deco style. It’s interesting that French designer, Helene de Saint-Pierre –granddaughter of the famous General Franchet d'Espèrey, was in charge of the reconstruction. THE PECULIARITY OF STYLE

When you step inside the embassy, you first enter the first quarter of the Reception Hall whose walls are covered with large medallions that symbolically display the four great rivers of France: the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne and the Rhone. The ceiling of the salon depicts an allegoric display – a circular plaster floral garland in the center of

which is the peace dove. The floor is covered with a large tapestry carpet, handmade especially for the Embassy. The edge trims of the carpet, as well as all the doorknobs and many walls have the “RF” – “République française” mark imprinted in them. The fireplace beam at the Ro-

Both sides of the Salon have premises that the architect marked as Salon de Madame and a large dining room in the right wing, and Salon d’Ambassadeur and cabinet of the First Secretary of the Embassy in the left wing. The dining room and the Ambassador’s Salon are positioned at an angle of 45 degrees,

THE ELEGANT BUILDING MADE OF WHITE VENČAC MARBLE, WITH A LARGE GARDEN AND A SWIMMING POOL, IS A WORK OF FRENCH MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS tonde shows a frieze with shallow reliefs of signs of the zodiac! A large crystal chandelier can be lowered with the help of a hook to replace a light bulb. It’s interesting that there are no radiators. The architect lowered the heating system to the basement and set up a decorative brass network through which heat passes, on the floors next to the windows.

as we can notice when observed from Pariska Street, which allows for a fantastic view of the Belgrade’s fortress and the two rivers. LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ (FREEDOM, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY)

The surface of all the facades on the Embassy is lined with Venčac marble. The architect used ashlar

stone modeled on the sculptural structure of the royal house in Topola. Purity of the marble is accentuated by framing the wreath with pink marble from the same quarry. The upper wreath is improved with the well-known symbol of France: three statues made in bronze, which represent Freedom, Equality and Fraternity, and are 2.80m high. The sculpture placed on a bronze pedestal, as well as many shallow reliefs on the main façade, were made by Karl Sarabezol. The façade facing the inner garden offers motives of shallow reliefs made by Petar Pallavicini, sculptor and art professor from Korčula, known for his numerous portraits made in cubist style. The roof is covered with copper. There is talk that this project made by architect Expert was not meant for Belgrade! Allegedly, a clerk at the French Foreign Ministry accidentally switched the plans. “Our” plans left for Tunisia, and “their” plans came to Kalemegdan! However, this story is just an urban myth.

INTERVIEW

The Ambassador of the Time Mashine Project Digital technologies are widely available today; many even to the institutions with small budgets, but the context of their implementation needs to be thought out and we need to be entrepreneurial about it

al heritage. How difficult is it to create a digital library?

ADAM SOFRONIJEVIĆ Deputy Director of the University Library

Adam Sofronijević, Deputy Director of the University Library in Belgrade, talks about the future of books, reading and new information technologies. You have become a Time Mashine ambassador for Serbia. Can you tell us more about that?

— The project is based on the idea that the European nations are most closely connected by a common cultural heritage and that digitizing that cultural heritage is the best way to preserve all of its abundant diversity. The cultural heritage of European nations cultivated by advanced digitalization technologies is the cornerstone of a story that talks about the meaningful future of Europe. Time Mashine brings together Europe's most respected cultural and scientific institutions to realize a very ambitious project, namely to digitize the cultural heritage of our continent. If this idea were to come true, we would have a cultural time machine that would allow us to see every moment of the past at all points in the European space. The importance of such a vision cannot be emphasized strongly enough, and the opportunity, as well as the obligation, in my opinion, to ensure that the Serbian cultural space is an integral part of this vision is a patriotic task of utmost importance, to which I will be committed as a Time Mashine ambassador for Serbia. The University Library has a searchable digital library that has more than 600,000 pages, is constantly growing and is a true treasure trove of Serbia's cultur-

— It is a complex activity that we have been working on for the past six years through a series of projects with national and EU funding. This year, as part of a project supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media, the searchable digital library of the University Library in Belgrade has grown into a central national point of access for digitized, searchable, machine-readable artifacts of our cultural heritage, which will, from now, be proudly owned, maintained and supplemented by all of the biggest libraries in the country. It will certainly represent an important part of the infrastructure on which we will build Time Mashine for Serbia in the future, as part of Europe's

tire text of the materials that make up the library, which completely changes the paradigm of cultural heritage research. Machine-assisted readability of these materials is also of great importance. This is perhaps the largest set of machine-readable data in the Serbian language and Cyrillic script currently. They are invaluable in safeguarding the cultural identity of our country and our people, given the need for different artificial intelligence-based applications to be trained over datasets coming from Serbia to be tailor-made to our needs and reflect our cultural idiosyncrasies. You have also created the very first Twitter book. How did this idea come about?

