CorD Magazine, August 2019, issue no. 178

Ambassador of Belgium to Serbia

Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia

No Cherry Picking In Reform Process

www.cordmagazine.com

No Shortcut To EU Accession

H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX

DARKO TANASKOVIĆ

Professor and diplomat

We’ve Always Been Europeans, Even Without The EU

AUGUST 2019/ ISSUE NO. 178

H.E. KOENRAAD ADAM

interviews opinions news comments events SRĐAN MAJSTOROVIĆ

THE TREACHEROUS

Summer Of 2019 FOCUS

In Which Direction Is The Banking Sector Headed In Serbia?

Exclusive

PEKKA HAAVISTO

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We Europeans Are In The Same Boat

ISSN1451-7833

FINNISH FOREIGN MINISTER

CONTENTS

COMMENT

SRĐAN MAJSTOROVIĆ

THE TREACHEROUS SUMMER OF 2019 Following the European Parliament (EP) elections and the start of the process of forming new EU bodies, it is obvious that the Union as we know it today is set to change

10 WE EUROPEANS ARE IN THE SAME BOAT PEKKA HAAVISTO Finnish Foreign Minister

22 IN WHICH DIRECTION IS THE BANKING SECTOR HEADED IN SERBIA? FOCUS

26 TOP PAYING JOBS IN FINANCE

51 WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN EUROPEANS, EVEN WITHOUT THE EU DARKO TANASKOVIĆ Professor and diplomat

EARNINGS

40 FROM FAILURE TO MULTI-MILLIONAIRE 14 NO SHORTCUT TO EU ACCESSION

ROBIN HUTSON Hotelier

56 CHILL OUT

H.E. KOENRAAD ADAM Ambassador of Belgium to Serbia

58 DRESSED TO PARTY FASHION

43 LIFE IS AN ETERNAL DRESS REHEARSAL

JELENA BOGAVAC Theatre director, dramatist, writer

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CORD MAGAZINE

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Miroslava Nešić-Bikić m.bikic@aim.rs DESIGNER: Jasmina Laković j.lakovic@aim.rs CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Maja Vukadinović,

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18 GLOBAL DIARY 20 THE EU’S NEW LEADERS EU ELECTION 2019

Mirjana Jovanović, Miša Brkić, Ljubica Gojgić Radmila Stanković, Steve MacKenzie, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Sonja Ćirić, Miloš Belčević EDITORIAL MANAGER: Neda Lukić n.lukic@aim.rs PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović COPY EDITOR: Mark Pullen

TRANSLATION & EDITING MRP EDITORIAL Halifax Translation Services SALES MANAGERS: Biljana Dević, b.devic@aim.rs Nataša Trifunović, n.trifunovic@aim.rs Vesna Vukajlović, v.vukajlovic@aim.rs Mihailo Čučković m.cuckovic@aim.rs

44 BEAUTIFUL & TRAGIC

60 CULTURE CALENDAR

48 FACES & PLACES

62 AFTER WORK

CONTEMPORARY INUIT ART

OFFICE MANAGER: Svetlana Petrović s.petrovic@aim.rs

DIRECTOR: Ana Novčić a.novcic@aim.rs a.novcic@cordmagazine.com

FINANCE: Dragana Skrobonja finance@aim.rs

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Comment

The Treacherous Summer Of 2019 SRĐAN MAJSTOROVIĆ

CHAIRMAN OF THE GOVERNING BOARD, EUROPEAN POLICY CENTRE – CEP

T

he EP appears more fragmented than ever before, with traditional political groups having suffered their worst results. Yet, it would be wrong to consider this outcome as purely negative. The pluralism of the contesting political actors and ideas in the EP reflect the shift in the mood of EU citizens. And while mirroring their concerns (the future of work, climate change, migration), it also better represents the new reality within the Union.

The election of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission (EC) was a product of this new reality. Her candidacy deviated from the Spitzenkandidaten process and was a direct product of back-room deals between the leaders of EU member states. In this context, she was confirmed as the new Commission president by a wafer-thin majority of nine votes in the EP (383/747). In her address before the EP, she vowed to tackle climate change, make the EU more democratic, deal with migrations, place a greater emphasis on social justice, strengthen the EU’s global role and lead an uncompromising fight for the rule of law.The circumstances of her election, however, will have a significant impact on her ability to steer her programme and the EU’s polices during her term.

EU policies will continue to be under the strong influence of the national politics of member states.

This also includes the future of the EU enlargement process. One of the first signs of the EU’s intentions regarding the enlargement policy will be the composition of the new European Commission and the distribution of portfolios. A comprehensive, credible and efficient EU enlargement policy requires administrative, institutional and financial support with a name, a face and a telephone number in Brussels. Rumours about the future of DG NEAR are rightfully causing unease among candidates and

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Following the European Parliament (EP) elections and the start of the process of forming new EU bodies, it is obvious that the Union as we know it today is set to change potential candidate countries. Nevertheless, a good sign is that three EU member states are currently showing an interest in the Enlargement portfolio (according to diplomatic sources).

Regardless of the future composition and structure of the next EC, there are several key points that Western Balkan countries should address. First, they should put their differences aside and try to formulate a common vision of the Western Balkans as a future EU region. Joint vocal support for Albania and North Macedonia to start EU accession negotiations, and support to visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens could mark a positive change in the regional atmosphere.

Closer cooperation and regional integration is the right way for these countries to present themselves as credible future members. Second, resolving the legacy of the recent past and remaining bilateral issues represent preconditions to move forward. Without the comprehensive normalisation of relations in the region, Western Balkan countries will not be able to function and cooperate as EU members.

Third, the governments of the region should pay particular attention to reforms addressing the rule of law. The New Commission President noted that there will be no compromise with respect to the rule of law in EU member states. It is obvious that requirements for rule of law reforms in candidate and potential candidate countries will come into focus even more in the future. The announced introduction of an EU-wide Rule of Law Mechanism should be extended to candidate and potential candidate countries. That would enable better and more objective benchmarking for aspiring countries, more effective monitoring of progress and better leverage in assuring the sustainability of reforms in Western Balkan countries. Furthermore, by applying this mechanism simultaneously in EU member states

and candidate countries, it would be a positive sign that the process of deepening the EU’s policies can happen in unison with the Union’s enlargement.

Fourth, requests for more democracy in the EU should also be mirrored in the Western Balkans. The announcement of a “Conference on the Future of Europe” (to start in 2020 and run for two years) and consultations with EU citizens should also include future members. This would provide a good opportunity to open dialogue, improve communication with citizens of the region significantly, and engage civil society in contributing to the debate.

Fifth, in parallel with the process of establishing a new institutional setting, discussion of the Multi-annual Financial Framework 2021-2027 is ongoing. Western Balkan countries should use the opportunity to jointly advocate for stronger structural support to the region, especially in areas of infrastructure, digital connectivity, energy, and the environment and climate change. Structural support in the Western Balkans is a strategic investment in future EU infrastructure.

The summer of 2019 is, in many ways, important for the future of both the EU and the Western Balkans. The EU is beginning a new institutional cycle with a large number of challenges that offer an opportunity for the current generation of decisionmakers to address the concerns of EU citizens. The future of Europe depends on its ability to deal with global uncertainties imposed by allies, foes and contenders. One of the pieces of this multidimensional puzzle is the question of the Union’s ability to integrate Western Balkan countries and demonstrate confidence, capabilities and strategic autonomy. This is why the summer of 2019 is not (exclusively) for holidays; in fact, it is one of those treacherous summers that can define the future course of Europe.

Interview Exclusive PEKKA HAAVISTO FINNISH FOREIGN MINISTER

Finland has no doubt that the unity of the EU is more important today than ever, and it intends to use its Presidency to do its best to promote this – says Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto. “Our priorities are to strengthen the EU’s position as a global leader on climate action, strengthen common values and the rule of law, make the EU more competitive and socially inclusive, and to protect the security of citizens comprehensively.”

Finland also has a very clear stance on the importance of the EU enlargement process.

Apart from political and economic reasons, which point to the necessity of making the Western Balkans part of the EU, Minister Haavisto, has another one. While travelling by train around the countries of the Western Balkans last year, he met many young people from the region who have a strong European identity and eagerness to participate in building a better European Union.

We Europeans Are

In The Same Boat The Finnish Presidency will maintain a focus on the enlargement policy, which we consider a strategic investment in peace, stability and prosperity in Europe. The Western Balkans is at the heart of Europe, both geographically and historically, and negative developments in the Western Balkans would sooner or later cause negative consequences in Europe, including Finland 10

August

DIALOGUE

Progress in the dialogue is the only way for Serbia and Kosovo to advance on their respective paths to the EU. The dialogue is also key for stability in the region

Indeed, this is a demanding task that requires a lot of work, especially in the domain of the rule of law, as our interlocutor clearly states.

On the bilateral front, Finland and Serbia are celebrating 90 years of diplomatic relations. According to Minister Haavisto, “it is important that we have more concrete cooperation between people, academia and businesses, as well as an active dialogue at the political level”.

PERSISTENCE

It is important that Serbia continues with EU-related reforms and their implementation. Further work is required in the fight against corruption and for the rule of law and media freedom

Do you believe that during the Finnish Presidency, in October, the UK will finally exit the EU; could something else be done to change the conditions of this “divorce”?

The ball is still in the UK’s court. It is up to the UK how it wants to proceed. We naturally want to avoid a disorderly Brexit and establish a future relationship that is as close as possible with the UK. We look forward to

UNITY

Only a strong and united Union can make a difference in Europe and globally. We will do our best to promote this during our presidency

working together on these issues with the next UK Prime Minister. The withdrawal agreement, however, is not open for renegotiation, but we are open for talks when it comes to the Declaration on future UK-EU relations. Given that the EU is facing huge challenges and the need for internal reforms, will it be possible for Finland to add some new quality to the process of expanding

The Finnish presidency of the Council of the EU coincides with the electing of new leaders of European institutions.

Are you satisfied with the distribution of functions and the personnel solutions for key positions within the Union?

It is important that an agreement on the high level appointments has been reached. I am particularly happy with the gender balance. A swift return to a normal working rhythm is in our common interest. As we hold the Presidency, we will build up close and constructive relations with the new institutional actors. Complaints have been heard from some EU member states regarding the fact that the choice for people in key EU positions has been dominated by Germany and France, disregarding other members – particularly those from Central and Eastern Europe, even bringing into question the democratic principle of selecting officials. How would you respond to such an assessment?

The outcome of the European Council on the high-level appointments was consensual. The package did not divide member states either geographically or politically. The unity of the EU is today more important than ever. Only a strong and united Union can make a difference in Europe and globally. We will do our best to promote this during our presidency.

the EU to encompass the countries of the Western Balkans?

Many young people in the region have a strong European identity and are eager to participate in building a better European Union

The Finnish Presidency will maintain a focus on the enlargement policy, which we consider a strategic investment in peace, stability and prosperity in Europe. Committing to core European values remains essential for all partners aspiring to join the EU one day.

The rule of law is an important priority for the Finnish government, and it will be high

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Interview Exclusive on our enlargement agenda. We also want to emphasise the role of the youth, as well as civil society, in the creation of a better Europe. Do you believe that North Macedonia and Albania will formally commence EU membership accession negotiations this autumn?

The Council will continue its consideration of the Commission’s recommendations to open accession

The Western Balkans is at the heart of Europe, both geographically and historically, and negative developments in the Western Balkans would sooner or later cause negative consequences in Europe, including Finland.

After all, we Europeans are in the same boat.

The Finnish economy has profited from the enlargement of the EU over the course of the years. Finnish companies are active in the Baltic countries and in Central Europe.

the Western Balkans must show greater progress in the area of the rule of law and the struggle against corruption.

How do you see the position of Serbia in these areas today?

Finland supports the European perspective of Serbia. I believe that the place of Serbia one day is in the EU, but - as you say - that still requires consistent work.

It is important that Serbia continues with EUrelated reforms and particularly their implementation. I would like to highlight the importance of further work in the fight against corruption and for the rule of law and media freedom.

As I see it, the reforms are not being implemented for the EU, but rather they bring benefits to citizens of Serbia regardless of how membership negotiations proceed. You announced that reaching an agreement on the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is becoming the new focus of the region, following the resolving of the name issue for North Macedonia. Could you attempt to define what the final “normalisation of relations” would be, because there isn’t even accord on that issue within the EU itself?

negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania this autumn. Finland supports these steps.

We will do our best to facilitate the reaching of clear and substantive decisions in the Council. Also in this context, I would like to stress how important it is that both countries continue to make tangible progress on reforms and in their implementation.

We hope to see more economic activity between the Western Balkans and Finland

You stated in another recent interview that the expansion of the EU is in the interests of Finland. Could you explain why that is so – given that it seems that not all EU member states share that stance?

They should have the same opportunities to do business and invest in the Western Balkans.

That is obviously a two-way road. We hope to see more economic activity between the Western Balkans and Finland.

Finland’s interest in Europe is to promote stability, peace and sustainable development. I consider the enlargement framework a strong and quite unique instrument to advance those goals.

You’ve drawn attention to the fact that the road to EU accession is long and demands a lot of work. You’ve also noted in particular that the countries of

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We strongly encourage both Serbia and Kosovo to continue the dialogue and remain committed to it. The EU is committed to supporting and facilitating that dialogue.

Progress in the dialogue is the only way for Serbia and Kosovo to advance on their respective paths to the EU. The dialogue is also key to stability in the region.

The full normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo will bring concrete advantages for citizens of both parties. The content of a legally-binding agreement addressing all outstanding issues is for the two parties to define. A solution cannot be imposed from outside, yet the content must be fully compatible with international law, the EU acquis, and supported by the region. Could you tell us more about your experience of travelling around the countries of the Western Balkans by train last year. What were your strongest impressions?

Some of the most interesting discussions were with young people. I believe they will have a key role to play in focusing on the future instead of dwelling on historical burdens. Many young locals had a strong European identity and were eager to participate in building a better European Union. These discussions were very inspiring and strengthened my belief that the EU should play a stronger role in the Western Balkans and keep the door open for EU membership. Young people from Serbia and across the region plan to leave their home countries in large numbers. This is a problem that’s being faced by other countries, including EU member states. Can this ‘brain drain’ process be stopped?

The brain drain is a serious problem. I believe that the European perspective brings an important vision of a better future for the youth of the Western Balkans. Many young people

As I see it, the reforms are not being implemented for the EU, but rather they bring benefits to citizens of Serbia regardless of how membership negotiations proceed in the region have a strong European identity and are eager to participate in building a better European Union.

Efforts to address high unemployment, especially among the young, create business opportunities and strengthen skills-based economies that help tackle the brain drain.

Moreover, regional cooperation in the areas of education, business and cultural cooperation can create new opportunities for the youth.

 To conclude, how would you rate bilateral relations between Finland and Serbia, and in which areas could those relations be advanced?

Relations between Serbia and Finland are excellent. This year is a special one, as we are celebrating 90 years of our diplomatic relations.

It is important that we have more concrete cooperation between people, academia and businesses, as well as an active dialogue at the political level.

There is room to further activate our business-to-business cooperation. I firmly believe that Finnish companies could provide interesting solutions in the areas of renewable energy and clean-tech, for example.

The new direct flight connection of Air Serbia between Belgrade and Helsinki facilitates business and supports tourism.

Serbia has chosen EU membership as its strategic goal and priority, and Finland fully supports the European perspective of Serbia.

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Interview H.E. KOENRAAD ADAM AMBASSADOR OF BELGIUM TO SERBIA

After the much-anticipated European Parliament election, Belgium turned out to be among those countries that both lost and gained something in the process. Soon the country will be left without a prime minister. How would you comment on the appointment of Charles Michel as president of the European Council?

It is a great honour for Belgium, and indeed a recognition of our European ‘credentials’, to see our Prime Minister being elected by his peers as the new President of the European Council. At the same time, we hope that with this appointment the Belgian ‘model’ of compromise-seeking, aimed at bridging differences between our constitutive language groups, may also inspire European decisionmaking at the highest level. The new president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,

No Shortcut To

EU Accession

We have, over recent years, consistently defended the view that the Western Balkans needs to be given a European, merit-based perspective.

That means that candidate countries like Serbia need to respond to a broad set of accession criteria and implement the necessary (legislative) reforms. From the Belgium perspective, the priority has to be given to the fundamentals of democratic society 14

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FOCUS

In my view, Serbia would really benefit from a policy in which more efforts are focused on those issues over which it has complete control, i.e. the internal reform agenda

was also born in Belgium. Her appointment, as well as the election of Christine Lagarde as the future governor of the European Central Bank, means that two important European institutions will be led by women. How would you comment on this?

CHALLENGE

In the short term, the biggest challenge – without any doubt – is to get a good grip on developments regarding Brexit

French President Macron recently reiterated his reservations regarding EU enlargement until the Union undergoes deep internal reforms. How should Serbia interpret this message?

It is not really up to a Belgian Ambassador

PROSPECTS

The best prospects for Belgian companies lie probably in the areas of ICT, renewable energies, waste management and construction

to interpret the words of a French President, but I noted that, during his recent visit to Serbia, President Macron made it clear that he considers this as parallel and not sequential processes: reforms are required in the Union as well as in Serbia.

My country has always been a determined advocate of more gender equality at the highest level of decision-making, including in the EU. Our European Commissioner, Marianne Thyssen, who is responsible for the social affairs portfolio, is an exponent of this policy. We commend the election of women to at these influential positions, and welcome in particular the commitment of the new Commission President, Mrs von der Leyen, to reserve half of the positions in the new Commission to female Commissioners. What do you consider as the greatest challenges for the EU in the immediate future?

In the short term, the biggest challenge is without any doubt - getting a good grip on developments regarding Brexit. There is no positive side to this episode, and we must take care not to let it derail. Some important decisions still have to been taken, and a balance will need to be found to protect the European project and safeguard the interests of its citizens and companies, while working towards a renewed and close future relations with the UK. The EU has recently adopted a strategic agenda that will help us to focus on priority areas in the coming months and years: protect citizens and freedoms, develop a vibrant economy, build a climate-neutral Europe, and promote EU interests and values on the global stage… By responding to those challenges, the EU will foster the confidence of its citizens in a safe, healthy and prosperous future.

Across the political spectrum, it would be helpful if the narrative would change in a more constructive and less aggressive and confrontational style of political discourse

What is Belgium’s position on the enlargement of the European Union to encompass Western Balkan countries?

We have, over recent years, consistently defended the view that the Western Balkans needs to be given a European, merit-based perspective. On their journey to the EU, candidate countries like Serbia need to respond to a broad set of accession criteria and implement the necessary (legislative) reforms. From the Belgium perspective, it is of crucial importance that priority during

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Interview most? What should the government in Belgrade pay special attention to?

In my view, Serbia would really benefit from a policy in which more efforts are focused on those issues over which it has complete control, i.e. the internal reform agenda. The Progress Report of the European Commission offers a clear and detailed road map of what is expected in the different negotiation chapters, including with some concrete policy recommendations.

It will be important to demonstrate that this is not only an exercise in paying lip service or ticking boxes, but that political will is also translated in actual, tangible implementation on the ground.

I hope to see more frequent political contacts once the dust settles on the postelectoral political situation in Belgium Across the political spectrum, it would also be helpful if the narrative would change in a more constructive, less aggressive and confrontational style of political discourse.

this reform process is given to what has to be considered as the fundamentals of any democratic society: the rule of law, including the fight against organised crime and corruption, and respect for fundamental freedoms, such as the freedom of expression.

Coming to terms with the recent, traumatic past will be indispensable in paving the way to regional reconciliation and cooperation, which are prerequisites for a harmonious future within the European family. Let me also stress that each country will be judged on the basis of its own merits. In your opinion, what does the speed of Serbia’s EU integration depend on the

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How would you assess the messages from the latest EU-Western Balkans Summit, held in Poznan, Poland, in early July?

What you are referring to is the so-called “Berlin process” and not the EU-Western Balkans Summit that was last held last year in Sofia. The Berlin Process gathers some EU members states, the Western Balkans 6 and some international financial institutions.

Belgium is not a member, but believes that this process offers a welcome contribution to the regional integration agenda in several ‘connectivity’ areas, such as transport infrastructure, telecommunications and energy. It is above all a ‘confidence building’ platform that brings together the leaders, civil society stakeholders and business communities of the Western Balkans in a format that allows

for a direct exchange of views, also with the European partners that accompany the process.

The Poznan meeting consolidated progress, but at the same time it is obvious that – despite some important successes, such as the Prespa Agreement or the entry into force of the roaming agreement – the region still suffers from too many wounds that need to heal. The media noted your statement that you do not want to interfere in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on the normalisation of relations, because this is an issue they have to solve themselves. Do you really believe that a solution can be reached without participation, some would say even influence, of Brussels, Washington, Moscow etc.?

Let me clarify: Belgium has no intention of interfering directly in the dialogue for the simple reason that we are fully backing the facilitation efforts of Frederica Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. I agree, though, with the assessment that both Belgrade and Pristina will probably need some external ‘encouragement’ to show the indispensable political courage required for the normalisation to materialise. Given the European aspirations of both countries, it is logic that the EU remains in the driving seat of the facilitation process. It is obvious, however, that at the end of the day the constructive attitude of all major powers will be necessary to bring about a sustainable result of these negotiations.

As regards Belgium’s input, I would like to draw attention to the fact that Kosovo is regularly discussed in the UN Security Council, where Belgium tries to play a bridge-building role as a non-permanent member. Belgium also stands ready to assist with any advice, if required, drawing on its own history of ‘constitutional engineering’ that brought together our language communities in a complex but peaceful set-up. At the end of your first year as ambassador in Serbia, what would you say about bilateral relations between Belgium and Serbia?

I have been pleasantly surprised by the intensity of those relations, on all levels of interaction: a bilateral political dialogue has been established

between both our ministries of foreign affairs, the Police Action Plan was rolled out for the first time at the end of last year, and both our Prosecutors have met to step up cooperation.

In the cultural field, there is a continuous inflow of high-quality Belgian productions, be that in the domain of theatre, dance, music or film, and the economic dimension of our presence is growing. I hope to see more frequent political contacts once the dust settles on the post-electoral political situation in Belgium. You recently stated that Belgian investors are interested in investing in Serbia, and that Serbia’s main advantage is people. In what areas do you see the possibility to expand cooperation?

In statistical terms, based on the figures from our own export agency, 2018 was an exceptionally good year, with a bilateral trade volume of nearly 900 million euros. Even if we flatten out the few exceptional transactions that inflated that figure, the upward trend remains

In statistical terms, based on the figures from our own export agency, 2018 was an exceptionally good year, with a bilateral trade volume of nearly 900 million euros very evident. This is due to a great extent to the trade movements generated by Belgian investments in Serbia, with products aimed at the export market. These are companies I’ve visited, and that have confirmed to me their faith in the quality of the workforce and their readiness to expand. But the best prospects for Belgian companies lie probably in the areas of ICT, renewable energies, waste management and construction.

You’ve said that, apart from political and economic cooperation, connecting in the field of culture is very important for the two countries. Do you already have a plan on how to strengthen cooperation in culture between Belgium and Serbia?

The direct impact of the Embassy is limited: given the specificities of our constitutional set-up, competences in the area of culture (promotion) lie entirely in the hands of the three language communities. However, we do try to develop an integrated approach, with support for activities that contribute to the Belgian image abroad. As an Embassy, we have been involved in the promotion of Belgian participation in BITEF, the Belgrade Dance Festival (BDF), the Saxophone Festival and the Guitar Art Festival. I know that the upcoming BITEF and BDF season will dedicate a lot of attention to Belgian productions, and I am thrilled by the prospect of enjoying - together with the Belgrade public - some magical moments of cultural genius.

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GLOBAL DIARY

Misleading

“As for United States’ so-called ‘because China’s economy is slowing so China urgently hopes to reach an agreement with the U.S. side,’ this is totally misleading,” – GENG SHUANG, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN

MACRON VISITS SERBIA French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to relaunch talks on the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo during his official visit to the Serbian capital in July.

Following a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić, Macron said that he would invite delegations from both countries to meet in Paris, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Belgrade’s relations with its breakaway province have deteriorated since Pristina imposed 100 per cent tariffs on Serbian products in response to Belgrade blocking its bid to join Interpol.

BORIS JOHNSON - NEW UK PRIME MINISTER

battle to succeed Theresa May. The outgoing Mrs May will take part in her final Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday before she hands in her resignation to the Queen and recommends Mr Johnson as her successor.

Mr Johnson will now start drawing up his first Cabinet reshuffle after getting the traditional desk-thumping welcome from Conservative MPs.

Boris Johnson will be the UK’s new Prime Minister following a landslide victory in the Tory leadership race.

The former London Mayor beat rival Jeremy Hunt by a clearer margin of 92,153 votes to 46,656 in the

Austria’s interim Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein will propose Johannes Hahn remain as the country’s representative in the next European Commission.

Bierlein said in a statement that, following discussions with all parties in the Austrian Parliament, she intends to nominate Hahn to remain at the EU executive for a third term.

The 61-year-old Hahn, who hails from the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), is currently in charge of the EU’s enlargement policy. He was first picked to become Austria’s commissioner in 2010, when he oversaw regional policy.

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Photo: upsmedia.ba

HAHN NOMINATED TO STAY AT EU COMMISSION

Bloggers

“No matter what our bloggers – or whoever’s job it is to comment on the internet – might say about the situation in the U.S., this could not have played a decisive role. It is sheer nonsense” – VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA

NOLE WINS WIMBLEDON – AGAIN! Serbian tennis ace Novak Đoković has won tennis’s UK-based grand slam tournament again, proving triumphant over Swiss ace Roger Federer in thrilling five set spectacle lasting five hours. The world number one previously won Wimbledon titles in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2018. This victory also saw him beat his Swiss rival for a fifth consecutive time, with heir head-tohead record now favouring Nole 26-22. Đoković also became the first player – after 70 years of competition – to win Wimbledon after saving match point, while his final match against Federer was the longest in the Wimbledon tournament’s history.

VIRGIN GALACTIC TO GO PUBLIC World-renowned British entrepreneur Richard Branson continues to be in a tight race to become the first to operate a large-scale business that takes tourists into space. However, he has moved a step closer to winning a different contest: becoming the first to achieve the goal with a publicly traded company.

Specifically, Branson’s Virgin Galactic an-

DRINA REGATTA ATTRACTS RECORD NUMBERS The Drina Regatta has this year attracted record numbers of visitors to the river that forms part of the border between Serbia and Bosnia.

Traditionally held – for nearly two decades – in Ljubovija every July, the Drina Regatta is the longest regatta in Europe (40 km) and takes place in the most beautiful part of the Drina Valley. In addition to its main race down one of the cleaners rivers in Europe, the event also includes various entertainment, cultural and sporting elements.

Ever more participants are seeking to stay at village homes and enjoy the nature and healthy food offered by hosts in the village of Azbukovica, while there are also village homes along the banks of the Drina (Uzovnica, Crnca, Lonjin, Vrhpolje, Tresnjica, Drlace) and in nearby mountain villages (Gornje Koslje).

nounced plans to merge with a public shell company in a deal that would create the first stock listing for the space tourism business.

If the deal is completed, Virgin Galactic will be able to sell shares to raise money - representing a potentially crucial advantage over rivals like Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has so far been less focused on space tourism and is likely to compete more closely with Virgin Orbit, another of Branson’s companies. Neither company is expected to go public anytime soon.

UAE APPROVES FULL FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF FIRMS The United Arab Emirates has decided to lift a decades-old cap on foreign ownership and allow full foreign control of business ventures in the country. The decision abolishes an outdated law limiting foreign ownership of firms operating in the country to just 49 per cent.

According to a government statement, the seven Sheikdoms that comprise the UAE will have the discretion to specify their own ceilings for the foreign ownership of key business sectors. In order to dodge the 49 per cent limit, some emirates – led by Dubai – have long established free trade zones where foreigners can own up to 100 per cent of their own business.

August

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EU Election 2019

The EU’s New Leaders

URSULA VON DER LEYEN

The EU Parliament has elected German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen to the top post of European Commission chief, following a marathon three-day summit

E

very six years, in tandem with European Parliament elections, the EU changes the management of its top jobs. This, in turn, impacts on the composition of its institutions. The five key posts are European Commission president, European Council president, president of the European Parliament, head of the European Central Bank, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

Ursula von der Leyen (1958) is a German politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She has served as German defence minister since 2013, representing the first woman to hold that function. She’s also the only minister to have served in all four governments of German chancellor Angela Merkel. From 2005 until 2009, von der Leyen was minister of family affairs and

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youth, while from 2009 until 2013 she served as minister of labour and social affairs.

Von der Leyen is the daughter of a European official (director-general) at the European Commission who served from 1958 – the year the commission was established – onwards.

Born in Ixelles, Brussels, she lived there until she was 13 years old, when – in 1971 – her family moved to Lower Saxony, where her father was prime minister from 1976 until 1990. Von der Leyen graduated as a doctor of medicine in 1991.

Von der Leyen was Merkel’s 2010 candidate for the presidency of Germany, but her candidacy was blocked by a more conservative section of the CDU/CSU coalition. In 2015, when Hungary deployed water cannons and tear gas against

CHARLES MICHEL

refugees at the Hungarian-Serbian border, Von der Leyen called the measures of prime minister Victor Orban “not acceptable and against the European rules we have”. Von der Leyen is a convinced European federalist, favouring the formation of a united states of Europe and a European army in the long term.

