CorD Magazine, Jun 2020, no. 188 - Slovenia 2020 - Agribusiness Serbia

H.E. ANDREA ORIZIO

Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia

Retired Professional Tennis Player

Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management

Dimensions Of Success Now Measured In Children’s Smiles

Agriculture Has Strategic Importance

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JUNE 2020/ ISSUE NO. 188

Monitoring Elections In The Time Of Covid-19

ANA IVANOVIĆ

BRANISLAV NEDIMOVIĆ

interviews opinions news comments events FOCUS

When Germany And CHINA SNEEZE… COMMENT

OVERDUE, EXPENSIVE AND INEFFECTIVE

Exclusive

OLIVÉR VÁRHELYI

783002 771451 9

Boycott Is Not An Option

ISSN1451-7833

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD AND ENLARGEMENT

CONTENTS

COMMENT

OVERDUE, EXPENSIVE AND INEFFECTIVE Instead of indiscriminately giving a hundred euros to every citizen, help should have been given - simply and without delay - to those who were left without a significant part of their income or their entire means of subsistence as a result of the pandemic, both in the formal and informal parts of the economy

10 BOYCOTT IS NOT AN OPTION

OLIVÉR VÁRHELYI European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement

@CORDMAGAZINE

CORD MAGAZINE

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Ana Novčić a.novcic@aim.rs DESIGN: Jasmina Laković j.lakovic@aim.rs CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Maja Vukadinović,

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27 PARTNER SLOVENIA 2020 51 BUSINESS DIALOGUE 62 REGULATIONS SERVING INTELLECTUAL WORK VLADIMIR MARIĆ Director of the Intellectual Property Office of Serbia

14 MONITORING ELECTIONS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 H.E. ANDREA ORIZIO Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia

68 FACES & PLACES

20 ONE GIANT LEAP FOR EUROPE?

71 THE OFFICE DRESS CODE SHOULD NEVER COME BACK

22 WHEN GERMANY AND CHINA SNEEZE…

72 TRANSITION, TRAUMA & THE CLUJ CONNECTION

FOCUS

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

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FEATURE

78 DIMENSIONS OF SUCCESS NOW MEASURED IN CHILDREN'S SMILES

ANA IVANOVIĆ Retired Professional Tennis Player

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY RESEARCH

AMANCIO ORTEGA

THE FRANCO-GERMAN PROPOSAL FOR A COVID-19 RECOVERY FUND

76 WHILLE HAVING TO STAY AT HOME

63 IS 5G TECHNOLOGY BAD FOR OUR HEALTH? 64 WORLD’S LARGEST FASHION CLOTHING RETAILER

18 GLOBAL DIARY

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DEJAN ŠOŠKIĆ

AFTER THE PANDEMIC

ROMANIAN CONTEMPORARY ART

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Comment

Overdue, Expensive And Ineffective DEJAN ŠOŠKIĆ

PROFESSOR AT THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE (EFB)

T

he payment of 100 euros to every adult citizen, in accordance with the decision of the Government, has caused controversy since the day of its announcement. It is likely to cost taxpayers around 500 million euros during a year of a certain recession and an uncertain future. The Fiscal Council often refers to this move as an economically ineffective, socially unfocused and fiscally irresponsible measure. Opinions can also be heard referring to this measure as so-called “helicopter money” and noting that similar measures have been considered, and sometimes implemented, by other countries.

The positive aspects of this measure could be that it provides help in “difficult times”, that it is given relatively simply, and that it is given to citizens directly. In terms of percentages in relation to existing incomes, citizens with lower incomes will receive more, while citizens with higher incomes will receive less. Such linear assistance can be given swiftly and without a complicated assessment procedure to determined who is entitled and who isn't. As such, it could be justified as an emergency measure. The negative aspects, however, are numerous.

This measure is quite costly, especially under conditions of an expected fall in GDP, fall in budget revenues and growth in budget expenditures. Thus, in conditions of an already expected high fiscal deficit this year, we are introducing an additional significant cost to the state, i.e. taxpayers. Assistance is given without selection, to all adult citizens, including both those who need it and those who don't, and to both those who have

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Instead of indiscriminately giving a hundred euros to every citizen, help should have been given - simply and without delay - to those who were left without a significant part of their income or their entire means of subsistence as a result of the pandemic, both in the formal and informal parts of the economy retained their salaries and other income and those who haven't. An additional problem is that those who receive this assistance without having had a significant drop in, or loss of, income due to the pandemic are unlikely to necessarily spend this money for the purchasing of domestic goods and services, so it turns out that this budget expenditure won't necessarily prove to stimulate the domestic economy significantly.

Assisting citizens who are endangered under the conditions of the pandemic is of course needed, but it should have been provided to those citizens who have been left without a significant part of

It is difficult to find a good side of this measure, which will probably cost taxpayers around 500 million euros during a year when a recession is certain and the future is uncertain their income or their entire means of subsistence due to the pandemic, both in the formal and informal parts of the economy. It is precisely those in the latter, in the informal economy, who are often more vulnerable and simultaneously more difficult to locate than citizens who are engaged in the formal economy. Due to the urgency of providing such assistance, it could be partly understood that

money will also be received by some who don't need it. However, considering that almost two months elapsed from the announcement of this measure to its realisation, there is nothing to say about the speed of providing assistance in this way. Therefore, the swift provision of assistance to the vulnerable, as one of the rare positive sides of this measure, actually doesn't exist. Moreover, the government decided to only give money to those who apply for this assistance, while at the same time launching a campaign to discourage applications for assistance primarily among public sector employees. If you announce help to all adult citizens, then later introduce an application process for that help, whilst additionally also suggesting that people not to apply for it, it is obvious that the state itself has noticed that something is not right about this measure. It was never even supposed to be a linear assistance for all and for applicants to wait two months to receive it. On the contrary, it should have been given immediately and only to some.

It should have been announced and implemented as an emergency aid measure for all those left without their income due to the pandemic. Such people certainly don't include those who remain employed and pensioners who have retained their income. As such, this assistance should have been given, simply and without delay, to all those who requested it due to a loss of income as a result of the pandemic, with subsequent control to ensure the fulfilment of conditions. As things stand, in an economic sense, we received an overdue, expensive and ineffective measure.

Interview Exclusive OLIVÉR VÁRHELYI EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD AND ENLARGEMENT

Although the recently adopted Zagreb Declaration refers to the European perspective of the Western Balkans and not to EU enlargement, which was met with a certain degree of disappointment in the region, the European Commissioner for Enlargement assures us that “EU enlargement and the Western Balkans have been a priority since the first day” of the EU Commission's mandate. In this interview for CorD Magazine, Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi says that support for Serbia during the fight against the coronavirus served as proof of the EU's commitment to strengthening those ties. Commissioner Várhelyi announces that this autumn will see the presentation of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, with the goal being “to spur long-term recovery and to support the necessary reforms required on the EU path”.

The Commission foresees a doubling in the

Boycott Is

Not An Option

As we now seem to slowly emerge out of this crisis, it is more important than ever that all citizens and political actors have full confidence in the integrity of Serbia’s electoral system. It is important that the Serbian authorities build on and fully implement the commitments taken under the inter-party dialogue led by the European Parliament - Olivér Várhelyi 10

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It is important that the Serbian authorities build on and fully implement the commitments taken under the inter-party dialogue led by the European Parliament

provision of grants through the Western Balkans Investment Framework, as well as substantially increasing the financial guarantees to support public and private investment in the region, especially in transport and energy links. Mr Várhelyi, this May marked the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, one of the EU's fundamental documents.

With this in mind, we would like to ask what the EU represents to you?

The European Union is, first and foremost, a reality of peace and freedom; equality and solidarity. It was a dream 70 years ago, when the Schuman Declaration laid the foundations for what we are today. The European Union also means working together to overcome common challenges - and now, more than ever, we can overcome difficulties together that we could not overcome alone. I also firmly believe that the future of the European Union is intertwined with the future of its neighbours and partners.

This is why we are present and active across our neighbourhood and around the world, cooperating with partners and providing support. On the occasion of the EU - Western Balkans online summit, which was hosted

by Croatia, there was disappointment in the region due to the lack of an affirmation of the enlargement of the EU contained in the Zagreb Declaration. Should citizens of the Western Balkans be satisfied with the promised “European perspective”?

The Western Balkans belong in the EU. There is no question about this for us. For the Commission and me personally, EU enlargement and the Western Balkans have been a priority since the first day of our mandate. We have already delivered on revising the enlargement methodology to make the process more credible, predictable, dynamic and political. And, most importantly, in March the EU gave the green light for Albania and North Macedonia

CHALLENGES

The EU means working together to overcome common challenges - and now, more than ever, we can overcome difficulties together that we could not overcome alone

to start accession negotiations. The EUWestern Balkans Summit was important to discuss concrete cooperation and enhanced engagement between the EU and the Western Balkans. It has tasked the Commission with coming up with a substantial Economic and Investment Plan for the whole region, accelerating their economic development, laying the foundations for integrating them.

While the meeting was not an enlargement summit, it is important to recall that EU leaders once again reaffirmed their unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. The fact that, despite the

Our support to Serbia during the current coronavirus crisis is a further demonstration of our commitment to your country. On its side, Serbia declared EU integration and membership as a national interest and strategic commitment ongoing pandemic, the leaders of all 27 EU Member States participated in this Summit demonstrates the importance of our relationship with the region. The EU is already treating the Western Balkans as privileged partners in its response to COVID-19. No other region has received such substantial support and close involvement, for instance access to so much financial assistance and so many mechanisms normally used exclusively for EU member states. In this regard, can you provide precise information as to when North Macedonia

ENLARGEMENT

For the Commission and me personally, EU enlargement and the Western Balkans have been a priority since the first day of our mandate

and Albania will formally begin opening chapters, or clusters, in their respective negotiations for membership?

This will depend on the date of the first Intergovernmental Conference, which will be convened after the adoption of the negotiating frameworks by the Council. At this stage, there is as yet no specific date. What I can say for sure is that the Commission will forward the frameworks to the Member States in June. I do hope discussions on the negotiation frameworks will proceed smoothly, so we can hold the first Intergovernmental Conference with both countries as soon as possible. Can you tell us more about the announced economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans and when its implementation will be launched?

The Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans will be presented later this year, in the autumn. The aim will be to spur long-term recovery and support the necessary reforms required on the EU path. The plan will include a substantial investment package for the region, to start closing the development gaps.

The Commission foresees a doubling in the provision of grants through the Western Balkans Investment Framework, as well as substantially increasing financial guarantees to support public and private investment in the region. A strong focus will be placed on transport and energy links, which are crucial for the economic development of both the region and the EU alike. The Green transition and digital transformation will also play a central role in relaunching and modernising the economies of the Western Balkans. Support will be provided to improve the competitiveness of the economies of the Western Balkans, to better connect them within the region and with the EU, and to help make the Western Balkans fit for the digital age.

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Interview Exclusive Photo: EC - Audiovisual Service

the EU also depends on the implementation of reforms in the fundamental area of the rule of law. What do you think of the assessment of your EP colleague Tanja Fajon, who said that - given the circumstances with the pandemic - it is not the right time for elections to be held in Serbia on 21st June?

How would you describe relations between Serbia and the EU today, at this time when we believe the struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic is coming to an end? Are they better or worse than they were prior to the challenges imposed by this Coronavirus?

The EU remains firmly committed to Serbia’s European path. Serbia started accession negotiations with the EU in January 2014 and, since then, 18 out of 35 negotiation chapters have been opened, two of which have been provisionally closed. I hope to see more chapters being opened and closed this year.

Our support to Serbia during the current coronavirus crisis is a further demonstration of our commitment to your country. On its side, Serbia declared EU integration and membership as a national interest and strategic commitment, and we look forward to Serbia acting in line with this commitment and progressing further on its EU path. A group of MEPs expressed concern regarding the failure to respect constitutional and human rights in Serbia during the state of emergency. You responded by saying that the situation is being monitored carefully. Can you say how you saw the situation in Serbia?

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The decision adopted by ENTSO-E is an agreement to establish an interconnection between the Kosovo power system and the Continental European system, and it has no impact on other issues. Serbia can still fully benefit from the guarantees obtained under the Dialogue agreement on energy, nothing has changed These are unprecedented times. As an immediate response to the pandemic, many national authorities across the world, including the Serbian government, have taken wide-ranging measures to protect the public health of their citizens.

We have stressed that emergency measures must respect fundamental principles, limited to what is necessary and strictly proportionate.

In this respect, we welcome that the state of emergency was lifted by the Serbian National Assembly in early May. The conditions for EU accession have not changed. As you are aware, the overall pace of Serbia’s negotiations with

MEP Tanja Fajon and her colleague Vladimir Bilčík are doing important work with the interparty dialogue in Serbia. We visited the country jointly in February to stress the importance of cross-party consensus on electoral reforms.

Then the unprecedented health crisis of COVID-19 hit all of us. As we now seem to be slowly emerging from this crisis, it is more important than ever that all citizens and political actors have full confidence in the integrity of Serbia’s electoral system. As I underlined back in January, it is also very important for all political actors to participate in the elections, being the only credible and democratic way to influence the future of the country.

As for the upcoming elections, they should be held in line with recommendations of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Let me in particular underline the role of the media, especially in current circumstances related to the pandemic, in which certain activities might still be restricted, the role of free media, of a level playing field for political players, and the proactive role of media regulators is important.

In this light, it is important that the Serbian authorities build on and fully implement the commitments taken under the inter-party dialogue led by the European Parliament.

Finally, I believe that conditions need to be put in place for an international observation mission, led by the ODIHR, to monitor the electoral conditions, campaign and conduct.

This will be crucial for our monitoring and assessment in the coming months. Are you, like some of your colleagues from the EU, concerned about the growing tension on Serbia's political scene and in society?

We are monitoring political developments in Serbia closely. I would call on all sides to exercise restraint, reduce tensions and react with calmness and respect for fundamental rights and the rule

Photo: EC - Audiovisual Service

of law. It would be a positive step, if - following the elections - the new parliament would continue to engage in the inter-party dialogue facilitated by the European Parliament. The country needs to create a national dialogue and cross-party consensus on EU-related reforms if it wants to enhance its EU accession process. How would you comment on the decision of part of the opposition not to participate in the elections?

As we have said on a number of occasions – a boycott is not a viable option. I would appeal once again to all political parties and groups in Serbia to reconsider their participation in elections and represent the interests of their constituents. As I said, this is the democratic way to participate in shaping the future of Serbia. You expressed hope that, following the elections in Serbia, "accelerated work could begin on a solution” for relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Could you state what you consider as a solution to this issue?

The aim of the EU-facilitated Dialogue has been, and remains, the conclusion of a sustainable, mutually acceptable and legally binding agreement solving all issues between Serbia and Kosovo once and for all, in accordance with international law, and contributing to the long term peace, stability and security of the region. I will work towards achieving this goal together with High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajčak. At the height of the struggle against the pandemic, a vote took place in ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity) that excluded Kosovo from the EMS system, the Electricity Network of Serbia, by which it gained energy independence.

Such a decision, which was voted for by representatives of EU member states, contradicts the Brussels Agreement. While calls endure for a reviving of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, do such moves actually serve to strengthen Kosovo's independence?

ENTSO-E is an independent organisation with a mandate stemming from its members. The deci-

I have repeatedly encouraged all stakeholders in Montenegro to establish an inclusive dialogue on the Law on Freedom of Religion or Beliefs and on its implementation. I attach great importance to the establishment of a climate conducive to dialogue and call on all sides to display restraint and respect for fundamental rights, including freedom of religion sion adopted by ENTSO-E is an agreement to establish an interconnection between the Kosovo power system and the Continental European system, and it has no impact on other issues.

Serbia can still fully benefit from the guarantees obtained under the Dialogue agreement on energy, nothing has changed.

The decision is evidence that European partners want to see the energy issue between Serbia and Kosovo resolved, in the wider inter-

est of energy security in Europe. The EU has long worked with the parties on the implementation of the Dialogue agreements on energy. We continue to expect all past Dialogue agreements to be implemented on their own merit. It is still in the hands of the parties to implement the relevant Dialogue provisions in full. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, in February, you visited Montenegro, where it was reported that you expressed understanding for the stance of citizens who insist that political parties should not try to establish churches. How do you view the new tension between the Montenegrin authorities and the Serbian Orthodox Church with regard to the disputed Law on Freedom of Religion?

I have repeatedly encouraged all stakeholders in Montenegro to establish an inclusive dialogue on the Law on Freedom of Religion or Beliefs and on its implementation. In this context, it is important that the Montenegrin authorities and the Serbian Orthodox Church find a mutually acceptable solution. I said this to both sides while in Montenegro. I attach great importance to the establishment of a climate conducive to dialogue and call on all sides to display restraint and respect for fundamental rights, including freedom of religion.

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Interview H.E. ANDREA ORIZIO HEAD OF THE OSCE MISSION TO SERBIA

In this interview for CorD Magazine, Ambassador Orizio recalls that the original plan of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was to include more than 200 observers in its election observation mission, with some of them set to monitor the entire election process, including the campaign, and others election day itself. However, the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to the changing of many plans and impacted on the activities of the whole OSCE during the previous months, might also influence the decision on the format of the election observation mission, adds Ambassador Orizio. Your Excellency, you are speaking to CorD Magazine at a moment when it is believed that the world has dealt with the strongest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many are convinced that the pandemic will change the world in the long run. What do you think are the biggest challenges in post-corona times?

Monitoring Elections In The

Time Of Covid-19

In the run-up to the elections to be held on 21st June, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Andrea Orizio, stresses that a fair and legitimate election process leads to functioning democratic institutions. In order for this process to unfold smoothly, it is essential to have a balanced and impartial press coverage and the conditions for all parties to campaign on an equal footing 14

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It is essential to have balanced and impartial press coverage and the conditions for all parties to campaign on an equal footing

This virus has affected us all, everywhere in the world and in all spheres of society, although in different ways. It is important to understand that we have a “new normal” ahead of us, as things simply will not immediately return to the way they were.

The challenges are numerous, from having to deal with the economic impact of being “closed down” to slowly returning to everyday life after this prolonged period of isolation. Europe needs to rethink what security is and how to balance national and local needs and international co-operation. It is important for Europe to begin rebuilding through solidarity, remembering those we lost and working together to build a more sustainable and inclusive future. As with every crisis, this one also includes opportunities: this pandemic has shown the essential importance of co-operation and positive relationships between countries and peoples, and this should be a central tenet of how we rebuild life after this pandemic. No country can face such challenges alone.

This is apparent in Serbia and elsewhere, as countries are starting to re-open at different rhythms and in different ways. In this transitional phase, it is important to both safeguard citizens and work towards repairing the damage caused by the pandemic. Everyone is eager to see their friends and families and return to their pre-COVID routines. However, it is important that citizens trust institutions, and follow the indications aimed at avoiding a new wave of contagion. Meanwhile, governments must ensure that emergency measures are proportionate, temporary and in compliance with the rule of law and international commitments. The transition to a “new normal” should be gradual and take into account the risks of abruptly re-opening societies. The OSCE Mission to Serbia quickly adapted its assistance in Serbia to the newly emerged situation, focusing its resources on tangible assistance to the most vulnerable. What is the plan for the days to come?

The OSCE Mission to Serbia has swiftly adapted

MEDIA FREEDOM

We have seen that, during the pandemic, the need for reliable and accurate information and the role of professional media were even more crucial

its assistance to the host Country’s emerging needs with the aim of contributing to ensuring a timely response to the crisis through the provision of first aid kits and also with concrete actions more focussed on its mandated areas of intervention.

We promptly adjusted our operations in a twofold manner: we provided immediate relief, and also adapted our core programmatic activities to these difficult circumstances, always keeping our activities within our mandate. We partnered

Under a state of emergency, any derogation from the right to a fair trial must be limited to what is strictly necessary to face the emergency and must be provided for in a law that is duly enacted with key institutions and civil society to provide immediate assistance to the most vulnerable parts of the population: victims of domestic violence, victims of trafficking and human smuggling, disadvantaged families in national minority communities, migrants and persons with disabilities.

The Mission also purchased teleconferencing licenses for our counterparts in the Ministry of Interior to facilitate regional co-operation in the fight against trafficking of human beings and human smuggling. We are also analysing the impact of emergency measures from gender and legal perspectives. In order to fight Covid-19 more effectively, special measures were introduced in many European countries, which included the temporary suspension of the right to

ELECTIONS

Elections are central to any democratic process and participation is the way to have all voices represented, presuming that they take place in a free and fair manner

free movement, and the more or less partial suspension of the work of institutions.

Organisations that deal with human rights have warned that the fight against the virus serves the interests of autocrats more than serving democracy. Do you think that's a genuine concern?

The best response to the virus is a proportional reaction to immediate threats while preserving human rights and the rule of law. Now, more than ever, governments and institutions should be responsive, transparent and accountable. Meanwhile, it is important to recognize that we are facing unprecedented circumstances and citizens should not lose trust in institutions. A recent public letter authored by the OSCE leadership recognizes the importance of the preventive measures implemented in many countries.