— I managed a Twitter account

WITHOUT THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF OUR LIBRARIES, OUR CULTURE WILL REMAIN DEVOID OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT DIGITAL CREATES

most important undertaking to digitize cultural heritage. How long does it take to digitize a single edition?

— It takes several hours and it is carried out in line with the highest global standards. As a result, the edition has searchable and machine-readable digital materials. We are proud of the fact that our region today has a unique digital library or digital infrastructure that enables this. It is important to ensure the searchability of the en-

@1918nadSrbijom from September to December 2018, which was launched by the University Library to mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. Applying the “as if...'' concept, were presented varied content on this Twitter account, imagining what would a Twitter feed of a Serbian soldier on the Thessaloniki Front look like. This Twitter campaign has been a great success, so we decided to do a little experiment of publishing a Twitter book, which is, to our knowledge, the first such book in

the world. On over 150 pages, we printed tweets published during September in a format and design that makes the paper book look like a tablet and the pages like Twitter posts. Our goal was to raise a whole series of questions related to the essence of the dualism of the printed book paradigm and the electronic content paradigm. In our country, this dualism is primarily used as a flag in the quasi-debate on cultural values, which pushes its essence in the background while its understanding is crucial for shaping the contemporary flows of culture and education in the 21st century. How much does the IT revolution affect libraries in Serbia?

— Not to the extent that it could and it does affect libraries and culture in some other countries. The problem is not just in the financing, but first and foremost, the ideas. Digital technologies are widely available today; many even to the institutions with small budgets, but the context of their implementation needs to be thought out and we need to be entrepreneurial about it. With this in mind, I think it is exceptionally important to embrace innovative ideas such as Time Mashine. Ideas like this can be the momentum for digital transformation in libraries and beyond - on the Serbian cultural scene. Without the digital transformation of our libraries and other culture institutions, our culture will remain devoid of the opportunities that digital creates. If that happens, libraries and other culture institutions are not going to be able to fulfil their basic function in the long run, which is to decisively determine the directions of the development of the society and the very survival of the nation as a whole, through the possibility of identity determination. This is what we have to change at all costs, and to which I, as a Time Mashine ambassador for Serbia, am trying to make a modest contribution.

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SCIENCE

13th Science Festival: It’s time to Reveal the Truth!

For the thirteenth time in a row, the largest science festival in this part of Europe will reopen its gates! At a time when truth is often sidelined and interpretation of facts becomes more important than the facts themselves, science has proven to be a great tool against all these misconceptions, as a safe place for all who continue to cultivate a critical spirit and an inevitable dose of curiosity. That is why this year the Science Festival is about to reveal all those popular myths and misconceptions that have become part of our daily lives. And it will do it all with the help of more than 600 scientist and science communicators from Serbia at nearly 6,000 square meters in halls 3, 3A and 5 of the Belgrade Fair.

WHERE SERBIA MEETS EUROPE AND BEYOND

Traditionally, the best science teams from all over the world are coming to Serbia for the Science Festival! This year, total of eight countries will be represented at the main stage, led by quite an unusual French team called Traces. Paul Boniface and Théo Caroff are bringing their science experiments

Photo: Oksana Toškić

Taking tens of thousands of its visitors on a unique adventure of breaking myths with the help of science, this year's Science Festival will be held from December 5 to December 8 at the Belgrade Fair under the intriguing "Reveal" theme!

mixed with some that are pure hoaxes, and it will be up to the audience to distinguish one from another. Catch the Light is the name of the Austrian Circus Lumineszenz’s wild scientific show that combines rays of light, optical lenses, glasses, dichroic filters, led lights etc. Coming straight from New York, Bob Friedhoffer will present his spectacular The Science

ble Kvark team, crazy about explosions, which will take the visitors on thrilling ride packed with some tricks, a lot of science, and a blast or two. Our favorite doctor who has already picked up the sympathies of the youngest festival crowd, Israeli Dr Molecule is inviting us once again to take a peek at his office, filled with the latest scientific inventions and fun experiments.