CHARLES MICHEL, EU COUNCIL PRESIDENT Charles Michel (1975) is the prime minister of Belgium. The son of Louis Michel, a former European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Michel served as Belgian minister for development aid in four different governments from 2007 until 2010.

One of those governments was headed as prime minister by Herman Van Rompuy, who became the first president of the European Council, serving from 2009 until 2014. Michel resigned as a minister in 2010, in order to become president of the Belgian francophone liberal party, Mouvement Reformateur (MR).

It was in this position that he negotiated the formation of the Belgian government in

By Koert Debeuf

2014. Michel became prime minister of this government in what were, for Belgium, rather extraordinary circumstances.

While the Flemish side of the government

and proposing to build an anti-migrant wall across the Sahara.

Borrell rose from humble origins, as a baker’s son in a village in the mountains of north Catalo-

JOSEP BORRELL

consisted of three parties, the MR was the only party on the francophone side. The government eventually collapsed when the largest Flemish party, NVA, withdrew from the government in December 2018, when Michel signed the UN Global Compact for Migration with the support of the two other Flemish parties. The government continued functioning without a majority in the parliament until the elections of May 2019.

Belgian political insiders characterise Michel as not being a visionary, but a dealmaker – a quality you cannot do without if you want to lead a complicated country like Belgium.

Von der Leyen is a convinced European federalist, favouring the formation of a united states of Europe and a European army in the long term

JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHIEF Spain’s 72-year-old foreign minister, Josep Borrell, is making his return to high-level EU politics after having led the European Parliament between 2004 and 2007. Prior to taking on the post of EU foreign policy chief, he stood out for his leadership of EU diplomacy on the Venezuela crisis and by campaigning against Catalan independence. He has also mocked “cowboy” U.S. president Donald Trump for threatening military intervention in Caracas

nia. During his youth he also worked on building sites, farms, and in restaurants and vineyards. He trained as an engineer in Madrid and earned masters degrees in both the U.S. and France.

He joined the socialist party, the PSOE, in 1975 and entered politics in 1979, becoming a councillor in Madrid. He went on to hold the posts of finance secretary of state and minister of public works and transport, before taking over the helm of the party in 1998. His finance stint saw him battle a flamenco star, Lola Flores, in a famous 1980s tax-evasion case, but he later

stepped down himself as party head after a fraud investigation, and more recently was fined €30,000 for insider trading in an energy firm.

Borrell also represented Spain on the con-

CHRISTINE LAGARDE

vention which drafted the defunct European constitution in 2001, where he was credited with helping keep references to Christianity out of the charter. Also an advocate of LGBTI rights, he said at the time: “When it comes to democracy, human rights and equality, God is a recent convert.

He was comfortable with slavery for centuries”.

CHRISTINE LAGARDE, HEAD OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK Christine Lagarde has become known as the “rock star” of international finance. A former French cabinet minister, she has headed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 2011 and will step down as its managing director on 12th September, .

Provided the European Council approves her ECB nomination, she will become the central bank’s first ever female leader, responsible for the euro and the monetary policy of the eurozone.

This “rock star” of international finance, now 63, began her career as a lawyer, before moving into politics. She served in various ministerial posts under Nicolas Sarközy before being elected as the first female boss of the IMF - replacing Dominique Strauss Khan.

August

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Focus

Banking Sector

In Which Direction Is

The Banking Sector Headed In Serbia?

The announced privatisation of Komercijalna Banka has again prompted the question of banking sector consolidation to emerge among experts and the general public. Contrary to expectations from the beginning of the 2000s, the arrival of global banking groups and conglomerates now seems unlikely, but new market entrants are not excluded

W

hich banking groups will manage to survive this time of low interest rates and a small and shallow banking market with a relatively weak economy? What does the growth of banks un-

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der domestic private ownership tell us about the banking sector in Serbia? Is the regional expansion of banks with Serbian equity a trend or an exception? These are the questions we posed to our experts from the banking sector.

JORGOVANKA TABAKOVIĆ

GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONAL BANK OF SERBIA

STRENGTHENING COMPETITION IS A NATURAL RESPONSE TO A WELL-REGULATED MARKET CONSOLIDATION OF THE BANKING SECTOR IN SERBIA IS THE RESULT OF GLOBAL MOVEMENTS, WHICH IMPLIES THE MERGING OF BANKS IN MAJOR GLOBAL CHAINS AND LOCAL MARKET CHARACTERISTICS The issue of falling numbers of banks is partly related to global consolidation processes within the scope of banking groups that operate in Serbia, and partly a result of the strategy of banks to use takeovers to secure an optimal market position. In both cases, the consolidation of the banking sector is a consequence of changes that consider both specificities in the international

BRANKO GREGANOVIĆ CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF NLB BANK

INTEREST IN THE BANKING SECTOR AMONG DOMESTIC INVESTORS IS ENCOURAGING NEWS THE TREND OF FALLING INTEREST RATES IS CAUSED PRIMARILY BY A LACK OF SUFFICIENT OPPORTUNITIES TO UTILISE FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND CERTAINLY IMPACTS ON THE OPERATIONAL RESULTS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. THIS REQUIRES THE FURTHER OPTIMISATION OF OPERATIONS, WHICH CERTAINLY ENCOURAGES CONSOLIDATION WITHIN THE BANKING SECTOR IN SERBIA

environment and the specificities of the domestic banking market. The trend of low interest rates has continued in 2019 and is a result of the easing of monetary policy by the National Bank of Serbia, lower interest rates on the money market in the eurozone, lower country risk premiums and increased competition between banks. Under conditions of reduced interest rates and interest margins of banks, the banking sector has still achieved satisfactory profitability. These trends are a result of increased efficiency of the banking sector, primarily in resolving the issue of problematic loans, the share of which has reduced since 2015 by almost 17 percentage points - to 5.4%, which is the lowest level of participation in total loans since this indicator has been monitored.

The National Bank of Serbia contributes to strengthening competition in the banking market by supporting the entry of credit rating investors into the banking sector of Serbia, and without making the distinction between domestic and foreign or private and state investors in so doing. The diversity of the ownership structure of the banking sector, in terms of country of origin of the owners, including local owners, can only increase the resilience of the banking sector against potential shocks that could possibly come from the external environment, and in this sense strengthen the stability of the banking system as a whole. When it comes to plans for the regional expansion of banks with Serbian equity, it should be noted that the adoption of such decisions is mostly determined by the interests of a bank’s shareholders, as well as the long-term strategy of a bank regarding its presence on certain markets. The fact that banks under domestic private ownership are recognised as desirable investors, and investors with a good reputation in the banking market of the European Union and the region, certainly represents yet more confirmation of the results achieved and the credibility of the Serbian banking system and the National Bank of Serbia, as the supervisor and regulator of that system.

Reductions in the number of banks is a process that has marked our market to a great degree in the past decade and was quite expected, if we consider that during certain periods there have been as many as 40 banks operating on the territory of Serbia, which is realistically too much for a market of this size. This process already started, to a certain extent, with the emergence of the global economic crisis, which negatively influenced the growth of operations in the financial sector, on the one hand, while on the other was the compelling of part of banking groups to reduce their activities or completely abandon some markets, because that was the only way to ensure the sustainability of their business activities.

The trend of falling interest rates is caused primarily by a lack of sufficient opportunities to utilise financial resources and certainly impacts on the operational results of financial institutions. This requires the further optimisation of operations, which certainly encourages consolidation within the banking sector in Serbia. We expect this process to continue and that we will have an opportunity to witness new mergers and acquisitions, the departures of some banks from the market, but also the appearance of some new players.

The solution for some financial institutions will be to focus on specific market niches and specialise in working only with certain segments of clients. The process of consolidating the Serbian banking sector should be considered as a process that unfolds according to market principles and contributes to the further stabilising and strengthening of our financial sector. In this process, the space vacated by certain international groups has been filled with the arrival of some entrepreneurs from this area.

When it comes to increasing the number of banks under domestic ownership, I don’t think this relates to a trend, but rather to the fact that some Serbian entrepreneurs and investors estimate that banks in Serbia and the region currently represent a good investment opportunity. In any case, I consider this is a positive signal, especially due to the fact that it relates to domestic investors.

Interest among local investors is encouraging news, both when it comes to investments in banking and investments in the real sector.

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Focus

In which direction is the banking sector headed in Serbia?

BRANKO ŽIVANOVIĆ

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND HEAD OF THE BELGRADE BANKING ACADEMY’S DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE

THIS IS A MARKET FOR REGIONAL PLAYERS I EXPECT INTEREST IN THE SERBIAN MARKET TO STRENGTHEN AMONG GOOD REGIONAL PLAYERS LIKE OTP AND POSSIBLY TURKISH AND ASIAN BANKS

The number of banks on the market is not – and shouldn’t be – primarily conditioned by the trend of low interest rates, but rather primarily by the degree of development of the economy and the financial market, as well as their further development prospects. Conservative banking dogma adheres to the rule “one universal bank per million inhabitants”, but modern bank-

NENAD GUJANIČIĆ BANKING EXPERT, ANALYST

WE’LL HAVE A BIG FOUR AND LOTS OF SMALL BANKS IN THE NEAR FUTURE WE’LL PROBABLY FACE A BANKING SECTOR THAT IS DOMINATED BY FOUR BANKS: INTESA, UNICREDIT, OTP – PROVIDED NEGOTIATIONS ON THE ACQUISITION OF SOCIETE GENERALE BANK ARE CONCLUDED SUCCESSFULLY – AND THE BANK THAT TAKES OVER KOMERCIJALNA BANKA, THE PRIVATISATION OF WHICH IS UNDERWAY 24

August

ing practises often refute that, so in countries with far more developed economies, such as Italy or Austria, the number of banks exceeds that envisaged ratio by far. The banking system in Serbia certainly comes under the category of one of the most stable, most developed, adequately capitalised and well-controlled segments of the national economy, despite accumulated NPLs and somewhat slower lending activity. However, the dimensions and depth of the national market are such that in the future, further concentration and reduction of the number of banks on it should be expected. The most developed global banking groupings and conglomerates should not be expected to be expected, and even some of them will withdraw at this stage. This inevitability is not the result of our mistakes or omissions, but the strategic orientation of superior banking groups in the wider and deeper markets, dictated by the new digital co-configuration of the bank and the change of the business model. The disruption of new banking-financial technology is hardly feasible in small markets. Thus, the main precondition for the success of the new financial and technological banking matrix is the size of the market, which makes the Serbian market, at present, not too deep and attractive for superior players who are increasingly streamlining their business. More and more interest in this market at the current stage will show, otherwise good systems like OTP, possibly Turkish and Asian banks that find interest, primarily for the start, are tracking companies from their countries and operating at these profit margins. True, and international investment funds, but exclusively for repackaging and further sale.

The fact that Serbian bankers are entering the banking sector is more of an exception that shows the current lack of interest in the domestic market among foreign investors, as well as the opportunity for local investors to realise extra profits quickly – through the decapitalisation of banks they’ve purchased - by reducing the number of employees, selling NPLs, selling fixed assets, and through the price to buy banks ranging in amounts of 30 to 50 per cent of their capital.

The trend of global low interest rates and increased regulatory demands renders the business environment fairly tough for banks, but the consolidation of the domestic banking market would be on the agenda even without these circumstances. This merely accelerates the process and In the near future we’ll probably face a banking sector that is dominated by four banks: Intesa, Unicredit, OTP – provided negotiations on the acquisition of Societe Generale Bank are concluded successfully – and the bank that takes over Komercijalna Banka, the privatisation of which is underway.

These four banks will each have an individual share exceeding 10 per cent, and will together account for around 60-70 per cent of total banking sector assets, so it could be said that they will be dominant in shaping banking product trends. Behind them will remain a few banks with market shares of three to seven per cent, with a large majority having a market share of less than three per cent and fighting for survival, not being part of the continuing consolidation of the sector.

Guided by negative experiences from the 1990s, the National Bank of Serbia didn’t allow local capitalists to be the dominant owners of banks for a long time. If we look at developments in the domestic banking sector over the past ten years or so, primarily following the outbreak of the global economic crisis, it can be said that this decision was fairly well founded.

The later waning of demand – not only for domestic banks, but also for regional ones – prompted the regulator to also allow the inflow of domestic capital into the banking sector, so its important representatives are now AIK and Directna Banka.

These trends shouldn’t be too concerning if we exclude the fact that in our country we’ve disabled the coupling of big business, politics and,

viewed theoretically, independent institutions. As such, the new influx of domestic capital into the banking sector will not have the same outcome as the last time, twenty years ago, only provided the central regulator of this market justifies the nominal epithet of independence.

The regional expansion of local companies should certainly be supported, whether from the real sector or the financial sector. However, this trend is primarily limited by the strength of our economy, but also current economic policy that’s orientated towards attracting foreign investors with abundant subsidies.

This certainly makes the position of local entrepreneurs more difficult on the domestic market, but also when it comes to possible foreign expansion.

SLAVKO CARIĆ

CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF ERSTE BANK A.D. (JSC) NOVI SAD

BIG CHALLENGES FACING SMALL BANKS REDUCING INTEREST MARGINS, SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN DIGITALISATION AND THE COSTS OF REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS REPRESENT A CHALLENGE FOR SMALLER BANKS THAT OPERATE ON OUR MARKET

We have been witnessing for the consolidation of the domestic banking sector for several years now – from the departure of Greek banks, through the entry of a large Hungarian group, to local entrepreneurs deciding to invest in the banking sector. What is certain is that consolidation will continue.

It will be interesting to see what will happen to Komercijalna Banka, given that we recently heard that the offers of six interested investors are being considered, and that it was announced that the sale will be completed by year’s end.

The ownership of top banks in the region is mainly in the hands of leading banking groups in the region or investment organisations, such as hedge funds or private equity funds. Looking at the broader picture of the regional banking sector, it is really very difficult to carve out a larger share in some of the regional financial services markets.

Earnings

Top Paying Jobs In Finance “Wolves of Wall Street” aren’t the only ones who can live an extraordinary life. In fact, there are many ways to make good money by dealing with financial assets and operations. The bestpaid professions are in both traditional finance and the rapidly-developing fintech sector

T

he top job of any financial systems manager is to focus on the maintenance and long-term security of software. They lead the development, implementation, and administration of an organisation’s financial systems, as well as researching financial record-keeping and reporting requirements and ensuring that systems are modified to meet these requirements. These professionals - typically highly educated in computer science, information systems, and management information systems - use their extensive background to ensure a company can actively and securely monitor key corporate transactions.

A chief compliance officer (CCO) is a part of the top leadership hierarchy within a company. Their role is to ensure both internal and external compliance, while these professionals also ensure adherence to rules and regulations set forth by local, state, and federal governing bodies, as well as ensuring employee and employer compliance with corporate moral, legal and other regulatory policies.

The main requirement for compliance officers is to have strong ethical principles.

That’s crucial for their role, which is to help organisations manage risk, maintain a positive reputation and avoid lawsuits. Compliance officers also deal with educating the

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entire company and establishing corporate practises that will ensure the highest possible level of compliance.

The compliance position is part of the career chain: financial systems administrator – financial systems project manager – financial systems manager – financial systems director.

Actuaries use statistical techniques and mathematical skills to assess the probability of a certain outcome and its financial ramifications.

They are the gurus of risk management and,

The top job of any financial systems manager is to focus on the maintenance and long-term security of software. They lead the development, implementation, and administration of an organisation’s financial systems

as such, are extremely welcome in insurance, banking, corporate financial planning and investment management, with their unbeatable analytical skills.

A blockchain developer is a software developer who works specifically with blockchain technology. They are responsible for the full life cycle of blockchain applications, from research and analysis to design and execution.

They utilise various programming languages to create interfaces, features and architecture for different purposes, such as payment processing.

Start-ups and fintech companies are ready to pay more to lure genuine talent. Governmental institutions also hire blockchain experts, though typically provide fewer benefits.

Financial Analyst duties include guiding the cost analysis process by establishing and enforcing policies and procedures; providing trends and forecasts; explaining processes and techniques; and recommending actions.

They are also tasked with improving financial status by analysing results, monitoring variances, identifying trends and recommending actions to management; but also increasing productivity by developing automated accounting applications; coordinating information requirements and protecting operations by keeping financial information confidential.

source: payspacemagazine

Leaders’

MEETING POINT

LUŠTICA BAY

Living Every Momentum

W

ith the opening of its Marina Village and the five-star Chedi Hotel last year, the sustainable coastal town of Luštica Bay is now a fully operational and flourishing Montenegrin destination. It is not just a place to live, but rather somewhere to live every moment, and - with a summer brimming with things to see and do - homeowners here are spoilt for choice. Becoming part of this welcoming lifestyle has never been easier, with a range of options including the current waterfront residences offer,

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With a happening harbour-front and a range of beautiful waterside apartments, there has never been a better time to join the momentum of Luštica Bay

Davidović, peruse the boutiques, enjoy the fresh flavours of 21 Bistro or the Sea Forest restaurant, or a glass of Montenegrin wine at the Finestra Winery.

A rich summer programme of events is set to add to the energy. August performances – brought to us through cooperation with KotorArt and Operosa Festivals – will bring everyone together for cultural entertainment, live music and open-air parties.

The waterfront promenade and new outdoor amphitheatre will host a diverse array of concerts and theatre performances. For the first time this year, there are also a variety of regular events up and running, including spinning classes, Latin parties, cookery courses, wine tastings, jazz evenings under the stars, beach parties and much more.

Keen golfers can head to the Luštica Bay driving range to practise their swings with panoramic views of the bay, while sailors can make the most of the new The Chedi’s exclusive serviced apartments, and the up-and-coming homes of Centrale.

Fresh air, year-round sun and sea horizons have always been part of the Luštica Bay allure, but with the opening of the Marina Village it has become so much more. Now homeowners can enjoy worldclass amenities, a happening harbour-front and a diverse community. The promenade is lined with shops, restaurants, cultural spaces, a health studio, salon, supermarket and motor and boating services. Savour Montenegrin specialities from Bakery

Planned to become the new cosmopolitan centre of Luštica Bay, Centrale residents will have all the benefits of town life on their doorstep, with restaurants, shops, cultural spaces, public services and piazzas, courtyards and parks

interiors, natural materials, calming colour palette and high-quality furnishings. They each come with their own spacious private balcony and guaranteed sea views.

The Chedi Residences are not only beautiful holiday homes, but also represent an attractive investment opportunity with our secured rental programme with guaranteed ROI. What’s more, Luštica’s new payment offer spreads payments into manageable quarterly instalments.

Beyond the Marina Village, construction is also continuing in the second neighbourhood, Centrale. Planned to become the new cosmopolitan centre of Luštica Bay, Centrale residents will have all the benefits of town life on their doorstep, with restaurants, shops, cultural spaces, public services and piazzas, courtyards and parks. Ideal

state-of-the-art marina. Already in demand, the marina offers berths for boats of up to 45m alongside cutting-edge facilities and professional yacht assistance from a multilingual team. There are also boats available for charter and courses at the marina’s renowned sailing school.

The Marina Village waterfront residences are within easy but peaceful reach of the action. Climbing naturally up the hillside from the marina, studio to three-bedroom apartments have been constructed to the highest sustainable standards. Built from local stone, with distressed red-tiled roofs, they bring to mind the coastal romance of old Montenegro. Inside, meanwhile, they offer light-filled contemporary spaces with picture-perfect sea views from private balconies, spacious interiors, luxury amenities, communal pools and gardens.

Several new luxury villas are also entering the design stage. Occupying an exclusive spot at the top of the Marina Village hillside, the villas command sublime views over the bay. Private and tranquil, they are still closely linked to the waterfront and their cut-above-the-rest design and amenities can be tailored to your personal vision.

For those seeking something a little different, The Chedi Hotel’s exclusive serviced residences offer a new kind of Luštica ex-

perience. This summer entering its second operational season, the five-star Chedi Hotel has fused effortlessly into the Marina Village lifestyle. With two restaurants, three bars, an events centre and ballroom, a fitness suite, wellness spa and indoor and outdoor pools, it has gone far beyond a hotel, becoming a dining and nightlife destination, a wellness retreat and a community hub.

The Chedi’s private, branded apartments are a perfect way to join the buzz while enjoying all the amenities and its first-rate services. Available as studios to one- and two-bed suites, they reflect the coastal ambience beyond with their light-flooded

for young professionals and families, the studio to three-bed apartments are due to become some of the most highly-demanded residences. Built to Luštica’s stringent environmental standards and inspired by indigenous architecture, the apartment buildings are timelessly elegant and benefit from high-end fittings and contemporary furnishings.

Whether it’s waterfront living or town life that appeals, the deep-rooted quality and vision remains the same – a town that invites you to live every moment of the here and now, while creating a way of life that will last for generations to come.

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Logistics

“The Moravian Corridor, which is starting to be built right next to the airport, will continue to be built this year, and when this is added to the railways, there is no better thing in this part of Serbia when considering logistics” – ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ, SERBIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER & MINISTER OF CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

LOCAL NEWS OBRENOVAC

BELGRADE

POWERCHINA TO CONSTRUCT HEATING PIPELINE One of the largest infrastructural projects in the City of Belgrade – the construction of the Obrenovac-New Belgrade heating pipeline – is now in the preparatory phase of realisation, with an annex to the agreement on the construction of this heating pipeline having been signed with the Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA) as the contractor.

With this annex, possibilities have been created for negotiations to being on credit for the financing of the project.

PowerChina is a Chinese state company that was founded in September 2011 with the merger of 14 provincial, municipal and regional companies.

GALENIKA BECOMES FIRST COMPANY TO IMPLEMENT SAP SOFTWARE

KRAGUJEVAC

CONSTRUCTION OF STATE DATA CENTRE REPRESENTS €30M INVESTMENT Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić attended the launch of the construction of the State Data Centre in Kragujevac, noting that its construction represented an infrastructure project of national importance that will ensure that systemic and accelerated establishment of electronic government information systems, the more efficient linking of various databases and the development of various eGovernment services for citizens, the economy and the state, the Government announced.

Set to become a regional data storage centre, one of its sections will be intended for commercial users. With this project, Serbia will gain – in 12 months from now – one of the world’s most modern data centres, in which 30 million euros will be invested and which will lead Serbia into a future of new investments and technologies.

SMEDEREVO

AGREEMENT WORTH €2.7M ON WATER TRANSPORT PROJECTS Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, has signed an agreement on a grant worth €2.7 million for water transport projects with the European Investment Bank (EIB). This grant is intended for the preparation of three new projects: the development of navigability on the Sava; the introduction of a hydro-meteorological station system; the introduction of a system for the management of water transport from a single VTS centre. The three projects have a combined total value of close to €20 million.

The projects come after the Government of Serbia adopted a strategic orientation towards developing water corridors, with Serbia to develop important water transport projects with the EIB worth €200 million.

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Local pharmaceutical company Galenika has become the first company in the Central and Eastern European region (CEE) to manage its business processes through the SAP S4HANA Cloud, the latest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution by SAP. This move represents one of the most important developments at the company since 1947, when it became the world’s fourth pharmaceutical company to start producing penicillin.

According to SAP, the importance of this project is illustrated by the fact that Galenika has implemented this innovative software solution for the efficient management of all business processes before companies from developed countries like Austria, Hungary, Poland, Czechia or Slovakia.

VLADIČIN HAN

NECTAR OPENS BIGGEST ORGANIC PLANTATION IN SERBIA Serbian company Nectar has established the largest organic plantation in the country, covering a total of 114 hectares in Vladičin Han. This investment represents another major step in the company’s long-term orientation towards healthy production with added value for their consumers in Serbia and around the world.

This biggest plantation of organic apples in Serbia covers 45 hectares, while the plan is to have the plantation cover the entire area of 114 hectares over the next four years. Nectar expects a yield of as much as 500 tonnes of top varieties of organic apples in the first year. The company has invested a total of €200,000 in equipment and seedlings, while a total of €500,000 will be invested over the next four years.

Hub

“Over the coming 25 years, we will work closely with the Serbian authorities as a key partner of the country’s economy. Our goal is to make Belgrade a future hub in Southeast Europe” – NICOLAS NOTEBAERT, PRESIDENT OF VINCI AIRPORTS

Placements postings

ZEMUN

&

HIGH-TECH RIVER SAILING WITH NAVIGATION BUOYS

appointments@aim.rs

Serbia has become the first country in Europe to introduce navigation buoys that are visible to boats in all sailing conditions, with such navigation buoys considered as helping considerably in increasing the level of safety on rivers, especially when it comes to cargo transport and large passenger cruise ships.

The new buoys are now visible to all vessels equipped with electronic navigation maps, which are mandatory for all large ships. There were around 3,800 such vessels registered last year, while more than 4,000 are expected this year.

Electronic navigation maps are not mandatory for small boats, but are advisable – precisely because of electronic navigation buoys, river information services and all the IT services that have been implemented in inland waterway traffic, primarily to increase safety.

KRUŠEVAC

VALVOLINE ACQUIRES FAM FOR €9.5M Around 120 former workers of Kruševac-based Fabrika Maziva (FAM), i.e. more than a half of existing staff, have been employed by American company Valvoline after it recently took over part of the company’s property and operations.

The agreement on the sale of FAM to Valvoline subsidiary Ellis Enterprises East Ltd. Belgrade was signed in February, while the official takeover took place on 1st July, when the purchaser paid the agreed amount of €9.5 million. Valvoline has not bought FAM as an enterprise, nor its capital, but rather it purchased the land, buildings, equipment and intellectual property, establishing a whole new location and new operations of the company. This means that Valvoline has taken over FAM’s market position and will continue delivering products manufactured under the same brand.

Photo Credit - Sputnik, Radoje Pantović

H.E. ALEXANDER BOTSAN-KHARCHENKO, NEW RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO SERBIA

Born 1957, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR in 1979. Holds the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary since February 2017. Fluent in Serbo-Croat and English, he began his diplomatic career in 1979 and has performed various functions in the central apparatus of the Ministry and abroad. From 1997 to 2002 he served as minister counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Croatia. From 2002 to 2009 he was deputy director of the Third European Department of the Russian MFA, also holding the post of the special representative of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Balkans in 2004-2009. His first ambassadorial post came from 2009 to 2014, when he was Russian ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, and from August 2014 until his arrival in Belgrade, he served as director of the Fourth European Department of the Russian MFA. Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko is a married father of one son and has two granddaughters.

FRANCOIS BERISOT, NEW GENERAL DIRECTOR OF BELGRADE NIKOLA TESLA AIRPORT

Company VINCI Airports has announced the appointing of a new general director of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. It has been confirmed that the airport’s existing technical director, Nicolas Brousse, who has been serving as interim general director since the company took over the management of the airport in December 2018, will retain his position, while Francois Berisot becomes the permanent general director. According to the announcement, Berisot graduated in engineering from France’s prestigious Ecole Centrale in Paris and is today a top airport professional, with 20 years of international experience in the airport industry, with a particular focus in the areas of operational management, commercial and market development, infrastructure renovation and expansion, strategic planning, finances and construction.

DAVID LANDSMAN OBE, NEW CHAIRMAN OF THE BRITISH SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Dr David Landsman brings a variety of skills amassed throughout a long career in business and the British diplomatic service. With a firm belief that there are abundant opportunities for British and Serbian companies to do business successfully, the new Chairman considers the increasing cooperation between Serbia and its neighbours as a reason for optimism, enabling British companies to consider a regional market of more than 20 million people.

Likewise, notes Landsman, the BSCC can help Serbian companies develop towards the UK market – from IT, investment and infrastructure projects, to agribusiness and tourism.

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People Make The Difference

Serbia: Europe’s Next Tech Talent Hotspot Serbia’s rise as a key outsourcing nation has been on the cards for a long time. Cost-effective, talented and driven – there’s a clear trend in the quality of tech teams hailing from Serbia that undergo the tech due diligence process of the Digital Knights

H

ow could it be that Serbia has earned its reputation as a breeding ground for talented engineers?

The answer lies in its history of eschewing ideological education in favour of subjects that deal exclusively with logic and reason. Who knew a strong tradition of science and mathematics could prep a generation for careers in IT? In Serbia, engineering graduates account for nearly 33 per cent of all university leavers from technical schools, while IT is taught at 35 higher education institutions.

Software development companies are well aware of this wealth of Serbian tech talent, and have accordingly established academies to attract the brightest post-grads. Promising students are invited to develop their skills and vie for placements at the companies running the academies. It’s worth noting that it’s not just students who are invited to participate – budding developers learning outside formal education that want to try something new are also a mainstay at these academies.

Beyond the academy model, Serbian uni-

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versities also collaborate with software development teams on long-term projects. Med-Tech insights from developers have aided university medical labs in implanting medical electronics and controlling software – including a deep brain stimulating device that treats and works towards curing acute neuropsychological illness.

Academia and the IT sector are intertwined, and working together to great effect.

When it comes to the working culture in Serbia, employees are given great incentives to remain with their respective companies, while 80 per cent of teams operate on a profit-sharing model, and most – if not all – are strictly flat hierarchies.