Some of these measures may limit some human rights and fundamental freedoms for a period of time, but this can solely be done to protect people from the pandemic. It is crucial that governments ensure transparency in sharing information with the public, especially through the media. In this regard, the OSCE Mission to Serbia will continue working with the host country to help find solutions to shared challenges and advancing positive, practical policy proposals that support Serbia’s choices and ownership of key achievements. An example of this commitment is the Mission’s support to the Working Group for the recently adopted Media Strategy, which has continued its works on-line during the pandemic. This process is essential to ensuring full implementation of the Strategy itself, as a route towards a healthier media environment. The OSCE Mission has announced its willingness to help assess the impact of the state of emergency on human rights. How did you see the situation in Serbia during the 50 days of extraordinary circumstances?

Our mandate is to assist Serbia in strengthening its democratic processes in partnership with the country’s institutions, authorities and civil society.

We are not a monitoring Mission. In line with

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Interview our mandate, we have assistance and advisory roles in areas key to reforms, modernisation and democratic development: strengthening democratic institutions, fostering the rule of law and security sector reform, as well as supporting professional journalism and free media. Our work is based on a close partnership with all stakeholders, while helping Serbia take ownership of reform achievements.

national assembly in Serbia from mid-March until 28th April?

Since its inception, the OSCE Mission has been a genuine partner to the National Assembly, supporting its efforts to build and improve its representative, legislative and oversight capacities.

While having an understanding for the difficulties in convening the Parliament during the COVID - 19 crisis, we offered our support

e-Parliament platform introduced with the support of the Mission can be efficiently adapted to enable remote plenary sessions and help the National Assembly to function safely by incorporating social distancing measures, if need be.

It is in the time of crisis and its aftermath that parliaments have a critical role to play, as guardians of democratic values and fundamental freedoms, helping to enhance public confidence, transparency and accountability. They are vital in their representative function, serving as forum for dialogue, debate and inclusiveness of all strands of society. How would you evaluate the functioning of the judiciary in Serbia and the temporary introduction of new technologies in court processes, primarily “remote” trails via Skype?

While we continue to adapt to the changing needs of Serbian society, we remain focused on the work we are carrying out in the crucial areas of our mandate, such as, for example, the implementation of the Media Strategy through its Action plan, the protection of the safety of journalists and strengthening the Interior Ministry’s operational capacities for regional co-operation in the fight against human trafficking. We stand ready to assist Serbia in assessing the impact of this extraordinary period on these and other significant issues, including human rights, gender equality, domestic violence, and the fight against corruption. OSCE research has monitored the work of parliaments in member countries during the most intensive period of the fight against the pandemic. It showed that in most countries the work of parliaments continued, with major adjustments to the extraordinary circumstances. How did you interpret the suspension of the work of the

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The time of crisis intensified the relationship between citizens and journalists; citizens engaged more than ever with the media, while journalists struggled to find answers on how to behave in this new and complex situation in the resumption of the work of the National Assembly. Now that we are all adapting to the “new normal”, the Mission is open to supporting any efforts by the Serbian authorities to ensure that the National Assembly continues to safely organize its function. For example, the innovative

The High Judicial Council acted promptly on 18 March to define what proceedings must go ahead during the health crisis; the resulting postponement of less urgent matters officially came to an end on 11 May. This seems to be reasonable and responsible.

Certain basic human rights may not be derogated from under any circumstances; this includes the right not to be prosecuted twice for the same act. Under a state of emergency, any derogation from the right to a fair trial must be limited to what is strictly necessary to face the emergency and must be provided for in a law that is duly enacted.

Several decisions were taken, and decrees issued, in quick succession. The decree of 21 March enacted a misdemeanour offence for violating measures during the state of emergency, and stipulated that misdemeanour proceedings may proceed even if a criminal prosecution is underway.

This is now the subject of a proceeding before the Constitutional Court.

I note that the provision for Skype trials was initially contained in a letter from the Ministry of Justice to all courts on 26 March. This was superseded on 1 April by a decree but, persons were tried by remote means and convicted. This has elicited a strong reaction from professional stakeholders such as the Bar and the Judges Association of Serbia.

Participation in trials by remote means is an accepted modern practice in other countries.

The particulars vary depending upon whether the individual is a witness or the defendant. The Mission is already helping the Serbian courts

to provide for video appearances for victims. In the case of defendants, the detailed means for respecting the rights to provide full answer and defence and to instruct counsel must be spelled out in properly enacted procedural legislation. The Mission stands ready to work with the responsible Serbian institutions to make use of the experience of other OSCE participating States. During the previous two months, the OSCE Mission to Serbia expressed concern regarding the freedom of the media and the unhindered work of journalists in conditions of a state of emergency. How did your partners in the Serbian government interpret and respond to these concerns?

Freedom of expression and freedom of the media are necessary for the functioning of a democratic and pluralistic society. We have seen that during the pandemic the need for reliable and accurate information and the role of professional media were even more crucial. The time of crisis also intensified the relationship between citizens and journalists; citizens engaged more than ever with media, while journalists struggled to find answers on how to behave in this new and complex situation.

Together with the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, we welcomed the Serbian Government’s reversal of the decision on public information. Our joint work in Serbia on the Media Strategy and on improving the safety of journalists, very complex and multi-layer processes, continued even during the State of Emergency period, and they are sound examples of how the OSCE contribution can assist a host country in its reform efforts. Could you tell us something more specific about how the OSCE will monitor the election process in Serbia and at what level?

Following an official invitation by the Serbian Government to observe the parliamentary elections to be held in 2020, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 12 to 15 November 2019. Based on its findings, the ODIHR recommended the deployment of an Election Observation Mission (EOM). In addition to a core team of analysts, ODIHR requested the secondment by OSCE participating States of

30 long-term observers to follow the electoral process countrywide as well as 200 short-term observers for the observation of the Election Day procedures. In line with ODIHR’s standard methodology, the EOM would have included a media monitoring element. The EOM’s focus would have been on the national level, whilst taking into consideration developments on the provincial and local level.

The ODIHR maintains its intention and commitment to proceed with full observation of the elections, but will tailor its response in accordance with the reality on the ground, prioritising the health and safety of both the electorate and observers Following the postponement of the elections and the introduction of restrictions on crossborder travels throughout the OSCE region due to the global health emergency, ODIHR

was not able to deploy the EOM’s core team on 16 March as originally planned. ODIHR maintains its intention and commitment to proceed with full observation of the elections but will tailor its response in accordance to the reality on ground, prioritising the health and safety of both the electorate and observers, and taking into account the travel restrictions in participating States including Serbia.

The political parties assembled in the strongest opposition alliance have announced that they will boycott the elections. They previously assessed that there are no conditions for fair elections in Serbia, but now they have added that they are concerned election activities could jeopardise the results so far achieved in the fight against the Coronavirus. How would you comment on such a stance?

In principle, elections are central to any democratic process and participation is the way to have all voices represented, presuming that they take place in a free and fair manner. The pandemic requires specific attention; if the starting point is that social distancing guidelines will remain in effect, we expect that measures will be taken to minimize the health risks during the campaign and on voting day. We already noted that the authorities, including the President of Serbia, pointed out that no large pre-electoral gatherings should be held until the end of May.

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GLOBAL DIARY

Integration

“The Franco-German proposal for a €500 billion coronavirus recovery fund could be a first step toward deeper integration that transforms the EU into a global power on foreign policy and security issues.” – WOLFGANG ISCHINGER, GERMAN DIPLOMAT

EUROPE MARKS 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF VE DAY On May 8th, leaders across Europe marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day with low-key ceremonies due coronavirus lockdown.

The UK has held a two-minute silence to honor the war dead, and later an address by the Queen was broadcasted.

The leaders of France and Germany, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel laid wreaths at small ceremonies.

On 8 May 1945, the Allies formally accepted Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender after almost six years of war.

Russian president Putin and Merkel have expressed confidence that their countries will never forget German patriots who engaged in the fight against Nazism.

World War Two cost more than 50 million lives, of whom an estimated 25 million were Soviet military and civilians.

DUKE AND DUCHESS OF YORK SOLD £13M SWISS SKI CHALET Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Duchess of York have "reluctantly" been forced to sell a luxury Swiss ski chalet they jointly bought after the owner launched legal proceedings against them.

The disclosure was made as the pair faced a threat to seize the chalet and auction it off, and pursue them in the courts in the UK if the sale

PRINCE ANDREW, DUKE OF YORK

NEW ZEALAND IS IN THE DEEPEST RECESSION Just a few months ago New Zealand’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson was looking forward to presenting another healthy "wellbeing" Budget, and now he's preparing New Zealanders for the bad news that economic recovery is going to be a long, hard road.

The Reserve Bank published a paper last month on the economic impact of Covid-19.

It estimated GDP was about 37% lower than usual during the level 4 lockdown, equal to NZ$10 billion in lost production.

During level 3 it was down by about 19%, it will be down by 8.8% under level 2 and by 3.8% under level 1.

“Budget shows New Zealand is in the deepest recession in a generation and our country needs a government with a strong record of economic management," Robertson said in a statement.

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failed to cover their debts.

A source close to the couple last night admitted that "income streams had dried up" in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and that they had asked for more time to make the final payment on the £13 million (€14.7 million) property in Verbier.

At the beginning of last month it emerged that they had allegedly missed a deadline on Dec 31 to pay £5 million that had been due on the sevenbedroom chalet, which has now risen to £6.7 million with interest.

Funding

“It’s a historic step for the European Union because it’s the first time Germany and France stand together to have funding through debt of new investments for the EU countries.” – BRUNO LE MAIRE, FRENCH FINANCE MINISTER

ISRAEL FINALLY HAS A GOVERNMENT After three deadlocked and divisive elections, a year and a half of political paralysis and another three-day delay because of political infighting in his Likud party over coveted Cabinet posts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was finally swearing in his new government last month.

Both Netanyahu and his rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz announced their appointments for the new government — the most bloated in Israeli history with an expected 36 ministers and 16 deputies. Netanyahu and Gantz, a former military chief, announced they would be putting their differences aside to join forces to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis and its severe economic fallout. Their controversial power-sharing deal calls for Netanyahu to serve as prime minister for the government’s first 18 months before being replaced by Gantz for the next 18 months.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU (LEFT) AND BENNY GANTZ

U.K. ANNOUNCES NEW POST-BREXIT TARIFF REGIME

around the world and aims to have deals in place covering 80% of British trade within three years.

The British government said the new regime, known as UK Global Tariff (UKGT), would be simpler and cheaper than the EU’s Common External Tariff. It will apply to countries with which it has no agreement and will remove all tariffs below 2%. Under the new regime tariffs would be eliminated on a wide range of products: 60% of trade will come into the UK tariff free on WTO terms or through existing preferential access.

The United Kingdom announced a new post-Brexit tariff regime to replace the European Union’s external tariff, maintaining a 10% tariff on cars but cutting levies on tens of billions of dollars of supply chain imports. After decades outsourcing its trade policy to the EU, Britain is embarking on negotiating free trade agreements with countries

DOZENS DETAINED IN CLASHES OVER PRIESTS’ ARRESTS

FACEBOOK TO PAY $52MLN SETTLEMENT FOR TRAUMA

Montenegrin police have detained around 60 people following clashes at protests demanding the release of eight Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) priests jailed for leading a religious procession despite a ban on gatherings related to the new coronavirus outbreak. Twenty-six officers were injured in the towns of Niksic and Pljevlja, police said. Prime Minister Dusko Markovic in a televised address described the protests as a “brutal attack on the state that could have unforeseeable consequences on public health.”

The protests followed the arrest of the SOC priests who had led a procession that a few thousand people attended without wearing face masks or respecting distancing rules. In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic said that “we fail to comprehend” why Bishop Joanikije and other priests remain in detention.

Facebook has agreed to a $52 million compensation to content moderators who suffered mental trauma from the graphic and violent images they were required to review.

The lawsuit was filed to a California state court. More than 10,000 current and former content moderators who worked for firms contracted by Facebook will be compensated with at least $1,000 each. Those diagnosed with specific mental health conditions will get additional compensation up to $50,000. The moderators claimed that they were subject to psychological trauma from repeated exposure to graphic content such as child sexual abuse, beheadings, terrorism, animal cruelty, rape and murder. Facebook also agreed to take measures to provide content moderators employed by its contractors in the United States with mental health support and counseling.

June

19

Feature

The Franco-German Proposal For A COVID-19 Recovery Fund

One Giant Leap For Europe?

The Franco-German proposal for a COVID-19 recovery fund is not quite the “Hamiltonian moment” that some have claimed. But, by reshaping the debate on risk mutualization and the benefits of transfers, it could set the stage for one GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL AND FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

T

he €500 billion COVID-19 recovery fund proposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron has been hailed as a turning point for the European Union – and for good reason.

Beyond its concrete economic implications, the proposal reaffirms a commitment to solidarity by the EU’s two largest economies, thereby setting the stage for genuine progress toward fiscal union.

The basic proposition is straightforward.

The EU would borrow in the market at long maturities with an implicit guarantee from the common budget. It would then channel borrowed funds to regions and sectors hardest-hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

There is plenty left to be negotiated, such as where to offer loans versus grants, what

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kind of conditionality to apply to projects, and the extent to which aggregate fiscal capacity should be increased. Opposition from the so-called Frugal Four – Austria, the Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden – will undoubtedly necessitate some compromise.

But, leaving these considerations aside, and while we wait for the proposal due from the European Commission this week, it is important to consider the potential long-term implications for the EU if some version of the Franco-German proposal is implemented.

In particular, where does this leave the debate about European fiscal capacity, and monetary- and fiscal-policy coordination in the eurozone? Is this a decisive step in that direction – a moment as consequential as the declaration in 2012 by then-European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that

the ECB would do “whatever it takes” to save the euro? Or is it a pragmatic response to today’s crisis, which defines the limits of risk-sharing that is possible to achieve, under current conditions?

The proposal crosses several historical red lines, from the assumption of European-level debt to transfers based on need, rather than contributions to the EU budget and in forms of grants rather than loans. In principle, it would finally achieve the much-touted objective of “solidarity.”

Moreover, though not a stated objective, the proposal’s implementation would ultimately result in some creation of EU fiscal capacity for stabilization purposes. Disbursing money for projects that are aligned with EU priorities, such as sustainability and digitalization, would affirm the principle of a common

By Lucrezia Reinchlin, Project Syndicate

EU purpose, potentially galvanizing popular support for greater integration.

A recent interview with German Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz suggests even a broader agenda for the future, including the creation of EU taxation capability and some degree of fiscal harmonization. This is not yet a fiscal federation, but it is a clear signal that we are moving in that direction – the first such signal since the Five Presidents’ Report on completing Europe’s economic and monetary union in 2015. (That proposition went nowhere.)

Crucially, this is not just an agenda supported by technocrats in the EU institutions, but one endorsed by the political powers of France and Germany. Like with Draghi’s “whatever it takes” moment, the key to progress was German political support.

In 2012, Germany’s support came with conditions, including the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (to ensure that ECB intervention in the sovereign-bond market would be based on the principle of conditionality) and a banking union (to serve as a risk-mitigation tool). Germany’s support for the COVID-19 recovery fund is predicated on another grand bargain: EU-funded projects must be consistent with shared objectives, and monitored collectively.

So, does the Franco-German initiative suggest a path towards shared fiscal capacity?

Not necessarily.

The recovery fund’s stated goals do not include demand management. The fund is meant for the EU, not the eurozone, and is therefore not designed to address the challenges that arise from having a common central bank without a corresponding fiscal authority.

Those challenges were laid bare during the eurozone crisis of 2011-12, when eurozone policymakers struggled with a “flight to safety” toward northern Europe, which led to large differentials in the costs of government financing and a breakdown in monetary-policy transmission. This put irresistible pressure on the ECB to introduce policies with a quasi-fiscal dimension, provoking accusations that the ECB was exceeding its mandate.

To address these problems, the eurozone

needs a budgetary tool to serve as an insurance mechanism in severe crises (automatic fiscal stabilizers) and to support the monetary- and fiscal-policy coordination that effective demand management requires, especially when interest rates are near-zero or negative. The proposed COVID-19 recovery fund could fulfil that purpose.

Aligning the eurozone’s monetary and fiscal institutional capabilities will be no easy task. It will require a high degree of risk-sharing and the surrender of some na-

The proposal crosses several historical red lines, from the assumption of European-level debt to transfers based on need, rather than contributions to the EU budget and in forms of grants rather than loans

tional sovereignty. So it would most likely necessitate treaty changes.

The decision not to address this problem in the Franco-German proposal was a pragmatic one. However ambitious its objectives, they are easier to digest politically

than reforms to the eurozone’s architecture aimed at upholding the euro’s stability.

Yet the proposed recovery fund could buy time for action to address these longer-term challenges. Despite not being designed to do so, it could create enough EU fiscal capacity to ease pressure on the ECB. And it could allow sufficiently large temporary transfers to cope with the asymmetric effects of the COVID-19 crisis in the short run.

But, if the downturn persists, debt-toGDP ratios will inevitably rise, underscor-

ing, yet again, the need for eurozone reform.

The fund’s more fundamental contribution may be to shift the ground in the debate, removing – or, at least, redrawing – some of the red lines surrounding risk mutualization and the benefits of transfers.

Another crisis has meant another step forward for the European federalist project.

But this is not quite the “Hamiltonian moment” that some have claimed. Sooner or later, EU treaty revisions will be needed to build a framework for effective monetary- and fiscal-policy coordination, while preserving ECB independence.

The German Federal Constitutional Court’s recent ruling that the country’s government and legislature had violated the constitution by failing to monitor the ECB properly is a reminder that progress will be difficult to achieve without revising the EU’s legal and institutional foundations. And the political conditions for that step do not yet exist.

The author is former director of research at the European Central Bank, is Professor of Economics at the London Business School

June

21

Focus

Will Serbia feel the ramifications of the rupturing of global production chains and the fleeing of investors from developing countries?

When Germany And

China Sneeze‌ The automotive sector in Serbia could become a litmus test for assessing whether the country will continue to be included in European production chains, especially German ones, or whether the current exposure of the European economic space is a signal for the diversification of investors and more intensive consideration regarding the strengthening of domestic production

A

large number of international analysts expect the rupturing of global production chains that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic will influence the decisions of investors to automate their production and seek collaborators closer to home. This trend is expected to strengthen the already existing effects of business policy reconfiguration resulting from climate change and the trade war between the U.S. and China, which is leading to deglobalisation.

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We asked our interlocutors whether they expect that the flight of capital from developing countries that was registered during the pandemic will have ramifications for Serbia, as a country that had only just begun joining large production chains in the previous period. Although it is too early to provide a prognosis, it seems likely that caution will increase among companies considering Serbia as an investment destination. Consequently, issues of market attractiveness, competitiveness and a well-ordered business environment will gain additional importance.

MARKO ČADEŽ

PRESIDENT OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY OF SERBIA, CCIS

WE HAVE REASON FOR BOTH OPTIMISM AND CAUTION

IT IS ENCOURAGING THAT HALF OF DOMESTIC COMPANIES ARE PLANNING TO CONTINUE INVESTING IN EQUIPMENT AND BASIC RESOURCES, AND THAT LARGE FOREIGN COMPANIES THAT ARE ALREADY PRESENT ON THE MARKET, PRIMARILY GERMAN ONES, ARE ANNOUNCING THE CONTINUATION OF THEIR OPERATIONS AND INVESTMENTS IN SERBIA. HOWEVER, A NEED FOR CAUTION IS SUGGESTED

BY THE POSSIBILITY OF A RETURN OF THE EPIDEMIC AND ASSOCIATED GEOPOLITICAL RISKS

It is quite certain that the speed of recovery of the Serbian economy will depend, among other things, on how quickly the global and EU economy will recover, with the EU representing the main foreign trade partner and largest investor in Serbia and the region, with which we realise two thirds of our total international exports, imports and trade. This applies in particular to the speed at which we will see the revitalising of the economies of countries like Germany or Italy, with which we've had the greatest trade and which are the home countries of the most foreign investments and companies that do business here.

The Serbian economy has shown, during the pandemic, a surprising and encouraging dose of vitality, flexibility and an ability to adapt even in the most difficult circumstances, continuing to produce, export and fulfil contractual obligations to partners around the world, while the state confirmed its exceptional skills in crisis management and understanding for the needs of business leaders. This has contributed to saving jobs and companies, maintaining liquidity and securing a realistic basis for a faster recovery, and - according to independent international financial institutions - a smaller fall in GDP

this year, stronger than average growth in the next year and a better outlook than most comparable economies in the medium and long term. This also means greater opportunities and greater attractiveness for the international business community, which in the coming period will, more than ever, seek secure and stimulating investment destinations that guarantee better conditions for doing business, greater predictability and profit, as well as healthier local economies and suppliers that they can rely on.