TRADITIONALLY, THE BEST SCIENCE TEAMS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE COMING TO SERBIA FOR THE SCIENCE FESTIVAL! behind Magic show. Friedhoffer takes laboratory experiments and demonstrations and presents them as magic tricks, explaining in a simple and intriguing way all the science behind them. Slovenia’s finest Hiša eksperimentov is bringing their playground composed of around fifty "handson, minds-on" exhibits. It will be followed by their amazing show called The Almighty Gas, displaying all those super powers we didn’t know gasses have, plus bringing them to a whole new level. Estonia will be represented by a remarka-

Much beloved Polish duo Heweliusze Nauki will announce a call for their Secret Science Agency, with their agents going through some typical situations from their work, like: Turkish bazaar chase or collecting intelligence data. Together with Czech’s Amazing Theatre of Physics, the most curious visitors will take a look on how do we see and hear and what our brains make out of that. Their show comes with one important alert: do not trust senses even when they are making sense. It can often be only a myth or blatant lie!

AN EXCITING SCIENCE ADVENTURE THAT NEVER STOPS

The first Science Festival was held in modest conditions, taking place at one single location, which was sufficient for our enthusiasm for popularization of science to cause a sensation among a variety of target groups. Today, Serbian Science Festival is far beyond its humble beginnings: at this moment, it is one of the top science festivals in SE Europe, while at local level SSF represents the most popular and most important annual scientific event. The general sponsor of this year's Science Festival is NIS, a company that supports professional development of young people, education and use of modern technologies and innovations. For the eleventh consecutive time, the friend of the festival is mts. Entire event is co-organized by the Belgrade Fair, while Austrian Cultural Forum and the French Institute are supporting the festival as well. The sponsors of the thirteenth edition of this festival are: Public Enterprise Electric Power Industry of Serbia, Coca Cola Company, Erste Bank, National Geography, Grafix and Messer Tehnogas AD.

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CORPORATE

Auction - A Smart Way to Get Your Painting Auction houses and galleries that specialize in auction sales are opening across the world, and Belgrade certainly doesn’t lag

It’s been almost three centuries since the opening of Christie’s and Sotheby’s, the first and still the biggest auction houses in the world. When, in December 1766, Christie’s held its first public auction, the items offered for sale included bedding, two pillowcases, two bedpans and two items made of glass. Today, some 250 years later, the world of art has never been so diverse and available. Auction houses and galleries that specialize in auction sales are opening across the world, and Belgrade certainly doesn’t lag. So, in 2006, the ARTE Gallery was opened with the basic idea of promoting fine arts. Of course, one gets the best impression of the artwork by seeing it live, but the galleries, which have been doing a large segment of their business online, now send notifications about exhibitions and works of art to art lovers quickly and easily, as well as all the necessary information on how to obtain the desired piece. The most experienced collectors always opt for auctions because, despite everything that has come as a result of modern times, auctioning remains the most exciting way to buy a work of art. Since 2009, ARTE has held ten auction sales offering artwork by the most prominent painters and sculptors from the recent Yugoslav and Serbian art history. This year, the auction will traditionally take place in December.

WHY SHOULD YOU BUY AT AUCTION?

In addition to the excitement, there are practical reasons why buying at auction is a good decision. One of them is the fact that auctions are a public affair, so anyone can see what is being offered a pre-auction exhibition is usually organized and people who are not able to see it in person can view it online.

IF YOU BUY AT AN AUCTION, YOU USUALLY GET ARTWORK AT THE BEST PRICE This year, the ARTE Gallery will hold its pre-auction exhibition from December 11 – 23 (9 AM – 9 PM) at 1-3, Kralja Milana Street (ARTE Gallery and the former business space of Eurosalon Company). The auction will take place on December 23rd at 6 PM. It is advisable that you to do a little bit of research before applying for participating in an auction. You can do this research yourself or with the help of a gallerist who will walk you through the exhibition or the online catalogue. Also, at the auction, the price is publicly displayed, and it is formed precisely by people who want to buy the piece, in front of witnesses.

Price transparency is also good because you can always check the results from previous auctions regarding a particular artist or artistic period, and prepare for the eventual result, that is, know where to "draw the line". One more important thing! Movie scenes where two people fight over an art piece by offering fabulous amounts of money are very rare. If you buy at an auction, you usually get artwork at the best price.

exciting part. One segment of our auction consists of paintings, drawings and sculptures by eminent artists such as Paja Jovanović, Milan Konjović, Vladimir Veličković, Mrđan Bajić and other significant artists from this part of the world who created during the 20th and the 21st century. The second part of the auction includes objects of applied art, design and antiques. Once you have selected a piece, you need to fill out an application form, and of course, you have several options to choose from. You can register for the auction at the gallery a few days before, but also on the day of the auction, which will take place on December 23th, at the former business premises of Eurosalon Company. If you apply in person, you will receive a form and sign a contract. Or, another option is to do it online once the gallery sends you the relevant documents via email. The gallery will offer you the option of bidding from the auction hall or over the phone, and you can also choose to bid on your own, or to have someone from the gallery team to do it for you. In any case, you will be satisfied in the end. ARTE Gallery, 12 Andrićev Venac, 11000 Belgrade Phone: +381 11 32 38 789 info@arte.rs 3 Kralja Milana, 11000 Belgrade Phone: +381 11 32 40 452 WEB www.artegalerija.rs www.arte.rs

AUCTION: HOW DOES IT WORK AND WHEN DOES IT TAKE PLACE?