A lot of development studios have their own spin-offs and businesses within businesses.

By developing internal projects, either to make their job easier – such as project tracking optimisation – or to solve problems in the local community – such as a lunch delivery service on an SaaS model – have gone on to become fully-fledged products and services.

The teams are also active in their community,

using their considerable tech talent to solve problems in the areas where they live. The rest of Europe, and beyond, should be taking note.

What this means for Serbia’s IT industry is that they are able to build strong relationships with clients in Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Dubai, and other tech hubs in both the DACH and the Middle East. Serbia’s historical significance at the centre of the former Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires gives it the intercultural aptitude it enjoys and fully utilises today. Despite the distance, Serbian Technical Partners begin any long-term collaboration with a face-to-face meeting, laying the foundation for an enduring relationship.

Serbia also has a close relationship with the Netherlands. According to some teams, this relationship can be attributed to the establishing of a development centre in Serbia by Levi9 – a Dutch multinational IT provider – in order to gain access to Serbia’s engineers. It’s not just by virtue of Serbia’s geography that developers are forging connections all over Europe, but rather also because of reputation.

By Domilė Janėnaitė, Digital Knights

Serbia’s talent offerings are considerable, and the teams all say the same thing: give them the biggest, toughest problems that they have.

A Financial Times report also shows that the bulk of fast-growing tech companies reside in Germany and the UK, as two of Europe’s main technology hubs. However, the rising number of CEE-based tech companies on the list suggests this region is viewed as one of the main waypoints on route to increased and accelerated revenue via outsourcing.

Naturally, pricing has a major role in Serbia.

As important as it is to get the top-tier talent, businesses also want more for less money through a cost-competitive workforce. A programmer in the UK is likely to be just as good as his Eastern European counterpart, while their daily rates of pay differ considerably. The financial attractiveness (disparity of average salaries) of Central and Eastern Europe, along with the rising number of talented professionals, mitigate the shortage of affordable but decidedly skilled workers in the U.S. and Western Europe. One thing to note here is that, in terms of cost reduction, the CEE region cannot match the low labour costs found in certain Far Eastern countries.

In addition, the globally connected world of today practically forces global-minded companies to not limit themselves to using talent from just one region, especially in cases where demand for IT experts is higher than the number of available specialists.

GEOGRAPHICAL AND CULTURAL SIMILARITIES The cost of outsourcing makes sense even with the risks associated with such projects.

The development of CEE businesses has been largely driven by the concept of nearshoring, where companies outsource work to peers that have a closer cultural and geographic fit. In this way, all the economic benefits of an offshore location are retained, while benefiting from outstanding quality.

The convenience of geographical location is a massive boon. A couple of hours in time difference (at most) within Europe is almost inconsequential when it comes to daily communication within working hours, and the proximity certainly eases day-to-day operations.

Travelling is very easy and convenient as well, in case there’s a need for an on-site presence or collaboration. With flexible working hours becoming more important in workplaces, even

the east (and west, to some extent) coast of the U.S. can participate in efficient communication and cooperation.

Another significant reason why the CEE tech landscape is booming is cultural overlap, starting with language skills. English proficiency ranges from moderate to high in most CEE

When it comes to the working culture in Serbia, employees are given great incentives to remain with their respective companies, while 80 per cent of teams operate on a profitsharing model, and most – if not all – are strictly flat hierarchies countries. Great(er) familiarity with English is also traditionally higher among tech professionals than a country’s average, due to the nature of the work. Thanks to IT outsourcing’s constant success in recent years, there has also been a spike in government support for it in some countries.

Cultural similarities are also reflected in

instances where it’s difficult to quantify into objective data. For instance, certain leaders believe cultural closeness and affinity can play an important role in reaching an understanding and desired results. In that regard, CEE is much closer to the West than Asia, due to strong historical ties that in turn stemmed

from numerous similarities without major deal-breaking differences. A direct style of communication and more collaborative and systematic approach can be seen as advantages of CEE nations over their Asian counterparts.

HIGH ROAD TO LOW COSTS The CEE region was barely on the radar of foreign tech investors just a decade ago. Thanks to a few key investments and the emergence of the active start-up scene, the entire region has seen tremendous economic growth, promoting it as an important factor in the tech world. As with any booming economy, there are concerns that high levels of investment and rapid development might result in negative side effects, such as higher property and labour rates, making it a less attractive proposition. For now, deep and skilful talent pools that are cost-effective, coupled with geographical, cultural, and linguistic fits, have transformed businesses in Central and Eastern Europe into the forerunners of global digital movements, making CEE a business environment that many want to be a part of.

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Steps

“I call on Tayyip Erdogan for a mutual approach in which we will take brave steps. Unnecessary tensions and an arms race deprive both countries of valuable resources,” – KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER

REGIONAL NEWS

NORTH MACEDONIA

BUSINESS CONFIDENCE IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY UP

ALBANIA

€23M FOR POWER GRID KfW, the German investment bank, has decided to allocated 23 million euros for the modernisation of Albania’s power distribution system, with a project that aims to develop and digitalise the country’s power distribution system with a new, modern IT system.

This investment forms part of a support package funded

by German government via KfW. The package also includes consulting services for OSHEE, in terms of management and the preparation of a plan for the development of the grid, as well as a plan of investments for the distribution system.

According to an announcement of Albanian Finance and Economy Minister Anila Denaj, the programme is intended to reduce losses in the distribution phase, while aiming to improve quality and safety in the process of supplying customers with electricity.

The director of this German bank confirmed that his country’s government has been the biggest donor to Albania’s energy sector.

The business confidence indicator in North Macedonia’s manufacturing industry increased by 1.5 per cent in June 2019 compared to the same period last year, according to the country’s Statistical Office (SSO).

According to an SSO report, business managers in the manufacturing industry in North Macedonia rated business confidence in June 2019 as standing at at 21.3%, which is 0.3 per cent higher compared to the previous month and up 1.5 per cent year-on-year.

The average capacity utilisation level of businesses during this period increased to 69.9% of normal utilisation, while the factors having the greatest negative impact on limiting production volume in June 2019 were shortages of skilled labour, insufficient foreign and domestic demand, and uncertainty of the economic environment.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

ALUMINIJ SHUTDOWN HITS PORT OF PLOČE OPERATIONS Croatia’s Adriatic port operator Luka Ploče [Port of Ploče] is facing severe problems following the shutdown of Bosnia’s ailing Aluminij, with 50 per cent of the Croatian port’s 2018 revenues having been related to this troubled aluminium smelter.

Mostar-based Aluminij shut down its operations following the cutting off of its power supply in response to swelling unpaid bills.

The termination of production at the Mostar smelting works will have a significant impact on the business of the Port of Ploče, according to a filing submitted by the port operator to the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE).

According to officials of the Port of Ploče, Aluminij has been among the port’s most significant partners, with 233,000 Photo courtesy of Aluminij.ba tonnes of goods processed at the port linked, directly and indirectly, to Aluminij.

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10 THINGS

YOU MUST DO FROM DAY ONE SO YOUR START-UP THRIVES Whether you’re thinking about starting your own business or need to reignite that fire, you’re probably searching for the right advice. You need advice that you are likely to be able to actually incorporate into your schedule.

There’s definitely no shortage of amazing advice out there.

But here are 10 small-business tips that have led to success for battle-hardened entrepreneurs.

1. Get started on the right foot.

2. Learn from and connect with other businesses.

3. Address excuses.

4. Become a leading authority figure in your industry.

5. Focus on your niche and delegate what you can.

6. Reduce overheads.

7. Hire the right team.

9. Follow your intuition.

10. Wow your customers.

Call

“I called Mitsotakis and congratulated him. Our desire is not to experience any sort of difficulty in the Mediterranean and in the Aegean in the upcoming period,” – RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT BULGARIA

BMF CONCESSION AT PORT OF BOURGAS EXTENDED

ROMANIA

LARGEST PLANETARIUM OPENS IN FORMER SALT MINE The Slănic salt mine in Romania’s Prahova County, located around 100 km north of Bucharest, has become home to the country’s largest planetarium. The Supernova Planetarium, which includes a dome with a diameter of 16 metres and a 24,000-lumen laser projection system (4K), was inaugurated on 19th July.

Valued at over RON 2 million (around €423,000), part of the funding for the project came from the EU. The planetarium will host interactive presentations of the universe (constellations, planets, galaxies, comets, asteroids, and so on).

The Supernova Planetarium’s projectors at Slănic Prahova are 4K, based on laser technology, with a luminosity superior to that of the country’s other planetarium in Brasov: 24,000 lumens in Slănic vs.

10,000 lumens in Brasov.

MONTENEGRO

€20M TO RESTRUCTURE FLAG CARRIER

Company BMF has held the concession of the Port of Bourgas East-2 since 2012, with the following year seeing it also take over the concession for the Bourgas West terminal.

It has invested a total of BGN 223.43 million in Bourgas East-2 and BGN 34.8 million in Bourgas West terminal.

As a result of the Bourgas East-2 investment programme, the terminal was chosen as the main logistics base for the implementation of several international projects related to gas and to the drilling, exploration and extraction activities of potential and active oil and oil fields. The terminal is regularly visited by specialised vessels and ships that deliver supplies to and from drilling bases located in the Black and Caspian seas.

CROATIA

ATLANTIC GRUPA DEPLOYS GIDEON BROTHERS’ LOGISTICS ROBOTS Croatian robotics company Gideon Brothers has launched a pilot project with Croatian food, drinks and distribution giant Atlantic Grupa. According to a company statement, the project is seen as being important due to its inclusion of the integration of a robotic system into Atlantic Grupa’s warehouse management system (WMS).

Gideon Brothers’ fully autonomous robots have a pallet-carrier load and lift capacity of 800 kilograms. The pilot project will use the “swarm me” use-case, where robots move from point A to point B, i.e. from one person to another, using the most efficient route.

Atlantic Grupa opened its new logistics and distribution centre, worth €20 million, in late March.

HUNGARY

AUDI ANNOUNCES 126-MILLION-EURO EXPANSION

Montenegro plans to invest €20 million in a project to restructure its flag carrier Montenegro Airlines, according to the Montenegrin Government’s strategy to develop its transport sector until 2035 .

The restructuring process will be launched this year and may involve privatisation in order to guarantee investments in the company and improve its services. The restructuring of Montenegro Airlines is necessary due to the company’s financial losses and high level of indebtedness, with the possibility for concession contracts and private sector participation set to be increased accordingly.

Montenegro Airlines last year narrowed its losses to €1.97 million, due to its passenger numbers rising to a record high of 645,000.

German car maker Audi will spend 41 billion forints (€126m) on expanding its vehicle manufacturing infrastructure, engine development centre and electric motor unit in Hungary. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that his country’s government is supporting the investment – set to create 250 jobs – with a 6.4 billion forint grant. Hungary expects the automotive sector, which saw growth 12 per cent in production value in the January-May period, to set new records. Regarding electro-mobility, Szijjártó noted that sustainability has become a defining factor in European decision-making, prompting new areas of economic competition. According to the Hungarian FM, the EU’s target of attaining carbon neutrality by 2050 is acceptable only if the necessary funding is ensured.

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OECD: Agriculture

Innovation Is Key To Improving Productivity

FARMERS COULD PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND CUT DOWN ON FERTILISER USE WITH SWARMS OF DRONES

The food and agriculture sector is expected to provide healthy, safe and nutritious food for a growing population, whilst simultaneously supplying feed for ever more farm animals, as well as providing fibre and fuel and other bio-based products for a range of industrial uses

T

he sector must also use natural resources more sustainably in order to preserve available land, water, and biodiversity resources, and to respond to climate change. In order to meet these challenges and respond to opportunities, the sector will need to embrace innova-

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tive approaches that improve productivity in a sustainable manner.

The most comprehensive productivity indicator is Total Factor Productivity (TFP), which reflects the efficiency with which producers combine inputs to create outputs. Productivity improvements over recent decades have driven

considerable growth in agricultural production, though there are major differences in the level of productivity growth between countries, and by farm type, size and region, as illustrated in the OECD’s recent farm-level analyses.

Productivity gaps between farms remain, and improving the productivity of farms that lag

behind continues to be a challenge even for countries that perform strongly.

Agri-environmental issues also vary in scope and severity in the countries studied by the OECD. Like physical capital, natural (environmental) capital requires investment and maintenance in order to retain its productive capacity. For agriculture, this encompasses managing natural resources to ensure their long-term viability and reduce the negative environmental impacts of agriculture production, such as pollutants and waste, which can damage natural assets. Sustainable agriculture production systems also need to account for the projected impacts of climate change and associated adaptation responses, as well as the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

To help measure the sustainability of agriculture, the OECD’s agri-environmental indicators monitor trends in the use of land, water and energy, as well as agriculture’s impact on the environment, via the intensity of use of polluting inputs (pesticides) and the sector’s emission of pollutants (GHG, ammonia).

The adoption of innovation is the main driver of productivity growth, and can improve sustainability.

Many innovations at the level of individual farms are “process innovations”, as they relate to improving production techniques, such as, for example, by adopting improved seeds or irrigation systems. Downstream industries also innovate new and improved products, such as functional attributes for food (health) or in the chemical or pharmaceutical industry (bio-economy).

Marketing and organisational innovations are increasingly important throughout the entire supply chain.

The OECD’s work on innovation systems in food and agriculture explores relationships between innovation, productivity and sustainability, and examines the respective roles of the government and the private sector in strengthening agricultural innovation systems and facilitating the adoption of more innovative practices at the level of individual farms and agri-food firms. As part of this work, the OECD has developed a framework to review the impacts of a wide range of policies on the creation and adoption of innovations needed to increase productivity and sustainability in food and agriculture, leading to concrete recommendations for each policy area.

What can policymakers do?

The future of food and agriculture depends on the capacity of agricultural innovation systems to provide farmers with innovations that address an increasingly diverse and complex range of needs, including improved farm productivity and environmental performance, but also better responses to climate change.

Governments have a role to play in ensur-

The most comprehensive productivity indicator is Total Factor Productivity (TFP), which reflects the efficiency with which producers combine inputs to create outputs ing that the policy environment is conducive to improving the productivity, sustainability and resilience of the agri-food sector. OECD research shows that the whole policy package matters, and that policy strategies should cover the whole food supply chain: improving policy coherence and transparency are crucial to building trust and increasing effectiveness

and efficiency. The first step to improving the policy environment is to roll back policies that hold farmers in uncompetitive and low-income activities, harm the environment, stifle innovation, slow down structural and generational change, and weaken resilience.

Agricultural policy should instead focus on measures to improve the sector’s longterm productivity and sustainability, such as

investments in general services that strengthen human and infrastructure capacities, and farmers’ connection to input and output markets.

There must also be a business case ‘from farm to fork’ for producers to innovate and improve productivity and environmental performance.

Well-functioning markets and a sound regulatory and policy environment are key to harnessing these market opportunities.

In particular, governments should strengthen agricultural innovation systems to make them more collaborative and responsive to needs, which would increase the impact of public expenditure. Improving the relevance of innovations would also increase adoption within the sector and acceptance by society. Governance is the key to such improvements, which would include the forming of clear strategic objectives in consultation with stakeholders, as well as comprehensive mechanisms and procedures for evaluation. Finally, attention needs to be paid to adoption, including in the improvement of skills.

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Believer

“I am a big believer that Europe needs to find ways to have the Europeans focusing on investing for the long term through equities.” – LARRY FINK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF BLACKROCK

WORLD NEWS CHINA

SHANGHAI SHOWS STRONGEST CONSUMPTION ABILITY

AZERBAIJAN

TANAP FULLY READY TO DELIVER NATURAL GAS TO EUROPE

China’s financial hub Shanghai has the strongest consumption ability in the country, Chinese financial news outlet Yicai reported.

The capital city of Beijing came in second, followed in third place

by Guangzhou in South China’s Guangdong province on the list of top 10 Chinese cities with the strongest consumption ability.

The list was formulated on the basis of 40 major Chinese cities’ total retail sales of consumer goods, an important indicator of a city’s consumption ability.

Shanghai’s total retail sales of consumer goods in 2018 reached 1.27 trillion yuan ($185 million), up 7.9 per cent year-on-year. Online retail sales of consumer goods saw a 15.8 per cent year-on-year growth to 150.67 billion yuan last year, accounting for 11.9 per cent of the total, according to data from the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau.

The Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), the major segment of the Southern Gas Corridor was ready to supply Azerbaijani gas directly to Europe as of 1st July 2019. After completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the last section of SGC, the natural gas produced from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz 2 field, will be delivered to Europe via TANAP and TAP, adding to the country’s income and making an important contribution to the European energy security. TANAP is now the longest and widest natural gas pipeline in Turkey, the Middle East and Europe, delivering the first natural gas to Europe via Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on the border of Turkey and Greece since 1st July 2019.

CANADA

PIERIDAE ENERGY TO PURCHASE SHELL ASSETS Pieridae Energy Limited (‘Pieridae’ or the ‘Company’) has announced that it has signed a purchase and sale agreement (the ‘Purchase Agreement’) with Shell Canada Energy (‘Shell’) to purchase all of Shell’s midstream and upstream assets in the southern Alberta Foothills (the ‘Assets’) for a purchase price of CAN$190 million, subject to normal adjustments (the ‘Acquisition’).

The purchase price for the Acquisition will be satisfied via (i) the payment to Shell of CAN$175 million in cash (net of adjustments), to be raised by Pieridae through the issuance of term debt and equity, as further described below and (ii) the issuance of Pieridae common shares to Shell having an aggregate value of CAN$15 million (such value to be determined proximate to the time of closing of the Acquisition, in accordance with the terms of the Purchase Agreement).

JAPAN

TOYOTA UNVEILS ELECTRIC VEHICLE TO BE USED AT TOKYO OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC VENUES Toyota Motor Corp. on unveiled an electric vehicle especially designed to transport people within the venues of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games next year.

Japan’s biggest automaker, which is also one of the major sponsors of the 2020 Tokyo Games, said it plans to provide about 200 “Accessible People Mover (APM)” vehicles that will offer short-distance rides not only for visitors but also athletes and Olympic and Paralympic staff. The APM, which looks like a gigantic golf cart, or a huge, modern looking tuk-tuk, can carry six passengers in total, including the driver, on three rows of seats.

The vehicle is also equipped with a ramp and can accommodate a person in a wheelchair by folding away the second row seat, which is one of the advantages of the vehicle, said Akihiro Yanaka, a Toyota official in charge of the APM project.

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Golfers

“Monetary policymakers are often cast as one-club golfers” – ANDY HALDANE, CHIEF ECONOMIST OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND

GERMANY

VOLKSWAGEN TO INJECT $2.6 BILLION INTO FORD UNIT ARGO AI

RUSSIA

RAILWAYS TO EXPAND TRANS-SIBERIAN FREIGHT TRAFFIC Russian state-run railway operator Russian Railwaysis is targeting a 100-fold increase in the number of containers it carries annually across Asia to Europe to 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, from about 3,000 TEUs in 2018.

The goal is in line with a plan to strengthen economic ties between Russia and Japan. In partnership with Japanese companies, Russian Railways aims to cut the time needed to transport cargo between Japan and Europe to 19 days or less.

Rail transport is faster than carrying cargo by ship. It takes about 45 days to ship cargo between Japan and Europe via the Suez Canal.

Another advantage of using the Trans-Siberian Railway, is that rail transportation costs in Russia are among the lowest in the world.

IRELAND

LIDL TO INSTALL OVER 4,000 SOLAR PANELS Supermarket giant Lidl is to invest €1 million and install 4,364 solar panels at a distribution facility being built in Ireland.

The firm said that the solar panels would generate over 1 million kilowatt hours of energy per year, cutting the facility’s carbon output by around 473 tonnes.

Lidl said the installation would represent Ireland’s “largest ever installation” of photovoltaic solar panels. Photovoltaic refers to a way of directly converting light from the sun into electricity.

The solar panels will be supplied by Enerpower, a renewable energy business based in Waterford, Ireland. Мore than one-quarter of its energy requirements in Ireland would come from solar power.

Carmaker Volkswagen will inject $2.6 billion into Ford’s self-driving unit Argo AI at an overall valuation of $7 billion in the deal, a source close to the matter said. Volkswagen will contribute $1 billion in capital and $1.6 in own business activities, and VW and Ford will be equal stakeholders of the venture, the source said. The collaboration on Argo, the Pittsburgh start-up that has spearheaded Ford’s self-driving activities since 2017, could help reduce engineering and development costs. It could also accelerate the deployment timetables of both, which have said they plan to put autonomous vehicles into operation in 2021.

SOUTH KOREA

SHIPBUILDERS HAVE HALF OF ULTRA LARGE CONTAINER SHIP ORDER BACKLOGS Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) is planning to deliver one of five 23,000 TEU containerships ordered by Swiss-based shipping line Mediterranean Shipping Co. This is the same size with the world’s largest containership built by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and delivered to MSC earlier. Previously, MSC placed an order for 11 vessels – six with Samsung Heavy and five with DSME, respectively.

The South Korean shipbuilding industry believes that it stands out due to from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations scheduled to kick off on 1st January 2020, to reduce sulphur oxide emissions from 3.5 per cent m/m to 0.5 per cent m/m.

NIGERIA

AFRICAN LEADERS LAUNCH HISTORIC FREE-TRADE ZONE A landmark free-trade agreement removing most tariffs and other commercial barriers in the African continent expanded to encompass 54 signatories, after Benin and Nigeria joined the accord. Albert Muchanga, the African Union’s commissioner for trade and industry, announced Benin’s intention to join at the bloc’s summit officially launching the pact, in Niger’s capital Niamey. Nigeria ratified the deal during the two-day summit that’s also set to discuss migration and security -- issues affecting the host country Niger.

Trading will start in July 2020 to give member states time to adopt the framework and prepare their business communities for the “emerging market.

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Enterpreneur ROBIN HUTSON HOTELIER

From Failure To

Multi-Millionaire 40

August

Robin Hutson’s life would probably have been far less successful if he hadn’t failed his school exams. Responsible for bringing power showers and fresh coffee to UK hotel rooms, Robin Hutson and his wife Judy have helped revolutionise the British hotel experience.

Now they run an acclaimed group of hotels together called The Pig

“I managed to screw up all my O-levels [former UK school-leaver exams for 16-year-olds] and wasn’t invited to sixth-form college,” recalls the 62-year-old. “So I had to find something else to do. My parents thought it would be a good idea to get me out of London, so - aged 14 - I went to grammar school in Surrey. It was a mixed gender school, and I was like a kid in a sweet shop — there were far too many distractions. I ended up getting three O-levels and the school said my presence wasn’t required for the sixth form. “At the age of 16 I wasn’t interested in doing much apart from chasing girls, and my mother said ‘well, you always liked messing around in the kitchen’.”

She advised her son to enrol on a course in hotel and catering operations, which whetted his appetite for a career in the hospitality industry.

After graduating from catering college in Surrey in the mid 1970s, Robin joined the management training programme of the then Savoy Group of hotels.

This saw him start as a junior waiter at London’s five-star Claridge’s hotel, before moving across to the equally prestigious Hotel de Crillon in Paris. He then returned to London. After studying hotel and catering operations, He became reception manager at the Berkeley, in London’s Knightsbridge area, at the age of 22. The uniform was tails and stiff collars: “I thought I was the dog’s bollocks [best of the best], to be honest. I had Dustin Hoffman on speed dial, Peter Ustinov ringing up and Diana Ross at the desk.

It was around that time that he met Judy.

At the age of 16, I wasn’t interested in doing much apart from chasing girls, and my mother said ‘well, you always liked messing around in the kitchen

This was followed by two years at a hotel in Bermuda. He was lured back to the UK when he was offered the position of general manager at a hotel in Hampshire when he was just 28.

I remember the first day I walked in to Chewton Glen. The porters were in dowdy brown uniforms, there was a really blingy shop and the menu was old-school Michelin.

It was 1986 and I was 28, which is young to be a general manager, but the owner, Martin Skan, was very supportive of me and wanted change. It was quite formal; there seemed to be a rule for everything. No children under seven in the dining room, jackets required in

the restaurant, strict meal times. We spent a lot of time changing things and we really built up the spa. Even today, Chewton Glen’s spa is one of the few really significant spa spaces in a five-star country house hotel.

Robin amassed eight years in that job, then decided it was time to strike out on his own.

“I was 36. I’d done a fair amount of working for others, and I thought ‘is that what I want

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Enterpreneur

ROBIN HUTSON (LEFT) WITH A FRIEND IN ARGENTINA

to do for the rest of my life, or will I try and do something else?’.”

After I’d been at Chewton for eight years, I wanted to do my own thing, and when we opened Hotel du Vin in 1994 we had this tent card on the tables that seems crass now. ‘No dress code, children welcome, espresso machine.’ At that time, in the provinces, espresso machines didn’t exist on the high street. We put fresh milk into the mini-bars for the first time ever and changed the bedding to duvets and Egyptian cotton. In those days, everyone slept under duvets at home, but hotels still had blankets and sheets. Even in the first Hotel du Vin, we were delivering 30 litres a water a minute through the showerhead. Looking back now, they were easy wins, but it didn’t feel like it at the time. It was also in 1994 that he teamed up with his friend, Gerard Basset, a former sommelier, to launch Hotel du Vin in Winchester, Hampshire.

And it was his Hotel du Vin chain that made him a multi-millionaire.

Robin has built up another collection of hotels, called The Pig, since 2011. Currently with six locations across the south of England, the company behind the brand – Home Grown Hotels – generates annual revenues exceeding £20 million.

In order to raise the money needed, Robin says that he managed to persuade his wife Judy to agree to them putting up their house as a guarantee.

“It’s probably the bravest thing Judy has ever done, and thank God she did,” he says.

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Robin agrees that Brexit is a worry. “Everyone in the hospitality industry is concerned how staffing will tighten up,” he says

ROBIN AND JUDY HUTSON

Robin and Gerard also raised £500,000 from friends and family, and borrowed £750,000 from the bank.

“I sort of passed the hat around to anyone we knew had spare cash,” says Robin.

Due to a lack of resources, the two founders were forced to roll up their sleeves.

“Gerard and I used to take time sleeping on the sofa to provide night cover,” he says.

“It was exhausting. We were doing everything from making breakfast to serving in the restaurant, but we were profitable in the first year.”

Striving to offer guests something new, Hotel du Vin provided fresh milk in the mini bars, and served decent ground coffee.

While those two things don’t seem imaginative now, Robin says that at the time they were “seen as revolutionary” in the hotel industry.

Hotel du Vin grew into a chain of six hotels, but on its 10th anniversary Robin and Gerard sold up to an investment group, after they said they were given an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Robin went on to spend four years as the chairman of the Soho House private club chain.

Then, in 2008, he set up a new five star hotel in Hampshire, called Lime Wood. The first The Pig hotel opened nearby in 2011.

As was the case at Hotel du Vin, Judy leads the design of interiors at each The Pig location. Robin chose the name because he likes a well-known New York restaurant called The Spotted Pig. She adds: “Robin creates trends and experiences that tap into a new mindset... after noticing what was missing from the mainstream market.”

As UK operators, Robin agrees that Brexit is a worry. “Everyone in the hospitality industry is concerned how staffing will tighten up,” he says.

“In the industry, we generally rely on a lot of labour from outside the UK. About 25% of our 700 staff are non-Brits.”

When it comes to his plans for the future of The Pig chain and his other hotel business – the Lime Wood Group – he is keeping his aspirations in check. “I have no ambition to grow a 50-strong hotel chain,” he says.

“It’s not my thing,” insists Robin, who spent last December riding a motorcycle 7,000 km across Chile and Argentina. “I don’t know how many more I’ll open. It’s got to be the right property and right location.”

PROFILE

Life Is An Eternal Dress Rehearsal I often say that my life is that which flows between premieres. The theatre is such that is demands the entire person... or at least their better part. Everything has long since become a theatre. Life caught the rhythm of rehearsals. Life is a dress rehearsal on the eve of a theatre premiere

JELENA BOGAVAC, THEATRE DIRECTOR, DRAMATIST, WRITER

I

began this theatre season with the play The Dream about Milena. The play was developed in Požarevac, the birthplace of painter Milena Pavlović Barilli. She was a world-renowned painter who gained glory in New York during the war years. I revealed Milena. There will be a dichotomy; there will be confrontation. As the daughter of renowned Italian composer Bruno Barilli and mother Danica, a relative of the Karađorđevićs, her entire life was torn between a minimum of two traditions, two languages and two homes. As she couldn’t gain employment in Belgrade even as an art teacher, she headed out into the world in search of happiness, confirmation and the possibility to exist. She worked and lived in countless European cities. Often hungry, she experienced the fate of a young artist in the battle for market confirmation.

The war hit her in America. She struggled through hardships in a strange land. When she finally realised her dream of success, she found herself broken and died. Her heart stopped in her sleep. She fell asleep alone at the age of 36. She never again saw her mother in Požarevac or her father in Rome.

The war had broken the connections. She

was left with an overwhelming desire for an unrealised dream. A shining, cosmic, angelic talent.

I am currently in the process of rehearsing for the Šabac Theatre’s play Anne Frank. The fate of that little girl leaves space for silence and fear. Her voice is one of six million silenced by the Holocaust.