Despite the fact that the openness of the Serbian economy and its great connectivity with the international market and supply chains seem like a handicap at this moment seem, due to a great dependence on the movements of external markets, serving optimism are a series of favourable facts. From preserved macroeconomic stability, via the greater readiness of the Serbian economy in a structural sense than during the global financial crisis of 2008, to forecasts of high growth in 2021 of between five and eight per cent – more than enough to cover the losses of the economy this year – and good prospects for the further improvement of the country's credit rating and its transition to the investment grade zone. The fact that agency Standard & Poor's confirmed Serbia's previous BB+ credit rating GLOBAL UNCERTAINTIES even under the conditions of the ADDITIONALLY POINT TO global crisis is exceptionally imTHE NEED TO STRENGTHEN portant to the domestic economy REGIONAL COOPERATION and provides an excellent signal AND ACCELERATE to investors and partners from CONSTRUCTION OF A around the world. With expectaCOMMON REGIONAL tions among more than half of domestic companies - surveyed in MARKET IN ORDER TO the regular quarterly survey of the EASE AND INCREASE Chamber of Commerce & Industry MUTUAL AND of Serbia - that they will not halt WORLD TRADE their investments in equipment and fixed assets, we are particularly encouraged by the confirmations of large foreign companies already present in the country, primarily German ones, that they will continue operations and investments in Serbia, are continuing to talk with potential new investors and are announcing some major investments.

Of course, despite the fact that this global crisis – although it has great consequences for the world economy – is not in its nature deep or a crisis of liquidity like the one from 2008 (which is indicated, among other things, by the preserved liquidity of large systems and banks and the relatively favourable stock market price of copper in relation to the steep drop in the price of oil), caution is not a waste.

First and foremost, due to the unpredictability of further events – the speed of opening the economies of the most developed countries, the possibility of a “second wave” of the pandemic and geopolitical risks.

Global uncertainties add to the significance and, like never before, point to the need to strengthen regional cooperation, accelerate construction of a common regional market in order to ease and increase mutual and world trade, enhance the attractiveness of the region for domestic and foreign investment, as well as the need to continue reforms that will enable the faster and deeper integration of the region into the unified legal and economic system of the European Union.

June

23

Focus

Will Serbia feel the ramifications of the rupturing of global production chains and the fleeing of investors from developing countries?

IGOR VIJATOV

DIRECTOR OF THE SERBIAN AUTOMOTIVE CLUSTER

NO FLEEING OF AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY INVESTORS ALTHOUGH THE WORLD AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN HIT HARD BY COVID-19, WE HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT FACTORIES REPRESENTING PARTS OF LARGE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS WILL WITHDRAW FROM SERBIA

The entire world automotive industry is based on production chains. Large car factories previously sought to produce as many parts as possible at their own plants, but around 30 years ago they changed the working system and redirected the production of parts to suppliers. They did this in order to save money and increase the efficiency of their plants. Suppliers took on the responsibility for the production of parts, “just in time” deliveries and, in some cases, the development of products, sub-assemblies, as well as individual car assemblies. In order to make additional savings, reduce car prices and fight for customers, the automotive industry and its supply chains became global. The whole world participates in the production of motor vehicle parts and there is constant competition between countries and factories to provide high-quality parts at the lowest possible prices.

Such a philosophy of production and doing business proved to be good in regular times, but in times of crisis, such as the crisis with Covid-19, problems have emerged in the sense that supply chains have been halted. An additional problem lies in the fact that the pandemic did not hit the whole world at the same time, so in some period production stopped and then continued, but when the crisis ended in some countries or regions it was just beginning in others, which made it even more difficult to establish a normal supply chain for vehicle factories.

What is good is that, by all accounts, the crisis in Europe is coming to an end, car factories are returning to work, and – as they are dependent on their suppliers – they are also relaunching their suppliers' productions of parts.

Serbia is a country where large factories producing motor vehicle parts arrived in the previous period, which employ a large number of 24

June

people and have a contribution to GDP that has been growing from year to year. The standstill in the production of cars, primarily in Europe, and thus the standstill in the production of automobile parts in our country, will certainly impact on the Serbian economy. More accurate forecasts regarding the extent of the fall in production and sales of cars and car parts this year are really not easy to predict, and I think that in the future that THE SPEED AT WHICH will depend greatly on the willingTHE CAR INDUSTRY IN ness and ability of citizens across EUROPE WILL RECOVER Europe to buy new cars.

I really don't expect that the DEPENDS GREATLY ON THE fleeing of investors from our WILLINGNESS AND country will follow. This was also ABILITY OF CITIZENS confirmed to us by representaACROSS EUROPE TO tives of BME - Association Supply BUY NEW CARS Chain Management, Procurement and Logistics, Germany - who used their recent online conference, entitled “SEE Automotive Conference 2020” and traditionally organised by the Serbian Automotive Cluster, to present their analysis that major car manufacturers are not expected to move towards changing their suppliers.

JOVAN PROTIĆ

NATIONAL COORDINATOR FOR SERBIA AT THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO)

FIRST HEALTH, THEN PRODUCTION THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE SERBIAN ECONOMY WILL BE HIT BY DISRUPTIONS TO SUPPLY CHAINS WILL DEPEND PRIMARILY ON THE SPEED OF CURBING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS AMONG EMPLOYEES, FOR WHICH HIGH-QUALITY HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES AT WORK ARE CRUCIAL Global supply chains have flourished around the world in the last two decades, thanks to reduced costs of trade and transport, but also to ICT advances and the simplifying of cross-border transports of goods and services. Despite the negative impact of the global

economic crisis of 2008-2009, according to the estimates of the International Labour Organization, slightly more than 450 million people were employed in global supply chains prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

China, which was the first country to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, represents one of the most important players in global supply chains, as a primary producer of final products and components, a large global buyer of raw materials and industrial products, but also as one of the most important markets for consumer goods. This country's fall in industrial production of about 13.5% in January and February this year, and the even greater fall in exports, were felt by economies around the world, including the production of Fiat Serbia, which had to be temporarily suspended work due to a lack of components from China.

It is still too early to make any quantitative assessment of the effects of supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, but it is clear that the economies of all countries will have to endure at least two negative impacts of this global disruption: the first is certainly limited (or almost non-existent) possibility to produce at a large number of plants due to the ban on movements; while the second is the decline in demand within the scope of the supply chains through IT IS ESPECIALLY which these companies place a IMPORTANT TO significant part of their production.

DEMONSTRATE THE DIGITAL If forecasts of an economic downTRANSFORMATION OF THE turn in multiple economies that are ECONOMY, BECAUSE IT NOT significant players in global supply ONLY ENABLES THE REDUCchains come to pass, the cumulaING OF COSTS, BUT ALSO tive effect of supply difficulties and falling demand could lead to THE MANAGING a negative spiral in many econoOF THE RISKS OF NEW mies where production is carried DISRUPTIONS out for global chains. It is already estimated that foreign direct investment at the global level could fall by 30 to 40 per cent during 2020-21.

Serbia is not a developing country, but rather a mid-developed country that aspires to join the European Union - an alliance of a large group of economically advanced democracies. The extent to which the Serbian economy will be hit by disruptions to supply chains will depend primarily on the speed of curbing the spread of the virus among employees, for which high-quality health and safety measures at work are crucial. The need to preserve production and investment in the wake of the consequences of the pandemic could act as an incentive to improve the efficiency of public administration and legal security. It is especially important to demonstrate the digital transformation of the economy, which has been discussed in Serbia for a long time, and which in these circumstances is important not only because of reduced costs, but also because of the visibility of companies within supply chains and managing the risk of disruption; which is why digital access to data should be provided and work should be carried out on the adoption of regulations that relate to electronic signatures and electronic transactions, which will help to make it easier to deal more efficiently with supply chain disruptions.

MAHMUD BUŠATLIJA FOREIGN INVESTMENT EXPERT

WE CANNOT REMAIN COMPLETELY ATTACHED TO GERMANY OUR WAY OUT IS TO AGGRESSIVELY ATTRACT EQUITY INVESTMENTS, PRIMARILY IN AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIALISATION, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON EXPORTS

The pandemic has definitely enthroned the term “black swan” on the financial market, which refers to an unpredictable event with major ramifications. In the opinions of many financial strategists, this could hit companies that do business with China. Some compare it to the American financial crisis of 2008, forgetting that the crisis began in the most developed centre of the financial market and its weakening impacted on the production of tradeable goods. In contrast to the global crisis of 2008, the pandemic started at a time when a large part of the world's most developed economies were already slowing down and had falling economic performances.

ACCEPTING OUR NEED The pandemic only deepened the TO WORK CLOSELY WITH already present echo of the 2008 THE EU, WE MUST global crisis, which was never ALSO CONSIDER THE fully overcome within the frameDIVERSIFICATION OF works of Western economies. The INTERNATIONAL expectation that the pandemic will ECONOMIC RELATIONS, hit those who do business with PRIMARILY WITH CHINA, China, which accounts for about 20 per cent of activities in the world RUSSIA AND TURKEY economy, is just a continuation of the happenings that preceded the pandemic.

We know from previous crises that it is flexible and easily adaptable economies that do best. Those have, to date, been economies that rely on the secondary financial market, but the pandemic has shown that the way out is quick adjustment to the production of June

25

Focus

Will Serbia feel the ramifications of the rupturing of global production chains and the fleeing of investors from developing countries?

tradeable goods, in which China leads. Unlike China, which successfully reorientated part of the auto industry to the production of respirators and other essential medical devices within 10-15 days, the German car industry rebelled, claiming that several months would be required to shift production.

Broad analysis of this phenomenon could lead to the conclusion that there will inevitably be a reduction in the volume of production chains between the Far East and the most developed Western countries, but that there will be a strengthening of economic links between the Far East and developing countries. China will have the dominant position in this process, and it will use the “new Silk Road” to increase the volume of production chains with developing countries in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. China also leads a similar economic policy in Africa and South America.

Accepting our need to work closely with the EU, we must also consider the diversification of international economic relations, primarily with China, Russia and Turkey. It is obvious that the EU expects difficult and even dramatic socio-economic and political problems, which will hinder our cooperation with certain EU member states to a large extent. A significant part of our production serves the German car industry, which had entered a deep recession even before the pandemic. Our way out is to aggressively attract equity investments, primarily in agriculture and industrialisation, with an emphasis on exports.

DR. MILAN R. KOVAČEVIĆ REGULAR MEMBER OF THE SERBIAN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY OF ECONOMISTS AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT CONSULTANT

INCREASING COMPETITIVENESS REMAINS OUR KEY TOPIC THE WORLD WILL REMAIN GLOBAL, BUT ALSO INCREASINGLY WARY OF ALL KINDS OF RISKS THAT CAN HAMPER CROSS-BORDER FLOWS. IT HAS LONG BEEN ESSENTIAL FOR SERBIA TO MORE QUICKLY IMPROVE ITS COMPETITIVENESS, IN ORDER TO BETTER EVALUATE ALL RESOURCES AND LINK ITSELF TO THOSE PRODUCTION AND TRADE CHAINS THAT ARE IN ITS INTEREST 26

June

The pandemic is spreading and persisting. In some countries its first wave is only nearing its end, but it continues to flood the entire planet by jumping to other countries. Reliable knowledge about Covid-19 is spreading too slowly and insufficiently, so there is an insufficient basis to see when and how the pandemic could end, or whether it will remain with us in some form. Without knowledge about the duration of the pandemic, it is difficult to see what will remain behind it as a consequence for the world economy.

We have previous experience with global crises caused by mistaken economic measures or government behaviour. The only thing we have experienced is that the scope of economic decisions of the states is decreasing compared to the decisions of multinational companies, which are ever less obstructed by state borders.

However, for now Covid-19, as well as the previous migrant crisis, has restored the possibility for states to strengthen their borders in every respect, and thus slow down flows.

Modern life has, for its part, brought great change, with services growing faster than production FOR A LONG TIME in the overall economy. Until the expansion of tourism and inforALREADY, SERBIA mation services, other services HAS RECEIVED ALMOST were largely local. But producONLY THE PRODUCTION tion has also changed, which is OF PARTS OR FINISHINGS monopolised by products and has FOR PRODUCTS relocated the production of their WITH FOREIGN parts to many countries, with INVESTMENTS. which production chains have AND THE REQUIRED been branched.

For a long time already, Serbia MATERIALS ARE has received almost only the MOSTLY IMPORTED. AS production of parts or finishings SUCH MANY for products with foreign investFACTORIES ARE ments. And the required materials UNDER FOREIGN are mostly imported. As such OWNERSHIP, AS many factories are under foreign FOREIGN BODIES IN ownership, as foreign bodies in our small national developing OUR SMALL economy.

NATIONAL ECONOMY The pandemic has already served as a warning to multinational companies that state borders have increased the risk for them, and some have already suffered as a result of closing borders. But their enduring principle will certainly remain – that in a profitable economy one should constantly choose and use the cheapest resources (land, buildings, labour, energy, financing and benefits). And Serbia has long since needed to more quickly improve its system and competitiveness, which would lead to the better valuing of all resources. In order to develop faster, Serbia should link itself to production and trade chains that are in its interest to a greater extent. The world will remain global, but also increasingly wary of all kinds of risks that can hamper cross-border flows and even strengthen economic chauvinism. But all the way to the limits of each subject's own interests. When we overcome the pandemic, we will also complete a difficult recovery from it.

Partner

2020

SLOVENIA Dejan Vladić, Minister Counsellor, Slovenian Embassy to Serbia ● Aleksandar Radovanović, Head of the Regional Cooperation Center of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce ● Danijela Fišakov, President of the Slovenian Business Club (SBC) ● Branko Greganović, CEO, NLB Banka ● Velimir Kuzmanović, Director at N.T.S. d.o.o. ● Igor Likar, Managing Director, SIQ

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DEJAN VLADIĆ, MINISTER COUNSELLOR, SLOVENIAN EMBASSY TO SERBIA

CAUTIOUSLY

Optimistic

People in both Slovenia and Serbia are very motivated and eager to resume their work from where they left it at the end of February. Our annual trade exchange amounts to 1.5 billion euros and I expect it to stay at the same level this year, while increasing again in the next year

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he pandemic has been a global occurrence, hitting all the economies of our intertwined world hard. Given that Slovenia is an export-orientated economy, exporting more than 80% of what it produces, it is immersed in global value chains and has thus been hit by the global crisis.

“It is believed that our economy will shrink in 2020 by between 5.5 and eight per cent. The European Commission predicts a seven per cent dive of our GDP in 2020, and growth of 6.7% in 2021. The EBRD predicts a fall of 5.5% this year and growth of five per cent next year. The IMF and the Slovenian Office for Macroeconomic Analysis predict that Slovenia's GDP will shrink by eight per cent , while in 2021 our economy should grow by five per cent,” says Dejan Vladić, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Slovenia to Serbia. “Therefore,” he notes, “there is no correct answer what shape Slovenia's economy is in exiting the quarantine. Some industries, such as tourism, have been struck more, while among companies it is the self-employed that got hit the hardest. Others have come through it in a fair state.”

The economy would have been worse off if our economy hadn't prepared well for the next meltdown after the financial crisis of 2008, concludes our interlocutor.

To what extent did the rapid financial assistance provided by the Government and through EU channels help in the preservation of jobs and liquidity?

- In order to control and mitigate the consequences for the economy, the Slovenian Government adopted intervention measures aimed at preserving jobs, improving the people's social situation, providing emergency assistance to self-

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employed persons, keeping businesses operational, improving liquidity and providing aid to agriculture.

Assistance was timely and effective, especially for those in dire need, such as the self-employed, for whom the government covered basic monthly incomes amounting to 70 per cent of net minimum wage, writing off contributions and suspending the prepayment of income tax. In order to keep businesses operational, government assistance provided for all contributions to pension insurance for employees.

In order to improve the liquidity of businesses, the government offered purchasing claims against Slovenian companies, suspending the prepayment of corporate income tax and the payment of self-employment income tax, reducing deadlines for payments to private suppliers in the public sector and redirecting unused ESF funds.

To preserve jobs, government measures were set to co-finance wage compensations, provide for the rewarding of employed persons and activated sick pay and additional funds for already subsidised employment in critical sectors during the epidemic. The government stepped in to secure the status of employees who are unable to work due to force majeure, providing unemployment benefits from the first day of unemployment, waiving the payment of fees for public services and providing a solidarity bonus for pensioners. Assistance was also offered to the agriculture sector.

Which industries that are important for our two countries could recover first?

- Slovenian and Serbian exports are both strong in machinery, transportation, metals, chemicals, plastics and rubber produc-

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tion. Those industries prepared well for the crisis and have been recovering first, but those supplying the automotive industry are now struck with reduced demand. the financial sector, such as banks and insurance companies, are among the first to exit the quarantine, and importantly are strong, too.

Are there estimations about the impact of the pandemic on the mutual exchange of goods and services between Slovenia and Serbia?

- It is always unfair to predict anything, but due to pandemic measures our borders were closed for a few months, people were not as active as before and were mostly isolating themselves, resulting in lost months that will definitively reflect in a reduced trade exchange. But I believe we can be optimistic when it comes to economic recovery. The crisis hit us due to non-financial reasons, and brought business activities almost to a standstill overnight. People in Slovenia and Serbia are very motivated and eager to resume their work from where they left it at the end of February. Our annual trade exchange amounts to 1.5 billion euros and has been growing consistently each year, and I expect it to stay at the same level this year, while increasing again in the next year.

It is hard to be optimistic when it comes to tourism this year. Tourism between Slovenia and Serbia has been growing annually by ten per cent and the pandemic will surely cut these numbers.

In 2018, 138,000 Serbs visited Slovenia and this will hardly be the case in 2020, since the borders were closed and the Slovenian border still remains closed, with some exceptions.

In the recent past many Serbian citizens headed to Slovenia to find better paid jobs. How will the current situation influence the demand for Serbian workers in the period ahead?

- I believe that Slovenia has been appealing to Serbian workers traditionally, as well as vice versa; Slovenian companies have been pleased to employ Serbs due to their professionalism, warmth and dedication. This will remain the case. Closed borders left many workers outside their borders and workplaces. Slovenian companies are now expecting Serbian workers to return. Demand for workers

Slovenian companies are now expecting Serbian workers to return. Demand for workers has not changed, especially in tourism and industry

What are the most important issues now when it comes to the restoration of regular business activities between our two countries?

- Regular business activities will be possible with the reopening of the borders. Serbia's border is now open for foreigners; there are no conditions to enter Serbia, except for being healthy. That is not the case with the Schengen border, where restrictions, conditions and exceptions still apply. My experience tells me that people from Slovenia and Serbia are eager to travel, meet and cooperate. I am seeing again an influx of Slovenians coming to Serbia on business, while unfortunately it is still not possible for the Serbian business community to travel on business to Slovenia. I believe this will change soon, though, when numbers of those infected daily with Covid-19 in Serbia remain low for some consecutive days.

has not changed, especially in tourism and industry.

What are the most important diplomatic activities when it comes to the restoration of economic activities between the two countries?

- During the isolation period I realised that it is important to keep contacts alive. Another task was to mitigate between Slovenian and Serbian businessmen when they were unable to travel and meet in person. Namely, online connections are nice to have, but we all agree that it is impossible to strike up new business deals without personal contact. Trust is a shy animal and it is tamed with personal contact and time. We were also in regular contact with state institutions when it comes to restrictive measures and the easing of travel restrictions.

For the restoration of activities after the crisis, diplomats need to scan the whole horizon, check the situation on the ground and plan for meetings to work on open issues, plan for establishing new acquaintances and plan, together with the business community, for new projects in a changed environment. Diplomats also need to be slightly pushy while at the same time safe, and to motivate people to emerge from their trenches and resume their activities where they left them.

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BUSINESS

BRANKO GREGANOVIĆ, CEO, NLB BANKA

OUR HOME

Is In This Region

NLB Banka is certainly among the most important Slovenian-owned companies operating across the entire region, including in Serbia. Based on the agreeent signed between the headquarters of the NLB Group and the Government of the Republic of Serbia on the purchase of shares of Komercijalna Banka, NLB Banka is expected to gain even more importance

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he "Frame of Help" project is set to be launched soon, with the aim of providing assistance to SME companies and entrepreneurs in the region which had their operations disrupted by the pandemic. We want to help them more easily reach their costumers, says NLB Banka Beograd's CEO. What are your expectations for the Serbian market in the period ahead?

- On the one hand, the period that's ahead for all of us certainly isn't an easy one. Behind us are two months of a state of emergency, uncertainty and limited business activities, especially in certain industries, while ahead of us is a period in which it is necessary to relaunch the economy and revive the companies that have been hit hardest by the consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic. All this is happening under unclear circumstances and uncertainty, because we don't know what awaits us in the autumn, not only at the local level, but also regionally and at the global level given that both the Serbian and Slovenian econimies are dependent on international business partners.

On the other hand, the fact that the Government of the Republic of Serbia recognised us as the most suitable strategic partner for Komercijalna Banka will certainly change a lot when it comes to our approach to the Serbian market. Like our members operating in other markets, NLB Banka will become a systemic bank in Serbia, and that not only means a significant increase in market share, but also carries an additinoal responsibility for the stability of the Serbian financial system.