Buying a painting is the most

ARTE GALLERY NEW YEAR’S AUCTION 2019 Pre-auction exhibition: Decembar 11th – 23th, 9am - 9pm, 1-3 Kralja Milana Street Auction: Decembar 23th, 6 pm, 1 Kralja Milana Street

KOLARAC

Concert hall

CALENDAR & NEWS

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

NOV 11:00

CONCERT PROGRAMME November 2019

BABY CONCERTS 2

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Ivan Marković

Ivan Marković

Ivan Marković gained his first experience as a conductor in the Braća Baruh Choir and the Borislav Pašćan Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. He has actively promoted the music of Serbian composers, both eminent and young, and in recent years he has performed more than 70 works by Serbian composers, of which more than 20 have been premiered.

NOV

20:00

#BEETHOVENRULES 2

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Howard Griffiths Soloist: Sergej Krylov, violin Howard Griffiths

Howard Griffiths was born in England and studied at the Royal College of Music in London. He has lived in Switzerland since 1981. Howard Griffiths was the Artistic Director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra for ten years and has appeared as a guest conductor with many leading orchestras all over the world.

Thursday, 14th at 20 Concert Hall MARIJA JELIĆ, soprano 'Stanislav Binicki' Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defence Friday, 15th at 20.00 Concert Hall

SEVDAH MUSIC

Soloist Concert by Zorica Merdanović Sunday, 17th at 11.00 Concert Hall Kolarac Podium of Chamber music

141TH ANNIVERSARY OF KOLARAC FOUNDATION Ceremony and Annual Awards The best young artist in 2018, in collaboration with UMUS Evgenija Jeremić, soprano Sara Abramović, piano Sunday, 17th at 18.00 Music Gallery

BUNT

Master Class Marijana Lipovšek & Alfred Burgltaller Finall Concert of attenders of MA Sunday, 17th at 20.00 Concert Hall

CAS DIMITRIJE KOTUROVIĆ

400

Tuesday, 19th at 20.00 Concert Hall SHLOMO MINTZ, violin Itamar Golan, piano Wednesday, 20th at 18.00 Music gallery

LI KATARINA DAFNA,

piano Anna Ryabenkaya, soprano Sara Begović, violin

Production: BUNT

Ladislav Mezei, cello Luka Borkovič, piano Programme: J.S. Bach, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Schubert, Rachmaninoff

Wednesday, 27th at 18.00 Music Gallery

BOJAN BULATOVIĆ,

contratenor Dragana Dimić, piano Programme: R. Han, L. Fere,V. Lobos, K. Debissy Production: Music Centre Admission free

Friday, 22nd at 20.00 Concert Hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Howard Griffiths Sergej Krylov, violin Programme: Beethoven, Schumann

Wednesday, 27th at 20.00 Concert Hall

VELJKO KUZMANČEVIĆ / AUTHORS CONCERT “LAZARUS”

Saturday, 23rd at 20.00 Concert Hall

RTS SYMPHNY ORCHESTRA

Symphony Orchestra & Djordje Stanković, conductor

Vuk Ovaskainen, cello Programme: Shostakovich

Thursday, 28th at 20.00 Concert Hall

LEVEL UP

Sunday, 24th at 11.00 Concert Hall

KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Choir Zvezdice – Leskovac

Sunday, 24th at 20.00 Concert Hall

ACCORDION ORCHESTRA KRAGUJEVAC

Chamber Orchestra Muzikon Kordelija Hofer, klavir, Minka Popović, klavir Programme: Anja Đorđević (premiere), Beethoven, Janáček Production: Muzikon 700, 1.000, 1.200 Friday, 29th at 20.00 Concert Hall

Conductor: Predrag Kostović Guest: Vlatko Stefanoviski, guitar

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Monday, 25th at 18.00 Music Gallery

Conductor: Cristian Mandeal Programme: Mozart, Strauss, Brahms Production: Belgrade Philharmonic For more information 011 2630744

Tuesday, 26th at 20.00 Concert Hall

Saturday, 30th at 18.00 Concert Hall 19th International Folkolor Festival „Ponesi opanke”

PROGRAMME: A. SOKOLOVIĆ, ZORICA PREMATE, PETAR JANJATOVIĆ

QUARTET MOLINARI

Programme: S. Nežić, R. Marej Šafer, A. Sokolović Programme: Ana Sokolović