The song-filled, talented, fiery Anna hid in a basement for two years. She died in a concentration camp.

Anna is the most famous victim of the Holocaust. It is due to Anna’s love for the world that the world should stop... It shop stop out of shame.

It is very hot, summer, lively in the streets, with many children. From Milena to Anne, I wonder while I wander. Life flows between two premieres. An eternal dress rehearsal. For us to try to be good Because of her unwavering love for humanity. Because of her unrequited love for life.

Because of Anne it is impossible, inhuman and monstrous for fascism to be repeated.

And I fear the fear the rise of all the pores of small and ever-growing hatred, which is just seemingly autistic, into the conformity

of a lukewarm society. A society of small armchairs and growing hatreds.

The little girl Anne Frank sat in a basement in a shelter as if in a dungeon, doubly captured, scared and hungry.

The little girl Anne Frank wrote the craziest and most beautiful things about her love for sense, while she sat in a basement in a shelter as if in a dungeon, doubly captured, scared and hungry.

The little girl Anne died senselessly.

Outside raged a futile war. Caused by terrible, senseless hatred.

Where does evil start? Who activates it?

How does it start when it actually does? Is it possible that it’s invisible? When does it turn yellow like a star on a sleeve as a sign of visible shame, as fear, as shame and as death?

How is such a monstrous idea born in society? How does a holocaust happen?

Have we already signed a proclamation that proclaims evil? Who turned out the lights?

What do us ordinary people do during that time? Do we scream in the dark in astonishment? Is all of that happening now?

Are some marked people passing us by, and we bow our head because “we can’t do anything”? How much will our ignorance cost?

Milena and Anne died in the vortex of the same war, the same hatred, a couple of months apart. Two angels. Beings of light and goodness. The wind carried them to the fringes of the history of hatred. Victims of war. At opposite ends of betrayed sense.

It is very hot, summer, lively in the streets, with many children. From Milena to Anne, I wonder while I wander. Life flows between two premieres. An eternal dress rehearsal.

For us to try to be good.

August

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Art

Contemporary Inuit art

Beautiful

& Tragic

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK

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Global warming is having a profound effect on the circumpolar world. Late ice formation and early melt are changing animal behaviour and ancestral travel routes long-used by the Inuit people. And Inuit artists are increasingly taking on these political, environmental and identity questions in their work. But while a contemporary artist working in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal would be praised, debated and celebrated as a provocateur for tackling these issues, Inuit artists working with the same themes are often ignored by the contemporary art world and visual arts market.

And according to some experts, the public has no idea what it’s missing out on

B

ack in the 1900s, the Canadian government had actively encouraged carving and art production among indigenous people in Canada’s Far North. The government hoped it would encourage economic self-sufficiency among the Inuit people, who were being transitioned out of their traditional semi-nomadic hunting and gathering lifestyle and settled into permanent communities.

In the 1950s, Canadian artist James Houston moved to Cape Dorset, an island community off the south-west coast of Baffin Island, where he taught locals how to draw and make prints.

Starting in 1959, the prints produced in Cape Dorset were released in an annual collection.

Although carvings produced throughout the North remained hugely popular, the Cape Dorset prints of Arctic nature and traditional Inuit life became a hit in the art world and a favourite among collectors.

The collection’s success inspired other northern communities, like Ulukhaktok (Holman), Northwest Territories; Baker Lake, Nunavut; and Puvirnituq, Quebec, to set up similar arts studios or centres.

Inuit art was now officially on the map.

But there’s arguably a downside to all this.

The marketing of traditional Inuit carvings and imagery to the South has been so successful that ‘Inuit art’, in the minds of most people, has become synonymous with depictions of a romanticised past in Canada’s pristine North.

Fifty years after her work first appeared in the Cape Dorset print collection, artist Kenojuak Ashevak remains a Canadian superstar for her imagery of Arctic nature and wildlife. Her work has been replicated on everything from Canadian stamps to stained glass windows.

But for Northern artists exploring contemporary themes, that kind of success is almost unimaginable.

Even after the success of Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook, whose images of contemporary family life in the North helped her snatch the 2006 Sobey Art Award, one of Canada’s most prestigious art prizes, the contemporary market in southern Canada has been slow to accept new imagery emerging out of the North.

That’s left many Inuit artists stranded between a southern art market that clamours for depictions of an idealised Inuit lifestyle that no

SHUVINAI ASHOONA, INNER WORLDS CONTEXTUAL

As issues like Arctic sovereignty and global temperature change increasingly push Northern issues onto news broadcasts and into headlines, some think Canada’s southern arts community is slowly waking up to contemporary work from the Arctic

August

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Art

Contemporary Inuit art

JONASIE (QUARQORTOQ) FABER

longer exists and a contemporary art world from which they’re often excluded. But likely none of the reasons for that exclusion are fair. As a result, Inuit art is generally marketed, exhibited and distributed apart from the contemporary Canadian art scene – a sphere that’s often focused on a few select themes, centres, styles and courses of training.

Robert Kardosh, curator of the Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia, regularly organises exhibitions by Inuit artists who explore contemporary themes, but he admits it’s a challenge just to get contemporary art journals and critics out to the exhibitions.

“I’m not sure if it’s prejudice,” Kardosh says. “But as long as Inuit art is treated as ‘not real art’, or as simply ethnological art, people are missing out.

“The classic Inuit art of the past is spectacular and should absolutely be treasured. But art changes. It’s silly to think that for some reason, Inuit art shouldn’t.”

Independent art curator Nancy Campbell is one of a handful of Canadians working to change the perception of Inuit art. “I walk a very fine line in what I do it,” she says, continuing, “my curating work often isn’t ‘contemporary’ enough for the contemporary market and it’s not ‘Inuit’ enough for collectors of traditional Inuit art.

“I think that both collectors of traditional Inuit art and contemporary art critics have preconceived notions about the Arctic. Most of them have never been there, so they haven’t

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NATIVE INDIAN ART

EGEVADLUQ RAGEE, COLOURFUL BIRDS

By author

Acknowledging the vitality, relevance and importance of modern Inuit art is also a tacit acknowledgement that both Inuit and nonInuit peoples live in a shared world, experiencing a shared present and occupying a shared globe seen first hand both how beautiful and how tragic it is. It’s both aspects that make the North so fascinating, but I think a lot of people still don’t want to see both sides.”

However, as issues like Arctic sovereignty and global temperature change increasingly push Northern issues onto news broadcasts and into headlines, some think the southern arts community is slowly waking up to contemporary work from the Arctic.

The high cost of travel to the North means that few Canadians will ever see day-to-day life in the Arctic first hand. According to some experts, contemporary visual arts may be among the most important cultural records of how rapid environmental and social change is altering the North.

“It is vital that we, as audiences, embrace and encourage new Inuit art that explores contemporary issues,” says Norman Vorano, curator of Contemporary Inuit Art at the Canadian Museum of Civilisation in Gatineau, Quebec. “Most importantly because the Inuit people have important perspectives on issues that concern us all, like environmental change, society, treatment of elders and even things like business. The list could go on and on…”

“Appreciating modern Inuit art helps us move beyond the old colonial lens, when the Inuit were seen as belonging to a distant past, living outside the present,” he says. “Acknowledging the vitality, relevance and importance of modern Inuit art is also a tacit acknowledgement that both Inuit and non-Inuit peoples live in

ANNIE POOTOOGOOK, COUPLE SLEEPING

HEADER CARVING HOME THE CHEDOKE COLLECTION OF INUIT ART

a shared world, experiencing a shared present and occupying a shared globe.”

But until that day, Inuit artists like Jutai Toonoo say they’ll just continue doing what they’re doing.

“I don’t really care about the art world,” Toonoo says. He’s more concerned with working on his drawing than considering where his work may one day fall in the Canadian art canon.

“This is just something I do,” he says, adding colour to the paper with small careful strokes.

“Lots of times it’s just something I’ve observed in the community or the world, and I just put it on whatever I’m working on.

“Put it out there just so that it’s showing.

“And not hidden.”

KENOJU AKASHEVAK

August

47

&FACES PLACES

27/6/2019

Ambassador Oana-Cristina Popa Opens New Romanian Embassy

Ambassador of Romania H.E. Oana Cristina Popa was the host of the inauguration of the new premises of the Romanian Embassy in Belgrade.

The event was held in the context of the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Romania and Serbia.

On this occasion, Ambassador said Romania would continue to advocate for the EU’s enlargement to the Western Balkans and that Serbia must continue reforms on its path to the EU. “Romania will continue to promote the EU enlargement and to make sure that the European perspective of the Western Balkans remains on the table,” Ambassador Oana Cristina Popa said at the opening of the new headquarters of the Romanian Embassy in Belgrade.

AMBASSADOR OANA-CRISTINA POPA

3/7/2019

U.S. Independence Day Celebrated

APOSTOLIC NUNCIO TO SERBIA LUCIANO SURIANI

27/6/2019

6th Anniversary Of The Election Of H.H. Pope Francis

The Pope’s Day was marked in Belgrade by the Apostolic Nuncio to Serbia H.E. Luciano Suriani with a reception at the Hotel Metropol.

This day is marked in celebration of the 6th anniversary of the election of His Holiness Pope Francis.

The occasion also marked the 53rd anniversary since the reestablishment of the Nunciature in Belgrade, Serbia.

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A traditional reception was held at the residence of the United States Ambassador in Belgrade marking U.S. Independence Day. Ambassador H.E. Kyle Scott welcomed representatives of the Government of Serbia, the diplomatic community, friends and partners of the Embassy.

Addressing guests, Ambassador Scott said that the U.S. is a friend of Serbia on the road to the EU. “This time is not easy, it requires dedicated work and sacrifice and, if I may say, a compromise. However, I assure our Serbian friends - on this road, the United States is your friend and companion,” noted Ambassador Scott.

The United States this year celebrated 243 years of independence and the 50th anniversary of the historic flight to the Moon that marked the “dawn of the new age”.

Ambassador Kyle Scott confirmed that his mandate was coming to an end and appreciates the hospitality of Serbian people and the friendship shown to him, his family and the entire staff of the U.S. Embassy.

AMBASSADOR KYLE SCOTT

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

8/7/2019

57th Anniversary Of Algeria’s Independence And Youth Day

On the occasion of the 57th anniversary of the independence of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria in Belgrade, Algerian Ambassador H.E. Abdelhamid Chebchub hosted a formal reception in his residence in memory of the day when, on 5th July 1962, the fighters of the Algerian Revolution won the victory.

Ambassador Abdelhamid Shebshub thanked the guests for their presence, reminding them to jointly share the historic moment marking the anniversary of Algerian independence.

The ambassador pointed out that on 5th July Algeria celebrates Youth Day, dedicated to the future of the country.

AMBASSADOR ABDELHAMID CHEBCHUB

8/7/2019

Statehood Day Of Montenegro

With the ceremonial reception, the Embassy of Montenegro in Serbia celebrated the Statehood Day of this country - the 13th July.

H.E. Branislav Mićunović, the outgoing ambassador of Montenegro to Serbia, welcomed guests at Belgrade’s Hyatt Hotel.

In his welcoming speech, Ambassador Branislav Mićunović reminded of the significance of the 13th of July in the Montenegrin tradition.

He pointed out that “we celebrate Statehood Day in friendly Belgrade, Serbia,” and with the shared freedom that has resulted in close cooperation between the two countries.

He added that both countries expressed readiness for a shared future and a mutual interest, especially related to a common and prosperous Balkans and membership in the European Union.

AMBASSADOR ESTANISLAO ANGEL ZAWELS

EU AMBASSADOR SEM FABRIZI AND MAJA GOJKOVIĆ

10/7/2019

AMBASSADOR BRANISLAV MIĆUNOVIĆ AND ZORAN ĐORĐEVIĆ

Marking Of The Independence Day Of Argentina

The Embassy of Argentina in Belgrade hosted a formal reception marking the 203 years of independence of Argentina, where Ambassador H.E. Estanislao Angel Zawels highlighted strong, friendly ties with Serbia.

“Diplomatic relations with Serbia last more than 90 years.”

“Today, both countries are looking towards the European Union - Serbia in its integration process, while Argentina and its partners from Mercosur (a South American bloc that includes Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay along with Argentina) signed a historic agreement on a strategic trade association with the EU,” said ambassador Zawels at the reception, which was attended by the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament Maja Gojković, EU Ambassador Sem Fabrizi and many members of the diplomatic community.

The Independence Day is celebrated marking the Declaration of Independence of Argentina adopted on 9th July 1816.

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SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

&FACES PLACES 12/7/2019

Celebration Of The National Day Of Egypt

The National Day Celebration of the Arab Republic of Egypt was hosted by the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade.

In his keynote address, Ambassador of Egypt in Belgrade H.E. Amr Aljowaily commended the initiative of the National Museum to devote a special section to the “Belgrade Mummy” as a model of cultural cooperation between the two countries, revealing that there are many ideas currently being explored to utilise the advanced industry of information and communication technology in Serbia to bring Ancient Egyptian antiquities to the wider Serbian public through virtual and augmented reality.

Egypt’s National Day celebration falls within the commemoration of the Second Cultural Month of Egypt throughout July in the four corners of the Republic of Serbia. It features artistic and intellectual events alike.

AMBASSADOR AMR ALJOWAILY

12/7/2019

Bastille Day Celebrated In Serbia’s Capital

AMBASSADOR FRÉDÉRIC MONDOLONI

To mark the occasion of France’s National Day, Bastille Day, Ambassador of France to Serbia H.E. Frédéric Mondoloni hosted a reception at the French Residence.

Ambassador Mondoloni addressed guests and pointed out that this year celebrates 180 years since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Serbia and France, which were founded in the 13th century and re-established in 1839.

Ambassador Mondoloni said that the visit by President Macron is the first visit to Belgrade since December 2001 when the then-President Jacques Chirac was the first head of the French state who came to Serbia after the democratic transition. The visit shows new interest in the Western Balkans and desire to give a new impetus to bilateral relations with Serbia.

Special publication by CorD publisher, alliance international media, was presented at the celebration of the Bastille Day.

19/7/2019

Independence Day Of Belgium

Ambassador of Belgium to Serbia H.E. Koenraad Adam and Mrs Adam hosted a reception marking the National Day, Independence Day of this country.

Belgium celebrates 21st July as a national holiday, in memory of 21st July 1831, which is thought to be the creation of an independent Belgian state and establishment of the Kingdom.

It is one of twelve public holidays in Belgium.

Ambassador Koenraad Adam welcomed guests in the lovely garden of the Residence in Krunska street.

Addressing the guests partly in Serbian and English, Ambassador Koenraad Adam thanked attendees for joining the celebration of the national day of this country.

The reception at the Belgium Residence was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps in Serbia and numerous figures from the public, political and cultural life of Belgrade and Serbia.

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AMBASSADOR KOENRAAD ADAM AND MRS ADAM

My life

Darko Tanasković, Professor and diplomat

By Radmila Stanković

WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN EUROPEANS, EVEN WITHOUT THE EU His parents provided him with a good upbringing, he completed oriental studies with ease, earned his doctorate and spent most of his career as a university professor.

He also proved himself to be a good diplomat as ambassador to Turkey, the Holy See and UNESCO. This month he speaks to CorD about his upbringing, his family, Islam, Serbia and the EU, but also French President Macron...

August

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My life

Darko Tanasković, professor and diplomat

H

is scientific, academic and diplomatic career placed him at the very top of Serbia’s intellectual elite. With his mastery of five or six languages, completed studies in orientalism, tolerance and the broad general education of this erudite have ensured that Darko Tanasković (1948) is welcome everywhere.

He welcomed and bid farewell to generations of students at the Department of Oriental Studies, as a beloved and respected professor, and also left a significant mark during the 15 years he spent engaged in diplomacy.

He explains that the deeper roots of his Tanaskovićs can, apparently, be traced back to Herzegovina, and he reminds me that Momo Kapor, a dear friend of both of us, would ask half-seriously in jest: “Is there anyone who doesn’t have their origins in Herzegovina?” Retreating away from the advancing Turks, Darko’s Tanaskovićs moved to Western Serbia, while his father, Rajko, was born in Preljina. His mother, Ines Wesley, was born in Sremska Mitrovica and lived there prior to World War II, and there Darko’s grandfather, Ljudevit – a native of Hrvatska Kostajnica (Croatia) - was a major landowner and prominent citizen. As a hydroengineer, he designed embankments to defend Mitrovica against previous regular floods. He is also remembered as a benefactor of the Mitrovica Gymnasium High School: “Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet either grandfather. Velimir was shot and killed, under unclear circumstances, in 1941. And in order to confiscate all of his property, Ljudevit was convicted without foundation in 1945 as “a collaborator with the occupier and an enemy of the state”. He soon fell ill and died in prison. We don’t even know where he was buried. He was posthumously acquitted by the court in 2010.”

His parents behaved responsibly and normally, and it was mostly through their personal example that they influenced the upbringing of their children – Darko and his sister Stanka: “I thank them for that, because later in my life – and particularly since I became a parent – I realised that the excessive mystifying of the upbringing of children often leads to the wrong path. I was expected to achieve results, and I was provided with all the necessary conditions to dedicate myself to achieving them. My parents placed a focus on me receiving a high-quality

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PAPA BENEDETTO XVI AND DARKO TANASKOVIĆ

My parents placed a focus on me receiving a highquality education and not on growing accustomed from an early age to receiving money without any effort or justification education and not on growing accustomed from an early age to receiving money without any effort or justification. I’m also obliged to point out the role played in the early years of forming my personality by my gentle and wise grandmother Ivanka, who gifted me generously with love and lessons during my childhood in Zagreb.”

Darko has many reasons to be proud of his parents. First and foremost, Rajko and Ines were honest people with unwavering moral integrity.

And they were also top experts in their respective areas of expertise: “As an educated ‘pre-war’ officer, and later senior military leader, my father achieved remarkable achievements in military science. He was also the first doctor of military science (after Tito, who received an honorary Ph.D.) and authored several

books that are still considered fundamental to military theory and education, particularly Pitanja partizanskog ratovanja [Issues of Partisan Warfare] and Štabovi u ratu i miru [General Staff in War and Peace]. His mother, one of the first to earn a doctorate in medical sciences in our country after WWII, possessed an extremely broad education and mastered several foreign languages. At the global level, she was among the pioneers of introducing modern computing to biology and medicine, she established an information system at the Military Medical Academy, published papers in the most prestigious scientific journals (such as Nature) and at one proint served as the president of the UN University Council in Tokyo.

Despite all of this, my parents were personally extremely humble people, without any sense for self-promotion or excessive desires. How could one not be proud of them? It was much tougher to follow their example.”

From today’s perspective, with subsequent intellect and the tenderness of memory brought by recollections of youth, Darko has nothing to criticise them for. On the contrary! Earlier, of course – like every child, depending on their age and circumstances – he was inclined to criticise them, with or without a reason, and occasionally be angered by them: “With my dad I was bothered and burdened by his Spartan-like military strictness and pre-

By Radmila Stanković

WITH WIFE VESNA

cision in everything, which back then seemed obsessive to me. I even considered that he didn’t love me at all. He wasn’t capable of giving praise, rather he considered that which was done well to be normal and he felt it was his duty to be critical when something wasn’t done right. I felt like that was unjust. My mother was an intimate sanctuary for me in such situations, but it somehow seemed to me that she didn’t take me seriously enough.”

What connotation on the time of Darko’s youth did the term “general’s child, general’s son” have? How much did that feel like and obligation or a burden, or how much did it ease his life?

“Thanks precisely to the way my father held himself in life, I was never afflicted by the “general’s son” complex, although sometimes – especially later – some people tried to disturb my balance or underestimate me by emphasising that attribute, which I neither deserved nor was guilty of expressing. Imagine how absurd and ridiculous it is when you’re in your 60s and it’s suggested that your main characteristic is that you’re a “general’s son”, as if you’ve achieved everything in your life on the basis of that status and that you didn’t do anything yourself. And the reality is completely the opposite, if I exclude the decent standard of living and opportunity to be educated solidly in my youth, I wouldn’t say that the fact I had a general as a father was beneficial in any way, or helpful in heading along the road of life, or

at university and in my diplomatic journey. And when undertaking my military service it was even harder for me...”

Darko and his wife Vesna raised three successful children and are proud of them with reason: “One of my colleagues had the habit of saying “there’s no tougher craft than parenting”. There are some general rules, but every tangible situation/individual, and the establishing of interactive parent-child relationships, is specific. With our children - son Marko and daughters Jelena and Marija - we tried to raise them unobtrusively, or for them to develop themselves, the characteristics of balanced individuals with a stronghold based in a system of values founded on confirmed and undisputed ‘cardinal/moral/virtues’, to utilise a term from antiquity. I believe we succeeded in that. Our children are today mature, excellentlyeducated people who certainly go through life with an awareness of their responsibilities, but also their rights. Everybody can rely on them with confidence, including us, as their parents.

As we’re on the threshold of old age, that fills us with serenity, satisfaction and (why not?) pride.”

It’s difficult to believe the story that Darko enrolled in oriental studies coincidentally. However, if coincidence even exists in such choices, then his 1966 decision to enrol in Oriental philology at the Belgrade University Faculty of Philology actually did happen by chance. He hadn’t previ-

Even if the problem of “Kosovo” is somehow cleared from the agenda (though I don’t see how that could happen in the foreseeable future) and the famous ballast (perfidious and incorrect) of Chapter 35 in EU accession negotiations have been resolved, ahead of Serbia will still be a long road of conditioning and proving itself to the ill-disposed and cynical European arbiters of our dignity ously even considered such a direction. However: “A summer conversation by the sea with a girl studying Anglistics led me to look into that side.

Specifically, casually, unobliging conversationally, she wrote my name in Arabic letters on a packet of Drina cigarettes from Niš, saying that she’d learned them from a colleague who was studying Orientalism. I liked the idea that this could be learned, and then I began – in the ‘classic’ way – to develop and build on that in the spirit of the old Latin phrase ‘Ex Oriente Lux’ [out of the east, light comes], so that’s how I found myself in the Department of Oriental Studies. And I didn’t regret it. Adding a special note to this true anecdote is the fact that I found that fateful box of ‘Drina’ a few years later in the pocket of my old trousers and ... concluded that my name wasn’t even written in Arabic letters!”

I recently watched a documentary on Al Jazeera in which Ivan Ejub Kostić – a former student of Darko Tanasković who’s preparing his doctorate – spoke. Ivan is actually the son of famous Serbian composer Vojislav Voki Kostić and actress Stanislava Pešić. In this documentary, Ivan Eyub explained why he converted to Islam, along with other speakers who decided, as adults, to replace Orthodoxy with Islam. After such a revelation, the question that imposes itself is why,

August

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My life

Darko Tanasković, professor and diplomat

in recent years, it has become more attractive for people born as Orthodox Christians to convert to Islam, and not vice versa? Responding to this question, CorD’s interlocutor says: “I’d like to have seen that broadcast, because it isn’t clear to me why this gifted former student of mine embraced Islam. I suppose that the urge to make such a decision should be sought in the individual-psychological and, possibly, microsocial sphere. I wouldn’t say that conversions from Christian Orthodoxy to Islam represent a particularly pronounced tendency, despite there being such cases, as well as the acceptance of Christianity among former Muslims. For Muslims, in principle, religious conversions are riskier, because apostasy is punishable by death under sharia law, and their degree of religiosity is higher on average. Otherwise, when it is noted today that someone has converted from one faith to another, one should consider that many of our

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Your Excellency, when all this passes – and it must pass, because everything is transient – please do the most you can with your power to influence the Serbs so that they are not angry with us – just because we are Turks – more than they are with others who are this time far more responsible for the misfortune that has befallen you

contemporaries, especially (post-)Christians, are secularised to a great extent, or are atheists, so a question arises as to the spiritual starting point from which they embark on the journey towards choosing a new religion. It is essentially, perhaps, actually their first.”

During difficult times, in the year when Serbia and Montenegro were bombed by NATO member countries, Darko was serving as Yugoslavia’s ambassador to Turkey. The worst thing for him was to remain apparently calm when heading to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the mornings after sleepless hours spent in feverish attempts to find out – through contradictory media reports and other roundabout telephone connections with our country – what the “Merciful Angel” had destroyed in his Belgrade and Serbia during the night, and how much human life had been sacrificed on the altar of “NATO credibility”.

Turkey participated actively in the aggression: “Objectively, I spoke with the enemies, but I must admit that all of my diplomatic interlocutors were very careful and never said or did anything to make me my extremely unenviable position even more difficult. On one occasion they even told me something that led me to consider more deeply: “Your Excellency, when all this passes – and it must pass, because everything is transient – please do the most you can with your power to influence the Serbs so that they are not angry with us – just because we are Turks – more than they are with others who are this time far more responsible for the misfortune that has befallen you.”

Many would suggest that being an ambassador to the Vatican is very attractive, and the Vatican is often attributed more power than it really has in the world. As a former ambassador to the Holy See, Tanasković explains that this diplomatic service is specific and challenging in many ways, but also enriching in a special way.

Conditionality speaking, there are no classical fields of diplomatic work - in the narrow sense of bilateral political relations, complex economic relations, security dimensions, consular issues etc.

“In return, at the Vatican, like some privileged observer, it is possible to see global and regional movements, and Vatican diplomacy is certainly among the best in the world, so the experience of cooperating with its officers is precious. There is a lot of spiritual-cultural content, which – particularly given my professional profile and interest – was also encouraging in multiple ways.

By Radmila Stanković

I would dare say that the Vatican’s planetary influence is still significant, especially since the start of the term of the unique and agile Pope Francis, but that it has realistically diminished in relation to earlier epochs due to numerous reasons

WITH GREAT TEACHER OF CHINESE BUDDHISM QIN KUNG

It is difficult to precisely determine the influence of the Holy See on world events, especially when comparing it to the influence it had in the past.

Still, I would dare say that the Vatican’s planetary influence is still significant, especially since the start of the term of the unique and agile Pope Francis, but that it has realistically diminished in relation to earlier epochs due to numerous reasons.”

Many would say that Darko’s greatest achievement in diplomacy was his successful lobbying in UNESCO – to ensure that Kosovo didn’t received the two-thirds majority of votes it required. For an observer, a question arises as to how he succeeded in this impossible mission, while he knows how stressful, but unforgettable those days, or rather months, were...

“Prior to the start of the campaign for Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO, there was the systematic creation of the atmosphere that it is almost a formality, that we were facing a completed deed,

and that the mission of opposing the candidacy was impossible. Crucial to our subsequent success was our conviction that, despite all the obstacles, this mission was not impossible, even though we knew it would be devilishly difficult and ultimately uncertain. The operation to oppose membership was launched at the highest level, multilaterally and bilaterally. On our side, we achieved unified action, planned and coordinated, among all state institutions, various organisations and individuals involved in this campaign, which had rarely been the case to that extent previously. Pristina’s sponsors and allies lobbied strongly, not saving on resources. We didn’t have access to many of those resources, but we felt that there was growing discomfort around the world regarding the harsh imposing of decisions in international organisations. There was, however, a real danger that – despite this positive trend – the inertia of previous voting practises in favour of Kosovo and similar projects of the group of influential and arrogant states would still prove crucial in this case as well. In the end, however, that didn’t happen, which was a far-reaching precedent. Our tactics proved to be correct.”

How does this connoisseur of French politics interpret French President Macron’s advocacy for the EU to first deepen internal structures and only then expand to include Balkan countries?

“President Macron, about whom I don’t have a favourable opinion at all, is rational, honest and consistent in this case. He considers it his obligation to place the EU’s interests first, and in this presumably also France, and only then to consider the wider circle of countries gravitating towards the Union.”

Commenting on how realistic it is that Serbia and the rest of the Balkan countries, as promised, could find themselves in the EU by 2025, Darko notes: “I think this is a deadline that, at one point, for reasons of political conjuncture, had to be pronounced declaratively. Today, for many reasons, it doesn’t appear realistic, especially for some Balkan countries, including Serbia. I hope I’m not right, and perhaps that would be better...”

What is Serbia’s biggest problem today when it comes to Europe? Is it really just finding a solution to the borders with Kosovo and the recognition of Kosovo? According to Darko’s assessment, he is of the opinion that even when agreement is reached on this, there will be some new demands and new blackmail.

“I’m among those who believe that, even if the problem of “Kosovo” is somehow cleared from the agenda (though I don’t see how that could happen in the foreseeable future) and the famous ballast (perfidious and incorrect) of Chapter 35 in EU accession negotiations have been resolved, ahead of Serbia will still be a long road of conditioning and proving itself to the ill-disposed and cynical European arbiters of our dignity. Fortunately, even without the EU we have been Europeans since time immemorial.

My late friend, visionary Dragoš Kalajić, added even – the last ones.”

Darko’s recent retirement prompted stormy reactions among members of the academic and intellectual public. Many stated publicly that it was mere professional jealousy and envy that ensured Tanasković didn’t receive the title of professor emeritus. For some, this represents the dark reversal of people who hold responsible positions at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, while many claim that this is primarily a loss for students. But the distinguished diplomat that is Professor Darko Tanasković no longer wants to discuss this matter: “If anyone is interested in this topic at all, I would advise that they read the “Proposal for Consideration” that was written in early June in response to the failure to nominate academic Predrag Piper and myself as professor emeritus and was signed and made public by 136 intellectuals of various professional profiles, including a large number of renowned representatives of our academic community. Something seriously disturbed them in that...”