We must be even more ready to support clients, to recognise their needs and respond in an adequate way and we will also have to assume a significant role in the wider community as

one of the most important participants in the market. This applies even more to us who are a part of the regional group which is headquartered here and has a sole strategic focus on this region which as we like to say is - our home.

What are you planning in this regard? How will you support the economy in the period ahead?

- First and foremost, we've joined the financing programme in accordance with the Decree of guarantee scheme of the Government of Serbia, within the scope of which we provide support to entrepreneurs and SMEs, and within the framework of this programme we've already approved significant number of loans to companies that need support at this juncture. We also participate in the programme of subsidised loans of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, in which we've had a leading position in the previous period, a position we plan to retain.

Moreover, we just launched the ninth NLB Organic competition, through which we will this year again provide support to three farming families. We generally consider that organic producers deserve a special support, because they engage in sustainable production that contributes to human health and the preserving of natural resources. That is why we believe that they need support even more at this moment.

In addition to this, we are also launching the Frame of Help project, the implementation of which has already begun in Slovenia, and will be launched also in other markets of NLB Group's operations in the coming weeks. This project aims to help entrepreneurs and small companies in the region who have seen their operations disrupted by the pandemic and who we want to promote, to help them reach their customers and grow their business.

We've also focused on supporting the economy in the domain of CSR during this period

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BUSINESS

ALEKSANDAR RADOVANOVIĆ, HEAD OF THE CCIS CENTRE FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION

STRONG INTEREST

In Cooperation The pandemic hasn't reduced the interest in cooperation between our two economies

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lthough the pandemic in the first three months of the current year resulted in exports from Serbia to Slovenia decreasing by about 14 per cent and imports increasing by 22 per cent, it is expected that the return to normality will see intensive cooperation between the two countries completely renewed.

Bilateral relations between Serbia and Slovenia are assessed by both sides as being good and stable. They are characterised by Slovenia's continuous support to Serbia's European integration process and mutual interest in the further development and advancement of economic cooperation.

Business cooperation between Serbia and Slovenia has shown a trend of increasing trade exchanges in the past few years, by an average of about seven or eight per cent annually.

The total trade exchange between Serbia and Slovenia last year amounted to 1.15 billion euros. Exports to Slovenia in 2019 reached a value of 580.7 million euros, while imports from Slovenia increased slightly in 2019 and reached a total of 576.9 million euros. Thus the trade surplus in 2019 amounted to six million euros, with Serbia recording a trade surplus with Slovenia for the second consecutive year.

According to the data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, Slovenia ranked 10th in Serbia's total realised global exports in 2019, while at the level of imports it ranked in 13th place. Slovenia is Serbia's 9th partner worldwide in terms

of total trade exchanges globally. In the previous year, Serbia mostly exported to Slovenia dialysis equipment, electricity, hand tool parts, aluminium alloy products, conductors, parts for rail vehicles and parts for car seats. Meanwhile, in 2019 we imported from Slovenia medicines, parts for cooling devices, cars, parts for rail vehicles, washing machines and copper scrap.

In the first three months of this year, according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, exports from Serbia to Slovenia fell by about 14 per cent, while imports increased by 22 per cent, thus creating a significant negative foreign trade balance compared to the first quarter of 2019. The deficit in the trade exchange between Serbia and Slovenia in the first quarter of this year, which amounted to about 38 million euros, is a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and the measures introduced to protect against the spread of infection, which caused a standstill in goods movements in the second half of March 2020.

A total of 4,409 Serbian companies did business with Slovenia in 2019, with 1,388 of them only exporting to this market, while 2,218 only imported goods from this market and 803 traded in both directions.

According to data from the Business Registers Agency of Serbia, until the beginning of May this year some 1,203 business entities with owners who are citizens of Slovenia, or which represent legal entities registered in Slovenia, were registered in Serbia.

The number of Serbian companies operating in Slovenia is increasing every year, while the sectors in which they operate are diverse, from agriculture and the food industry, to information technology, tourism and hospitality

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According to the records of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Slovenia, in 2019 some 2,063 business entities with a majority owner that is a legal entity registered in Serbia, or with a majority owner who is a Serbian citizen, were registered in Slovenia.

Total net investments of Slovenian residents in Serbia in the period from 2010 to 2019 amounted to 628.08 million euros, which ranks Slovenia in 9th place among the countries with the largest net investments of non-residents in Serbia during that period.

The number of Serbian companies operating in Slovenia is increasing every year, while the sectors in which they operate are diverse, from agriculture and the food industry, via information technology, tourism and hospitality, to transport and infrastructure projects.

Serbian companies are increasingly present in Slovenia's tourism and hospitality sector, which represents a very important economic sector for this country and provides numerous possibilities for advancement. MK Group is the owner of the Kempinski Hotel, while it also has a stake in Portorož Airport, and Delta Holding owns the Intercontinetal Hotel in Ljubljana.

One of the biggest Serbian investments in Slovenia is that of company Comtrade, which operates in the information technology sector. MK Group also owns AIK Bank Slovenia and has plans to also expand its operations in other sectors in Slovenia.

Bačka Palanka-based company Nektar has been known to Slovenian consumers for years, while company Agromarket from Kragujevac sells seeds and planting material on the Slovenian market, either from its own production range or from the renowned world producers that it represents.

Company Put inženjering opened a representative office in Krško. It specialises in performing works, constructing facilities and supporting infrastructure, producing stone aggregate, concrete and prefabricated elements, as well as transport and the provision of equipment hiring services.

One example that we are very proud of is the fact that company Zlatiborac, from the small town of Mačkat, has been a supplier of Slovenian supermarket chain Mekator since February 2020. Small Serbian family companies, through the brand “Tastes of my region”, successfully entered the Slovenian market in cooperation with Mercator.

The Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia opened an office in Slovenia at the beginning of 2019, which is available to

both Serbian entrepreneurs interested in entering this market and to numerous Slovenian companies that already operate in Serbia or plan to do business in our country.

Throughout the state of emergency that was caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia was approached on a daily basis by a large number of companies that needed to find a way to send their workers to Slovenia to fulfil business agreements. A significant number of companies from Slovenia, via the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Slovenia, also showed an interest in maintaining business ties during the crisis and realising the obligations they have to companies from Serbia.

Serbia also has significant potential when it comes to providing services, construction and other professional works, assemblies, repairs and installations of machines and devices for partners from Slovenia.

After the opening of the borders of the Republic of Serbia and the announced easing of the transporting of passengers from third countries to Slovenia, we expect all Serbian companies to be able to fulfil their agreed business obligations towards Slovenian partners, and vice versa.

At the end of 2019, the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia, the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Slovenia and the Embassy of Slovenia in Serbia jointly created the Initiative for joint research and appearances of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Slovenia on the African market. The crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic will lead to this study being postponed for a while, but certainly represents one of the more significant areas of potential for the development of the economies of our countries.

During the pandemic, the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia and the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Slovenia actively helped businesspeople to maintain business ties and realise obligations taken on even during the crisis

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BUSINESS

VELIMIR KUZMANOVIĆ, DIRECTOR AT N.T.S. INTERNATIONAL

CONSTANTLY

Expanding Portfolio NTS is a company that has spent more than 15 years creating solutions to support the planning and managing of transport and logistics processes. Operating from five distinct centres, it has more than 50 employees and a strategic plan to expand its market and cooperate with the most successful companies

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ur solutions enable the complete visibility of the process in real time, the planning of processes, tracking the implementation of plans, route optimisation, i.e. the use of transport capacities, communication and remote access to data from vehicles, notes Mr Kuzmanović

You work in IT solutions for transport and logistics, GPS systems, vehicle tracking etc. How quickly are things changing in these areas? What will the future bring?

- For more than 15 years to date, NTS has been creating solutions to support planning and management processes in transport and logistics. It is a great challenge to be part of such a dynamic branch of the economy as logistics. New technologies, new trends, globalisation and great unpredictability ensure that we must be flexible and work constantly on improving our solutions.

With dedicated work, an innovative approach and the knowhow that NTS possesses, we have recorded enduring, healthy and continuous growth in every country in which we operate. Longterm cooperation and partnership relations with clients is what characterises NTS, and that is they path we strive to pursue.

We have no fear of changes and that which lies ahead for us in the future, because we are already working proactively on the development of solutions that have yet to be implemented. Our mission is to provide solutions that will increase efficiency and safety in transport and logistics, while reducing their harmful impact on the environment, on which we place special emphasis.

What are your most sought-after services? Do they allow your customers to fully manage their fleet of vehicles, while gaining insight into costs and all other aspects of fleet usage?

- NTS's client base includes more than 1,300 companies operating in various sectors, so the portfolio of services is extremely wide-ranging. The demands of the market have 34

long since surpassed mere vehicle tracking, with the focus now having shifted to more complex solutions that imply an all-encompassing service of planning, managing, administering and analysing all aspects of a vehicle fleet. The structure of clients includes companies that deal with international transport, distribution, passenger transport services, production, agriculture, construction, as well as emergency and courier services, security services, the service and public sectors, tourism, financial institutions and the like.

Controlling the use of vehicles and assessing the way they are used, along with financial savings, has a significant preventative impact on safety in transport, but also on reducing its negative impact on the environment. I would like to emphasise in particular the development and improvement of TMS solutions, which represent a complex tool for supporting processes in logistics.

Your company covers Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania etc., while in the end there are also Serbia and Slovenia. How would you evaluate cooperation between these two countries? What is the best bridge between Slovenia and Serbia?

- NTS operates from five hubs: Ljubljana, Belgrade, Banja Luka, Podgorica and Tirana, with a staff of more than 50 employees. We are also present in other European countries and our strategic plan is to expand our market and establish cooperation with the most successful companies, both on the domestic markets and on the EU market.

NTS is certainly one of the bridges that connects Slovenia and Serbia successfully. Within the scope of the company, we exchange knowhow and experiences on a daily basis, striving to improve teamwork. Numerous international acknowledgements and shared results are precise consequences of our dedication and togetherness, which are also our main driving force.

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BUSINESS

IGOR LIKAR, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SIQ

Widest Range Of Testing And

CERTIFICATION SERVICES With a wide range of comprehensive services, SIQ supports organisations in their endeavours to realise their goals relating to the quality of their products and services, and to increase the productivity and efficiency of their operations

F

or more than 50 years, SIQ has cooperated with organisations in their endeavours to enter markets, increase productivity, improve quality and reach excellence.

For this issue we spoke with the company's managing director, Igor Likar.

What are the main advantages of SIQ? - SIQ is quite exceptional in the global market, as we are an institute that offers the widest range of testing and certification services among all competitors. The reputation of our brand, which we have been building for decades through high-quality work and the integrity of our service, literally translates to positive business results and enables stability. Our revenue growth has been steady since 1992, with an average annual growth rate of 12 per cent during this period.

How did you end the 2019 business year and how are you managing this year’s global health crisis?

- In 2019, SIQ increased its sales revenue on the global market by 7.7%, to 19.1 million euros. We generated 55 per cent of revenue on foreign markets, the most in Germany. Our greatest achievement regarding exports last year was the fact that we performed at least one service for clients from 63 different countries. We achieved a turnover of over 100,000 euros in 17 countries. We signed a multi-year contract with one of the world's largest manufacturers of gaming devices, Aristocrat, the potential of which in the next five years is revenue estimated in the amount of at least two million euros. SIQ is thus further strengthening its position as one of the three largest gaming laboratories in the world. In the field of gaming device verification, for example, we are practically the only provider in the world in terms of the complete solutions we offer, while we are the third largest global provider in terms of how many different jurisdictions around the 36

world recognise the results of our verifications. This year has been marked by adapting to emergencies. With the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in Europe, problems with medical equipment supplies demonstrated the importance of local knowledge and production. Quite a few companies are planning to launch the production of medical ventilators and will entrust us with the certification process. We already generate more than a tenth of our revenue by testing medical devices. This was our fastest growing area of business in 2019. We last year generated more than 1.7 million euros in revenue from the testing and certification of medical devices, which equates to a 30 per cent increase compared to 2018. The medical equipment sector is growing due, on the one hand, to the ageing of the population and, on the other, technological advances in medicine. Certification procedures in this field are particularly demanding and time-consuming, lasting from six months to more than three years, depending on the type of product. That is why companies are not stopping procedures even now, during the Coronavirus crisis. We believe that we have an additional market opportunity in this area, and we intend to seize it.

How competitive is the EU market in the field of medical devices?

- European competition is decreasing in the field of medical devices, but is becoming tougher. The EU has in recent years tightened conditions for notified bodies for medical devices. There were 90 such organisations in Europe in 2015, while now there are 55.

The EU is tightening conditions in terms of staff, knowledge and experience, and the new rules prescribed by European Medical Device Regulation 2017/745 (MDR) will enter into force in May next year. To date, 44 bodies have applied for appointments under this Regulation. We are among them and are sure that our application will be resolved positively by the time the new rules come into force.

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SLOVENIAN BUSINESS Club Activities

The Slovenian Business Club in Serbia represents an inextricable bridge between the economies of Serbia and Slovenia, with the mission of continuously improving cooperation between the economies of the two countries, as well as regional links Through the organising of informative and educational events, exchanges of experience and the creation of conditions for connecting business leaders, the SBC has stepped

securely into its 17th year of successful operations and continues to address new challenges together with its members, associates and friends.

May 2020 ONLINE PANEL DISCUSSION - INDUSTRY VS CORONA – THE DAY AFTER

topic of the seminar was jointly presented to attending business leaders by JPM representative Jelena Nikolić and State Secretary Bojana Stanić, together with colleagues from the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs.

For the sixth consecutive year, and for the first time online, the SBC organised a panel discussion, this time entitled “Industry vs Corona - The Day After”, held under the patronage of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia. The participating panellists - representatives of companies ETI, RLS, Merilna tehnika, Grah Automotive, FMT and EXOR ETI Srbija – presented their experiences from the period of the Coronavirus pandemic, as well as their expectations regarding the direction in which things will developing moving forward, following the end of the pandemic and the restoring of normal life.

March 2020 SEMINAR - JPM LAW OFFICE AND THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR, EMPLOYMENT, VETERANS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS The SBC, in cooperation with the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Italian-Serbian Businessmen, organised a seminar on the topic “New Law on Agency Employment”. Hosted by the Janković Popović Mitić Law Office, the 38

INTERNATIONAL COFFEE BREAK – KOPAONIK BUSINESS FORUM

The SBC, in cooperation with 10 bilateral organisations in Serbia (the Belgian-Serbian Business Association, BritishSerbian Chamber of Commerce, French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Hellenic Business Association of Serbia, DutchSerbian Business Association, Croatian Business Club, Japanese Business Alliance in Serbia, The Chamber of Italian-Serbian

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Businessmen, the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Confindustrija Srbija), organised the “International Coffee Break” under the auspices of the Kopaonik Business Forum, held at the mountain resort's Grand Hotel & SPA and bringing together over 80 businesspeople.

January 2020 WORKING BREAKFAST - ASEE

other important economic institutions in the country. The evening began with a performance of Italian songs by opera diva Marija Kašćelan. The sponsors of this gathering included SBC member companies: ODI Law Firm, Aktiva varovanje d.o.o.

Belgrade, Akton Serbia, CorD Magazine, BTS SER Company, Cablex, Cash Back Imo, DonDon, DRGilbert centre group, ETI B, Focus Factor Plus, Grah Automotive, Halcom a.d. Belgrade, Impol Seval, JUB Boje, Moj Upravnik, N.T.S., Profil Group, Prvi faktor, Ream, Celjske mesnine, Radgonske gorice, Podrum Panajotović, Roto Group, Sava osiguranje, Tab Batteries and Joint Law Office TSG. November 2019 SEMINAR – DATA

The SBC, in cooperation with it member ASEE, organised a working breakfast on the topic “10 ways to kill a company if you are sufficiently persistent?”.

December 2019 WELCOMING THE NEW YEAR

The SBC, in cooperation with its member company Data and with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia to Serbia, organised a seminar entitled “Slovenian business environment and business migration”. The seminar's 140 participants were familiarised with the procedure for opening a company in Slovenia, changes to legislation for obtaining work permits in Slovenia and the EU for citizens of Serbia, applicable tax breaks etc.

The SBC marked another successful year of continuous and stable growth at Belgrade's Hyatt Regency Hotel. The event was attended by over 200 guests, including numerous SBC members, friends of the club, representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Serbia and representatives of

October 2019 SPEED BUSINESS MEETING The SBC, in cooperation with the German and American chambers of commerce, the Japanese Business Alliance and the Canadian-Serbian Business Association, organised the

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The SBC initiated a unique exhibition entitled “Slovenian Showroom”, at which Slovenian companies presented themselves. Here a large number of businesspeople were able to use advertising material, catalogues, leaflets etc. to better inform themselves about the products and services of exhibiting companies, as well as tourist offer of Slovenia, presented through promotions materials of the Slovenian Tourist Organisation.

September 2019 SEMINAR - JSP LAW OFFICE

sixth consecutive “Speed business meeting”, with a total of 56 participating companies. The event was held at Belgrade's Hyatt Regency Hotel, which was also a partner of the event.

MARTINOVANJE

The SBC, together with the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian-Serbian Business Association and the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, supported the seminar “Serbian GDPR - New Rights and Obligations”, organised and staged by SPC member law firm Joksović, Simić & Partners.

Martinovanje, St Martin's Day, a traditional Slovenian holiday celebrating young wine, was marked in Belgrade for the sixth time. Slovenia is promoted every year within the scope of Martinovanje as a tourist destination, with the presenting of various regions and cities. The hosts of Martinovanje 2019 in Belgrade included the SBC, the Tourist Organisation of Portorož and the City of Piran, with a total of 250 guests welcomed. A promotion of the local cuisine and wines of Piran and Portorož was supported by company MK Group. This evening was also sponsored by SBC members: Triglav Osiguranje, Diplomacy & Commerce and DHL Serbia.

WORKING MEETING WITH THE MINISTER OF FINANCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

SLOVENIAN SHOWROOM The SBC hosted Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali.

Business leaders were addressed by SBC President Danijela Fišakov and Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Iztok Jarc.

In his presentation, Minister Mali, among other things, assessed economic and political cooperation between Serbia and Slovenia as having never been better, with Slovenian investments in Serbia growing constantly year on year, such that Slovenia is today among the ten largest investor countries in Serbia.

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INTERVIEW

DANIJELA FIŠAKOV, PRESIDENT OF THE SLOVENIAN BUSINESS CLUB (SBC)

HIGH

Expectations

We Expect The Continuation of Dialogue Between the Business Community and the Government

W

e justifiably expected tangible support from the Government of Serbia and we received it in the greatest volume. However, some of our members require specific assistance measures and the SBC will advocate for such measures in its contacts with the government.

“We can hardly wait to again start organising events like we've done over the previous 17 years,” says Danijela Fišakov, president of the Slovenian Business Club. Despite the fact that there won't be a return to the pleasant atmosphere of joint SBC gatherings prior to September, both the Club and its members have coped well in the newly emerged circumstances of online work and, above all, protecting the health of employees. Moreover, in these times of trouble, friendships have been strengthened and ties between members and friendly chambers have been fortified.

How have your members coped with the pandemic?

- When a state of emergency was declared in Serbia, our members first prescribed measures relating to the health and safety of employees, and then implemented those measures consistently.

The result of the implementation of those measures is that none of our member companies became a hotbed of infection. That was the top priority for everyone, and that fact deserves to be specially emphasised. Work from home for employees was organised by all those whose organisation of work processes enabled that. I am most proud of the fact that great solidarity has been present among members and could clearly be felt.

The members kept up to date with exchanging information and

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experiences, both mutually and via the SBC, thus helping each other to overcome the newly emerged problems.

How effective and timely were the Serbian Government's measures for helping the economy?

- As soon as the newly emerged crisis became evident, the Slovenian Business Club, together with other economic and business associations, chambers, societies and clubs, addressed the Ministry of Finance - on behalf of all businesspeople in the Republic of Serbia - with a joint request to ease the operations of companies during the state of emergency by reducing some obligations and postponing others. We justifiably expected tangible support from the Government of Serbia and the Government adopted our suggestions to the greatest extent. It grouped the measures it would take in nine points and began implementing them consistently, as announced. The government's measures taken during the state of emergency significantly eased business operations, primarily micro businesses and SMEs, i.e. those that are the most vulnerable in such situations. Business leaders assess these economic intervention measures as being excellent for alleviating the first shock. However, they are linear and relate to the broadest set of economic entities. Some of these businesses have nonetheless been hit by additional specific problems as a result of the pandemic. The Slovenian Business Club is already doing, and will in the future continue to do, everything it can to help its members overcome these problems. In this sense, the SBC is already insisting on some additional and specific measures with the Serbian authorities.

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How was your cooperation with the Government of Serbian and other chambers in the previous period? Were you able to provide members with precise interpretations of the measures introduced and to obtain the necessary permits?

- I can only praise the work of state services during the state of emergency, and especially the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia, which provided real support to companies and business associations the whole time. The information we received from state institutions was always clear, timely and useful. The good relations we've nurtured over many years with other foreign chambers and clubs came even more to the fore in this situation, because we all shared information and helped each other. In times of trouble one recognises true friends, and this period showed that the SBC has many of them.