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CHILL OUT FINLAND

Wife-Carrying Championship Vytatutas Kirkliauskas traversed a muddy course carrying his wife Neringa to win Finland’s annual wife-carrying championships.

This was the second consecutive victory for this Lithuanian couple in the international event that was held for the 31st time in Sonkajarvi, Finland. Contestants from a dozen countries took part in the event, which is inspired by a Finnish folk legend involving the kidnapping of women by pillagers. Despite the name, team members don’t need to be married, although the passenger must weigh at least 108 pounds (49kg). The event’s most common carrying technique saw the female contestant hanging upside-down across her partner’s back, with her legs wrapped around his neck as he ran the course.

CHINA

Man Makes Living Posing As Real-Life “Laughing Buddha” Photos and videos of an overweight, bald man posing as the Laughing Buddha on a stage somewhere in China have been circulating on social media. Chinese newspapers report that the man is showered with money every time he performs, with people hoping that their offering would earn them divine favour. All he does is sit in an iconic Buddha pose with his flabby belly exposed and a big smile on his face, but that’s enough to thrill audiences.

Apart from appearing on streets and stages, he has also been invited to appear at corporate events by Chinese companies and has started streaming his act online.

CANADA

Drum Roll In 11 Cities Organisers of a world record attempt for the largest group drum roll have confirmed the participation of hundreds of drummers in 11 Canadian cities.

The event was coordinated across these cities and live-streamed to ensure the drumming was performed in sync.

“They played at the same time across multiple time zones,” said organisers, who estimated that more than 1,700 people participated in the attempt, though final numbers were yet to be confirmed. The number of participants required to beat the existing Guinness record is 1,683.

NORWAY

Arctic Fox Walks From Norway To Canada A polar fox was fitted with a satellite tracking collar in Krossfjorden, Svalbard, Norway, on 29th July 2017, as part of research conducted by the Norwegian Polar Institute. And Norwegian researchers revealed recently that this young female arctic fox has been tracked walking from Norway to Canada.

The young female fox, just shy of her first birthday, stunned scientists by covering an unbelievable distance during a short, four-month trek. The animal, also known as a coastal or blue fox, travelled more than 2,700 miles from Spitsbergen, the largest island of Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago, to Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada. The journey is among the longest dispersal events ever recorded among this species.

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EMIRATES

Businessman Wants To Tow Icebergs From Antarctica To The Gulf A UAE entrepreneur and inventor has been working on an ambitious project that involves towing a giant iceberg all the way from Antarctica to the Arabian Gulf, in order to provide fresh drinking water for the Emirates.

Abdulla Alshehi thinks he may have found a much better, albeit unconventional, alternative. For the last six years he has been working on a plan to tether a 2km x 500m iceberg in Antarctica and use modern technology to tow it 5,500 miles to the Arabian Gulf. The floating block of ice, a giant iceberg from Heard Island near the South Pole, would not only provide drinking water for millions of people, but also determine positive weather changes in the region. Keeping the iceberg from melting rapidly in the warm water is another major challenge, but one that Alshehi thinks can be overcome.

ESTONIA

Portable Sauna While South Africans have been experiencing something of a freeze of late, much of Europe has felt like a sauna, which makes Willem Maesalu’s weird car seem even weirder: his bright yellow Audi 100 Avant is actually a portable sauna.

Maesalu, 29, got the idea to convert his car when he discovered that it would be too expensive to rent a sauna for his birthday party. Now his converted vehicle has all the accoutrements of a traditional Finnish steam bath. In order to use the sauna, Maesalu puts a chimney in the bonnet and fires up a wood stove to heat the sauna to 60 degrees Celsius. If it got any hotter, the windows might crack.

Maeslau has taken his unique drive to sauna festivals across Estonia and rents it out to steam lovers for 75 euros per day.

FRANCE

Football Match Breaks Guinness Record A football match played on the sidelines of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France has broken the Guinness World Record for duration by lasting for 69 hours.

Equal Playing Field, a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering women in sports, organised the match in Lyon. It featured 807 players, including numerous professional athletes, and ended with a score of 404-369. According to Equal Playing Field, it was successful in breaking the Guinness record for the most players to appear continuously in a five-a-side match. Guinness required each player to spend at least 10 minutes on the field and to touch the ball at least once.

JAPAN

Renting Cars For Everything But Driving Car rental operators in Japan have observed a very strange trend of late, with a considerable number of their clients renting cars but logging unusually low mileages, or not driving the cars at all.

A 2018 survey revealed that one in eight users rented a car for services other than transportation. The largest number of respondents said that they rented cars to sleep or rest, followed by those who claimed that they used them as quiet, comfortable places to talk on the phone with friends, family or business partners.

Some people reported renting cars to have lunch in, watch TV, put on their Halloween costumes and even do facial stretches that are said to reduce the size of the face.

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Dressed

To Party Of all the fashion-based dilemmas in life, what to wear to a summer party must be among the most difficult, due to the many factors that come into play. It's a veritable minefield of environmental and aesthetic hazards.

2019 will be a summer of pool or beach parties. Maybe you've already booked a trip to some beach club festivities, or plan to stay local and rent a house with a pool somewhere out of the city, so you can throw a soiree with friends. But once you've finalised your plans you'll need to pack some outfits.

Swimsuits are pretty much a given, but what do you wear on top? Show up to your pool party all dressed up and get ready to eat, drink, and schmooze.

So if you're on the hunt for a summer-ready party outfit, feel free to draw inspiration from ensembles: whether you're going for cocktails or attending a garden party, there'll be a look that suits you.

NORMA KAMALI

Diana one-shoulder ruched stretch-jersey midi dress €245

PATBO

Draped floral-print crepe shorts €400

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ETRO

Printed silk-chiffon kaftan €760

RANJANA KHAN Satin, feather, shell and pearl headband €600

PAUL SMITH

Zebra cufflinks €88

ORLEBAR BROWN

Orlebar Brown x Rob Wyn Yates Travis relaxed-fit cotton-and-linen blend shirt €280

DRIES VAN NOTEN Floral-print relaxed-fit satin-twill shirt €445

LEVIS501

hemmed slim-fit straight-leg shorts €57

CANALI

Regular-fit cotton-blend trousers €235

August

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Culture

calendar

Afro Festival

28 June - November 2019, Museum of African Art The Afro festival 2019 opened with the exhibition “Under the Spotlight - Ancient Egyptian Collection in Museums in Serbia” in the crowded Museum of African Art in Senjak.

The exhibition presents some of the most valuable and rarely (or never) exhibited items from the ancient Egyptian collections of the Museum of Serbia and the result of cooperation between 11 museums and cultural institutions of Serbia.

Numerous visitors and diplomats addressed guests - Zoran Djordjević, Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans’ Affairs and Social Affairs; H.E. Amr Aljowaily, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Dr Maria Aleksić, Director of the Museum of African Art. The history of relations between Serbia and Egypt has its line of continuity which, over the years, recorded only the activities of exceptional cooperation, friendship and support on the political, economic and cultural level. The Museum of African Art, such as the exhibition, as well as the three-day event - Afro Festival - contributes to their further improvement, pointed out Marija Aleksić.

Marina Abramović - The Cleaner

21 September 2019 - 20 January 2020, Museum of Contemporary Art Exhibition The Cleaner is the first major European retrospective by Marina Abramović, designed in close collaboration with the artist. It was premiered in 2017 at the Modern Museum (Stockholm, Sweden) and then travelled to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Humlebek, Denmark), Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (Oslo, Norway), Bundeskunsthale (Bonn, Germany), the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation Florence, Italy) and Center for Contemporary Art (Torun, Poland).

The exhibition in Belgrade’s Museum of Contemporary Art is the last stop on tour and has a special significance because it represents the artist’s return to the city of his birth where she started her career and where she last exhibited independently in 1975, at the Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition chronologically follows all the stages of the multifaceted 50-year career of the artist. Beginning from early, painting (1960-1969) and conceptual works (19701972), through solo performance (1973-1975) and working together with life partner Ulai (1976-1988), which is the period of gaining international affirmation, to solo career from 1991 to 2017, during which she built the status of one of the greatest artists of today. It contains more than 120 works and includes paintings, drawings, objects, photographs, sound works, video works, films, scenography, performances and archival material. The exhibition consists of anthological works of art of performance (Ritmovi, 1973-1974; Lips of Thomas, 1975; Relational Works, 1976-1977; Nightmare Transition, 1982-1986), as well as works that marked her recent opus (Balkan Baroque, 1997; Artist is present, 2010).

Within the exhibition, the artist will hold a public lecture and a master class for young artists.

The accompanying program includes screenings of films about Marina Abramović, lectures on the art of performance and public guiding.

Let’s Start Love Over Again 17-26 September

This year, the 53rd Bitef Festival is held, under the slogan Let’s Start Love Over Again, with the idea that the theatre can provide an alternative to the current, dominantly oppressive forms of the functioning of the society. From 17-26 September, we will have the opportunity to see twelve plays from nine countries from around the world, at several theatres and alternative locations in Belgrade. Ivan Medenica, artistic director of Bitef, pointed out that the vision of a contemporary theater in which the most obvious form of social community is being built is the one based on the increased participation of viewers, the erosion of the naturalistic fourth wall between the social reality of the theater and the fictional reality of the scene, the permeation and cooperation of the performer and viewers. The most current form of such an interactive theatre is today most often defined as “Imperial Theater”.

During the ten days of the festival, the audience will have the opportunity to see performances from France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Nigeria and Brazil within the main program.

This year’s program will ceremoniously open with the play Orest in Mosul, one of the greatest directors of today, Milo Rau. The performances of the main program will be held in addition to Belgrade’s theatres in alternative spaces that will be adapted for the needs of the 53rd Bitef.

Booking tickets for all performances 53rd Bitef will start on August 15th and will last until September 1st, while ticket sales will start on September 2nd.

More information at bitef.rs

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RECOMMENDS

LONELY PLANET MUNICH, BAVARIA & THE BLACK FOREST

Eros Ramazzotti Concert 24 - Štark Arena – 21.00

Italian Embassy and Italian Culture Institute are bringing you the biggest Italian pop star of today, Eros Ramazzotti.

One of the greatest Italian authors and singers, Eros Ramazzotti, announces the release of a new album. The upcoming edition of “Vita Ce N’è” will be on sale on 23 November through Polydor in a variety of formats: CD, CD Deluxe, 2LP, 2LP Colored & Super Box Deluxe.

In partnership with Facebook Italy, Eros Ramazzotti became the first Italian to announce an album and tour through Video Premiere, which just started functioning in this country. Also, following digital innovations in the music world, he decided to give Spotify users an exclusive presale of concert tickets at his upcoming world tour exclusively through this network until 13 September when tickets will officially be on sale.

Pre-save at Spotify will start on 10 September at midnight, and at the same time, the new album, which you will be able to listen in Italian and Spanish, will be available in all formats via Amazon.

The big world tour that follows the release of the new album Eros Ramazzotti will start next year in February in a concert in Munich. “Vita Ce N’e World Tour” will take him to some of the largest and most spectacular arenas on 5 continents!

Guitar Art Summer Festival

15-20, Herceg Novi Guitar Art Summer Fest is an international guitar festival. Concerts are held every night in the heart of the Old Town between the two churches, the Music School, between the stone houses and the summer sky. Specific concerts are held every year on the ancient Kanla Tower.

Within the framework of the Festival, a summer school of the guitar takes place during the day, whereby GASF supports and promotes young talents who have the opportunity to work and perform with the biggest guitar artists.

Nišville Jazz Festival 2-11, Niš Fortress

Nišville Jazz Festival is an international jazz festival in The City of Niš.

Nišville is the most visited and the biggest jazz festival in the Southeastern Europe.

The festival takes place in August, in The Fortress of Niš.

This international jazz festival is the biggest one in Southeastern Europe and has a long tradition of defending European values, principles and multiculturalism. An European magazine called “New Europe” has published an extensive article about the festival called “Nišville - The European Face of Serbia” which serves as testimony to previous claims. The Guardian has also listed Nišville in the top 10 jazz festivals in Europe.

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

Lonely Planet 2479rsd

Lonely Planet’s Munich, Bavaria & the Black Forest is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Explore Munich’s famous art and beer scene, tour hilltop castles in the fairy tale Black Forest and wind your way along the Romantic Road – all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Munich, Bavaria & the Black Forest and begin your journey now!

THE DANUBE: A JOURNEY UPRIVER FROM THE BLACK SEA TO THE BLACK FOREST Nick Thorpe 2071rsd

The author takes us on an unexpected journey up the Danube, where we encounter a remarkable and unfamiliar world The magnificent Danube both cuts across and connects central Europe, flowing through and alongside ten countries: Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany.

Travelling its full length from east to west, against the river’s flow, Nick Thorpe embarks on an inspiring year-long journey that leads to a new perspective on Europe today.

Thorpe’s account is personal, conversational, funny, immediate, and uniquely observant-everything a reader expects in the best travel writing. Immersing himself in the Danube’s waters during daily morning swims, Thorpe likewise becomes immersed in the histories of the lands linked by the river. He observes the river’s ecological conditions, some discouraging and others hopeful, and encounters archaeological remains that whisper of human communities sustained by the river over eight millennia.

LEAVES OF GRASS (ALMA CLASSICS GREAT POETS) Walt Whitman 1483rsd

First published in 1855 and extended by the author over the course of more than three decades, Leaves of Grass embodies Walt Whitman’s lifetime ambition to create a new voice that could capture the spirit and vibrancy of the young American nation, while celebrating at the same time ‘Nature without check with original energy’. Famously written in free verse and brimming with sensuous imagery and an unbridled love of nature and life in all its forms, and containing celebrated poems such as the ebullient `Song of Myself’ - described

by Jay Parini as the greatest American poem ever written - and the elegiac `When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’, Leaves of Grass is not only the fi nest achievement of a highly unique poet, but a founding text for American literature and modern poetry.

August

61

AFTER WORK 28 JUN AFRO FESTIVAL 2019 OPENED The Afro festival 2019 opened with the exhibition “Under the Spotlight - Ancient Egyptian Collection in Museums in Serbia” in the crowded Museum of African Art in Senjak.

The exhibition presents some of the most valuable and rarely (or never) exhibited items from the ancient Egyptian collections of the Museum of Serbia and the result of cooperation between 11 museums and cultural institutions of Serbia.

Numerous visitors and diplomats addressed guests - Zoran Djordjević, Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans’ Affairs and Social Affairs, H.E. Amr Aljowaily, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Dr Maria Aleksić, Director of the Museum of African Art. The exhibition will be open until November 2019.

JELENA PAVLOVIĆ, PRESIDENT OF AMCHAM

02 AMCHAM AND INOVIA: AVAILABILITY JUL OF INNOVATIVE IN SERBIA AMBASSADOR AMR ALJOWAILY

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AmCham and Inovia on the availability of innovative therapies and their funding opportunities in Serbia: To innovative drugs through the analysis of the efficiency of investment in healthcare and long-term planning Innovative drugs prolong the life expectancy, they enable more successful, faster and more comfortable treatment, with far fewer costs.

Although Serbia’s investment in health is very similar to neighbouring countries such as Bulgaria or Romania, the issue of innovative medicines is at least the least in Serbia in relation to all the countries surveyed, say the results of two different studies, conducted by the Inovia Manufacturers Association and the American the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AmCham).

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

04 JUL KOREAN EMBASSY AND KOTRA HOST AN EVENT FOR BUSINESS PARTNERS Embassy of Korea in Serbia, headed by Ambassador H.E. Choe Hyoung-chan hosted an event for business partners at the ambassadorial Residence.

Ambassador Hyoung-chan greeted attendees and thanked partners for their support extended to the Korean Embassy and KOTRA. He reminded that this year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Serbia.

Ambassador informed guests about the ongoing negotiations between governments of two countries in regards to the Bilateral Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investment. The aim is to improve the protection for the companies from both countries under the appropriate legal framework.

AMBASSADOR CHOE HYOUNG-CHAN

August

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AFTER WORK 05 AMBASSADOR LAHDEVIRTA MARKS JUL THE START OF FINLAND’S PRESIDENCY OF THE EU COUNCIL

On the occasion of the start of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union Ambassador of Finland in Belgrade H.E. Kimmo Lahdevirta hosted a reception at the ambassadorial Residence.

“Finland is committed to continuing to work on the credible prospect of the enlargement of the Western Balkans, and that will be high on the agencies during our presidency,” said Ambassador Lahdevirta.

The reception was attended by representatives of the Government of the Republic of Serbia of the civil sector, the media and the diplomatic corps.

Ambassador Lahdevirta and Serbian Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic addressed the participants, pointing out that European integration of Serbia is a common goal.

FRANCINE PICKUP, UNDP SERBIA REPRESENTATIVE

05 JUL UNDP ACCELERATOR

AMBASSADOR KIMMO LAHDEVIRTA WITH WIFE AND AMBASSADOR OANA CRISTINA POPA(LEFT)

UNDP Office in Serbia opened Accelerator Lab in Belgrade.

An innovative network of 60 Accelerator Labs are being launched worldwide to test and scale new solutions to global challenges like climate change and soaring inequality.

These laboratories, launched yesterday by UNDP, will bring together grassroots ideas with new sources of real-time data and experimentation to meet the fastchanging realities of 21st century development.

08 FIC REALITY CHECK CONFERENCE ON JUL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION LAW The Foreign Investors Council held Reality Check Conference dedicated to the Data Protection Law and its implementation, with Minister of Justice Nela Kuburovic as a keynote speaker and representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Commissioner Office as key panellists.

The discussion was focused on open questions regarding the application of the new Personal Data Protection Law which is fundamentally linked to both predictability and securing legal certainty that is of crucial importance to all investors present in Serbia.

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JUSTICE MINISTER NELA KUBUROVIĆ

GORAN PEKEZ

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

15 JUL HEAD OF EU DELEGATION MEETS WITH AMBASSADORS OF BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA

AMBASSADOR ESTANISLAO ANGEL ZAWELS, AMBASSADOR SEM FABRIZI AND AMBASSADOR EDUARDO BOTELHO BARBOSA

The recently concluded trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries was the main topic of the meeting of the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Sem Fabrizi, Ambassador of Brazil Eduardo Botelho Barbosa and Ambassador of Argentina Estanislao Angel Zawels.

The biggest trade agreement ever reached by the Union has been negotiated for exactly twenty years, since the end of June 1999.

The EU-Mercosur region-to-region agreement will remove the majority of tariffs on EU exports to Mercosur, making EU companies more competitive by saving them 4 billion euros worth of duties per year. The agreement will open up new business opportunities in Mercosur for EU companies selling under government contracts, and to service suppliers in the information technology, telecommunications and transport sectors, among others.

18 AMBASSADOR OF TUNISIA OPENS JUL EXHIBITION MEDITERRANEO Ambassador of Tunisia to Serbia H.E. Seyf Allah Rejeb opened the exhibition Mediterraneo of the works of Serbian artist Nebojša Petrović, at the Belgrade City Library.

Mediterraneo exhibition features of watercolour paintings inspired by artists travel to Tunisia, Malta, Greece and Italy.

The exhibition will be open to the public until 2nd August 2019.

DAVID VUICH, MEMBER OF THE “SERBIAN APOLLO SEVEN” AMBASSADOR SEYF ALLAH REJEB

20 APOLLO MISSION MEMBER JUL DAVID VUICH VISITS SERBIA Marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, the U.S. Embassy invited David Vuich to visit Serbia from 18th-28th July.

Vuich is the last surviving member of the “Serbian Apollo Seven,” a group of Serbian-Americans who worked on the Apollo programme in the 1960s and 1970s.

Upon his arrival in Belgrade, Vuich held a presentation at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

David Vuich started the presentation in the Serbian language and soon continued in English.

“Neil Armstrong was my friend and I taught him some Serbian words and phrases,” said Vuich.

Answering questions about the Moon landing, Vuich said “Yes, we really landed men on the moon. It changed our understanding of the solar system.”

More than 650 million people around the world watched the historic landing on 20th July 1969 and heard astronaut Neil Armstrong say “... one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

August

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AFTER WORK

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

24 EXHIBITION MARKING 140 YEARS OF JUL SERBIAN-BULGARIAN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS On the occasion of 140 years of diplomatic relations between Serbia and Bulgaria, the embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Belgrade headed by Ambassador H.E. Radko Vlaykov exhibition at the Belgrade’s Kalemegdan Park.

Ambassador Vlaykov confirmed in his speech close relations between the two Balkan countries.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by government officials, members of the diplomatic community, partners and friends of the embassy.

HIS MAJESTY KING MOHAMMED VI

MORROCO THRONE DAY

AMBASSADOR RADKO VLAYKOV

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Throne Day, 30th july, in Morocco has a strong symbolic meaning for the entire Nation. It reflects the renewal of the act of allegiance between the Throne and the Moroccan people, their attachment to national constants and the particular place of the monarchy in the collective memory and the hearts of all Moroccans. It is also the perfect opportunity to highlight the achievements of the Kingdom under the leadership of His Majesty, as well as the challenges ahead.

Thanks to its political stability and sustainable development, Morocco is engaged in a comprehensive process of profound reform in all sectors, through an inclusive and participative approach.

Morocco has become an increasingly attractive and dynamic spot, both on the African continent and in the MENA region. The inflow of FDI has increased by 28,6% to reach $3.3 billion in 2018, mainly in the automotive industry, aeronautics and renewable energy. In terms of infrastructure, not only did TangerMed become the largest port in Africa and the Mediterranean, but it is also a gateway bridging Africa and Europe, and a world-class platform for export, connected to 186 ports in 77 countries.

Morocco’s foreign policy is based on values, ambition and clarity with its interlocutors. The country has launched new spheres of cooperation with a large number of countries across the globe, while consolidating its traditional partnerships.

Proud of its religious, cultural and ethnic heritage, which is emphasized in the new constitution adopted in 2011, the country is committed to work under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI for a dialogue of cultures and religions, and for the promotion of the values arising from this dialogue to build a civilization based on understanding among mankind, regardless of race, colour or faith.

Partner

Switzerland - Serbia

Strong & Efficient

RELATIONS

H.E. Philippe Guex, Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia ● Majo Mićović, President of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce ● Ursula Läubli, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office, Counsellor, Embassy of Switzerland ● Yana Mikhailova, Market Head – Nestlé South East Market ● Ana Grujović, Director of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce ● Petar Adžić, Professor at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Physics (retired), Chairman of the Serbian National Commission for Cooperation with CERN and Serbia’s scientific delegate in the CERN Council ● Oleg Stefanović, Director, Produkt Bg Engineering ● Stojan Kemera, General Manager of Barry Callebaut Southeast Europe ● Ana Govedarica, General Manager of Roche Serbia ● Slobodanka Vlajčić, CEO, Nevena&Allmecosmetics ● Đorđe Rašić, Zepter Group Board Member ● Aleksandar Milošević, 3AP CEO & Founder

CONTENTS

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28

DIALOGUE PROMPTS EVERY SUCCESS STORY COMMENT

10

22

17

NO CHERRY PICKING IN REFORM PROCESS H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX, AMBASSADOR OF SWITZERLAND TO SERBIA

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME BAD SISTEMS

SMALL BUT RELIABLE PARTNER OLEG STEFANOVIĆ, DIRECTOR, PRODUKT BG INŽENJERING

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THE BEST CHOCOLATE NEEDS PASSION STOJAN KEMERA, GENERAL MANAGER, BARRY CALLEBAUT

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SHARING PERSPECTIVES OF THE DIGITAL WORLD MAJO MIĆOVIĆ, PRESIDENT OF THE SWISS-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

DESIGN: Jasmina Laković j.lakovic@aim.rs

PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović

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ADVANCING POTENTIAL FOR COOPERATION

ANA GOVEDARICA, GENERAL MANAGER, ROCHE SERBIA

Mihailo Čučković, m.cuckovic@aim.rs

TRANSLATION & EDITING MRP EDITORIAL Halifax Translation Services

OFFICE MANAGER: Svetlana Petrović s.petrovic@aim.rs

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OUR FIRST 5 YEARS SSCC

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HUGE INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION SWISS CRAFTSMANSHIP

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RIVALRY OF SUPERHEROES WIMBLEDON 2019

“NEW MEDICINE” ARRIVING

COPY EDITOR: Mark Pullen

SALES MANAGERS: Biljana Dević, b.devic@aim.rs Nataša Trifunović, n.trifunovic@aim.rs Vesna Vukajlović, v.vukajlovic@aim.rs

EDITORIAL MANAGER: Neda Lukić n.lukic@aim.rs

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WE CREATE A UNIQUE WORKING CULTURE ALEKSANDAR MILOŠEVIĆ, CEO & FOUNDER, 3AP

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RESPONSIBLE COMPANY FOR A HEALTHIER SERBIA YANA MIKHAILOVA, MARKET HEAD – NESTLÉ SOUTH EAST MARKET

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Miroslava Nešić-Bikić m.bikic@aim.rs

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ANA GRUJOVIĆ, DIRECTOR OF THE SWISS-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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STEM CELLS TREAT 80 DISEASES BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENETICS

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CITIZENS NEED TO HAVE THEIR SAY URSULA LÄUBLI, DIRECTOR OF THE SWISS COOPERATION OFFICE, COUNSELLOR, EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND

EUROPEANS RECOGNISE OUR 38 QUALITY EUROPEAN SLOBODANKAVAJČIĆ,CEO SCIENTIFIC ELITE NEVENA&ALLMECOSMETICS SERBIA BECOMES A FULL MEMBER 29 OF CERN WE NEVER GIVE UP ON QUALITY 40 ĐORĐE RAŠIĆ, DRIVING FORCE MEMBER OF THE OF MODERN LIFE BOARD, ZEPTER SWITZERLAND: GROUP DOO SMALL, BUT DIVERSE

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SMALL, SMART & PROSPEROUS SWISS ECONOMY

PUBLISHER: Ivan Novčić i.novcic@aim.rs DIRECTOR: Ana Novčić a.novcic@aim.rs a.novcic@cordmagazine.com

FINANCE: Dragana Skrobonja finance@aim.rs

BUSINESS PARTNER FRANCE

GENERAL MANAGER: Maja Vidaković m.vidakovic@aim.rs

Published by: alliance international media Makenzijeva 67,

11111 Belgrade 17, PAK 126909, Serbia Phone: +(381 11) 2450 508 Fascimile:+(381 11) 2450 122 E-mail: office@aim.rs; office@cordmagazine.com www.aim.rs; www.cordmagazine.com No 13; ISSN: 2560-4465 All rights reserved alliance international media 2019 THIS PUBLICATION IS FREE OF CHARGE

The views expressed in this publication are those of the presenter; they do not necessary reflect the view of publications published by alliance international media

COMMENT

Dialogue Prompts Every Success Story Citizen participation is essential for a fully-fledged democracy and efficient market economy. Through bilateral assistance, Switzerland is inspiring Serbia to adhere to this principle and develop into a stable and prosperous society with a European future

D

emocratisation and market economy go hand-in-hand. Although this seems obvious, it is sometimes obscured by the long line of numbers that describe achievements made in the quest for fiscal consolidation, structural reforms,and economic prosperity. Yet the inclusiveness and sustainability of these results depend on the way they were achieved. As Swiss Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Philippe Guex reminds us in his interview for this publication, “citizen participation ensures that reforms suit people’s everyday needs and facilitate their acceptance by the public”. This is indeed the principle on which Switzerland – one of the top four bilateral donors to Serbia – bases its assistance, which amounts to almost €100 million for the 2018-2021 period. This assistance, which is channelled towards public administration reforms and the development of SMEs, is instrumental in strengthening the dialogue between the authorities and citizens.

Through various projects, Switzerland is focused in particular on assistance for local governments to bring to life relevant laws and regulations, to mobilise citizens around issues of common concern, and

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to strengthen cooperation between civil society and local governments.

Obviously, economic reforms are not the only dimension of Swiss support to Serbia. Switzerland is also backing Serbia in reforms linked to the rule of law, like judicial independence, the fight against corruption or freedom of the media. One example of this assistance is related to a revision of the Law on Referendum and Civic Initiatives, with a view to enhancing citizens’ ownership of such processes.

By all means, all these processes are directly or indirectly connected with much-wanted economic prosperity.

Switzerland draws on its expertise in

It is therefore not surprising that, in deciding where to invest, Swiss businesses devote a lot of attention to discerning where they will be offered predictability, security, transparency and fair competition. In short, the rule of law.

Although it isn’t a member of the European Union, Switzerland adheres to EU principles and strongly links its economic cooperation with the EU market. Consequently, it strongly supports the efforts of Serbia and other Western Balkan countries to join the European Union. What makes the Western Balkan attractive to Swiss investors is stability, an integrated regional approach, and the

In the eyes of foreign investors, Serbia’s progress in EU integration processes means an additional guarantee of the country’s stability and prosperity dialogue between the government and citizens, from its history and everyday practice at all levels of power. Democratic principles and a market economy ensure Switzerland has one of the most stable economies, and that the country is the preferred choice of investors.

ability of the region’s countries to resolve their disputes in a peaceful and democratic fashion. Yet this bonding within the region and with the EU has to come naturally, as a decision of each and every Western Balkan country to embrace and nurture its European future. ■

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INTERVIEW

H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX, AMBASSADOR OF SWITZERLAND TO SERBIA

Politicians and the media too often entertain the notion that the European Union is imposing reforms on Serbia.

Nothing could be more mistaken: reforms are necessary for the sake of Serbia and its people. Beyond enabling sustainable prosperity, reforms aim at preventing Serbia from backsliding towards autocracy and nationalism – two plagues that the Serbian people suffered from too much in the recent past – Philippe Guex

No Cherry Picking In Reform Process I n the belief that the success of a country’s reform process requires not only the support of the citizenry, but also citizens’ active participation, part of the long-term donor support of Switzerland to Serbia is directed towards strengthening dialogue between the government and citizens. Speaking in this interview for this CorD Magazine special edition, Swiss Ambassador H.E. Philippe Guex says that there is concern that space for this dialogue in Serbia is shrinking, despite the fact that the participation of citizens is an essential element of any 10 |

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democratically regulated society. Ambassador Guex announces that Switzerland will continue striving to strengthen links between civil society organisations and local governments in the period ahead, as well as providing expert assistance to the Government of Serbia in strengthening the voice of citizens by amending the Law on Referendum and Civil Initiative.

• Your Excellency, your mandate in Serbia began in 2016. You said at the time that – following diplomatic postings in London,

Paris and Brussels – you wanted to come to Serbia “for economic, social and political challenges”. Have events since then fulfilled your expectations?

- Europe would not be Europe without the Western Balkans. And Serbia is at the very heart of the Western Balkans. The political situation is very much intertwined not only with the ‘90s, but with the entire 20th century, which is very challenging for diplomats. Economically, there is still much to do to bring Serbia to the EU’s average level of economic development. Looking at the success story

SUPPORT

Through our projects, we are contributing to enhanced citizen participation and supporting local governments in bringing to life relevant laws and regulations

of the Eastern European countries, I have no doubt that Serbia will follow that path, as it is getting in shape to join the EU. Therefore, to answer your question: yes, my position in Belgrade is fulfilling the expectations I had when I began three years ago.

• You represent a country that is among the top four bilateral donors to Serbia. For the 2018-2021 period alone, Switzerland will have donated almost €100 million for financing public administration reforms, developing SMEs and strengthening dialogue between the authorities and citizens.

Stakeholders in Serbia will tell you that there’s almost no dialogue between the government and citizens. Does it look that way to you too?

- There is a concern that the space for dialogue between the government and citizens is shrinking. Citizens’ participation, through different means, is essential in a fully-fledged democracy. That is not an easy task, but is worth it. Citizens’ participation ensures that reforms suit people’s everyday needs and eases their acceptance by the public.

Through our projects, we are contributing to enhanced citizen participation and supporting local governments in bringing to life relevant laws and regulations. Our upcoming civil society project seeks to mobilise citizens around issues of common concern and to strengthen cooperation between civil society and local governments. Switzerland is also supporting the Serbian government in revising the Law on Referendum and Civil Initiative, with a view to enhancing citizens’ ownership of such processes.

• You are an ambassador of a non-EU country. Still, you think that Serbia’s approach to the EU means an additional guarantee of the country’s stability in the eyes of foreign investors. Do you think that the pace of reforms in Serbia corresponds with its aspiration to join the EU soon?

DIALOGUE

Normalised and peaceful relations between Serbia and Kosovo will only emerge from an inclusive societal dialogue

- It is up to the Government of Serbia to decide the pace of reforms that will align the country with the EU’s democratic and economic standards. Politicians and the press too often entertain the notion that the European Union is imposing reforms on Serbia. Nothing could be more mistaken.

TASK

It is then the task of the Serbian authorities to make the most favourable conditions and incentives to attract even more investors

the rule of law would create space for more investment from Switzerland?

- It is clear to me that not only economic reforms will boost Swiss-Serbian economic relations, but also any reform linked to the rule of law, like judicial independence, the fight against corruption or ensuring freedom of the media. There is no cherry picking.

Democratisation and market economy go hand-in-hand, at least in the Western world.

• Are Serbia and the Western Balkans viewed in Switzerland today more as a potential investment region or as a possible new source of instability?

- The Western Balkan region is seen in Switzerland as having the potential for investment, as long as it stands together – as a region – and increases regional cooperation. The stability of the region attracts investors more than anything else. As such, each and every step in the direction of a more integrated regional approach is not only welcome, but necessary. On the other

There is a concern that the space for dialogue between the government and citizens is shrinking. Citizens’ participation, through different means, is essential in a fully-fledged democracy. That is not an easy task, but is worth it Reforms are necessary for the sake of Serbia and its people. Beyond enabling sustainable prosperity, reforms aim at preventing Serbia from backsliding towards autocracy and nationalism – two plagues that the Serbian people have suffered from too much in the recent past.

• The latest EC progress report on Serbia reiterates the importance of strengthening the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. You said in another recent interview that progress on

hand, when tension arises between Serbia and Kosovo, I happen to receive phone calls from worried potential Swiss investors seeking assessment updates.

• How do you view the failure of France and Germany’s attempts to unblock the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue?

- Two of the most influential countries of the European Union, France and Germany, are exerting efforts to unblock the situation between Belgrade and Pristina, which is a good and promising sign. We cannot expect AUGUST

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immediate results, as the situation is currently very complex. This opportunity should be grabbed in both Pristina and Belgrade, because a standstill and no-dialogue is not an option.

• Can you comment on the Pristina government’s refusal to abolish tariffs imposed on goods from Serbia?

- This is certainly not a good sign. Switzerland

• Swiss companies have been present in Serbia for decades, and since 2014 there has been a Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce. However, you remarked yourself that there is plenty of room for improvement on economic cooperation. What are the main challenges or obstacles along the way?

- As you pointed out, Swiss companies have been present in Serbia for a long time. The

• How successful were the start-up loans given to Swiss companies through the SECO fund to invest in Serbia?

- The SECO Start-up Fund provides loans to diaspora residents living in Switzerland for investments in their country of origin. The projects must rely on a solid business case and meet recognised environmental and social standards. The SECO Start-up Fund has invested around €6.8 million in Serbia and leveraged an additional €30 million of investment, creating over 750 jobs. The Fund is covering different sectors, like metal processing, IT, furniture manufacturing and paper production. Considering the large Serbian diaspora in Switzerland, it is no wonder that Serbia is one of the countries benefiting the most from this Fund.

• Part of Swiss state aid to Serbia aims to develop SMEs, with priority given to projects that contribute to overcoming inequality.

Can you say something about the effects of that assistance to date?

- The private sector has a fundamental role to play in contributing to inclusive and sus-

has been urging the authorities in Pristina to revoke the 100% tariffs. The CEFTA agreement is the cornerstone of regional economic cooperation, thus any violation of it must be denounced.

• Do you consider that the EU should continue to deal with the Kosovo issue or are you more in favour of the proposal that the dialogue include other interested countries, such as the U.S., Russia and others?

- All constructive actors have to be included in efforts to find a long-standing and comprehensive solution between Belgrade and Pristina, even if it is obvious that the European Union remains in the driving seat. Switzerland takes part in this effort, promoting dialogue and engaging with both parties. I would also argue that not only state actors have to be part of the dialogue, but also non-governmental organisations, civil society actors, artists, experts and academics. Normalised and peaceful relations between Serbia and Kosovo will only emerge from an inclusive societal dialogue.

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All constructive actors have to be included in efforts to find a long-standing and comprehensive solution between Belgrade and Pristina, even if it is obvious that the European Union remains in the driving seat.

Switzerland takes part in this effort, promoting dialogue and engaging with both parties establishment of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce was a consequence of this long-standing presence, and an additional service provided to companies that are present, but also a way to attract additional companies wishing to enter the Serbian market. The potential is there for Serbia to have even more companies. It is then the task of the Serbian authorities to make the most favourable conditions and incentives to attract even more investors. This means having predictability and security – above all from a rule of law perspective – and fair competition, as those are usually the main aspects investors expect.

tainable growth, and ultimately to poverty reduction. This is why one of our fields of cooperation is ‘Economic Development and Employment’. SMEs benefit directly from our programmes. I’ll give you two examples: one upcoming Swiss programme will focus on the manufacturing sector and local SMEs, to deliver goods to multinational companies, and as a result their competitiveness will improve and they will gain access to foreign markets. Another important aspect for SMEs is having access to skilled labour. The Swiss project “From Education to Employment – E2E–” supports Serbian companies in developing and implementing modern

work-based training for young jobseekers.

The purpose is to build skills that are required by the private sector.

• One of many artistic exhibitions was opened at your Belgrade residence in June. It featured works by Serbian artists who were

they live. By doing so they promote values like tolerance, respect, openness, fairness and living together. Those values are precisely at the heart of the ongoing reconciliation process in the region. The contribution of the artists and creators to reconciliation is usually underestimated. The Serbia of

The Swiss project “From Education to Employment – E2E–” supports Serbian companies in developing and implementing modern work-based training for young jobseekers. The purpose is to build skills that are required by the private sector finalists of the “Private Value” competition.

It seems that you see great potential in young artists?

- First, supporting young Serbian artists goes hand-in-hand with Switzerland’s international cooperation with Serbia on youth education.

Second, artists question the society in which

tomorrow belongs to young men and women who are today in their twenties, be they artists, journalists, clerks, nurses, software engineers etc.

• The support of the Swiss embassy to cultural Institutions in Serbia means a

lot to them. What are your plans for the rest of 2019?

- In November, we will feature Serbian painter Dragan Zdravković together with Swiss artist Peter Aeschmann, in a common exhibition at the Swiss Residence.

As usual, this exhibition will be open to the public twice a week over the course of two months. In early 2020, we will launch another open call for young Serbian artists, which will be our third edition. As with the previous ones, a professional jury will select five to six artists. Each of them will receive €500 to produce artworks for the exhibition, while the finalist will receive an additional €2000. On the top of that, we are supporting Swiss artists coming to Serbia within the scope of numerous cultural institutions, like BITEF, Beldocs or the Belgrade Dance Festival. With the Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Museum, Belgrade stands out as the cultural hub of the whole region. ■

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INTERVIEW

MAJO MIĆOVIĆ, PRESIDENT OF THE SWISS-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Sharing Perspectives Of The Digital World Although Switzerland is an important donor to Serbia in economic terms, it seems that those investments have yet to yield results when it comes to the two countries' mutual trade exchange. With its activities, the SSCC strives to bring together businesspeople from the two countries and enable them to utilize the evident potential for cooperation

T

he ICT sector and agro-tech, or digital agriculture, represent sectors with exceptional potential when it comes to establishing business bonds between Swiss and Serbian companies, says Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce President Majo Mićović, who also runs a successful IT company.

In this interview with SSCC President Mićović, we discussed the Chamber’s role in bilateral economic relations between Serbia and Switzerland and new areas for cooperation and development in a, currently, fairly modest bilateral trade exchanges between the two countries.

“Despite being a young chamber, the SSCC is – with the active work of both the

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management board and members – gaining more and more credibility among the business audience in both Serbia and Switzerland. Annual conferences are attended to the maximum, and resound greatly among the business and political communities.

Cooperation – both with the Embassy and its development bodies, and with Swiss development support organisations – is clearly strengthening,” says Mićović, whilst noting that Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) has confirmed that its cooperation with the SSCC is in the top three among all Swiss bilateral chambers worldwide.

“The reports of our Chamber are among the most read on the S-GE website. Last year’s Conference of the Chamber on dual

education was among the most attractive reviews of the dual education system in Serbia for the media. Although the trend of political cooperation between the two countries isn’t currently at the level of their possibilities, primarily thanks to the Kosovo issue, the Chamber is striving to ensure its activities continue to bring the businesspeople of the two countries closer together,” adds the SSCC president.

• What do results to date tell you about the existing potential for the further development of economic relations between Switzerland and Serbia?

- It is obvious that the total bilateral exchange of 450 million euros is far from the capaci-

ties and needs of the two countries. There are many reasons why economic relations are insufficiently developed: mutual unfamiliarity and a lack of market connections, major differences in the level of economic development of the two countries, the long-standing political instability of the Balkan region, the two countries’ social and cultural orientation towards different geopolitical spheres and so on. Unfortunately, although Switzerland is an important donor in an economic sense, those investments don’t seem to impact on strengthening the exchange of goods between the two countries to a great extent. Countries like Germany, Italy, China and Russia obviously more easily find business interests for their companies than Switzerland does. When it comes to attempts by Serbian companies to find a place for themselves on the Swiss market, we can only say that they are sporadic, and I sincerely admire our people from Serbia who invest their capacities to prove themselves on the Swiss market. It is interesting that Serbia’s direct investments in Switzerland in 2018 were just below 100 million euros, which ranks these investments in third place, behind Serbia’s investments in Slovenia and Bosnia.

ary of a 1 billion dollars in exports. Serbian ICT companies have clearly recognised the trends and succeed in overcoming the classic outsource concept, which is still just a basic concept of cooperation with foreign capital. Our ICT companies achieve successful cooperation with world vendors in the field of the distribution and implementation of the most complex ICT solutions. Likewise, there are ever more innovative approaches to the development

According to the assessment of Switzerland Global Enterprise, its cooperation with the SSCC is in the top three among all Swiss bilateral chambers worldwide • ICT is among the sectors in Serbia that are increasingly attracting the attention of foreign investors. How much room exists in this area for cooperation between Swiss and Serbian companies?

- Thanks to the appropriate policy of the Serbian Government, the general trend towards digital transformation, and the natural talents of Serbian students in the fields of mathematics, technology and digital trends generally, Serbia has established itself in Europe and around the world as a desirable ICT outsource destination. This process has also led to the exceptional success of Serbia’s IT industry, which last year passed the magical bound-

of ICT solutions, particularly in the areas of digital agriculture, healthcare and digital entertainment.

I’m familiar with the fact that Swiss ICT companies are increasingly approaching the Serbian ICT milieu, recognising what’s already been done by major global businesses, like Microsoft, NCR and many others. That said, we must stress that Serbian ICT capacities, in terms of skilled labour, have already been largely utilised with the arrival of world leaders in ICT. Areas with more capacity still, I believe those are primarily ICT security, which is one of the most prominent ICT trends worldwide, then the development of business applications,

digital entertainment, such as the gaming industry, and agro-tech applications. As an example, company Sky Express d.o.o, which was established by Swiss capital, proves that cooperation with Switzerland is certainly possible: for nine years already, Sky Express and Zurich-based OPEN Systems – an MSSP world leader – have been cooperating in providing the secure internet communications for Serbia’s most important state bodies.

• Is this also the right sector for networking the highly professional Serbian diaspora in Switzerland with companies in Serbia?

- Of the approximately five million Serbs living and working worldwide, over 200,000 of them are resident in Switzerland. It is known that the Serbian diaspora in Switzerland is among the country’s largest and most influential emigrant communities.

They send home to their families around 400 million euros a year, of the total of 3.2 billion euros that arrives in Serbia in this way every year. So, less than five per cent of the world’s Serbian diaspora sends more than 12 per cent of total remittances to Serbia, which testifies sufficiently to the structure of the Serbian diaspora in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the importance that our countrymen have in Switzerland is not adequately exploited in relations between the two countries. Improvements are possible on two fronts: one is the extraordinary financial potential of our peoAUGUST

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Croatian, Slovenian, Italian, French, German and Swedish chambers - a good practise of close contacts, exchanges of ideas and confirmation of mutual connectivity and conditionality towards the development of the Serbian market.

ple in Switzerland, which is insufficiently conducted in terms of direct investments in the Serbian economy, and secondly, there is the potential in professional capacities of our experts, who have been considered in Switzerland for years as excellent and acknowledged personnel, whether in the field of science, in medical and tourism services, in ICT and classical industries.

With the exception of the ICT sector, as your question suggests, I see another sector with extraordinary potential and that’s agro-tech, i.e. digital agriculture.

• How relevant is the issue of the availability of high-quality workers among your members? Has the transferring to Serbia of Swiss experiences in dual education yielded results as yet?

- Dual education is still in its commencement, and it would be hard to see some significant immediate results in terms of increasing the capacity of skilled work force. I’m convinced that such results will soon actually be visible, as I consider dual education to be a significant corrective aspect of the classical Serbian education policy. Generally, the trend of acquiring skilled work force is also showing issues in Serbia: it is becoming increasingly difficult to find suitable personnel, especially in branches like ICT, medicine and the hightech and hotel industries.

• You have also used a survey to gauge the level of satisfaction among CCSS members in the Chamber and its work. What kind of feedback did you receive from members?

- The generally satisfactory trend continued in the last report, with a somewhat lower level compared to the previous year. Factors of satisfaction with work and investment in Serbia remained the same, thus Serbia is an ideal “near-shore” destination; our qualified personnel are educated and modern young people, the currency is stable and the Serbian Government’s new economic and financial measures certainly contribute positively to this trend. When it comes to shortcomings, they are primarily considered – as with other Chambers – as being in the legal system, a lack of transparency, still relatively high corruption, an incomplete tax system and administrative inefficiency.

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• What other important fields of cooperation or business exist that require special attention and have clear development prospects?

- The Fund that I’m a member of – Evolution Equity Partners from Zurich – conducted analysis of the success of direct investments for the countries of Southeast Europe, so we also have some analyses for Serbia. They clearly indicate that Serbia is a very adequate sapce for investments in the fields of ICT, digital entertainment, agro-tech, transport, tourism services and the processing industry (wood and metal). The Fund’s members are particularly interested in digital entertainment (primarily innovative video gaming) and

Serbia is an ideal “near-shore” destination for Swiss companies, with qualified personnel and a stable currency and macroeconomic policy, but a lack of transparency, corruption and an incomplete tax system remain the greatest obstacles • Networking with other business associations has been among the priorities of the CCSS since its very inception. How does that cooperation look today, and what are the key motives for networking?

- Connecting with other Chambers is certainly of particular importance to our members, because that gives them the opportunity to learn or present their own solutions through exchange of contacts, presentations and familiarisation with different representatives of economies from around the world. Moreover, a positive atmosphere of collegiality is created, common business interests are identified, and the atmosphere of business ethics and professionalism is expanding. Our Chamber realised the first such step in multi-chamber cooperation at the 2019 Kopaonik Business Forum, where we established - with representatives of the

agro-tech. To illustrate: with the development of the internet, the demand for digital entertainment has become a planetary passion; there are no market borders, and products like video games, advertising content for films and quiz orientations are very profitable..

Agro-tech, which has become a buzz-word, is actually the digitalisation of agriculture, the introduction of ICT technologies to agriculture. We are in negotiations with several important Swiss start-up firms on the opening of their branches in Serbia. I would like to stress that our goal isn’t only to introduce Swiss technologies – rather we’re also resolved in supporting young Serbian agro-tech start-ups, which I can endorse as being innovative, technically assertive and imaginative.. I’m confident that their products will soon be heading to the other direction, to Switzerland. ■

BAD SISTEMS BUSINESS

Encourage People To Stay Ahead Of The Game

B

AD SISTEMS is an emerging, innovative company based in Niš, southern Serbia. We concentrate on the digital transformation of internal processes and procedures of our customers.

We strive to improve their digital customer experience and inspire them to think outside the box. The ultimate goal is to render their daily business operations as convenient as possible.

Based on our proven experience of quickly understanding needs and identifying significant gaps in business operations, which will subsequently be addressed and improved will lead to a positive and sustainable business outcome.

Digitisation is a vital challenge today.Thus, it is very important to master the relevant processes for all parties involved. For this reason BAD SISTEMS has developed various software solutions that are used by our customers.

To cite just two examples: KANBANSI assists companies manage teams and their activities and more items, while REMASI is a solution for efficient and intuitive resource and project planning.

Agile methodologies represent the backbone of the teamwork culture and are an essential step demonstrating good results.

The golden rule is and has always been to

listen to the customers - they provide the best possible feedback.

The Agile Method is characterized by a strong commitment between the team and the customer.

The customers is constantly involved throughout the entire project, which provides a great opportunity for our team to fully understand the customer’s vision. ■

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INTERVIEW

URSULA LÄUBLI, DIRECTOR OF THE SWISS COOPERATION OFFICE, COUNSELLOR, EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND

Enhanced citizen participation, along with transparency, accountability, and efficient and effective processes, represents a precondition for successful SwissSerbian cooperation.

Through our engagement with more than 40 communicates throughout Serbia, we have shown how good governance principles positively change the everyday lives of citizens

Citizens Need To Have Their Say

T

he Swiss Cooperation Office has been supporting the implementation of public finance management reforms at national and local levels in Serbia for several years already.

“These reforms are crucial for the EU accession process, such as our support to the Ministry of Finance for implementing Public Internal Financial Control, to the National Bank and the Statistics Office for improving the government’s financial statistics and reporting, but also important from the revenue point of view,” says Ursula Läubli, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office and Counsellor at the Embassy of Switzerland. “With our support to the Public Debt Administration, Switzerland contributed to reducing vulnerability to financial shocks through strengthened debt management and improved staff capacity.

We are particularly satisfied with the excellent results of this support that contributed to significantly reducing public debt, from a peak exceeding 70 per cent of GDP in 2015 to around 55 per cent of GDP in 2018, as well as an improvement of Serbia’s credit rating.”

• To what extent were these policies successfully transferred to the local level?

- When it comes to the implementation of 18 |

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Public Internal Financial Control at the local level, Switzerland is assisting over 40 Serbian municipalities in introducing the Financial Management and Control system, the Internal Audit function, and oversight of 30 local enterprises. Official results (PEFA assessment) show that improvements at the local level are already evident in the areas we support. This confirms that we can make a difference in Serbia, as the only donor providing long-term support in public finance management to the subnational level.

• Understanding and work on good governance principles are important in cooperation with Serbia. Are the results of good governance visible in Swiss projects?

- As already highlighted in the interview with our Ambassador, enhanced citizen participation – as well as transparency, accountability, efficient

and effective processes – is a precondition for successful Swiss-Serbian cooperation. We see tangible results, for example, in our support to local authorities in applying good governance principles that impact on the everyday life of citizens. Together with the EU, which financed the reconstruction of green markets, we have provided a set of rules that the local authorities adopted. They envisage how traders can bid for points of sale so that everyone has fair rights, specifying funding sources for maintenance costs, as well as an improved management structure for sustainable green markets based on citizens’ needs and priorities. Another example is our project supporting local governments in raising property tax, which simultaneously supports the dialogue between local governments and their citizens on how tax revenue should be used: for schools, nurseries, local roads and communal infrastructure.

• In your opinion, to what extent does the introduction of dual education help address the looming shortage of high-quality workers and make Serbia more competitive in creating new jobs?

- The introduction of dual education is, of course, only one piece in the puzzle. The Serbian Government requested Swiss expertise and the advice of ETH Zürich on the introduction of dual education to Serbia. We are happy to provide such support, in close cooperation with our Serbian partners. Switzerland suggested a gradual introduction of dual education and backs up this process with evidence and research. An innovative element is indeed, to be accompanied by a real cost-benefit analysis for the companies and close follow up on how teachers, parents and students perceive this major reform. In any case, such a new scheme needs to remain flexible, as economies are changing fast and students need knowledge for their entire working life – and not only for a specific job.

Through our programme “From Education to Employment”, we support non-formal education matching young unemployed people with companies offering both training and jobs. You can have a look at these offers on the project website.

tected natural areas, such as Zasavica and Obedska bara [nature parks], to unlock their economic potential. In Šumadija, more than 50 rural women developed their own businesses. More importantly, we nurtured their entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged them to use new technologies. You may see their offer of rural accommodation and products on www.selo.rs. Moreover, as part of our support to the Association of Šumadija Winemakers, the Royal winery in Oplenac was

We are particularly satisfied with the excellent results of our support contributing to significantly reducing public debt, from a peak exceeding 70% of GDP in 2015 to around 55% in 2018

• What would you highlight as the major achievements of the recently completed project to support rural and regional development?

- Switzerland works at different levels when addressing a certain issue. We have worked closely with the Ministry of Agriculture on releasing 175 million euros of EU funding for rural development, while at the local level we have encouraged cooperation between the private and public sectors and civil society organisations. With Swiss support, the installing of a cycle path was completed in Srem. The aim was to further promote ecotourism by linking urban, rural and pro-

reconstructed. Built in 1931, this space now serves for promotions, wine tastings and the reception of tourists. I can definitely recommend spending some time there.

• To what extent has the government succeeded in including the UN’s SDGs in its policies?

- Serbia has just prepared its first Voluntary National Report on the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030, which was due to be presented at the UN High Level Forum in New York in July. This is an important step towards the development of a national SDG framework, which is a challeng-

ing process. We hope that it will allow for a society-wide and evidence-based dialogue on developmental priorities in Serbia, and we believe that the process of European integration will underpin it. Switzerland will, together with Germany, support such a broad dialogue with civil society. Additionally, this project will also support the Serbian Government on efforts to better coordinate and finance the implementation of Agenda 2030.

• How do these efforts translate at the level of the work of the National Assembly?

- We can say that, in the future, the National Assembly’s monitoring of how the Government of Serbia implements Agenda 2030 and the SDGs may gain even more importance. Serbian parliamentarians have been aware of Agenda 2030 since the early stages, and they joined the leaders in promoting the SDGs in Serbia. They have formed a cross-party caucus on SDGs, which actively advocates for Agenda 2030 within the National Assembly. In December last year, the SDG caucus lobbied for funding in the 2019 national budget to be earmarked for the work of the inter-ministerial council that will deal with localisation of the SDGs. Two Swiss-supported projects (parliamentary and SDG support) will work hand-in-hand on the promotion and implementation of SDG related issues. ■ AUGUST

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YANA MIKHAILOVA, MARKET HEAD – NESTLÉ SOUTH EAST MARKET

Responsible Company For A Healthier Serbia Year after year, Nestlé shows its commitment to business operations in Serbia and its contribution to the development of local communities. Since 2011, when operations were launched at the Surčin factory, the company has invested more than 15 million euros in equipment procurement, increasing capacities and product development

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nabling healthier and happier lives for people and their families is definitely our main goal. As the leader in the food & beverages industry, with the best experts from the fields of nutrition and food safety, Nestlé constantly offers the best choices for healthy and balanced nutrition.

• Nestlé’s vision is to improve our lives with science-based nutrition and healthy solutions. Tell us more about your “Good food, good life” mission.

- Achieving balanced nutrition continues to be a growing global challenge. This is a burning topic nowadays, especially given 20 |

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the knowledge that obesity has nearly tripled worldwide since 1975. Food has a major impact on our lives and that’s why it is our job – as the world’s largest food and beverage company, with over a billion units sold each day – to produce safe, high quality and tasty food. We are not only producing, but rather we also believe that an understanding of how to eat well is very important, and so we see it as our responsibility to educate people on how to have a good balance in their nutrition.

Good habits start in childhood, so in Serbia we developed the ‘Zdravo Rastimo’ [Nestlé for Healthier Kids] programme, the primary goal of which is to educate primary school pupils on the importance of proper nutrition and physical activity. This is a good example of how our company, in coopera-

tion with public authorities, has created an enduring value for the society, and this is something in which Nestlé invests all over the world. Since the beginning of the initiative in the Adriatic region, eight year ago, almost 70,000 schoolchildren have participated. Globally, through the Nestlé for Healthier Kids initiative, we have committed to helping fifty million children live a healthier life by 2030.

• Nestlé, as a multinational company based in Switzerland, has a sustainable development programme focused on individuals, families and local communities, but also the entire planet. Tell us more about this.

- Switzerland is the number one country when it comes to innovation, according to

the index of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. I would say that this is not only about production, but also about all additional assets that a company can contribute to society. Besides nutrition, our vision extends much further. The drive to employ workers under the age of 30 is

Europe by 2020. Diversity and inclusivity are also integral to Nestlé’s culture, and since 2011 we have increased the number of women in leadership positions to 43 per cent. Last but not least, we have set commitments and objectives to use and manage resources sustainably by operat-

Nestlé cherishes one whole life cycle: from healthy people, through a good life, to a healthy environment a very important initiative launched by Nestlé, with which we are helping young people to secure their first job and simultaneously recruiting future leaders.

Within this initiative, the special ‘Alliance for YOUth’ project has been launched, and our company committed itself to providing 230,000 job opportunities and professional work placement practises in

ing more efficiently, responding to climate change, reducing food loss and waste, and caring for water. Our ambition is to strive for our operations to have zero environmental impact.

• Nestlé is among the most responsible companies socially. Tell us more about this.

- The power of food and its impact on our health is crucial. Being a leader in the food industry, therefore, carries with in an obligation to explain to consumers how nutrition impacts on the body and what is meant by the comprehensive information on ingredients contained on the packaging of our products. Besides that, we also produce in sustainable way – for example, we strive to reach a level of zero waste disposal by 2020. We’ve already reduced factory waste in Surčin by 80 per cent since the acquisition, and have so far invested 1.2 million euros in renovating and developing the factory alone, in order to accomplish our goals of reducing the environmental impact.