What do your members now expect from the Government of Serbia? Which second phase measures would be the most important for the recovery of economic activities?

- Our members, primarily and without exception, expect a continuation of the dialogue between the business community and the Government, and then also concrete moves of the Government that would further stimulate economic recovery. Of course, businesspeople are aware that they must be rational in their demands and expectations.

It is clear to them that the Government can intervene and relinquish part of its income only as much as the budget allows, and that the economy is actually the factor that contributes the most to that budget being filled. With the aim of overcoming the situation as completely as possible and alleviating the difficulties it has caused, the business community and the Government must – as in all other life situations – find the right measure in this and complement each other and cooperate mutually.

the Slovenian Business Club and the Embassy of Slovenia will continue along the upward trajectory that it was on during the terms of previous ambassadors.

How have you adapted the SBC's activities to the new conditions of communications and operations? Which topics will be in your focus?

- First of all, the most important thing in this situation was for us all to stay healthy. Only a healthy person can work, love, and even argue, engage in conflict etc. In accordance with the instructions of the medical profession and the orders of the authorities of the Republic of Serbia, the activities of the SBC have been adjusted, or slightly amended, since the beginning of the state of emergency. We temporarily halted the organising of events and

I am proud of the solidarity between members, who exchanged information and experiences with each other and via the SBC, thus helping each other to overcome the newly emerged problems

On which issues have you cooperated the most with the Embassy of Slovenia?

- Given that in recent months there have, understandably, been no activities related to new investment projects in any of our countries, we cooperated the most with the consular department of the Embassy of Slovenia, or Consul Mr Primož Križaj, on the solving of problems related to the departures of employees in our member companies from Serbia and their arrivals in Serbia.

Unfortunately, Slovenia hasn't had an ambassador in Serbia for half a year already, which was contributed to additionally by the Coronavirus outbreak. We hope that the newly appointed ambassador will soon begin his term in Serbia; that the newly emerged situation will not deepen and that cooperation between

meetings requiring the physical presence of participants. This activity will continue in September. And even before this crisis, the SBC had already adjusted many of its activities to the standards of Industry 4.0.

We were already working from home when needed, were personally available over the telephone for at least eight hours every day and utilised social networks and email intensively. And now, as in regular situations, we regularly monitor all relevant content and information, and inform the membership about them in a timely manner. What's new is that we additionally organise webinars and internet conferences covering current topics, in order to remain in interactive contact even in these new times, and to maintain connections among members and the flow of information as much as possible. Our activities on networking and connecting members, providing contacts and working oneon-one will continue intensively, using the possibilities provided for us by modern technologies. As has been the case to date, we will select topics on the basis of the business environment in Serbia and, of course, on the basis of the needs of members.

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BUSINESS PARTNER

TOURISM

MEDITERRANEAN

& Karst Slovenia Global surprises from salt pans to karst caves

PIRAN, PHOTO BY JACOB RIGLIN

T

he Mediterranean & the Karst in Slovenia merge the wonders of the Karst and the taste of traditional sea salt. Coastal towns show their beauty in the sun, green Istrian rural areas are home to original cuisine with olive oil and wild plants, Brda and the the Vipava Valley are home to world famous wines, while the Karst uncovers the secrets of caves which are among the most visited in Europe.

This area is also home to famous white Lipizzaner horses.

PORTOROŽ – PIRAN The very centre of social events on the coast and one of the most beautiful historical Mediterranean towns, connected by the story of salt.

Portorož and Piran are surrounded by salt pans on both sides. The high value of the famed salt enabled the rise of picturesque Piran in medieval times. In today’s cosmopolitan Portorož salt makes up a big part of the range of wellness

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services offered, which is regarded as one of the most comprehensive in Europe KOPER This picturesque historical town with its own green surroundings is a bridge between the Karst and the SubMediterranean world.

Koper is a town of a hundred suns which adorn the medieval Venetian palaces. The sun warms up the lagoon of the Škocjanski Zatok Nature Reserve with hundreds of birds, the Karst Edge and world famous climbing areas. Istrian cuisine draws you to numerous events.

ANKARAN A green and healthy starting point to explore Slovenian Istria.

Ankaran is famed for its pleasant climate. Boasting one

BUSINESS PARTNER

KOPER, PHOTO BY JAKA IVANČIĆ

ANKARAN, PHOTO BY JAKA IVANČIĆ

NOVA GORICA, PHOTO BY ALEN KOSMAČ

GORIŠKA BRDA, PHOTO BY MICHAEL MATTI

of the largest RV camps in Slovenia, Ankaran is a town that brushes against the Debeli Rtič Landscape Park.

KARST The world of underground wonders, stunning natural phenomena and unique tastes.

The Karst surprises with Postojna Cave, which is the most visited cave in Europe, Škocjan Caves with an extraordinary underground gorge and other world famous special features.

Lipica has been the original stud farm of white Lipizzaner horses since 1580. Štanjel is the architectural gem of the Karst. Delicious fare can be found along the Brkini Fruit Road and the Karst Wine Route.

NOVA GORICA AND THE VIPAVA VALLEY The land of unique vines and first-rate cuisine between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea Nova Gorica and the Vipava Valley are the intersection of two worlds and different cultures. The wine growing region inspires with its gastronomy, and the city offers entertainment with its casinos

POSTOJNSKA JAMA, PHOTO BY IZTOK MEDJA

IZOLA, PHOTO BY JACOB RIGLIN

BRDA Sun-kissed wine country between the Alps and the Mediterranean Welcome to this sunny and sweet part of the world, to a region of invigorating moments! Kick back and relax with a glass of lovely regional wine and get ready for a culinary extravaganza as you attend the traditional festivals, wander through romantic villages or roam amongst the vineyards, olive groves and orchards.

IZOLA Enter the world of fish and get in touch with the authentic Mediterranean!

The small seaside town grew on a former island. Even today it reflects the close bond its people have with the sea.

Izola beckons: walk along its charming streets or get in on some fun water activities on one of the beaches here. The Strunjan cliff is the right place to experience pristine nature, whereas the verdant cultivated hinterland is well known for its exquisite grapes and olives.

Source: Slovenia.info 45

BUSINESS PARTNER

BUSINESS

ASSEMBLY AND PRODUCTION COMPANY JEDINSTVO, SEVOJNO

TRADITION, EXPERIENCE And Quality

MMP Jedinstvo from the town of Sevojno is one of Serbia's most successful companies. Six subsidiaries operate within its framework, thanks to which they can use their own resources to perform even the most complex works under the scope of their activities in the country and abroad

M

PP Jedinstvo, Sevojno, a public joint stock company with a tradition dating back more than 70 years, is one of the leading companies in the field of hydrotechnics, water management, gasification, heating, drinking water supply systems, industrial wastewater management, the construction of outdoor installations, all types of construction works and steel structures... With the expanding of the group's activities to encompass road construction, gas distribution, iron casting, vehicle maintenance and repair, as well as other areas, MPP Jedinstvo now achieves a total consolidated annual turnover exceeding 80 million euros.

This company has in the last few years invested more than 15 million euros of its own reserves in new equipment, the construction of production plants and the purchasing of other companies. Thanks to its vast potential, Jedinstvo has for decades been an indispensable contractor on capital facilities in Serbia, such as the water factory in Užice, the water factory on Lake Skadar covering the entire Montenegrin coast, water supply and water treatment plants in Vranje, Pirot, Kruševac and Aranđelovac, and on Zlatibor and Kopaonik mountains.

Jedinstvo is currently working with consortium partner MHPS from Japan to carry out works on the flue gas desulphurisation plant at the Nikola Tesla Thermal Power Plant in Obrenovac, which has a contracted value of 95 million euros, while the company is also engaged in the construction of

several border crossings, a shopping centre and the office buildings of RTV and Delta Holding, factories for ammunition packing, gondola lifts on Zlatibor and numerous other facilities and plants.

Thanks to the fact that Jedinstvo is ready to undertake the most complex interventions in the construction domain, that it is able to quickly realise any contracted job, that is has an exceptional team of managers and employees who are top professionals in their work, it also carries out a lot of works abroad. Over the past 30 years, Jedinstvo has performed works on the most important facilities in Russia, such as the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in Moscow, the Regional Court in Krasnodar, the residences of the Russian Patriarch and President Putin, facilities for the Winter Olympics in Sochi and the Skolkovo University Science Centre in Moscow, while the company is also proud of the numerous projects it has implemented in Montenegro over the past 10 years.

As company representatives point out, none of this would have been possible without professional, qualified and motivated workers. More than a thousand full-time employees and 350 temporary staff work at Jedinstvo and all of its subsidiaries. It is thanks to all of them that the company can perform the most complex undertakings in its areas of activity through the utilising of its internal resources, because, as company leaders note, investing in human resources has been, and remains, its basic commitment.

Thanks to constant annual investments of two to three million euros, the company has the most modern plants and equipment at its disposal

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BUSINESS PARTNER

FOOD

TOP 10

Traditional Slovenian Foods

As a small country, Slovenia has a lot of traditional foods, that differ greatly from one another. You can get Slovenian food and home-made products in a market place and in specialised stores. Products such as, top quality cheeses and dairy products, cured meat products, high quality wines, schnapps, as well as, honey. Furthermore, Slovenia has one of the richest beekeeping traditions in the world, producing truly the best quality honey

F

or starters, we introduce you the well-known Slovenian food below.

1. KRANJSKA KLOBASA (CARNIOLAN SAUSAGE) Carniolan sausage is the most known Slovenian food, that has been named »kranjska« for the first time in 1896, and then became protected in 2015. It originated in Gorenjska region, from where it has grown across the whole Slovenia. The storytellers of old Ljubljana consider it as an important part of the menu at ceremonial and important events. This protected Slovenian

food is smoked and must contain at least 68% of pork, 12% of beef, and no more than 20% of bacon.

(Alpine Slovenia, Gorenjska) 2. POTICA Potica is the most typical Slovenian dessert made of dough and filled with various fillings. We know more than 80 different types of fillings, from which tarragon (»pehtranova«), walnut, cracknels (»ocvirki«) and poppy seeds are the most famous.

(Central Slovenia) 47

BUSINESS PARTNER

3. PREKMURSKA GIBANICA (PREKMURIAN LAYER CAKE) Prekmurian layer cake is a juicy dessert, stuffed with poppy seeds, cottage cheese, walnuts and apples. The funny literal translation of this Slovenian food is actually “Over-Mura Moving Cake”, but the popular translation is Prekmurian Layer Cake. It is also protected by the “Recognised trademark of traditional reputation”, so it can only be manufactured under this name after the original recipe.

(Pannonia Slovenia, area of Prekmurje) 4. KRAŠKI PRŠUT (THE KARST PROSCIUTTO) Another very famous Slovenian food is the Karst Prosciutto.

Prosciutto is a top product of the centuries-old tradition of salting and drying meat on the Karst bora. It is on the air-dried pork thigh, that goes well with a glass of Teran or red Karst.

(Slovenia’s sea side, area of Karst) 5. ŠTRUKLJI Štruklji is another traditional Slovenian food made from a dough and filled with variety of fillings. They can be eaten as an individual dish or a side dish. They can be prepared from different types of dough, baked or cooked, salty or sweet.

The best known Štruklji are made of cottage cheese, tarragon (»pehtranovi«), walnuts, apple or poppy seeds.

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They are a “must try” when you visit Slovenia.

(Central Slovenia) 6. ŽGANCI Žganci is one of the simplest and most popular Slovenian food. Especially those made from buckwheat flour and richly dressed with cracknels. They are also considered a typical Slovenian farm dish. However, if you leave out the cracknels, you get a very healthy dish that goes especially well with sour milk, mushroom soup, cabbage or a chicken stew. (area of Koroška) 7. JOTA (YOTA) Our grandmothers loved to cook Jota. As there were fewer foods in the winter the housewives had to be quite clever with the use of the ingredients. Turnip, cabbage, potatoes and beans were very common residents of the home cellar, as they could be prepared in many ways. That is why, today

BUSINESS PARTNER

Jota is available practically in any mountain cottage and can be saved in a freezer for days.

8. MOČNIK Močnik is an old Slovenian food that originated in the Lower Carniola (Dolenjska) kitchen. They made it from various types of flour. Most popular Močniks’ are milk, buckwheat and corn.

In some places, they also stir them into a clear soup.

9. PREŽGANKA (»PREŽGANA ŽUPA«) Prežganka is a soup, made by roasting and browning the flour, adding the water and salt, and once it boils, a scrambled egg is added. It is a typical dish of Trieste countryside. However, they also make it across the whole Slovenia as a dietary supplements for digestive disorders.

10. ŠTEFANI PEČENKA Štefani pečenka is a meat loaf with hard boiled eggs, that is very easy to make. It is a classical Slovenian food and especially welcomed during certain holidays (e.g. Easter Holidays).

Source: GreenHills.si

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Leaders’

MEETING POINT

STYLIANOS TSOKTOURIDIS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ALUMIL YU INDUSTRY A.D. (JSC)

FERDINAND AYEN, CEO OF ERNST KLETT PRÄSENZLERNEN OSTEUROPA GMBH – PROVIDER OF KLETT EDU IN SERBIA

Successfully Meeting The Challenges Of The Future

How Has The Lockdown Unlocked New Advantages?

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NIKOLINA JANKOVIĆ, HR PARTNER FOR ASSESSMENT, ASSERT

Talent Assessment In The Service Of Human Resources Optimization PAGE /61

STYLIANOS TSOKTOURIDIS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ALUMIL YU INDUSTRY A.D. (JSC)

Successfully Meeting The Challenges Of The Future Alumil Yu Industry launched the first greenfield investment in Serbia in 2002, with the acquisition of land in the Nova Pazova’s industrial zone. Today it represents the region’s absolute leader in the production and distribution of a wide range of aluminium systems

O

ur main goal is to be leaders in a competitive market and to provide our customers with the most diverse choice of products and services. We will proactively and successfully meet the challenges of the future, enhance the lives of our employees and support the local community and our shareholders, says Stylianos Tsoktouridis, Managing Director, Alumil YU INDUSTRY a.d.

You were elected as Managing Director of Alumil in July 2019. What are your goals and where do you see the company in the future?

Alumil YU Industry‘s goal is to supply the Serbian, Ex-Yugoslav and Western European automotive, transportation, architectural, building and construction businesses with surface treated, precision-engineered aluminium extruded products at competitive prices and just-in-time deliveries, using highly flexible and advanced manufacturing and logistics processes. Our main objective is to be the quality, service and value-added leader in a competitive market, and to provide our customers with the most diverse choice of products and services that will support their drive to improved performance, efficiency and an enhanced competitive position.

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In the process of realising its vision, Alumil YU Industry will meet the challenges of the future proactively and successfully, enhancing the lives of its employees and supporting the local community and its shareholders.

What is it that makes your company brand so superior compared to the competition on the Serbian market?

Alumil YU Industry is fully committed to contributing to the sustainable development of Serbia. We are working daily

Alumil YU Industry is fully committed to contributing to the sustainable development of Serbia

to help achieve the goals of the country’s development plan and to support the local economy by providing more than 300 jobs and increasing our company‘s footprint on exports to Western European markets.

Current installed annual capacity using vertically integrated production processes provides 15,000mt of state-of-the-art precision-engineered surfaced treated aluminium profiles to Serbian and European

markets. Focusing on our corporate plan, Alumil Yu Industry is expected to grow and penetrate further with sophisticated technical aluminium products within the next couple of years in these markets, thus creating more job opportunities, increasing exports and contributing to the local economy and industrial growth.

We have been witnessing the growing expansion of construction on the Serbian market in the last few years. How does that reflect on your company?

The construction business is expected to increase in the coming year, and that constitutes a major challenge for Alumil YU. Focusing on large scale projects, I would like to mention that we continually upgrade our facilities, services and technical skills in order to provide more advanced products and better solutions to our esteemed customers. Alumil supports the Serbian market through its own vertically integrated production and logistics facilities in Nova Pazova as well as its seven sales and distributions centres around the country, ensuring just-in-time deliveries, covering all special requests with tailored designs. In addition to that, our engineering department for LSP, based at our Showroom located in New Belgrade, provides support to investors, architects, engineers, home owners and fabricators in choosing the most suitable products for their specific application.

FERDINAND AYEN, CEO OF ERNST KLETT PRÄSENZLERNEN OSTEUROPA GMBH – PROVIDER OF KLETT EDU IN SERBIA

How Has The Lockdown Unlocked New Advantages?

Companies have addressed the challenges of the crisis in different ways

W

e discussed how the business of professional education is managing new times with Ferdinand Ayen, CEO of Ernst Klett Präsenzlernen Osteuropa GmbH – provider of Klett EDU in Serbia.

How did your company traverse the Coronavirus crisis?

When the crisis hit us in mid-March, we obviously halted all planned courses and all office-based activities. Within 24 hours, we established new web-based workflows that have proven very effective. And we said to ourselves, as well as to our partners and customers: “One day this crisis will be over. Let’s prepare for this day now; let’s invest our time in the development of our product portfolio”.

some of our new programmes, e.g. German language courses, are not dual per se, while others - like Hospitality - have “cooperative” rather than “dual” education models.

That is why we are changing our name from Klett DUAL to Klett EDU. Nevertheless, we are keeping the good and well-proven dual elements, above all the instructive concept of Learning Situations.

In addition to that, we have also quickly adapted and switched from in-class to on-

We are happy to announce that we now offer web-based German language courses, a totally unique four-month Hospitality programme, while we have finalised a special oneyear Mechatronic programme and also developed a highly demanded Welding programme

So you never stopped working?

That's right. And as a result, apart from our basic Mechatronic programmes, we are happy to announce that we now offer webbased German language courses, a totally unique four-month Hospitality programme, while we have finalised a special one-year Mechatronic programme and also developed a highly demanded Welding programme.

On top of that, we conducted a few team online training courses and have completely redesigned our website. In our case, the lockdown unlocked new advantages.

line classes and platforms, and are using them right now for our German language courses. The Klett Group has been investing in its digital approach for a long time, so we also had a fantastic opportunity to use the Klett Augmented application.

Are these new programmes also dual?

This is a good point. We use the dual approach wherever suitable. However,

Programmes are developed, but how do you plan to relaunch activities?

We are still focused on two customer

groups – companies and individual learners. As of mid-September, we will start the one-year mechatronics programme with groups for both companies and individual learners. Some of our partner companies have already re-confirmed groups with their employees, but we also have individual learners signing up. Then, as of October, we are starting with our Hospitality programme, which is absolutely unique on our market.

German language courses are currently ongoing through online platforms and we will keep this option for the future as well.

How do you perceive the market situation in the face of the crisis?

If you talk to people in Germany who are involved in industry, its underlying production and supply processes, you often hear that the Coronavirus crisis has shown that only countries and companies that know how to produce by themselves will endure.

I agree with this assessment.

The crisis has shown many strengths and weaknesses, and has thus also shown that the worldwide supply chain is critically stretched. Companies that are overly reliant on suppliers from the other side of the world will become even more dependent.

The solution for Serbia is to strengthen its old industrial tradition and re-establish itself in the field of goods production. This way of thinking is also supported by our partner companies that have production facilities in Serbia. In any economy, everything boils down to pooling people, knowledge, practises and the most optimal timing. We, at Klett EDU, have the knowhow and are ready and willing to help.

June

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Ecology

By Shane Markowitz

The Ecological Transition Is The New Mission For Europe The Green Deal, which aims to achieve climate neutrality in the EU by 2050, could go a long way towards resolving geographical divisions and promoting economic growth.

The environment and climate-change ministers of 17 member states have indeed called on the EU to adopt the plan as a framework for a comprehensive Covid-19 recovery

T

he European Green Deal has come under renewed attack from critics who see it as a financial boondoggle which the EU can no longer afford in the wake of Covid-19. Yet if done right, the initiative can promote a robust economic recovery, ward off the climate crisis, heal north-south divisions in Europe and solidify youth buy-in to the EU project.

As Covid-19 fatalities begin to recede, European governments are now reckoning with a disease which has ravaged the continent in more ways than one. And there are concerns that, amidst the infighting, the pandemic could ‘break the EU’.

The EU’s early response to the pandemic, though now improving, did little to abate these grudges. Italians, once solidly behind the EU, are now evenly split on remaining. And the economic recession ahead could lead to another lost generation of young people, should that fail to combat the challenges important to them.

COMPREHENSIVE RECOVERY The Green Deal, which aims to achieve climate neutrality in the EU by 2050, could go a long way towards resolving geographical divisions and promoting economic growth. The environment and climate-change ministers of 17 member states have indeed called on the EU to adopt the plan as a framework for a comprehensive Covid-19 recovery.

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They note that this is an opportunity to develop a bold response that incorporates investments in areas such as ‘sustainable mobility’ and ‘renewable energy’ to help stimulate economies, create jobs and protect biodiversity. A green deal could also prevent the economically and socially devastating effects of climate change forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

A continuing stumbling block has been opposition from coal-dependent and automobileoriented central- and eastern-European (CEE) countries which have called for the EU to abandon the initiative altogether and for the Emissions Trading Scheme to be scrapped. These countries will be open to compromise, however, including long-overdue economic reforms.