We’ve saved 50,000 cubic metres of water and reduced the amount of electricity consumed at this plant by 19.5%, while the use of paper was reduced by 61 tonnes in just one year and the use of plastic was also reduced by six tonnes ■

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BUSINESS

OLEG STEFANOVIĆ, DIRECTOR, PRODUKT BG ENGINEERING

Small But Reliable Partner

Thanks to its partnership with Swiss company Mageba, Produkt BG Engineering became the first and leading company in Serbia that's specialised in the production and distribution of all types of bearings and expansion joints for bridges, but also the only domestic manufacturer certified according to the highest standards

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he transfer of knowhow and technology is the key to success. Produkt BG Engineering’s engineers and employees have access to the latest technologies in their field of expertise. Moreover, they also have an opportunity to utilise solutions and experiences emerging out of the planet’s most demanding projects • It was four years ago that you became a partner of Swiss company Mageba. Did that bring you access to new markets and how important is this partnership for Serbia’s development?

- Yes, it was in mid-2015 that we signed contracts on the licensed production of bearings and expansion joints for bridges, as well as a contract on the distribution of other products from the Mageba product range. As this company is a global leader in this area of production, this partnership is an important step in the development of our company, but simultaneously represents acknowledgement of our own quality and knowhow.

Mageba’s products are included in more than 20,000 bridges worldwide. This was the first company to construct modular expansion joints and it has significant patents in many segments. Considering that it is a Swiss company, the levels of quality that it sets for us are often higher than those of the EU. Compliance with these standards is controlled quarterly by the German Institute from Stuttgart. It took more than a year for us to bring our processes up to Mageba standards.

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With the support of Mageba, we have also passed many certification processes, enabling us to sell our products on demanding markets, primarily those of the EU. Of all Mageba products that are today ordered in the region, 80% are produced at our plant in Serbia. And in this way we don’t only raise our own quality and productivity, but also “propel” our suppliers and subcontractors.

• During the establishing of this strategic partnership, you expressed hope that you would also significantly increase your volume of sales, which then totalled around a million euros. Have you managed to realise those plans? What has changed since then?

- In the year that the contract with Mageba was signed, our turnover totalled around a

• Has establishing licensed production led to shortened deadlines and reduced costs in bridge-building production?

- This isn’t a partnership on representation or trade, but rather is related to production.

Through better organisation and the optimisation of work processes, we immediately gained more efficient production, which led us to the optimal use of materials, energy and work. As the end result, we today produce more in the same period of time, deliver to our customers under shorter deadlines and can certainly achieve competitive prices.

• What would you single out as the most important advantage gained by your company as a result of this partnership?

- Things change rapidly on the market today, and that’s why it’s important that we have

Last year we had significant orders from Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Finland etc. We expect our exports to EU countries to grow even more million euros. As of the next year, we started growing at a rate of more than 35% annually, so this year we expect a turnover exceeding three million euros. This is extremely fast growth for such a small enterprise. Such growth was only possible with an appropriate investment in capacities and personnel. We built a new production facility, procured new machines, hired more people and invested in their training.

continuity in the profession. And that’s also why this partnership with Mageba is so significant, because it’s a process and not a one-off job.

Our employees constantly undergo training programmes and we constantly monitor all advancements, while Mageba performs direct checks of the quality of our work processes several times a year, providing us with suggestions and proposals for additional improvements to the organisation of production. ■

STOJAN KEMERA, GENERAL MANAGER, BARRY CALLEBAUT SOUTHEAST EUROPE BUSINESS

The Best Chocolate Needs Passion Thanks to its experience and tradition, but also the latest technologies, the Barry Callebaut Group sells its products in 140 countries worldwide. Its products serve the entire food industry – from industrial food manufacturers to chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants and caterers

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his world-renowned, Zurich-based company is now building a modern chocolate factory in Novi Sad, along with an Innovation Centre for Research & Development, in which it will invest around 50 million euros over the next five years. Serbia will then become a regional centre for supplying chocolate to the region of Southeast Europe.

ago, while the Barry Callebaut Group today serves the entire food industry – from industrial food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers. The two global brands catering to the specific needs of these gourmet customers are Callebaut and Cacao Barry. It is thus clear that expansion

The new Novi Sad factory will feature both an “Application lab” and a “Chocolate Academy” • Your company, Barry Callebaut, is a leading producer of high-quality chocolate and cacao products worldwide. How do you achieve the position of number one?

- There is more then one answer to that question. On one side, it is through a continuous commitment to the sustainable sourcing of high-quality cocoa beans and other ingredients, as well as through dedication to new technologies and a proactive approach based on scientific innovations, but also the craftsmanship and passion of our people to make the best possible chocolate. We are also committed to sustainable growth. Our founders started producing chocolate more than a century

is one of main strategic pillars of Barry Callebaut, whether we are talking about expansion through new market segments or geographical expansion.

• You are set to open your own factory in Novi Sad in 2021, with 50 million euros to be invested over the course of the next five years. It is planned for this to become a regional centre to supply the entire region of Southeast Europe.

- The factory will serve as a regional hub for Barry Callebaut to tap into the rapidly growing chocolate markets of Southeast Europe, while also capturing new outsourcing opportunities in the broader region.

Increased customer proximity will allow us to serve our current and new customers with a wide range of chocolate, compound and filling products.

• Your headquarters are in Zurich and your products reach customers in 140 countries, while you employ around 11,500 workers in more than 30 countries. How significant will the new Novi Sad factory be in the context of your global operations?

- Through this geographical expansion, we are settling in the region and covering the missing part of our supply network. This enables us to be closer to our customers in the broader region and to deliver our high-quality chocolate products to them.

The facility in Novi Sad will feature an “Application lab” that will enable us to create custom-made recipes and solutions for our customers, as well as a “Chocolate Academy” – as an education centre where we will host dedicated courses for artisans, innovation sessions for industrial and semi-industrial customers and partners, workshops on new trends, tasting sessions and similar. In short, this local facility will help us serve our customers with a full package – ideas, solutions and products, while it will also increase our overall production capacity – not only in Southeast Europe, but on a broader scale. ■ AUGUST

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INTERVIEW

ANA GRUJOVIĆ, DIRECTOR OF THE SWISS-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Advancing Potential For Cooperation The Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to further strengthening economic ties between Switzerland and Serbia. The Chamber has been recognised for its contribution to development of the dual education system in Serbia, and as the first choice for Swiss companies interested in the Serbian market

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lthough economic activity between Switzerland and Serbia is still below its potential, businesspeople in the two countries are increasingly finding new opportunities for cooperation. We spoke with Ana Grujović, Director of the SSCC, about the attractiveness of the Serbian market to Swiss companies today, as well as the range of information that the SSCC can provide to both them and its members who are already present on the market.

• What does the number of enquiries from potential investors tell you about the sectors in Serbia that are the most attractive when it comes to enticing new investments?

- When considering a new market, foreign investors - including those from Switzerland - are looking for stable and predictable business 24 |

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environments. Currently, Swiss companies are showing interest in the Serbian ICT sector, agri-tech, and tourism, among others.

The SSCC’s report on the ICT sector in Serbia, published on the official website of our institutional partner Switzerland Global Enterprise S-GE, was among the most read “Global Opportunity Reports”, which shows that this is an interesting topic for Swiss companies. Moreover, the fifth consecutive “SSCC Business Climate Survey in Serbia, 2019” showed that most survey respondents assessed the current business climate in Serbia as being satisfactory. For example, in 2018, Nestle Adriatic invested in new equipment and expanded the capacity of its Surčin plant with two new production lines.

• How do potential Swiss investors perceive the potentials and risks of investing in Serbia? What kind of questions do they ask you?

- Most of the questions we receive from Swiss companies are related to market access conditions, customs administration procedures and local legislation. The results of the aforementioned business climate survey

also showed that the majority of surveyed companies expect changes in the following business environment areas: public institution efficiency and administrative procedures, the fight against corruption, and ensuring legal security and stability.

• How many members does the SSCC have today and what is their structure? Which economic areas do new members of the Chamber come from?

- The Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce numbers approximately 70 members. The membership structure is very diversified, both in terms of members’ company size and business activity. Most SSCC members are SMEs. Regarding our new members, I am happy to inform you that companies such as Gebruder Weiss (transport and logistics) and SF1 Group (exclusive distributor of Nespresso coffee) joined the SSCC this year.

• Which of the Chamber’s services are the most sought-after among existing CCSS members?

- There are many services in which interest is

shown by SSCC members. Firstly, networking events are very attractive for our members, as they provide new business opportunities.

We this year organised the International Networking Cocktail Reception in cooperation with 12 other bilateral business associations! This event, held in May 2019, had approximately 300 participants! Also, the SSCC’s internal events, such as the Members’

Marko Čadež and Dr Grujić. On this occasion, Dr Ursula Renold, Head of Division for Comparative Education System Research at the Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, and the only international honorary member of the Serbian Government Commission for dual education, presented to the public the Swiss VET model, Swiss expertise and knowhow.

Furthermore, the SSCC has been recognised

system this year as well. However, we will focus more on the private sector’s role in dual education: companies’ benefits from the system, operational aspects, administrative procedures etc. At the same time, companies are expected to support the development of new educational profiles in accordance with market needs. We strive to provide an opportunity for companies to acquaint themselves with the perspectives of dual education and some of the good practise examples of dual education.

• For the first time since its formation, the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce has established cooperation with the regional chamber from neighbouring Bulgaria: the Bulgarian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

What further plans do you have when it comes to developing regional cooperation?

- Yes, for the first time since its creation, the SSCC has established cooperation with a Swiss bilateral chamber of commerce from the region. We were very happy to welcome members of the Bulgarian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce in April 2019, in order to exchange practises and lessons learnt, but also to provide even more networking opportuni-

Reunion, are also very popular, as they allow us to build a stronger and better connected SSCC business community. In January 2019, we were honoured to attend the Swiss Cheese Fondue Soiree at the Swiss Ambassadorial Residence in Belgrade, which was hosted by H.E. Ambassador Guex, who is Switzerland’s ambassador to both the Republic of Serbia and to Montenegro. Finally, the SSCC’s conferences are conceived as platforms for public-private dialogue, and they therefore enable our member companies to interact directly with public officials on topics of relevance to the further advancement of the local business climate.

• You were last year focused on dual education. What would you single out as the CCSS’s biggest contribution in this area?

- The SSCC conference on dual education, held in October 2018, was attended by the following guests of honour: Minister Šarčević, Ambassador Guex, Dr Renold, CCIS President

We strive to provide an opportunity for companies to acquaint themselves with the perspectives of dual education and some good practise examples of dual education as one of the organisations contributing to the development of the dual education system in Serbia, and I would like to note that the SSCC’s contribution lies in stressing the role of private sector companies in the dual education system, and the need for stakeholders to be well coordinated in order to improve the quality of the employability of young Serbian people and to match the needs of the private sector with labour market supply.

• Which topic is in the focus of the SSCC for this year?

- Given the significant interest among SSCC members in the topic of dual education, the SSCC will continue to focus on the VET

ties to our members. Our guests, together with SSCC members, were invited to visit the Nestle Adriatic factory in Surčin. BSCC representatives shared with us their own experience of contributing to the development and implementation of the dual education system in Bulgaria, which was extremely valuable to the SSCC. Additionally, in June 2019 we also organised a visit to the ABB factory Bulgaria – Sevlievo Branch, and all participants had an opportunity to acquaint themselves with production processes and the organisation of work on site. This cooperation will certainly continue, as many of our member companies are present not only the Serbian market, but also on neighbouring markets. ■ AUGUST

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ANA GOVEDARICA, GENERAL MANAGER, ROCHE SERBIA

“New Medicine” Arriving Roche is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies, which strives to provide patients with access to innovative therapeutic and diagnostic options, but also a personalised approach to treatment. To this end, Roche builds and nurtures partnership relations with doctors, pharmacists, institutions and associations of patients

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hanks to the joint efforts of state institutions and producers of innovative drugs, including Roche, it is expected that – by next year at the latest – more than 80 innovative, latest-generation medicines will be available to patients in Serbia at the expense of the state. This will markedly improve the quality of treatment.

• To what extent does Roche – as one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Serbia and a member of the INOVIA Association of Manufacturers of Innovation Medicines – succeed in providing patients with the latest diagnostic procedures and therapy options?

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“New Medicine”. They will transform all aspects of our work, our industry and the healthcare sector as a whole, as they will enable each patient to always receive the most effective therapy. This possibility is based on the massive precision of diagnostics, as we thus gain a clearer or – using the vocabulary of photography – sharper image than ever before. This is possible today thanks to new technologies, such as the genomic profiling of tumours, but also thanks to the availability of huge databases of knowhow and statistics.

A great honour and responsibility for me lies in the fact that Roche, of which I am part, is the leader of those innovations and changes. Roche shows its sincere willingness to transfer knowledge and experiences regarding the latest achievements to all stakeholders in the Serbian health system, with the aim of facilitating the more effective treatment of patients.

• For years, Serbia for years occupied an unenviable place in terms of the availability of innovative medicines, but then a great shift was made – though we believe even better can be done. What is your assessment of the current situation and tendencies?

- The availability of innovative therapies in Serbia has improved over the past several years thanks to the joint efforts of state institutions and pharmaceutical companies, including Roche. The effectiveness of treating patients and the introduction of new therapies, however, is advancing so rapidly that much more is needed for us to keep pace with the world.

The funding allocated for healthcare in Serbia is not small compared to the countries of the region, but a model must be found for its more efficient use. I primarily think that we should utilise the advantages of the digitalisation of healthcare, which already now offers completely new, more efficient ways of treating patients, but also of organising the entire health system.

The new era of personalised medicine implies a multidisciplinary approach that includes diagnostics, biotechnology and IT companies, in order to combine the achievements of more than one medical and technological field to collect as much information as possible on patients, apply the appropriate methods for analysing the information gleaned, and thus create personalised therapies. The pathway of treatment would commence from the establishing of

a precise diagnosis for each individual, to determining which therapy is most effective and least risky for them, and then continuous monitoring would be conducted to determine the outcome of the treatment and take preventive steps in order to preserve health.

Well-developed IT platforms and precise statistics are a prerequisite for the further improvement of healthcare and the applying of all new achievements. Serbia has a good IT base, and systems that are already in use in Serbia, with certain upgrades, can be efficiently used for “New Medicine”.

- There are no shortages, and that’s very important. What needs to be worked on is the establishing of long-term planning when it comes to the procurement of medicines, which will enable both pharmaceutical companies and the healthcare system to provide therapies under better conditions.

tutions and producers of innovative drugs, including Roche, it is expected that – by next year at the latest – more than 80 innovative, latest-generation medicines will be available to patients in Serbia at the expense of the state. These are medicines that are already prioritised by national expert committees,

• How often should the list of so-called positive medicines – those that patients receive from the National Health Insurance Fund – be amended?

- The development of new therapies is so accelerated that the process of introducing new innovative medicines must never be interrupted. This requires money, which is a major challenge for Serbia. It will therefore be necessary to change the way specific groups of medicines are procured and paid for, where feasible. It is important to measure the results of the success of treatments of every patient, but also all costs arising during the entire

Serbia can easily take a seven-mile step and reach the level of healthcare protection that exists in much more developed countries treatment cycle, and not just the primary cost of medicine procurement. Thus, if some medicine reduces some other treatment costs, that should also be taken into account.

There is also another model that’s successfully applied in well-organised health systems but can easily be applied in Serbia - the so-called “pay for performance” system. In short, the healthcare system pays medicine manufacturers only for those therapies that proved effective with the patient, and not for those that didn’t yield a satisfactory result.

• The procurement of medicines in Serbia is stable. Does this mean that the State is no longer in debt to suppliers?

• In your estimation, how much should be allocated to Serbia’s annual budget for innovative medicines and how far away from that optimal amount are we?

- As I mentioned, allocations for healthcare could be higher, but using the existing budget as efficiently as possible is more of a priority. The existence of a special budget for innovative medicines is one solution that would enable quicker access to the latest therapies. Investing in innovative therapies that are more effective than those used to date – according to most pharmacoeconomic analyses – is ultimately returned through manifold savings and benefits for society, the patient and their family.

Thanks to the joint efforts of state insti-

and thus the costs of their procurement can be assessed in a timely manner. It is only in this way – through adequate planning – that we can move closer to European and neighbouring countries in terms of the availability of innovative medicines, as well as the resources allocated for these purposes.

• You once stated that “health can be a generator of positive changes and GDP growth, because only a healthy person can contribute to healing the economy”. Do you have the impression that this message of yours made it to the authorities?

- It seems to me that advancing the health system in Serbia is one of the current priorities, which is good, so it seems to me that this message was accepted in the right way.

The fact is that the pharmaceutical industry is showing a sincere willingness to partner with healthcare workers, patients and the state to achieve the highest possible quality in the shortest possible time. ■ AUGUST

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BUSINESS

SLOBODANKA VLAJČIĆ, CEO, NEVENA&ALLMECOSMETICS

Photo: Miloš Luzanin, Politika a. d.

Europeans Recognise Our Quality

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ur cosmetics are produced according to the principle of Good Manufacturing Practice, respecting high standards of quality, health and environmental protection. Thanks to these standards, we have made a breakthrough on the European market and we are very proud of this, says Slobodanka Vlajčić.

•When and how did Nevena&Allmecosmetics begin?

- Nevena&Allmecosmetics is a family company created in 2011. Though I have spent a large part of my career in trade, I was always interested in the production that is the driver of the whole process. When the company was founded I lived abroad, but I wanted to start producing cosmetics in the country I came from, in Serbia.

We started producing cosmetics for hotels, but we soon launched a collection of luxury soaps for the face, and soaps in metal boxes for which everyone already recogniaes us. We also have a collection for 28 |

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Nevena&Allmecosmetics is a company with many years of tradition and experience in the production of high quality consumer cosmetics, recognisable throughout the EU. They make products for the care of hair, body and hands. They are also especially proud of their unique soap collection men and a baby collection, products that we are especially proud of.

• What makes your company stand out from others?

- Our company’s priority is the safety of its cosmetic products. We introduced the standards that apply to European manufacturers already in 2014 and have received the certificate of conformity of

• You received the “Most European” award in the category of entrepreneurship for contributing to Serbia’s connection to the EU. Tell us about this...

- I think anyone who is not part of a multinational company and yet manages to make an original product in Serbia and sell it in Europe can be considered as “most European”, in the sense of connecting Serbia with the EU through their own con-

Through the hard work of the entire team, we rapidly became well placed on the market and continued developing new products our products with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), a system of regulations that seeks to improve the safety of cosmetics. For this reason, I can proudly say that all Nevena&Allmecosmetics products are safe cosmetic products of the highest quality.

tribution. I am not an EU citizen, but EU residents find Nevena&Allmecosmetics products good enough for them.

I just feel this as the reason for the “Most European” award. And if there were more of us, we would be closer to Europe. ■

ĐORĐE RAŠIĆ, MEMBER OF THE BOARD, ZEPTER GROUP DOO BUSINESS

We Never Give Up On Quality

Zepter already became a part of our everyday life three and a half decades ago, thanks to a terrific product range that is growing from day to day, carrying us slowly into the future. Tens of millions of satisfied users and products sold are the best proof of quality and customer satisfaction

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e are now accepted over the entire planet and in all cultures, with Zepter operating today in 55 countries worldwide. Since more is always expected of us, we have launched a new global project, Tesla HYPERLIGHT® Eyewear, reveals Mr Rašić.

Formula 1 race in Monte Carlo. These are the only glasses in the world, both indoor and outdoor, that block absolutely all harmful radiation. The fullerene layer has special characteristics that hyperpolarise light, transforming it into light that has a beneficial effect on many of the organism’s functions, such as melatonin...

• Philip Zepter’s business philosophy is known for its concept of a healthy life. Is that why Zepter International is “treading” its fourth decade of business with undampened enthusiasm and dedication?

- Although 35 years after Zepter’s founding many people see us as makers of the world’s highest quality dishes for preparing healthy food, we are

• You have seven factories in Germany, Italy, Switzerland. Unlike other world-famous brands, you have not moved production to third world countries...

- The main reason why we manufacture in the countries you mention is the highest quality of production. Quality is our promise to customers, quality is something that is expected of us, qual-

In Zepter's portfolio there are five hotels recognizable by their personal style and luxury, but what’s especially important, concern for their guests’ health much more than that today. After sophisticated systems for water and air purification, the BIOPTRON medical device, produced in Switzerland for hyperlight therapy, and many home appliances that make a healthy and pleasant environment, we have launched a new global project: Tesla HYPERLIGHT® Eyewear. After a test period, we showcased them for the first time at one of the most important global media events - at the

ity is that ingredient for which our customers like and choose our products.

The key innovative ingredient of the whole range of our new products - Fulerene C60, is produced in Serbia’s most up-to-date laboratory run by Serbian scientists. So we have succeeded in positioning Serbia on the list of countries with sophisticated technology and which export it to the most developed countries in the world.

• Your innovative sales model has been a great success. What are its advantages?

- Zepter consists primarily of people. It was precisely Philip Zepter who recognised that anyone who aspires to be successful at work has a pronounced entrepreneurial streak, so the business model we have established gives the opportunity for every employee in the company to develop themselves. In this way, our original “Club Live 100” programme was spontaneously formed, which besides the many benefits for the purchase of all Zepter products and services offers many other advantages, but also the possibility of working in the company’s system.

• We also see some construction projects in Belgrade under the Zepter brand. What is this about? How far have you entered the real estate business?

- Zepter Real Estate, owned by the Zepter Group, manages one of the largest real estate portfolios with more than 380,000 square metres of space. Our latest venture – the Zepterra commercial and residential complex in one of the best locations in Belgrade near Airport City and West 65. The residential part will cover 75,000m2 with 750 apartments from one to five bedrooms, while the commercial area that covers 20,000m2 includes shops, an office block and a parking garage. Everything is made to the highest standards. ■ AUGUST

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BUSINESS

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENETICS

Stem Cells Treat 80 Diseases

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he Swiss Stem Cells Biotech (SSCB) was founded in 2005 within the framework of Lugano-based Cardiocentro Ticino, a highly specialised hospital focused on the use of stem cells in the treatment of myocardial infarction. It was there that the first autologous stem cell transplantation in Switzerland was carried out in 2004, and SSCB then became part of the Swiss Institute of Regenerative Medicine (SIRM), a state-of-the-art institute for biomedical research. This Swiss Stem Cell Bank is one of seven private banks that possess FACT NetCord accreditation.

FACT NetCord defines standards for high-quality medical and laboratory practises regarding treatments using umbilical cord

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stem cells, while its main goal is to define international standards and control all phases and processes – from the moment stem cells are harvested to the moment of transplantation/treatment.

banks. The Law on Cells and Tissues passed in Serbia prescribes that only stem cell banks possessing the prestigious FACT NetCord accreditation will be able to export stem cells from the umbilical cords of newborn babies.

Stem cells are used in EU countries to treat more than 80 diseases, while a record number of clinical trials is underway Around 35,000 stem cell samples have been released worldwide to date from all banks, predominantly public, more than 10,000 of which were samples for treatment released by FACT NetCord accredited

The new regulation was adopted in Serbia in an effort to provide parents with the highest level of safety, but also in order to comply with existing regulations in the countries of the European Union. â–

ALEKSANDAR MILOŠEVIĆ, CEO & FOUNDER, 3AP BUSINESS

We Create A Unique Working Culture 3AP is a young Swiss company that has been actively engaged in the development of technologically advanced software solutions that bring together IT experts and other professionals. With an entrepreneurial mindset, they understand the needs of both small businesses and major companies

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e encourage decision making and risk taking, we try to provide a collaborative environment and culture where everyone contributes to the success of 3AP – this is what we can drive and do as a company, and to foster continuous learning, says 3AP CEO and founder Aleksandar Milošević.

• What was the motive for opening the office in Serbia?

- A few 3AP founders have roots in Balkan so Serbia was a right place to create our second base and to continue with our vision - to establish a company where we can bring the experience we gained working with clients in Switzerland and all around the world. I personally believe very much in the mindset of people in Serbia as well as in Switzerland and in this company setting we can show and create a unique working culture which is very important for the next steps.

• What are the differences and what are the similarities between the work cultures of Switzerland and Serbia?

- 3AP is in the sector of Information Technology (IT) so I can speak about our work, presence and philosophy since founding 3AP. Even though both countries don’t have so many natural resources, Switzerland has a strong economy and Serbia is very successful in sports. I believe that ambitious mindset is the thing that drives their success. Besides that the engineering way of thinking is also very important to us and that’s something we found - and still find - in both countries.

• Do you connect Switzerland and Serbia through projects and, if so, how?

- To achieve the demands sought of us, we have invented and established our own approach to delivering digital solutions to ourselves and our clients. We call it “Start-up in a Box”, and it

represents a fusion of the disciplines required to bring an idea to life. In some cases it is more technically driven, while in others it’s more organisational.

• Do you agree that it’s important for employees to be both “pro” and “fit” if a company wants to generate a profit?

- That’s a nice play on words. The short answer is “yes, absolutely”. On the one hand, culture is key and provides the underlying base. On the other, having a holistic view of an undertaking is also key, whether it be establishing a company, running a project or anything else. And then the real work begins. ■

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SSCC

Our First F

ounded in March 2014, the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SSCC) has developed as a result of growing interest among representatives of the Swiss business community in Serbia, in

Years

fostering economic relations between the two countries, promoting Swiss values in Serbia and creating new networking opportunities for business professionals.

The SSCC is dedicated to monitoring

and influencing key political and economic developments that impact on members’ interests by encouraging dialogue between members, government officials and the broader business world. ■

SSCC MEMBERS REUNION The SSCC’s Members Reunion was held on 5th June 2019 on the premises of SSCC member company SR Technics. The event saw SSCC Board Member Yana Mikhailova present the results of the SSCC’s Business Climate Survey 2019 and lead the discussion about the local economic environment, after which two new SSCC members – Smart Point and Inspiring Culture Association – presented their business activities.

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING RECEPTION The International Networking Reception took place on 23rd May 2019 at Belgrade’s Crowne Plaza Hotel and brought together over 300 guests to exchange business views and explore potential future cooperation. Together with the SSCC, this event was co-organised by 12 other bilateral business associations.

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SSCC-BSCC NETWORKING EVENT

KOPAONIK BUSINESS FORUM NETWORKING RECEPTION

For the first time since its formation, the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce has established cooperation with a chamber of commerce from the region, from Bulgaria: the Bulgarian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce. The SSCC was honoured to welcome over 30 BSCC member guests to Belgrade on 12th April 2019. Both Chambers gave presentations about their activities and involvement in the development of the dual education system in their respective countries.

ACTIVE EMPLOYMENT MEASURES SEMINAR A seminar entitled “Programmes of active employment measures for employers” was held on 2nd April 2019. The even included presentations given by the following representatives of the National Employment Service of the Republic of Serbia: Biljana Jelenković Paspalj, Chief of the Department for the Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons With Disabilities, Biljana Žižić, Chief of the Department for Employment Programmes and Entrepreneurship, and Ilija Knežević, Chief of the Education and Training Department.

A networking reception was held during the Kopaonik Business Forum on 5th March 2019, sponsored by SSCC member company Sky Express d.o.o. The cocktail reception was jointly organised in cooperation with German-Serbian business association AHK Srbija, the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Nordic Business Alliance in Serbia, the Slovenian Business Club and the Croatian Business Club.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SSCC

H.E. Philippe Guex. While enjoying original Swiss cheese and wine, SSCC members had an opportunity to learn about the art of making fondue and network with representatives of the business community and the Swiss Embassy in Belgrade.

The annual General Assembly of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce was held on 21st February 2019 on the premises of SSCC member company Roche Serbia. This occasion saw two members elected to the SSCC Board: Edin Dacić, President of the Assembly of Standard Furniture d.o.o., and Miloš Jovanović, CEO of Omnia Systems d.o.o.

BUSINESS MEETING WITH THE EU DELEGATION IN SERBIA

SPEED BUSINESS MEETING

A business meeting with the EU delegation in Serbia was held on 24th January 2019. Co-organised by the SSCC, the Slovenian Business Club, AHK Srbija and the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the event saw Matea Norčič Štamcar, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, and Yngve Engstroem, Head of Cooperation, speak about Serbia’s progress towards EU accession and EU funding opportunities in the Republic of Serbia.

A Speed Business Meeting event was held in Belgrade on 5 th February 2019 and included the participation of over 50 companies that are members of the SSCC, AHK Srbija, the CCIFS and Cofindustria Serbia. All company representatives were given an opportunity to present their corporate activities to potential business partners, exchange information and establish contacts for future cooperation.

SWISS FONDUE CHEESE EVENING AT THE SWISS AMBASSADORIAL RESIDENCE The Swiss Cheese Fondue Evening was held on 29th January 2019 at the Swiss Ambassadorial Residence in Belgrade, hosted by Swiss Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, 34 |

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IPR SEMINAR

A seminar on the protection of intellectual property rights in Serbia was organised by SSCC member company MSA IP – Milojević, Sekulić and Associates, held on 28th November 2018 at MSA IP’s Belgrade offices. A presentation was given and a panel discussion was held that included the participation of legal solicitors and MSA IP solicitors specialising in trademark and patent issues.

The seminar included around 40 participants.