To this end, the Just Transition Fund should be significantly expanded from the €100 billion envisaged, to ensure that the Green Deal is socially viable and fair to those displaced from employment. And the proposed transformation of the European Investment Bank into a ‘climate bank’ should be adequately financed, to ensure new value chains and sustainable projects can emerge.

The German and Dutch governments understand their countries have benefited from the single market and will want to ensure that it is politically sustainable. And the Green Deal, attached to Covid-19 recovery, may prove less divisive for domestic populations than ‘eurobonds’ and other debt-sharing instruments.

Surging approval ratings for EU political leaders will provide governments with the necessary political capital to compromise and allocate funding for Green Deal priorities. EU financial aid for the countries worst hit by Covid-19 is endorsed by more than two thirds of Germans.

While such fiscal transfers were unthinkable during prior crises, ‘Angela Merkel could sell the Germans just about anything at the moment’.

YOUNG PEOPLE Turnout among young people (24 and under) reached 42% in the 2019 European Parliament elections—up from 28 per cent in 2014. This cohort is far removed from the postwar and cold-war milieus which were foundational for the EU and its raison d’être. But young people do recognise the need for a common resolve to address problems that don’t respect nation-state borders—especially climate change. A total of 45% mentioned climate as an incentive to vote in 2019. Youth support helped propel green-aligned candidates to historic electoral success, including a rebound in parts of central and Eastern Europe.

More than rhetoric, action is now needed to sustain and reinforce this buy-in from the youth coming of age during the ‘Fridays for Future’ strikes. Failure to take decisive action, by contrast, could lead to a permanent loss of confidence in the EU project and the ability of young people to make a difference within it.

Kosovo

„It is impossible to impose a solution to the Kosovo issue from the outside, and any such solution cannot be permanent. “ – ALEXANDER BOTSAN-KHARCHENKO, AMBASSADOR OF RUSSIA

LOCAL NEWS BELGRADE SUBWAY

€8.3 MILLION DONATION FOR BELGRADE SUBWAY SIGNED

BONDS

SERBIA ISSUE TWO BILLION WORTH OF BONDS On 11 May Republic of Serbia sold €2 billion of seven- year debt at 3.375%. Its press release noted that "more than 300 foreign investors" were involved with demand of almost €7 billion. Serbia's Fiscal Council warned on 6 April that the country would need €6.5 billion to meet COVID-19 pandemic-related expenditure.

The Finance Ministry said that Serbia has sold €2 billion which are being listed on the London Stock Exchange with a due date of 2027. A press release said that Serbia is the only country in Europe to have ventured out onto the international capital market during the COVID-19 pandemic without the assistance of the European Central Bank in placing the bonds.

Donation Agreement worth €8.3 million for the Belgrade subway signed between Serbia and France.

The agreement was signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović, Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimović and Ambassador of France to Serbia H.E. Jean-Louis Falconi. Serbia is to carry out the project of building the Belgrade subway together with French and Chinese partners, noting that negotiations are underway.

AID PACKAGE

STATE PLANS AIR SERBIA AID PACKAGE The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić announced that the state will invest significant funds into Air Serbia, which he noted has been hit hard by the pandemic. The airline has been restricted from operating commercial flights since March 20. Under the plan, Serbia will resort to an array of measures. “We will significantly aid the pillars of our economy amongst which is Air Serbia. There are no longer any state aid restrictions. We wanted to invest more money into Air Serbia prior to this crisis but couldn’t because of European Union regulations. None of that is relevant anymore”, Vučić said.

Commenting further on plans to aid the state carrier, the President noted, “We will either recapitalise the company or use another method such as corporate bonds.

There will be no issues”. Recapitalisation entails changes to the airline’s capital.

Placements postings

&

appointments@aim.rs

H.E. FEDOR ROSOCHA, AMBASSADOR OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC TO SERBIA

H.E. Fedor Rosocha studied Psychology, Pedagogy, at P. J. Šafárik University and holds Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine, in Košice.

From 2017 to 2020 Mr Rosocha was a Director of the Department of the United Nations and International Organizations within the U.N. system. He served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary – Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva (C.H.) from 2009 to 2017. Mr Rosocha was a Director of Dept. of Economic Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia from 2008 to 2009.

Ambassador Rosocha was also a Member and Chair of the Consultative Group (20102011), and Vice-President (2011-2012) of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He served as a Chairman of the General Segment of ECOSOC Geneva (2011). From 2010 to 2017, Mr Rosocha has a Head of Delegation Periodic Reports of Slovakia to the: CERD (Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination), CAT (Committee Against Torture), CESCR (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and CRC (OPI to CRC), (Convention on the Rights of the Child), in Geneva.

He speaks English, Russian, French and partially Serbian.

H.E. HIDAJET BIŠČEVIĆ, NEW AMBASSADOR OF CROATIA

H.E. Hidajet Biščević was born in 1951 in Sarajevo, BiH. He graduated from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb. Until recently, he worked as the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Tajikistan. In 2014, Ambassador Biščević worked for the OSCE. From 2007 to 2012, he served as Secretary-General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC). During his rich diplomatic career, Ambassador Biščević also worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (2003-2007), as Croatian Ambassador to the Russian Federation (1997-2002), as Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey (1993-1995), in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and Head of the Department for Asian and Arab Countries (1992). He worked as the editor-in-chief of the political daily "Vjesnik" (1990-1992). Ambassador Biščević is the author of numerous books. He is also the holder of high state decorations of Croatia, Austria and Bulgaria.

He speaks English and Russian. Married, father of two daughters.

H.E. RASHID HASSAN POUR BAEI, AMBASSADOR OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

H.E. Rashid Hassan Pour Baei was born in 1960 and holds a MA in Regional Studies at Islamic Azad University Tehran.

He started his career in Foreign Affairs Ministry (1986). He served as a Political Attache at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Bonn (1989 – 1991), First Secretary in Moscow (1993 – 1998), Second Counsellor at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Dublin (2001 – 2005), Charge d'Affaires e.p. in Prague (2009 – 2010) and Deputy Head of Mission in Beijing (2010 – 2014). He has also held various posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2014 to 2017 Ambassador Baei worked at the Foreign Affairs Ministry as a Head of Department for North and East Europe, and from 2017 as a Head of Department for North Europe. He speaks English, German and French. Ambassador Baei is a married father of one child.

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Border

„Our decision to close the borders to Serbia is not political, but is based on epidemiological standards defined by the number of infected citizens.“ – DUŠKO MARKOVIĆ, PRIME MINISTER OF MONTENEGRO

REGIONAL NEWS HUNGARY

HUNGARY OPENS ITS BORDER TO SERBIA

MONTENEGRO

TENSIONS BETWEEN MONTENEGRO AND SERBIA OVER OPENING OF THE BORDERS Tensions between Serbia and Montenegro are rising following a decision by Montenegrin authorities to open borders in early June, but not to Serbia.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković explains such a decision with the recommendations of local epidemiologists. “At the moment, recommendations say at least 25 infected in relation to 100,000 inhabitants,” said Marković.

Even though officials in Podgorica claim that this was exclusively a health decision, Serbian officials say that this was a political decision.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said that a message is clear that Serbian citizens are not welcome in Montenegro.

Citizens of Serbia and Hungary can freely pass at all ten border crossings between the two countries as of today at 10.00, without obligatory quarantine.

Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and Speaker of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Istvan Pastor met today at the border town near the Hungarian-Serbian border Roszke.

Szijjarto said that the Hungarian government decided to make this decision after the Serbian government allowed the entry to Serbian and foreign nationals into Serbia without an obligatory test for coronavirus and quarantine.

Szijjarto underlined that the Serbian and Hungarian economies are closely tied and that Hungary will continue the development programme in Vojvodina which envisages 6 billion forints for 54 projects approved by the government.

Restrictions on movement and border closures mean Croatia’s strawberry growers cannot import their usual pickers – or market their crop very easily, once it is harvested. To protect pickers from infection, strawberry growers have supplied their staff with all the protective equipment they need, which means masks, gloves and disinfectants. They also have to keep to social distancing measures. However, like other farmers in the country and beyond, Croatia’s strawberry growers fear that their harvest will be jeopardised by the continued spread of the pandemic, and, possibly by other measures the authorities take to prevent the virus from further spreading.

SLOVENIA OPENS TO EU NATIONALS, NO QUARANTINE REQUIRED

NORTH MACEDONIA STARTS PROCESS OF ISSUING SIXYEAR EUROBOND North Macedonia has launched the process of issuing a six-year Eurobond to cover budget gaps for 2020 and 2021. The government previously said that the maximum amount of the Eurobond will be €800mn.

The maximum interest rate of the new Eurobond is set at 4.5%. The process is expected to be completed on 3 June. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group and J.P. Morgan have been mandated to arrange the process. Finance Minister Nina Angelovska and governor of the central bank Anita Angelovska Bezoska held a video presentation with the interested investors instead of organizing standard road show before the issuance of the Eurobond. North Macedonia is rated BB- with stable outlook by Standard & Poor's and BB+ with negative outlook by Fitch Ratings. North Macedonia’s finance ministry expects the budget revenues in 2020 to drop by 20% to 40% from a year earlier, according to its three scenarios drawn up in light of the coronavirus crisis.

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PANDEMIC THREATENS CROATIA’S STRAWBERRY FARMERS

SLOVENIA

NORTH MACEDONIA

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The Slovenian government has added new exemptions to the quarantine requirement for EU and Schengen zone nationals that in effect allow nationals from across the EU to enter the country as tourists, as long as they have a confirmation of booking. The same applies to owners of property in Slovenia. The new regime took effect on 26 May after the government adopted a new decree that governs the border crossing regime not just with neighbouring countries but also on airports and ports.

Under the latest rules, EU and Schengen Zone nationals are required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival unless they qualify for what are now 17 exemptions. Most of the exemptions are for business purposes.

These include tourists with confirmation of booking and persons who own real estate, boats or airplanes in Slovenia (together with their family members), daily cross-border commuters, international hauliers, and persons hired to perform urgent services (in energy, health care, transport and utility services).

Covid-19 WORLD NEWS

„The global response to COVID-19 is a test of our multilateral system. And the EU remains a staunch supporter of a strong the UN as the beating heart of this system.“ – JOSEP BORRELL FONTELLES, HIGH REP. OF THE EU FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY RUSSIA

DEMAND FOR PRIVATE JETS RISES

NORWAY

NORWAY DEPLOYED 51 MW OF SOLAR IN 2019 Norway reached 120 MW of solar generation capacity at the end of 2019, according to figures released by Norwegian solar industry body the Solenergiklyngen and based on data from compatriot company Multiconsult and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE).

The nation added 51 MW of new solar capacity last year, with 2 MW of it accounted for by off-grid systems. Norway had added 23.5 MW of solar in 2018, 18 MW a year earlier and 11 MW in 2016. Commercial and industrial arrays supplied 60% of last year’s additions, with residential systems making up 35%.

Almost all of the solar capacity installed in the past three years was deployed through the Plusskundeordningen – Plus Customer – program, which came into force at the beginning of 2017. The scheme introduced a net metering regime to ensure surplus power from solar systems with a capacity of no more than 100 kW was bought by energy providers.

FRANCE

FRANCE SAW AN 80 PERCENT DROP IN AUCTION SALES DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN A new study from France’s Voluntary Sales Council found that auctions held during the nation’s COVID-19 lockdown saw an 80 percent drop in sales. The news comes as galleries and auction houses across France begin to reopen in accordance with new safety measures, including the Hôtel Drouot, perhaps the country’s most iconic auction venue. The study identified 175 sales held during France’s confinement period, which French president Emmanuel Macron began rolling back on May 11th. Of these 175 sales, 56 percent were live auctions, where auctioneers put up lots for sale on a live video stream for collectors to bid on in real time. Forty-four percent were purely online sales, many of which were held over the course of a week or more. While auction house sales have gradually begun to increase again, with the exception of charity auctions, there has not been a sale in France that has breached a million euros since lockdown began. To put things into perspective, in 2019, public auctions in France achieved €3.37 billion ($3.65 million) in sales across all sectors, up 12 percent from the previous year.

Russia’s confirmed cases of Covid-19 are spiking, and its wealthiest residents are looking to private aviation for an escape.

Even though many airlines have been forced to dramatically cut flights, traveling via a private jet remains a legal and luxurious loophole for those with the means. Running from €16,000-€25,000 (about $17,610-$27,516) per flight of up to 13 passengers, private jet companies have seen a surge in demand to destinations in the West, ranging from Britain to Cyprus and beyond, according to Reuters.

ITALY

ANCIENT ROMAN MOSAIC FLOOR DISCOVERED UNDER VINES IN ITALY A perfectly preserved ancient Roman mosaic floor has been discovered near the northern Italian city of Verona. Archaeologists were astonished by the find as it came almost a century after the remains of a villa, believed to date to the 3rd century AD, were unearthed in a hilly area above the town of Negrar di Valpolicella.

After the discovery in 1922, the site was mostly left abandoned until a team from the Superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Verona resumed digging last summer. The team returned to the site in October and again in February before the excavation was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. The mosaic was found a few metres beneath a row of vines a week after work got going again.

SPAIN

COVID THREATENS SPAIN’S CENTURIESOLD BULLFIGHTING TRADITION Since the COVID-19 crisis prompted a nation lockdown, Spain's bullrings have remained empty, silencing a controversial part of the country's cultural life.

The Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona, which attracts tens of thousands from across the world every July, was among the headline festivals that were cancelled. Angered by the lack of financial help from the state as losses ran into the millions of dollars, bullfighters went on the offensive. As concerns about a second outbreak of coronavirus continue, the possibility of filling bullrings with thousands of spectators remains in doubt.

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Human Resource Surveys The Coronavirus is accelerating one of the biggest business transformations in decades.

Yes, it’s a health crisis, but for most companies, it’s also an incredible opportunity to transform

COVID-19 - The Greatest Learning Experience Of Our Lives

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onsider a bizarre thought. In the middle of a pandemic, our research now shows that companies are treating their employees better than ever. And employee engagement, a problem that plagues more than two-thirds of companies year after year, is actually going up.

Let me explain.

I’ve been on the phone with more than 30 companies, and we are now doing a bi-weekly pulse of HR organizations. This data, coupled with a new study just completed by Willis Towers Watson, shows clearly that businesses are bending over backwards to take care of their employees.

Why? Because they have to.

Recently, I talked with the CHRO of one of the world’s largest insurance companies, and she

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told me “the crisis has created a level of transparency and trust in our workforce we haven’t seen in decades.” The Willis research found that 90% of companies believe their culture has improved, 83% believe their employee experience is better, and 84% believe employee engagement has gone up.

It took a global health crisis for business and HR leaders to wake up to the fact that when people don’t feel safe, supported, or emotionally secure, they simply cannot do their jobs. So now we see that this is a business transformation disguised as a pandemic.

Let me dig in just a little bit here, and give you the data.

1/ First, companies are protecting workers.

It’s clear from our data that the #1 thing on the minds of most employees today is personal financial

security. Yes, they’re worried about their health, but above that, they’re worried about their jobs, the viability of the company, and their ability to take care of their children, families, and parents.

And for Millennials and younger workers, they are now worried about their careers.

How are companies addressing this? They’re giving employees more flexible benefits, they’re improving work at home programs, they’re giving them free wellness and other forms of education, they’re encouraging people to take a paid vacation, and they’re even helping furloughed people find new positions. Two tech firms I talked with told me they are helping employees with loans and financial counselling, and the People+Work Connect consortium is flooded with applications.

While there are furloughs and layoffs in many

By Josh Bersin

Well, the response has been amazing. Companies are teaching yoga and have group exercise programs online, at one company the chef is teaching cooking classes, and another has launched a “happiness challenge” for people working at home. A global tech company took the Friday “Beer Bashes” and put them online.

And organizations are giving people time to adjust. The most frequently voted answer in our latest Covidhrpulse was to “maintain support and patience as employees try and balance remote work – young kids at home and the challenges of homeschooling all rolled into one.”

Added to this, of course, is a massive increase in employee surveys and feedback. This has been a trend for years, but it accelerated overnight.

Qualtrics told me that almost 100,000 people have downloaded their free set of workplace and COVID tools, and almost every company I talk with is doing open surveys and forums to listen

industries, the overall focus on pay is positive.

The Willis Towers Watson study found that only 15% are cutting pay and only 17% are reducing or delaying merit increases.

2/ Second, is a huge increased focus on personal productivity, wellbeing, and personal resilience. As more than 90% of companies started their work at home program, the first issue they deal with is getting computers, internet access, security, and tools into people’s homes. And this wasn’t easy.

In India, for example, people live in very small spaces, so companies had to buy equipment, ship it, and work through government providers to get it into peoples’ homes. And since the internet is spotty, companies like ServiceNow gave employees generous allowances for Mi-Fi devices and just said “go out and buy what you need, don’t worry about the expense forms.”

Remote Work BootcampOnce people started working at home, and companies immediately discovered issues in social isolation, stress, and time management. As it was described in our Remote Work Bootcamp, working at home demands a new set of practices for management, collaboration, and teamwork.

By the way, one of the biggest HR trends over the last decade is the shift away from “individual performance” to “team performance.” more than ever. In fact, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies calls their new management culture “excessive transparency.”

And on the topic of productivity, the jury is in on working at home. It is more productive than coming into the office. In the Towers study, only 21% of companies said it was holding them back, and every conversation I’ve had is about the fact that “working at home is a new practice for us” and “we may shut down a lot of offices based on this transformation.”

3/ The third transformation is a huge growth in learning, especially for leaders.

While most companies have shut down face to face training, the consumption of online learning is skyrocketing. People are home, and they want to learn about the crisis, their jobs, and what they can do to stay ahead. One of the world’s largest pharma companies told us their workforce consumed more than half a

million learning hours in the last two months.

Training departments always struggle to get people to consume their programs. Not now.

Every company I talked with described a voracious appetite for training: not only on business topics, but on literature, breadmaking, yoga, and more. And this is all a good thing. Remember, the most balanced people are the ones who perform the best – people at home have a little more spare time, so they develop power skills to make themselves feel better.

4/ And this gets me to my fourth point: a changed culture of leadership.

As I discussed in a previously, the CEO is now the Chief Empathy Officer. And this is really happening. The Willis Towers Watson study shows that 63% of HR professionals believe their organizational culture has improved, 59% believe their employee wellbeing has improved, and 55% believe their employee experience has improved. When have we seen numbers like that before? Never in my career.

Look at how managers are responding.

We just talked with Chris Trout from Disney and others – they told us that they are radically rethinking their leadership development programs and now focused on empathy, resilience, caring, and safety. One of the CHROs of a large oil company told us her biggest worry is the mental health of the CEO and top leadership team, so they’re increasing coaching and support for them also.

And all my discussions show that top leaders are stepping up. Two of my business associates, each of whom works for tech companies, told me they are more inspired by their CEOs than ever before.

Consider this. At the start of the crisis, 53% of HR teams said their leaders were “responding to the leads of others.”That number has risen to 81%.

CEOs now see that there is no way out of this crisis without caring for their people first.

By the way, one of the ways I think of this crisis is that this is “the greatest learning experience of our lives.” If we keep our minds open, we can learn about people, business, the economy, and how to make our companies more enduring in the future.

5/ “Work at home” is working well.

Yes, it feels costly and disruptive at first, but as many studies show, flexible work at home gives people a feeling of agency, empowerment, and focus. The Willis study found that 79% of companies see a positive or neutral change in employee productivity, and only 21% said it went down. In

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Feature other words, remote work was ALWAYS a good idea, and now it’s here to stay.

This happened fast. I cannot tell you how many companies told me “COVID-19 accelerated our digital transformation.” Novartis rolled out Microsoft Teams in days, NextDoor revamped their onboarding over the weekend, and Nokia built a real-time dashboard to track the virus in a week.

I had an analyst working for me who had spent 6 months at her prior employer studying whether work at home improved productivity. They studied job performance of two groups (one at home, one forced to come into the office), and after 6 months of study, they concluded: “there was no statistical difference.” Well those kinds of experiments have ended. Companies have seen that when forced to help people work at home, things go well.

And once people start working at home, new opportunities emerge. A Canadian Bank told us that they shut down 80% of their branches, forcing customers to get services online. The branch workers started working at home, and to their surprise, they could serve customers very well.

But then they realized that the customer needs had changed – driven by the job crisis customers wanted more financial advice and counselling.

So the HR team put together a crash course in financial advisory services for these home workers.

The result? An instant success. The CHRO told us this is creating a new business model in the company, and they are now redesigning the banking services to focus on services delivered

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by phone, online advice, and financial consulting without the branch.