AUTUMN BUSINESS BREAKFAST

The Autumn Business Breakfast, which took place on 22nd November 2018, was organised by SSCC member company Confida Consulting d.o.o. and Gebrüder Weiss. The event included a presentation and panel discussion among members of the Tax team of CONFIDA Consulting and the Customs Department of Gebrüder Weiss, at which they shared their knowledge of tax and customs aspects of inward processing in Serbia. The event brought together approximately 100 participants.

A curriculum that includes at least one of 32 dual educational profiles is now being implemented at 84 vocational secondary schools in Serbia. This means that 23 per cent of Serbia’s schools are currently part of the dual education system, which will be fully implemented as of the 2019/2020 academic year. This was concluded at the conference ‘Dual Education in Serbia 2018: Current Results and Future Challenges’, organised by the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

SSCC PANEL ON DUAL EDUCATION AT AUTUMN VIVALDI FORUM

The SSCC organised a panel discussion on dual education during the MSM Vivaldi HR Forum, held in Mokra Gora on 27th September 2018. This forum brings together experts from business, social and cultural spheres, with the aim of improving business conditions of our society.

SWISS NATIONAL DAY 2018

SSCC CONFERENCE ON DUAL EDUCATION

The Embassy of Switzerland in Belgrade organised a reception to mark the 727th anniversary of the foundation of Switzerland.

Ambassador H.E. Phillipe Guex welcomed guests to the Swiss Ambassadorial Residence in Belgrade, including senior representatives of the Serbian Government, numerous public figures, representatives of the diplomatic community and members of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, other business associates etc.

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SWISS ECONOMY

The Swiss economy is among the world's most stable and is the preferred choice for investors seeking a skilful workforce and an economy based on strong research, development and innovation capacities. Switzerland earns most of its revenue on the basis of financial services, precision manufacturing, metals, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and electronics

Small, Smart & Prosperous

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wiss GDP stood at $703.750 billion on a nominal base in 2018, while GDP per capita was $82,950 (nominal, 2018 est). Switzerland has one of the world’s highest per capita GDPs, due to its prosperous and modern market economy, which relies on robust export, mainly to EU partners (the euro zone purchases half of all Swiss exports), a highly skilled labour force, low unemployment rates and a balanced budget.

According to United Nations data for 2016, Switzerland is the third richest landlocked country in the world, after Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, and – together with the latter coountry and Norway – is one of only three countries in the world with GDP per capita exceeding US$70,000 that are neither island nations nor mini-states.

Despite of its relatively small size and low level of natural resources, Switzerland has a robust economy. Granite, limestone, other building stones and salt are the only abundant mineral resources with a com36 |

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mercial value, while there are also modest deposits of iron and manganese ores.

About 11 per cent of Switzerland’s land is used for agriculture, while another 30 per cent is covered by forests. Consequently, only a small minority of Swiss workers are involved in the primary production or agricultural sectors (1.3% of the population in 2006), while a larger minority is involved in the secondary production or manufacturing sector (27.7% in 2012). The majority of the working population is involved in the economy’s tertiary or services sector (71.0% in 2012).

This, however, doesn’t imply that agricultural production is small. In fact, the

agricultural industry benefits from high tariffs and extensive domestic subsidies that encourage domestic production, which currently produces about 60% of the food consumed in the country. The country’s entire need for potatoes and other vegetables, pork, veal, cattle and most milk products are produced in the country.

According to figures contained in the World Fact book, Switzerland is the world’s 20th largest exporter and 18th largest importer. According to various sources, Switzerland’s exports for 2017 stood at $313.5 billion (est.), while imports totalled $264.5 billion (2017 est.). Switzerland is an important exporter and importer of

chemicals, machinery and electronics, precision tools, jewellery, agricultural products, vehicles, textiles, leather, rubber and plastics.

The life sciences industry also plays a crucial role in the Swiss economy. According to industry data, over 250 pharmaceuticals companies (startups, SMEs and multinationals) are based in the country. The industry employs 44,200 people, generating 24.1 billion Swiss francs (€20.2bn) in gross added value each year and accounting for around a third of the market capitalisation on the

Suisse Group AG. They account for over 50% of all deposits in Switzerland. The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) estimated in 2018 that Swiss banks held US$6.5 trillion in assets, or 25% of all global cross-border assets. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), total Swiss banking assets amount to 467% of total gross domestic product.

The tourism sector is also among the main drivers of the Swiss economy. The contribution of travel and tourism to Switzerland’s GDP in

Switzerland's major trade partner countries for exports include Germany, the U.S., the UK, China and Hong Kong, while for imports those partners are Germany, the U.S., Italy, the UK and the UAE

SIX Swiss Exchange. Moreover, pharmaceuticals constitute 38% of the country’s total exports – more than watches, cheese and chocolate combined.

Average annual revenues from chocolate production in Switzerland total around 1.5 billion Swiss francs (about $1.5 billion), with the Swiss producing about 180,000 tonnes of chocolate per year.

As of 2018, there were more than 400 securities dealers and banking institutions in Switzerland, ranging from large institutions down to small community banks. The two largest Swiss banks, respectively, are UBS Group AG and Credit

2018 was 8.5%. More than 170,000 people (fulltime-equivalents) work in the tourism industry, representing around four per cent of the working population.

Switzerland has highly developed tourism infrastructure, especially in its mountainous regions and cities. According to estimates by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, overnight stays are set to increase by 2.7% in 2019 and 2.4% in 2020.

Tourism Revenues in Switzerland averaged 2924.24 CHF Million from 1983 until 2019, reaching an all-time high of 5003.60 CHF Million in the third quarter of 2018. ■

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION The Swiss economy ranked first in the world according to the 2018 Global Innovation Index.

Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) insists that the country is very competitive in the field of research and innovation, and also ranks among the countries with the highest spending on R&D in relation to GDP. The private sector accounts for more than two-thirds of Swiss R&D expenditure, which currently amounts to over three per cent of GDP, or around 22 billion Swiss francs. Public research funding hinges mainly on the proactive work of researchers, the principle of competition and international cooperation.

In order for Switzerland to remain among the leading countries in the development and application of digital technologies, it needs to boost skills in education and research. The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) has conducted a study on the challenges of digitalisation for education and research in Switzerland, and subsequently drawn up an action plan for digitalisation in the ERI sector in 2019 and 2020. Among eight areas of action, the following were chosen: digital literacy, use of ICT in teaching and learning, rapid adaptation of the education system to market requirements, improved coordination and communication in education cooperation, strengthened young academics’ qualifications (digital skills), interdisciplinary research on the consequences of digital change for the Swiss economy and society, improved competencies in basic research and the accelerating of knowledge transfers.

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SERBIA BECOMES A FULL MEMBER OF CERN

European Scientific Elite

PETAR ADŽIĆ, PROFESSOR AT THE FACULTY OF PHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE (RETIRED), CHAIRMAN OF THE SERBIAN NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR COOPERATION WITH CERN AND SERBIA’S SCIENTIFIC DELEGATE IN THE CERN COUNCIL

This year was marked on the international scientific front by the admission of Serbia as a full member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research - CERN. As from the 24th March 2019, Serbia officially became the 23rd member state of this most prestigious international scientific organisation

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hen Israel became the 21st member in 2014, that country’s officials assessed it as one of the most significant events in the country’s history. Serbia is the first country of the region to succeed in achieving this, while – along with hosts Switzerland, Israel and Norway - it is one of the few non-members of the EU. Cyprus and Slovenia are the candidates to be considered for a membership over the next few years.

This success of Serbia has been made possible thanks to the dedication and many decades of successful work of Serbian research teams, but also thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, and the decisive efforts of the Serbian Prime Minister.

What does CERN offer to its members and what is the significance of its membership?

In addition to leading roles in High Energy Physics research (as well as in some other disciplines of physics), CERN represents one of the best institutions for the development of the cutting-edge technologies and their direct application (or knowledge transfer) in the fields of microelectronics, materials, engineering,

superconducting, acceleration technologies, computer technology (software and hardware) and informatics. A significant part of basic and applied research is conducted in the fields of chemistry, medicine and pharmaceuticals. This world’s leading laboratory combines basic and applied research in the most ideal way: new and high research requirements and challenges initiate innovation, development and the application of the latest technologies. The greatest part of CERN’s research and financial potential is focused on exploiting the existing accelerator chain, whose last stage represents the largest accelerator, the most complex scientific instrument ever conceived, the Large Hadron Collider – LHC, along with its four largest and most complex experiments in science up to date.

Alongside advancing and raising the quality of basic research that has the largest impact on the formation of the scientific profile within one society, the following can be singled out as the most important advantages of Serbia’s membership in CERN: The chance to get involved of a large number of users of various research and technical profiles, thus reducing or at least slowing down of hardly avoidable departures (leaving) of the highly educated people, particularly recent graduates from the country. For example, postgraduates remain connected to our universities and scientific institutions where they are employed, while the opportunity is simultaneously created for them to continue their studies or research at CERN, which represents the top research place in the world, and within the environment that they can consider as their own where high level conditions exist, and where, accordingly, they can plan their research future over a longer period; The most advanced experimental equipment available at CERN, state-of-the-art technology and applied methods, as well as the experience gained while working with toplevel experts, will be transferred faster to our region. There is no better and more efficient investment than one, which quickly returns to

B y P E TA R A D Ž I Ć

our own environment. The research work or engineering involvement within the scope of any international project at CERN implies its return and knowledge transfer or at least its main parts of activities to home institutions of a member state. This is one of CERN’s main missions and which we physicists, for example, have been using in physics for a long time; Our citizens have the right to apply equally with colleagues from other member states for funds from the CERN budget. The well-known CERN Summer School for undergraduate and graduatestudents,theprestigiousCERNscholarships for one or more years, then doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships, as well as various forms of financial support for specialisation at CERN, represent perhaps the greatest benefits for our researchers. It is important to note that not only scientists and engineers have the privileges to apply for five year (Limited Duration-LD) or permanent jobs at CERN, but this right also extends to specialists of various professional profiles. As a full member, Serbia participates in all decision-making processes and thus having an impact on the CERN policy. Taking all these account, and in that sense, membership at CERN is reminiscent of some kind of EU membership; Our industrial companies can now compete equally with companies from other member states and participate in application for tenders of all calls for contracts within CERN projects,

state and during its associate status; It is well-known that the internet, or the World Wide Web, was invented at CERN. For similar reasons that led to the emergence of the idea of the WWW, the EU entrusted CERN with the leading role in the LHC-GRID project with the main goal to build advanced computer networks that would enable data flows with tremendous speeds, large processor power, and a large capacity for the transfer and storing of data collected in the Large Hadron Collider experiments. This enabled researchers from the most distant institutions, living on different continents around the world, to participate actively in the analysis of experimental data from the LHC at their home institutions. The GRID technology is now embedded in almost

By the end of 2018, there were between 75 and 80 users registered at CERN from Serbia. Besides smaller groups of researchers scattered within different projects, currently there are four main and rather homogeneous Serbian research teams (the total of about 40 users) actively involved in CERN international projects thereby taking an opportunity, besides gaining the experience and knowledge, to try to return a significant part or perhaps all of the costs of membership back to Serbia; An important part of activities at CERN comprises an exceptional education programme intended for schoolchildren, students and teachers in physics, engineering and scientific administration. Serbia already utilised this programme in several occasions during the period when it was not a member

every country around the world where advanced computer networks have been built, as well as in the most up-to-date computer centres with giant capacities and the processor power capable to handle huge amounts of data. Serbia also represents part of this global computer GRID network (example: supercomputer installation at the Institute of Physics). All these are particularly important for countries, whose researchers and users are involved in CERN projects.

By the end of 2018, there were between 75 and 80 users registered at CERN from Serbia. Besides smaller groups of researchers scattered within different projects, currently there are four main and rather homogeneous Serbian research teams (the total of about 40 users) actively involved in CERN international projects. Physicists and specialists from the Faculty of Physics of University of Belgrade and the “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences are active within the CMS and SHINE-NA61 experiments, the other research group of the Institute of Physics is working on the ATLAS experiment, while another one is involved in the LHC-GRID project; physicists from the Department of Physics of Faculty of Sciences of the University of Novi Sad are actively

engaged on the ISOLDE experiment. With their activities in the field of basic research in High Energy Physics, then in the development of detector technologies (R&D), as well as in permanent engineering activities, all of them are trying to provide a recognisable contribution to specific CERN projects.

It is also important to note that individual Serbian companies have proven successful over the past few years in competing for tenders equally with companies from other countries for various types of contracts within CERN projects. We expect that our country would feel more benefits of the CERN membership even with somewhat better and more organised approach of our business sector.

To conclude, and taking into account some cases of other countries, and on the basis of some of personal experiences to date, I would dare to say that the CERN membership could help Serbia advance in many segments. ■ AUGUST

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SWITZERLAND: SMALL, BUT DIVERSE

Driving Force Of Modern Life

The four ethnolinguistic groups (Germanic, French, Italian, and Rhaeto-Romansh) that comprise the native Swiss population have retained their specific characteristics throughout the centuries, though the country was originally inhabited

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ith the collapse of Roman rule, Germanic tribes poured in to the area now known as Switzerland, among them the Alemanni and Burgundians. The Alemanni ultimately became the dominant group, and the present Alemannic vernacular (Schwyzertütsch, or Schweizerdeutsch) is spoken as the principal language by nearly two-thirds of the total population.

As of 2002, 65% of the population was German; 18% was French; 10% was Italian; 1% was Romansh; and 6% was comprised of various other groups.

From the verdant Rhine Valley to icy glaciers, Switzerland is a small, but very diverse country — and not only geographically. Find out more about its major regions, people, history, and cantons in our expat guide.

With a territory of less than 42,000 km², Switzerland is among Europe’s smaller countries. For foreign visitors, it might conjure up images of Alpine glaciers and fancy ski resorts. However, despite its size, Switzerland is far more diverse than postcard clichés might suggest.

While the Alps do cover the majority of the country, they represent only one of its three major geographic regions. In administrative terms, Switzerland is divided into as many as 26 different parts — cantons, all of which have a considerable degree of political autonomy and take great pride in their local history.

Moreover, Switzerland’s economic success has been attracting — and is partly the result of — a large foreign population, with one in four Swiss residents born abroad.

JURASSIC WORLD: THE NORTHERN MOUNTAIN RANGE The northernmost of Switzerland’s geographic regions is the Jura mountain range, which accounts for around 10% of the country’s total surface area. Stretching along the France-Switzerland border, it is shaped like a crescent moon and opens towards the southeast. The Swiss Jura consists of characteristic “fold mountains”, with peaks up to 1,680 metres high, plenty of valleys, and deep gorges that are often covered in forests.

Although there is a canton called Jura, you shouldn’t confuse it with the entire region. The Jura mountains include another seven to eight cantons, and account for a significant part of Romandy, the Frenchspeaking parts of western Switzerland.

However, due to their geographical features and cool, humid climate, the Jura mountains themselves have never been that densely populated: major cities are mostly located on their fringes, such as Basel to the north or Geneva to the south.

(Strictly speaking, the latter belongs to the neighbouring region of the Swiss Plateau.)

The Jura’s more remote rural areas are today suffering from a falling population.

However, even though it isn’t as popular

it has always been home to the majority of Switzerland’s population.

The Central Plateau is today the most densely populated region in the entire country. Despite covering less than a third of the territory, it is home to more than two-thirds of all residents. Nearly all towns with populations exceeding 50,000 (and all major expat destinations)

Switzerland's Central Plateau is today the most densely populated region in the entire country. Despite covering less than a third of the territory, it is home to more than two-thirds of all residents

among tourists as the Swiss Alps, it is a paradise for those interested in hiking, cross-country skiing and mountain biking.

THE CENTRAL PLATEAU: THE HEART OF SWITZERLAND Also called Mittelland or plateau suisse, the Central Plateau is a hilly region squeezed between the Jura mountains to the north and the Swiss Alps to the south, between Lake Geneva to the southwest and Lake Constance to the northeast. At an average of only 500 metres above sea-level,

are located there — with the exceptions of Basel and Lugano. The Central Plateau also features Switzerland’s most important locations for business and industry, including the mechanical industry and electrical engineering, food production, or finance and insurance.

When packing your suitcase, be prepared for a continental-temperate climate with plenty of fog during winter, the occasional cold, dry wind blowing from the northeast (Bisen), and more rainfall the closer you move to the Alps. Near Lake

Geneva, however, the weather tends to be slightly warmer than it is in the rest of the region.

Where exactly you are planning to visit might, however, influence more than just your wardrobe. The language boundary between French-speaking Romandy and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland runs across the plateau, with Francophone

cities like Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel in the west, bilingual Berne and Fribourg in the middle, and German-speaking Lucerne, Zug and Zurich in the east.

ON TOP OF EUROPE: THE SWISS ALPS South of the Central Swiss Plateau, the hills of the Mittelland gradually grow into the rising Prealps, with an elevation of up to 2,500 metres above sea-level and beyond. Though the Swiss Alps account for just 13 per cent of this European mountain range, they actually cover 60% of Switzerland’s surface area. Only neighbouring Austria has a larger percentage (65%) of mountainous territory.

One in four residents of Switzerland lives in the Alps, and in five of the 26 cantons, at least 25 per cent of the respective territory is located above 2,000 m — those cantons are Glarus, Graubünden, Ticino, Uri, and Valais. The latter is also home to AUGUST

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Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Portugal and Turkey (Turks and Kurds). Between them, these six groups account for about 1.5 million people, 60% of Switzerland’s immigrant background population, or close to 20% of the total Swiss population.

Switzerland and Australia, with about a quarter of their populations foreign born, are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the Western world, although who actually counts as an immigrant varies from country to country, and even between agencies within countries. Some countries naturalise immigrants easily, while others make it much more difficult – ensuring that such comparisons should be treated with caution.

Switzerland’s most famous peaks, including the Matterhorn (4,478 m) and the Jungfrau (4,158 m), part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area, which marks the Alps’ first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For most expats, the Swiss Alps will mainly be of interest as an attractive destination for excursions and longer breaks: jobs for international staff are usually in the heavily urbanised central region — unless you are seeking employment in the tourism industry. If you have professional experience in this sector and are passionate about mountaineering or winter sports, this region might be a dream come true.

Last but not least, the Alpine cantons of Ticino and (southern) Graubünden make up the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.

Due to its Mediterranean climate, the

Woman hold 19 per cent of all management positions in medium-sized companies in Switzerland, according to consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY). That figure was 17 per cent just two years ago. EY also reported that there were more women on management boards in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland than in

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Switzerland has the highest Potential Net Migration Index of any European country by a large margin, at +150% (followed by Sweden at +78%) according to a 2010 Gallup study

picturesque Ticino is a popular destination among tourists from all over the world, but expats shouldn’t forget that Lugano – its most populous city – is also one of the three centres of Switzerland’s financial sector, right after Zurich and Geneva.

IMMIGRANT GROUPS The largest immigrant groups in Switzerland are from Italy, Germany, the

Switzerland also has the highest Potential Net Migration Index of any European country by a large margin, at +150% (followed by Sweden at +78%) according to a 2010 Gallup study; this means that, of an estimated 700 million potential migrants worldwide, about 12 million (150% of Swiss resident population) cite Switzerland as their most desired country of residence. ■

its German-speaking parts.

Industry type and overall company success also play a role. According to an EY statement, “successful companies are more likely to support the advancement of women, with 30 per cent of them saying they do so, compared to only 15 per cent of less successful companies”.

SWISS CRAFTSMANSHIP

Huge International Reputation

SWISS COW BELLS

Despite Switzerland being one of the smallest countries in Europe, Swiss craftsmanship has a huge international reputation for high quality. Swiss craftsmanship is the benchmark by which all other artisans are judged

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rom delicacies like cheese to sturdy Swiss Army Knives and reliable Swiss watches, manufacturers and consumers agree that steel, cutlery, pewter, soap, cheese and other products from Switzerland are unrivalled.

The label “Swiss Made” is superior to one that says, for example, “Made in China”, because the consumer knows that they can rely on Swiss quality. Anyone who hails from Switzerland, has visited this pristine

country, or has purchased products made there understands the care artisans put into each item they create.

Anyone who has been to Switzerland has fallen in love with Swiss soaps. The clean, crisp air and Swiss dedication to high-quality production ensures that Swiss organic soaps and other beauty products are the best in the world. Is it any wonder that Switzerland’s women are among the world’s most beautiful?

Even the milk is better in Switzerland.

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Since 1992, Switzerland has produced the world’s highest quality milk, with an exceptional somatic cell count – a scientific rating of the quality and bacteria count of milk.

Swiss dairy farmers continue to achieve this top spot by setting the highest standards for themselves, with producers subjected to stiff penalties for substandard milk.

RELIABILITY AND STABILITY The Swiss demand reliability in everything they do. A synchronised timetable and good connections keep trains in Switzerland punctual and reliable, even when covering beautiful and

century, and by the end of that century it had already gained an international reputation for top quality. By the turn of the 20th century, the Swiss had increased productivity thanks to leading innovations in mass production, pioneering interchangeable parts technology, and standardisation. The Swiss then wound up the watch world by introducing quartz technology.

Nothing stands for precision and craftsmanship like the cross on a Swiss Army knife.

In the 1880s, the Swiss government placed an order for German knives that its soldiers could use to open tins of food and assemble their

SWISS MADE WATCH

rugged terrain. In their train systems, just like in their products, the Swiss always leave a little room for form when they design for function.

The Swiss currency, the franc, is one of the most stable in the world. This consistency allows artisans to concentrate on quality rather than currency when designing and creating their products. Stability also facilitates the transfer of knowledge regarding superior manufacturing principles from one generation to the next.

TRADITION OF PRECISION CRAFTSMANSHIP The Swiss have a tradition of precision craftsmanship dating back centuries. The Swiss watch industry began in the mid 15th 44 |

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with a spring mechanism, while the company began making knives with legendary Swiss stainless steel in 1921. The famous cross and shield emblem on Swiss Army knives stand as a testament to the product’s use of surgical-grade steel.

The Swiss take their metalworking seriously. Swiss Army knife manufacturer Victorinox also makes a wide variety of knives and sharpening accessories, to make everyday kitchen work a cut above the rest.

Swiss pewter melds form and function into durable and usable goods, such as mugs, letter openers and candlesticks.

SWISS DESIGNER TOYS

The Swiss have a tradition of precision craftsmanship dating back centuries. The Swiss watch industry began in the mid 15th century, and by the end of that century it had already gained an international reputation for top quality

guns. Karl Elsener, who was then the owner of a company producing surgical equipment, decided that Switzerland should make its own knives and accordingly purchased the German knife company. Unimpressed with the shoddy quality and limited capacity of the knives, Elsener began attaching tools

When you need durable, high-quality products, look to the tiny European nation of Switzerland. From stainless steel to classic watches, Swiss innovation is always an effective purchase, representing quality that simply can’t be lacking as long as long as the label confirms that it’s Swiss. ■

EPISODE 48 OF NOVAK ĐOKOVIĆ VS ROGER FEDERER SUPERHERO RIVALRY GOES SERBIAN’S WAY

WIMBLEDON 2019

By ANURADHA SANTHANAM

Rivalry Of Superheroes B

The Roger Federer - Novak Đoković rivalry is so intense that it's sometimes easy to forget the two are not exactly from the same tennis generation.

Federer is five years older, which – perhaps in tennis years – means far, far more

ut Federer himself belied that age, that generational gap, to play what was the longest ever men’s singles final at Wimbledon. And if anyone knows what a long Wimbledon final is, it’s Roger Federer. The 2008 final - part of yet another intense rivalry featuring Federer, and perhaps the most well-known rivalry in tennis- is considered one of the greatest matches in tennis history. At only eight minutes shorter than Sunday’s final, it was also the then longest match in Wimbledon history.

Always one to break records, Federer ended up playing another epic final the following year, playing the longest match (in terms of games played) at Wimbledon to defeat Andy Roddick and break Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slams.

The Swiss held multiple championship points, only for Đoković - he of the “being able to hold on during the seemingly impossible” - to hold on, and oh how he did. In perhaps an incredibly fitting latest instalment to their now thirteen-year rivalry, Đoković would probably have pulled a literal kitchen sink out of his bag of tricks if you gave him enough time - and god knows they took a fair bit of it!

Wimbledon’s 2019 final was polarising in many ways, not least because of just how divided the rivalry is between Federer and Đoković. At least at this specific venue, that rivalry seemed quite firmly poised in one direction - due Switzerland. But in the final match, to borrow a cliche, ‘tennis was the real winner’.

There is no doubt that anyone watching the final was in the presence of greatness: the pair make up two of men’s tennis’s ‘Big Four’ (perhaps the ‘Big Three’ now), and are firmly AUGUST

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part of the tennis greats pantheon. Federer is still the only player to have defeated Đoković at all four Grand Slams, while Đoković is the only player to have done the same to Federer.

That alone should be enough, even for someone not particularly familiar with the sport, to show just how intense their rivalry really is.

Think of their final as the latest instalment in your favourite TV series, but it’s so much more than that. The two men on either side of the net are about as close as we’re going to get to real life superheroes.

But this superhero universe has been running a couple of years ahead of its fictional counterpart - and back when Federer and Đoković first clashed, it was the Roger show all the way. Interestingly, for the first six years of that rivalry, they never once clashed on Federer’s favourite surface.

Until the 2010 U.S. Open, the pair’s rivalry had stood at 16-6 in Federer’s favour - number six being Đoković’s five-set U.S. Open semifinal win. Although the Serb would go on to lose that final to Nadal, for him it was the turning point, the key, and what would usher in the firm seizing of that rivalry for himself.

From consistent Roger victories peppered with a few Novak wins, that narrative was flipped on its head.

In 2014, in what would be the pair’s first ever Wimbledon final and second Grand Slam final, it was Đoković who beat Federer, in three hours and fifty-six minutes of yet another “will he, won’t he” contest that teetered on the edge.

Federer is still the only player to have defeated Đoković at all four Grand Slams, while Đoković is the only player to have done the same to Federer.

That alone should be enough, even for someone not particularly familiar with the sport, to show just how intense their rivalry really is And in the years since, that rivalry - although it saw a number of solid, convincing victories from Federer - has far and away been the Đoković show.

Every Federer-Đoković match has a few

ĐOKOVIĆ'S WIFE JELENA AND THEIR SON STEFAN

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things in common, but perhaps nothing as much as fan emotions. For as much mental and emotional pressure that must have been on the players themselves, perhaps every living room, every laptop, every online stream that was tuned into Wimbledon had someone or other cheering, chewing their fingernails, and waiting with bated breath on the other side of a screen.

Every clash between Federer and Đoković at a major tournament has been a big one, a fight, and a thrilling story - but while each player has had his share of straight set wins at Grand Slams over the other - particularly in Australia, Wimbledon has been a different beast. Some of the pair’s greatest clashes have come on hard courts, certainly, but their Wimbledon final surpassed every single one.

It is no secret that grass is one with Federer, and Federer one with it. Đoković, on the other hand, is perhaps one of the greatest all-court players we will ever see

in the game, and even though theoretically Federer’s game is more suited to the faster surface, there is nothing Đoković can’t really play, no player, no surface, and no shot. Now, with long points, longer rallies, and slower courts, perhaps things are tilted ever so slightly in his favour.

Make no mistake - this rivalry is one featuring two of the most skilled players in the history of the game, whether that’s calculated in terms of physicality, shot-making or strategy. Both Đoković and Federer are master tacticians - but they are also, mentally, two of the strongest players in the history of the sport. Few players could have held on despite being two championship points down and still come back to win the title - but Đoković is one such player. And so is Federer, and in that sense the final was reminiscent of their first ever Wimbledon

MIRKA FEDERER AND HER TWO SETS OF TWIN CHILDREN, MYLA ROSE, CHARLENE RIVA, LENNY AND LEO

The Federer-Đoković rivalry has given us the power to feel immense joy and complete heartbreak for a sport, and perhaps, just like in the movie world, the power to believe in what seems impossible final, back in 2014, when it was Federer who was down by a championship point in the fourth set, only to force a fifth.

That match had gone on three hours, fiftysix minutes. This year saw them overtake it by exactly one hour and one minute.

If you and I, as fans, were tense watching the match, one can only begin to imagine what Đoković - who has seen so many of these crunch situations before - may have been feeling. It was only fitting, then, perhaps, that the first ever final-set tiebreak

in Wimbledon history was played by two GOATs on grass.

The final wasn’t just one of the great Federer-Đoković clashes - it was one for the Grand Slam history books, the story books, and, in our modern age, one of those clashes that people will watch again, and again, and again online.

There are times when Đoković has come across to fans as being brash, as not really the crowd’s favourite when it’s Federer on the other side of the net. But he seems to be able to absorb that crowd energy and make it his own, and to own it in a way that no one else can, even when the odds, and the crowd, seem stacked firmly against him.

This is one superhero universe everyone will want endless sequels to, perhaps - and with Federer it really seems like he could do this all day. When the day finally does come that the curtains are drawn on the Federer-Đoković rivalry - hopefully not any time soon – there will no doubt be reams of newsprint calling it the end of an era. But for now, what this Open Era and this rivalry has given us is a love for the game, the power to feel immense joy and complete heartbreak for a sport, and perhaps, just like in the movie world, the power to believe in what seems impossible. ■ Source: firstpost.com AUGUST

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