By the way, we’re going to introducing a lot of education on resilience. There are really to issues here: organizational resilience and individual resilience. What the crisis has proved is that individuals adapt very fast: organizations adapt very slow. Well, all that has changed. We’re now learning that when we empower and care for people, they adapt and

After decades of work on employee engagement, culture, employee experience, and HR tech, it took a global pandemic to move the needle do amazing things, we just have to give them the tools, time, and culture to succeed.

6/ Finally, there is a new and refocused investment in HR and talent programs.

Despite the fact that budgets are being slashed and refactored in real-time, 78% are investing in more onboarding (often to accommodate remote workers), 74% are investing in recruitment (many companies are vastly changing their workforce needs), and 69% are investing in training. And 48% are changing their performance management programs.

One of the companies I talked with (global financial services company) told me they are considering stopping all performance and goal programs for the year because the first-half bonus plan is freaking everyone out. Airlines have done this, many tech firms have done this, and the Towers research shows that 54% of companies are considering the same.

By the way, one of the biggest HR trends over the last decade is the shift away from “individual performance” to “team performance.” The crisis is accelerating this too. A survey by CultureAmp found that 96% of people who rate their company positively state “I am being treated well and fairly by my peers.” We have entered an authentic era of “collective thinking” in companies, a topic that has been long overdue.

The Crisis Is Transforming Companies In A Positive and Important Way As I talked about in The Big Reset, one of the silver linings in this crisis is our new ability to “get things done fast.” Companies are building new programs in days instead of months, and two-thirds of respondents told us that they are prioritizing relationships like never before.

And get this. Trust in business leaders has gone up.

95% of the respondents in the Willis Towers Watson survey believe senior leaders have demonstrated a sincere interest in employee wellbeing and 85% believe employees have trust and confidence in the job being done by senior execs.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen numbers this high.

But it makes perfect sense.

Teams are coming together to listen to their people, talk, and work together on projects like never before. People are helping each other, asking each other how they’re doing, and listening more than ever.

The bottom line on this crisis is an important lesson in business: When the company takes care of its people, the people take care of the company.

After decades of work on employee engagement, culture, employee experience, and HR tech, it took a global pandemic to move the needle.

I know this is a work in process for you all, and the topic of “returning to work” is yet to be explored (one of my next articles). But for now, let’s appreciate the silver lining in this crisis, it will make our companies and our lives better in the long run.

The author is the president and founder of Bersin & Associates, leading industry research and advisory firm

NIKOLINA JANKOVIĆ, HR PARTNER FOR ASSESSMENT, ASSERT

Talent Assessment In The Service Of Human Resources Optimization Faced with the dynamic market situation caused by the health crisis, organizations need to review their investments in an adequate way and with optimal resource management. The need for adaptation on changed circumstances will put the focus on the HR sector, which receives challenging task - analysis and decision on the optimization of human resources

F

or companies whose business volume has changed due to the Covid19 pandemic, several strategies are available: recruitment freeze, abolition of non-salary compensations, redistribution of work, but also optimization of the number of employees.

As an essential point, the company should be familiar with its talent pool or, more precisely, who the top talents and key people are that we should motivate and keep at all costs. Research has shown that companies that had lost their key people in a crisis period had difficulties in bringing back their previous market position. Furthermore, having systematized data about employee performance highly helps the HR sector to set a foundation in analysis and planning. The question then becomes: is performance the only source of information that we should consider when optimizing human resources? The answer is a firm no.

In case we take performance as the only criterion, we increase the risk of making wrong decisions and potentially

losing people who share the company values, knowledge, and network. We would overlook the fact that some employees have a hidden potential to perform well in other job positions because they are not performing at a current one. By deciding to keep or promote certain top performers we would put them at risk of burnout just because we did not previously assess their strengths and weaknesses. It is necessary to take into

Is performance the only source of information that we should consider when optimizing human resources? The answer is a firm no

account that performance results are influenced by external factors outside of an individual’s control, but also that results are often subjective ratings given by direct superiors.

What would then be a relevant source of information for making key decisions about human resources? We would like

to point out that the answer is a professional assessment of employees, which provides quantified data on the potential, current competencies, motivation and aspirations of employees. By including the assessment center in a toolset of the HR sector, deeper insight and analysis of intangible aspects are provided in comparison to performance metrics. The real benefit we get by the cross-analysis of assessment data and employees’ results with which we identify success criteria unique to a particular organization. At Assert, we advise clients that the assessment center, besides behavioral exercises and interviews, should include a valid and reliable psychometric test of personality, behavioral preferences, and motivation. In this way, we compare the individual’s qualities with the requirements of different jobs in the organization and find the best fit.

This comprehensive approach to employee assessment ensures data-based decision-making, increases the power to predict future performance, and reduces the possibility of error in human resource planning. Investing in high-quality HRM processes is a worthwhile investment.

We should not allow ourselves to learn this the hard way, by adding up the costs incurred as a result of wrong decisions.

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PROFILE

Regulations Serving Intellectual Work Photo Credit - Nebojša Marković

Dostoevsky once wrote that “it's always interesting to talk with an intelligent man”. I was fortunate enough to build my professional career alongside top experts, without the support of whom I would not have gained the privilege of managing the Intellectual Property Office. And this year sees this Serbian institute celebrating the 100th anniversary of its work and existence

VLADIMIR MARIĆ, DIRECTOR OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF SERBIA

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orn in Loznica, to a family of education workers, I didn't express an interest in law until I was in my 20s, but I always loved the arts, particularly music and literature. I realise today that it was that love that determined my current profession. It was in the autumn of 1996, when I first came across the area of intellectual property at the Faculty of Law, that I saw in it a point that connected my future legal profession with the arts and sciences. It was many years later that I considered that most intellectual property experts I know also gravitate towards science and art. Then, as today, that world appeared enticing and interesting to me.

The history of the Office began with the Royal Decree of 15th November 1920, when – at the behest of Alexander I Karađorđević – our first Directorate for the Protection of Industrial Property was established. The Directorate was headquartered in Belgrade, and its first members were all themselves greats of Serbian scientific and cultural thought, including Milutin Milanković himself, as one of Serbia's greatest ever

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scientists. For a full ninety-nine years, the Institute only suspended its work during one period of its history – the German occupation of World War II. By examining the oldest registers of the Intellectual Property Office, we can see that companies like Mercedes, Ford or IBM were protecting their trademarks in our country back in the early 1920s. Some of these oldest trademarks, such as Henkel's “Lik.o.san” from 1931, are still applied today. The oldest domestic trademark that is still valid, is Galenika's “Jekoderm”, dates back to 1953.

The first regulations in this area were adopted by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1884.

Those were the Law on Factory and Trade Marks and the Law on the Protection of Models and Patterns. The first comprehensive regulation that protected all industrial property rights – meaning not only trademarks, but also patents and industrial design – dates back to 1922.

Serbia also has a long history of international rights of intellectual property. We always note with pride that we are one of only 11 countries that were signatories of the founding act of the Paris Convention from 1883, the oldest and still most important international agreement in the field of industrial property. Likewise, it is worth recalling that Serbia is today a member of almost all international agreements covering this area. That's not just a formality – rather it means that all internationally recognised standards in the protection of intellectual property are applied in Serbia.

When it comes to our EU membership negotiations in the part related to Chapter 7 - Intellectual Property Law, the Office is responsible for leading that work. We opened that chapter in 2017, and over the course of the past year we've done a lot to advance the protection of intellectual property, which I'm sure will be confirmed by the European Commission in its regular progress report, expected in June. I would stress that the adoption of new regulations should not be viewed only through the prism of fulfilling conditions for EU membership, although this is understandably important and represents our basic foreign policy orientation. We should never feel sorry for efforts we've exerted in order to adopt new, modern regulations in this area, because regulations must primarily serve justice and ensure a better life for people – and in this case that means people who live from their intellectual work. It seems to me that this should be our basic orientation in this work.

This Office is today a modern and efficient state institution that has a staff of professional and dedicated people. We conduct all our procedures in electronic form, while our website has extremely valuable and rich databases of patents, trademarks, industrial designs and indications of geographical origin. We are witnessing the growth of the importance of the creative industries in Serbia, and with it the importance of intellectual property, without which the creative industries would be mere fiction. Under such circumstances, the role of the Office in our society will become increasingly important in the years to come.

European Parliamentary Research

Is 5G Technology Bad For Our Health?

The fifth generation of telecommunications technologies, 5G, is fundamental to achieving a European gigabit society by 2025. The aim to cover all urban areas, railways and major roads with uninterrupted fifth-generation wireless communication can only be achieved by creating a very dense network of antennas and transmitters

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his raises the question as to whether there is a negative impact on human health and environment from higher frequencies and billions of additional connections, which, according to research, will mean constant exposure for the whole population.

Whereas researchers generally consider such radio waves not to constitute a threat to the population, research to date has not addressed the constant exposure that 5G would introduce. Accordingly, a section of the scientific community considers that more research on the potential negative biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and 5G is needed.

The EU’s current provisions on exposure to wireless signals, the Council Recommendation on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields (0 Hz to 300 GHz), is now 20 years old and thus does not take the specific technical characteristics of 5G into account.

Under the EU digital single market strategy, the EC presented new policy measures in its 2016 communication on Connectivity for a Competitive Digital Single Market – Towards a European Gigabit Society. The EC’s aim is to advance the digitalisation of the EU and to increase its competitiveness by launching networks with much higher capacities, with 5G as a building block to achieve a ‘gigabit society’ by 2025. Its main characteristics would enable the internet of things, which means that billions of connections between devices share information.

The Commission has established the following connectivity targets for 2025:

• schools, universities, research centres, hospitals, main providers of public services and digitally intensive enterprises should have access to internet download/upload speeds of one gigabit of data per second; • urban and rural households should have access to Connectivity of download speed of at least 100 megabits per second; • urban areas, major roads and railways should have uninterrupted 5G coverage.

The connectivity objective has been regulated by the adoption of the EU Electronic Communication Code (EECC) at the end of 2018, under which EU Member States have to authorise the use of the new 5G frequency bands at 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz and reorganise them by the end of 2020, in line with the EECC. This decision enables the take-up of 5G services in the Union.

According to the European 5G observatory, supported by the EC, at the end of September 2019, 165 trials had been carried out in the EU, and 11 Member States had already published their national 5G action plans.

ADVANTAGES Allowing much larger volumes of data to be transported more quickly, and reducing response time, 5G will enable instantaneous Connectivity to billions of devices, the internet of things and a truly connected EU population. Furthermore, millions of jobs and billions of euros could be expected to be gained from the digital economy.

The possibilities that the 5th generation of wireless communication offers, such as down-

loading or uploading one gigabit of data per second, may provide advantages, for instance, for the military and medical research, which could benefit from having access to such extremely high gigabit connectivity. Wired networks generally offer faster internet speed and are considered to be more secure. This is due to the fact that a wired network is only accessible through a physical cable connection, whereas with wireless networks, the signal may be broadcast outside the physical premises. Wired connection offers more control than radio or wi-fi, because such organisations already provide protection for servers and internal IT facilities within their physical locations, taking advantage of almost 100 % of the bandwidth, which also reduces response times.

DISADVANTAGES Because it is more complex and requires a denser coverage of base stations to provide the expected capacity, 5G will cost much more to deploy than previous mobile technologies. According to European Commission estimates, to reach the target, including 5G coverage in all urban areas, this cost is estimated at around €500 billion by 2025.

Questions remain unanswered as to what 5G actually is, what it is for, whether it has impacts on human health and environment, whether it is secure, whether it offers good value for money or whether anyone will be prepared to pay for it. As an alternative, according to some experts, fibre optics would be more secure, safe and offer higher speed than 5G. However, fibre optics are not wireless.

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Enterpreneur

AMANCIO ORTEGA

World’s Largest Fashion

Clothing Retailer

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Amancio Ortega, the founder of clothing retailer Zara, is the sixth-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg. The 83-year-old Spaniard is worth an estimated €62.9 billion, with 970 stores in 76 markets around Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America. Ortega's life truly exemplifies a rags-to-riches story. He is founder of the world’s largest fashion clothing retailer, Zara. Ortega started Zara in 1975 and saw it grow to 1,500 stores in 70 countries by 2012

Born in 1936, he started delivering shirts at age 12 after dropping out of school because his family needed the money. Ortega was raised by his railway worker father and his housemaid mother. They were so poor that his mother had to ask the local shopkeeper for credit to feed her family on occasion, which was sometimes refused, shaming the young Amancio.

He learned how to make dressing gowns and lingerie with his first wife, Rosalia Mera, with whom he had two children. As his knowledge of the clothing industry grew, so did his ambition. This is the story of how Ortega seized the opportunity to start his own small clothing business, growing it into one of the most successful retail operations in the world.

In 1963, Amancio Ortega gathered the local women into a thousand different cooperatives and formed a company called Confecciones Goa that sold the dressing gowns, housecoats, and lingerie they produced. Ortega's siblings and soon-to-be-wife Rosalia Mera also stitched some of the first items by hand in their home. In 1975, he and Rosalia opened a retail store they called Zara that quickly expanded across Galicia, Spain.

Zara attracted sales because it sold designer fashions at reasonable prices.

By the mid-1980s, Ortega had spread Zara throughout Spain. In time, he incorporated the brand into a holding company named the Inditex Group and bought 59.29% of the group’s shares, thereby becoming its largest

ORTEGA WITH HIS 2ND WIFE FLORA

shareholder. Inditex SA serves as Europe’s leading fashion retailer and carries brands that include Massimo Dutti, Uterque, Zara Home, Stradivarius, Bershka, Oysho, and Pull&Bear.

To date, the Spain-based company has more than 88,000 employees and operates more than 7,400 stores in 96 markets around the world. In its 9-month interim report ending Oct. 2019, the company reported gross profits of €11.5 billion, a year-overyear increase of 8%.

The 1990s was the decade when Ortega expanded his wealth by acquiring the Mas-

simo Dutti, Uterque, and Stradivarius fashion designs, as well as the Pull&Bear and Bershka brands. Ortega differentiated himself from competitors by limiting advertising, controlling most of his supply chain, and expanding as wildly as he could. He also chose wisely when investing in Inditex, which Louis Vuitton, French fashion designer, called "possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world." When the Spanish stock market plunged, Inditex gained, giving Ortega about €41.3 billion.

By the end of 2010, Ortega had diversified his investments, owning premium office

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Enterpreneur

ORTEGA WITH HIS DAUGHTER MARTA

and retail properties in major cities in Spain, parts of Europe, and the United States. Three of his acquisitions were the Epic Residences & Hotel in Miami, Florida; the Torre Picasso skyscraper in Madrid; and a nine-story building also in Madrid, which he bought for €413 million. Ortega also acquired a 21.6% stake in La Coruna, an equestrian center in Larin, Spain. In 2016 he has made smart real estate investments in Madrid, London, Chicago, Barcelona, New York and Miami.

It’s reported that Ortega earned €72 million from his property portfolio alone in 2016.

However,one of the most unique things about Ortega is that he has never had his own office, a habit that was apparently driven by his humble roots. He would sit at a desk in his headquarters at A Coruña to meet with his designers and staff. Ortega lives a humble life. He avoids publicity, is a workaholic, and went without holidays for 25 years. He eats his meals in the company cafeteria along with his employees and visits the same corner cafeteria every day. In fact, Ortega has yet to own an office; he works from various design areas and factories instead. Ortega's first interview was in 2000 when he promoted Zara. Even then, the interview was given to only three journalists.

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To date, the Spain-based company has more than 88,000 employees and operates more than 7,400 stores in 96 markets around the world. In its 9-month interim report ending Oct. 2019, the company reported gross profits of €11.5 billion, a year-over-year increase of 8% The billionaire’s only published photograph until 1999 was an old national ID. In 2015, Zara opened its 7,000th store in Hawaii and also set up a profit-sharing scheme that would go on to pay out €37.4 million to 78,000 employees across the company’s stores, factories, brands and subsidiaries across 50 different countries.

Ortega can also attribute his wealth to his shrewd investing strategy. Most of his fortune has come from Inditex, the world's

ORTEGA ENJOYES REFRESHING IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

largest clothing retailer from which the billionaire has received more than €4 billion in dividends. The once-upon-a-time errand boy is consistently listed in Forbes' top 10 wealthiest individuals in the world, joining the ranks of billionaires Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett.

Ortega was born in northwestern Spain in 1936, the son of a railroad worker and a stay-at-home mother. He started making clothes with his siblings and future wife, Rosalia Mera, in their home in the early 1960s.

In 1975, Ortega and Mera opened the first Zara store in downtown La Coruna, Spain.

Ten years later, in 1985, Ortega incorporated Zara into a holding company called Inditex.

In August 2013, Rosalia Mera, died at 69.

She was Spain's richest woman. Ortega and Mera married in 1966, and were divorced in 1986.He and his wife, Mera, separated around that time, but she remained the company's second-largest shareholder.

Ortega married to his second wife, Flora Perez, and since 2001 they live in a discreet

DRIZZLE

apartment building in La Coruña, Spain, near a major port of the Atlantic Ocean.

They share a daughter, Marta, who is a senior creative consultant at Zara Women. Marta married top Spanish equestrian Sergio Álvarez Moya in February 2012, but the couple separated in 2015.

He bought one of the tallest skyscrapers in Spain, the Torre Picasso in Madrid. The building stands 180 meters and cost almost €500 million, in addition to the Epic Residences and Hotel in Miami, considered to be one of the best luxury hotels in the USA. Currently he owns property in nine countries: Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, South Korea, Spain and the United States.

He owns The Global Express BD-700, a private jet designed by Bombardier, one of the leading manufacturers of luxury private jets.

The plane carries a price tag of €41 million, but he rarely jets off on vacation. He says he loves working too much to take time off. Ortega and drives an Audi A8 luxury sedan that is said to be more about comfort than luxury.

In 2015, Zara opened its 7,000th store in Hawaii and also set up a profitsharing scheme that would go on to pay out €37.4 million to 78,000 employees across the company’s stores, factories, brands and subsidiaries across 50 different countries His latest major real estate purchases came late 2019 when he bought an office building used by Facebook in Seattle for around €400 million as well as the “Troy Block” complex in the same city which houses part of Amazon’s headquarters for €720 million.

Ortega is known for being immensely private. In 2012, Bloomberg noted that he

had only granted interviews to three journalists.

He dresses modestly, usually wearing simple uniform of a blue blazer, white shirt, and grey trousers — none of which are Zara products.

He goes to the same coffee shop every day and eats lunch with his employees in the company cafeteria. In his free time, Ortega is known to enjoy horseback riding and owns an equestrian centre in Finisterre in Galicia, Spain, where he likes to ride with his daughter Marta, who was previously married to international show jumper Sergio Álvarez Moya until they divorced in 2015.

His immense wealth has allowed him to hobnob with celebrities and royalty. Since 2008 was often seen in company with Princess Letizia and Crown Prince Felipe of Spain. The pair are now King and Queen of the country.

Ortega stepped down as chairman of Inditex, the owner of Zara, in 2011 but he still owns 59 per cent of the world’s biggest fashion retailer, which also owns other popular fashion brands like Massimo Dutti and Bershka.

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&FACES PLACES 06/05/2020

EU-Western Balkans Summit

The EU-Western Balkans summit took place in Zagreb, Croatia, via video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It brought together heads of state or government from EU member states and leaders from the six Western Balkans partners: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia and Kosovo* The meeting was chaired by Charles Michel, the President of the European Council. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of Croatia, which currently holds the presidency of the Council, Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, David Sassoli, the President of the European Parliament, representatives of the EBRD, the World Bank, the European investment Bank and the Regional Cooperation Council also participated.

At the summit EU leaders reaffirmed their unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. The second important topic that have been discussed during this summit was European perspective of the Western Balkans partners The EU confirm the the package of over €3.3 billion to the benefit of the Western Balkans to support the health sector and economic recovery.

9/5/2020

Belgrade Hosts Exhibition On WWII Liberation Of Eastern Europe

On the occasion of the Victory over Fascism in Europe Day, a historical and documentary exhibition dedicated to the liberation of Eastern Europe from Nazism in the period from 1944 to 1945 was set up on the Republic Square in Belgrade, and flowers were laid on the memorial plaque to the fallen Red Army soldiers. Wreaths were also laid at the Monument to the Liberators of Belgrade.

Russian Ambassador Alexander Bocan-Kharchenko congratulated the 75th anniversary of the victory over fascism and pointed out that 9 May is a great and magnificent day that brings with it pride, memory, but also great sorrow.

“Our countries were together and they made the greatest contribution in the Second World War with the help and cooperation with allies,” the Ambassador said adding that “our cooperation regarding the inadmissibility of revision and falsification of history is very close today, as well.” Source: FoNet

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SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

9/5/2020

Europe Day Marked In Serbia

Europe Day symbolizes the promise of peace, prosperity, and solidarity, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, Ambassador Sem Fabrizi, and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić agreed in welcome speeches during the central event marking the day The ceremony was held in the botanical garden “Jevremovac” in Belgrade, attended by guests from the diplomatic corps and the state leadership of Serbia, and was held respecting security measures in preventing the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 May is not the date of a military battle or national uprising, but a celebration of the victory of peace over war, says Ambassador Fabrizi.

13-15/05/2020

Opening - May Plenary Session On EU COVID-19 Recovery Measures

From Wednesday 13 to Friday 15 May 2020, EU Parliament meets in plenary, using the temporary alternative electronic voting procedure introduced since the coronavirus outbreak, with the agenda including up to three voting sessions. The meeting was chaired by European Parliament President David Sassoli. Owing to the many votes required – and depending on the number of amendments tabled – the announcement of the results of the final Friday votes exceptionally took place only on the morning of Saturday 16 May. In contrast to recent sessions, where the coronavirus pandemic has dominated the agenda, Members now turn to ‘normal’ business and in particular, the thorny issue of the EU budget, in what promises to be difficult times ahead.

Following the International Nurses Day, the President thanked the women and men who provide essential health services with dedication, courage and humanity in such difficult times.

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&FACES PLACES 26/05/2020

EU Announces Financial 'Firepower' Of €1.85 Trillion

The big day has arrived the European Commission has laid out its vision for post-pandemic recovery funds, and it is worth €1.85 trillion. The plan relies on both the long-term EU budget (2021-27) and a special recovery fund.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is addressing the European Parliament, an effort to persuade MEPs who also get a say on the final plan.

The EU Commission is proposing a €750 billion recovery fund, the Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni tweeted. The money would be divided up into 500 billion euros given to EU countries as grants, the remaining €250 billion would be available as loans.

28/05/2020

NATO Discusses Impact Of COVID-19

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed NATO military commanders by videoconference on 28 May. The conference, hosted by Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Tod D. Wolters, provided an opportunity for commanders across Allied Command Operations to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on NATO missions, operations and activities.

The Secretary General praised the leadership of NATO commanders in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighted the key role of the armed forces in supporting civilian efforts. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Allied militaries have helped with logistics and planning, field hospitals, the transport for patients, repatriation of citizens abroad, disinfection of public areas, and at border crossings.

He noted that while NATO faces the current crisis, other security challenges have not diminished.

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After The Pandemic

The Office Dress Code Should Never Come Back Most workplaces have at least some kind of dress code, and for many of those who greet customers and perform service jobs, a specific uniform is required. Even in the most ambiguous situations, context clues abound on the bodies of colleagues: If no one ever wears jeans, you probably shouldn’t either

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uch of that confusion is the result of rapid change. Millennials, notorious murderers of American institutions and social norms, are now the largest generation in the country’s workforce.

As the oldest members of that group, people in their late 30s, accrue power in their organizations, they’ve started to reshape the meaning of “work clothes” in their image—upending the very idea of a dress code as a single standard to which all should aspire.

When they’re done, work clothes might be dead for good. Whether that future looks like a descent into midriff-baring anarchy or a sweet reprieve from the tyranny of binding waistbands probably depends on whether you’re a person who makes rules or one who is subject to them.

In the American imagination, the standard for professional work wear has long been a suit or a conservatively tailored dress, even for workers who don’t go into an office. That’s largely held true despite the successful invasion of “business casual,” jump-started by Dockers as a marketing gambit in 1992. That many of the world’s most profitable companies—Google, Facebook, and Apple among them—allow employees to come to work in jeans

and sweatshirts all week has yet to meaningfully destabilize that perception. With that in mind, at the beginning of every new term, Regan Gurung shows up to teach his psychology students at Oregon State University in a full suit and tie.

Gurung is also taking a cue from his own work.

According to two studies he conducted, women, at least, are rated by others as more competent when they wear formal attire. And we actually act as though dress influences our abilities: Subjects clad in white lab coats perform better on tests than those without them.The gap between our internalized notions about professionalism and what a company’s dress code says is why going to work in shorts still causes anxiety that pushes some people onto Reddit and Facebook with their skittish inquiries about what to wear.

In a twist in the we-are-what-we-wear story, researchers at Harvard identified what they called the red-sneakers effect. It posits that as long as the person ignoring workplace guidelines is perceived to be doing it purposefully, evaluations of that person improve—think Mark Zuckerberg and his “fuck you” hoodies in early Facebook business meetings.

After all, there’s no greater power than being exempt from the rules that govern everyone else.

It’s no secret that there’s a rising premium on “being yourself, being an individual, bringing your full self to work, broader expression of who you are,” says Scott Cawood, the CEO of WorldatWork, a global association for human-resources professionals. “You traditionally had men in the C-suite, and they had certain conceptions of how men and women should look. That’s why there was so much concern about can you wear skirts, can you wear pants,” Cawood says. Some of those rules are still

enforced in workplaces that prize formality—finedining establishments, white-shoe law firms... Doing away with these standards is a question not just of gender, but of class: The more comprehensive the expectations for presentation, the more resources required to meet them, and buying a closetful of work wear is a lot more expensive than just using what you already own.

Even the mass entertainments that have made the suit-and-tie look such an enduring shorthand for professionalism are beginning to fade, no doubt because the same young Americans who now constitute the majority of the broader labor pool have real influence in shaping what ends up on your screens.

TV series such as Silicon Valley and Superstore depict occupational aesthetics as something closer to what they’ve been for millions of Americans for the past decade: people wearing the same clothes to their job that they’d wear to the movies or to lunch with a friend, sometimes complemented by a company-issued jacket or an ID-carrying lanyard.

Gurung, Cawood, and Hall all agree that the mandate for greater fairness in the workplace— spurred by nondiscrimination laws and the need to retain workers in a tight labor market—will likely spell the end of the dress code as we know it, sooner rather than later. The entire dress code is two words: Dress appropriately.

Ultimately, what such simple dictates acknowledge is that workers are adults, not babies at productivity day care. “People just generally know how to self-govern, and I don’t think you need these archaic rules to punish that outlier that may or may not occur,” Hall said. “Just cover the things you want covered and call it a day.”

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Art

Romanian Contemporary Art

Transition, Trauma

& The Cluj Connection

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MIRCEA SUCIU - UNTITLED

By Adrian Ghenie

For several years now, Romanian painting has been touted as the new big thing. The contemporary art world is, of course, constantly awash with talk of the next sensation, but where there's smoke there's usually some degree of fire, and the moody virtuosity of Romanian art is certainly worth serious attention

I

n reality, recognition has been measured but steady; as slow-burning as the smouldering art itself. While the majority of names associated with new Romanian painting remain fairly low-profile, others, such as Serban Savu and Adrian are already highly coveted by tuned-in collectors. And their successors, a younger generation of Romanian artists, are starting to prove just as compelling.

Also of interest, however, is the background to Romania's contemporary art renaissance, which shows striking parallels with the success of the Leipzig School, the former East German academy whose alumni were catapulted to international stardom at the start of the noughties.

Many of Romania's new artists are likewise connected to a particular institution: the painting department of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, a small city located in northern Romania in the heart of Transylvania (below, left).

Under communist rule, Romanian art education adopted the rigorous figurative requirements of socialist realism; Cluj, always one of the country's most renowned academies, maintained these traditions after communism's fall. Its painters display the same virtuosity that contributed so highly to Leipzig's appeal, but it's at this point that comparisons start to falter.

The so-called Cluj School has its own, distinctive style: a looser use of paint; a less pronounced (though still evident) emphasis on surreal elements; and, most obviously, a far more sombre appearance. New Romanian painting tends towards darkness, both literally and metaphorically.

Many commentators have suggested that contemporary Eastern European art, particularly that from the Balkans, is still in the process of expurgating decades of trauma. The schisms created by years of the communist rule followed by its sudden disintegration and the destabilising

VICTOR RACATAU - WALK AROUND THE SUN

effects of capitalism are inescapably evident in the region's cultural production.

The generation of Romanian artists who grew up amid such uncertainties certainly document these tensions. Interestingly, however, several spent time abroad at key phases of their artistic careers - Serban Savu in Italy; Adrian Ghenie in Austria; Victor Man in Israel - a distancing which seems to have contributed to a more neutral - even sympathetic - appraisal of their heritage.

Their work frequently seems as wistfully elegiac as it does critical or uncertain, mournfully aware of the rupture between old and new and the difficulties

of reconciliation memory or nostalgia with history.

Indeed, in many cases the crepuscular light that infiltrates Romanian painting can be seen as representative of hazy indeterminacy rather than the bleak, condemnatory negation with which it is often associated. The motif of a deer dazed by headlights, one used by various painters, seems a particularly apt expression of this bewilderment.

Such inheritance is difficult to surmount or ignore, and younger Romanian artists continue to express the difficulties of coping with tumultuous change.

Their approaches, however, are increasingly

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Art

Romanian Contemporary Art

The so-called Cluj School has its own, distinctive style: a looser use of paint; a less pronounced (though still evident) emphasis on surreal elements; and, most obviously, a far more sombre appearance.

New Romanian painting tends towards darkness, both literally and metaphorically diverse: Veres Szabolcs, for example, focuses on Romania's classical artistic heritage to explore a contemporary state of mind. Figuration is still the dominant painterly mode but often accompanied by gestural, expressionistic accents. And a growing concern with the portrait study - not only among emerging artists but established painters such as Adrian Ghenie (left) - seems to attest to increasing interest in notions of identity-less contingent on the politics or processes of reform.

Romanian international prominence is rapidly on the rise, but perhaps it's more instructive to view the roots of Romania's contemporary renaissance as a further addition to a global body of the artistic response to unprecedented political and social transition. A theme which, from the likes of China, Poland, Iran, India has come to dominate the last two decades of art, but which never loses its relevance, or power to compel.

VICTOR RACATAU Born in 1967, Victor Racatau completed both under-graduate and post-graduate studies at the Cluj University of Art and Design, making him in many ways a quintessential exponent of the so-called 'Cluj School'.

The inscrutability of fate and hazardous nature of chance is a dominant theme in his work, exemplified by motifs such as the throwing of dice.

Labyrinths and maps also occur frequently, used by Racatau to represent the attempted ordering of psychological and historical space.

Combining brooding grisaille with instances of intensely luminous colour, Racatau's chromatic

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CANTEMIR HAUSI - CAIN AND ABEL

OANA FARCAS - IN THE LIGHT, OUT OF SIGHT

schema serves as a literal rendition of metaphorical light within the darkness; the flickering brilliance of insight and possibility glimpsed from within a dark cloud of unknowing.

MIRCEA SUCIU Born in 1978, Mircea Suciu considers his work "painting for 'voyeurs'", and as we gaze at subjects engrossed in their own activity, backs to the viewer or unaware of being overlooked, it's a definition that captures the sense of intrusion

his works intend to evoke. Our own focus on the act of looking is frequently mirrored within the canvas itself, with Suciu's protagonists searching or observing, rapt in inexplicable pursuits.

Darkly tinged with the surreal, these paintings - despite their relatively simple composition - provide plenty for the voyeur to consider.

CANTEMIR HAUSI Born in 1976, Hausi's family was highly politicised, subject to surveillance by Romania's

By author

Romanian international prominence is rapidly on the rise, but perhaps it's more instructive to view the roots of Romania's contemporary renaissance as a further addition to a global body of the artistic response to unprecedented political and social transition RADU COMCA - UNTITLED

communist regime and continually under the threat of interrogation. Little wonder, then, that uncertainty and paranoia are strongly reflected in the artist's work.

Hausi's tenebrous chromatic scale is matched by his reluctance to fully delineate and reveal.

Secretive gesture and semi-obscurity lie at the heart of Hausi's world, a place marked by past shadows and his own disinclination - or inability - to fully emerge from them.

RADU COMCA Forest glades filled with grazing deer; looming mountains; the moon. Radu Comca relentlessly strips away the romantic potential of such subjects to create images in which 'appropriate' emotional registers seem uneasily absent - even a comparatively lush landscape (below left) is revealed to be a diorama.

Is the world really this disquieting? Comca may have alternative visions, but his work consistently refuses to find serenity and solace in the places most would expect to find them.

OANA FARCAS Born in 1981, Oana Farcas is one of a newer generation of Romanian artists associated with Cluj, where she began her studies in 1999.

Farcas describes her work as "my own private collection of bits and pieces of recycled memories and visual information". While this approach to art-making has become increasingly, even predictably, routine, Farcas consolidates this sense of an "imaginary museum" by frequently producing miniature works alongside larger pieces.

ĹžERBAN SAVU - REFUGE

SERBAN SAVU Born in 1978, and educated in Cluj-Napoca from 1996-2001, Serban Savu is one of the betterknown representatives of recent Romanian art, as well as arguably among the most talented.

His paintings depict ordinary Romanians at work and play in equally ordinary surroundings tinged with omnipresent urbanity.

Yet despite the dreariness of the locations in which he chooses to place his figures, Savu's subjects seem unoppressed by their surround-

ings, sunbathing, swimming, working, walking‌ Nevertheless, Savu's impressive figuration blinds us to various manipulations. His technique of isolating figures within wide expanses of land or cityscape creates dramatic compositions powerfully at odds with the mundanity of his subject matter.

In a continual elision of past and present, he transforms all manifestations of the utilitarian and ordinary into moments that surpass the sum of their parts.

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Feature

While Having To Stay At Home Because of the coronavirus outbreak, we’re spending most of our time at home.

However, not all of us are used to spending so much time cooped up in one place, and it’s starting to show!

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ome people are so bored that they’re finding new and creative ways to spend their downtime. Like one person who thought it would be a brilliant idea to walk around on all fours with an Amazon box on their body. Or another who took off all the seeds from a strawberry with nothing but a pair of tweezers.

DISNEY LAUNCHES A NEW LINE OF FACE The US Centers for Disease Control And Prevention has advised people to wear cloth face masks to slow the spread of coronavirus. And while it’s a literal must-have for the spring, it doesn’t make it a fun and lovely accessory.

Luckily, Disney has just launched a cool line of reusable cloth face masks that feature fan-favourite Disney cartoons. From Baby Yoda and the Avengers to Winnie The Pooh and Mickie Mouse, the masks are aimed at kids and kids at heart who finally have a chance to let out their inner character.

NORDIC PEOPLE SOCIAL DISTANCING People from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and other northern European countries have been setting the social-distancing trend before it was cool, and here’s the proof.

Imgur user LucasLux recently shared a couple of photos of Nordic people social distancing a few years before this became the new normal

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DISNEY LAUNCHES A NEW LINE OF FACE

While some people are struggling to figure out how far away do they have to stand from each other, it turns out that Nordic people have been setting this trend for a long while now. Some of these photos shared by Imgur user LucasLux are five years old, so they were social distancing before it was cool.

CARDBOARD TANKS FOR CATS Garry Stevenson owns cat Mittens. “She is mostly calm and collected, apart from when we all go to bed, then she runs about the house like a maniac,” he said.

Someone in his Facebook newsfeed had shared a picture of a cat in a tank a while back. The idea had been stuck in his head for a while, and he was planning to build a tank for Mittens once he had the time. It took him around 3 hours to craft “at a leisurely pace” and Garry pointed out that his cat loves boxes and cardboard.

“I work from home anyway as a graphic designer, my wife is a carer with a Scottish charity, so it’s business as usual for us. We do have two kids around all day every day, but they’re pretty good at

amusing themselves and can video chat with their friends. Overall, we can’t complain; others aren’t so lucky,” said Garry.

MOM CREATES BEAUTIFUL CHALK DRAWINGS FOR HER DAUGHTER Quarantine might have trapped us inside the shells of our houses; however, some people are finding ways to escape the mundane repetition of our reality and venture out on colourful adventures. A family in Atlanta use bright chalk crayons to create wondrous settings for the family’s children to play in.

Abbey Burns Tucker started a series of photos on her Facebook page, showcasing a variety of fun and playful situations where her daughters interact with the drawings on the concrete. It’s small wonder that such colourful photographs attracted thousands of likes and hundreds of comments from people on social media.

UNFORTUNATE QUARANTINE HAIRCUTS As hair salons and barbershops have been closed in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, people took matters into their own hands. Lucky for us, they

MOM CREATES BEAUTIFUL CHALK DRAWINGS FOR HER DAUGHTER

DAUGHTER REPLACES FAMILY PHOTOS WITH CRAYON DRAWINGS ONE BY ONE (LEFT) DAY 1 DAUGHTER REPLACES FAMILY PHOTOS WITH CRAYON DRAWINGS ONE BY ONE (RIGHT)

NORDIC PEOPLE SOCIAL DISTANCING

UNFORTUNATE QUARANTINE HAIRCUTS

are sharing the results of their haircuts on social media, proving just once again that hairdressers exist for a reason.

From poorly done fades to bald patches on the back of the head, these quarantine haircut fails are all kinds of hilarious. So scroll down below to see some unfortunate lockdown haircuts and vote for the ones that made you laugh.

CARDBOARD TANKS FOR CATS

DAUGHTER REPLACES FAMILY PHOTOS WITH CRAYON DRAWINGS ONE BY ONE Almost everyone is bored out of their minds during this quarantine. Well, Kristen Vogler found a

way to keep herself busy. She decided to mess with her parents with an innocent prank by replacing their family photos with pictures drawn with crayons.

“So I love doing harmless pranks in general and was talking to my younger sister about a prank someone pulled that involved replacing family photos with Nicolas Cage. But I don’t have a colour printer, so knew that wouldn’t work. I happened to have a box of crayons, and it all sort of clicked from there. That was several months ago, however.

It wasn’t until COVID-19 that I found myself with more time on my hands and I actually could start it,” Kristen told Bored Panda.

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My life

Ana Ivanović, Retired Professional Tennis Player

She won the French Open at the age of 20. Following the presentation of the trophy, the national anthem of the winner was recited, meaning the Serbian national anthem was performed in Paris! Two days later, she officially became the number one female player on the WTA list. She's served as a UNICEF ambassador for over 10 years and has been married to celebrated German footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger for almost four years, with whom she has two sons, Luka and Leon. She says that she enjoys the role of mother, viewing parenting as a great fortune, but also a responsibility

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By Nebojša Višković

W

hen I started my career as a sports journalist back in the early '90s, tennis was viewed as a marginal sport in Serbia. But it was then that a plethora of young girls and boys emerged and succeeded in doing something unimaginable: elevating Serbia onto the pedestal of the tennis world, thus improving the image of the country more than any political marketing campaign. One of those youngsters was Ana Ivanović, who – despite not residing in her homeland – continues to attract a lot of public attention. People are interested in how she lives in Austria and whether she's more adept at handling babies' nappies than a racquet, especially during this time of the planetary pandemic.

“With two small children, time is mostly dedicated to activities with and around them.

A lot of imagination is required to fill the day and make it interesting for children, considering that we are constantly at home, and that we also follow rules whereby the children don't spend time in front of a TV screen or computer. All in all, we enjoy ourselves with them, with an awareness that they will grow up very quickly. Of course, I also take care of myself. During my career, I spent a lot of time in the gym and – along with daily tennis training – there was little time remaining for other activities. It's for this reason that I now enjoy yoga, running and all other sporting activities that make me feel good. Of course, I now do all of that out of pure enjoyment and as much as it brings me pleasure. I believe that it is 'in the blood' of former athletes to stay active,” says Ana. Behind every man stands a successful woman, while the opposite is also true in the case of Ana Ivanović. She's been married to celebrated German footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger for almost four years. They chose the Austrian town of Westendorf as their family nest, but they have retained some of the habits of the former nomadic life that they led as athletes.

“Somehow that nomadic life gets into the blood and as nice as it is to have a home and some

I now enjoy yoga, running and all other sporting activities that make me feel good. Of course, I now do all of that out of pure enjoyment and as much as it brings me pleasure.

I believe that it is 'in the blood' of former athletes to stay active personal oasis of peace, the desire to travel is still present. We spent three wonderful years in Chicago, where the children were born and we made a lot of friends. However, as a family we're actually constantly on the move and often on the road. The children grew accustomed to constant changes in their place of residence and environment from an early age. I believe that stimulates them in terms of development, which provides an additional motive for travelling. My native Belgrade is always “on the map” of our travels. The last time we were there was for our Christmas this year, all four of us. Leon was less than four

months old and that was his first visit, and when it comes to Luka, he's been to Belgrade several times and recognises many things. We hope that we'll have an opportunity to travel again soon. It is said that nomadic types are the world's richest people when it comes to friendships, with those constant travels ensuring that they make friends all around the planet, but that also implies that they care for those people – not to mention the families from which they are mostly parted.

“One wonderful circumstance is that my parents just happened to be visiting us when the quarantine started, so we spent all this time together. I'm happy about that, and it means a lot to me that we finally have the opportunity to spend more time together, even if it is under these conditions. On the other hand, they received an additional opportunity to enjoy themselves with their grandchildren, though there was of course concern for the rest of the family in Belgrade.

I miss my brother a lot. We speak to one another on a daily basis and that makes the situation much easier. Of course, we're also in contact with our friends from Serbia and the U.S. Everyone experiences this isolation in their own way and adapts to the new liv-

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My life

Ana Ivanović, Retired Professional Tennis Player

ANA WITH HER MOTHER

ing conditions, in the hope that things will soon return to normal. I think we all face the feeling of being in some sci-fi film.” Ivanović, who has been a UNICEF ambassador for a long time, recently donated respirators, protective gear and hygienic equipment to Serbia. This somehow passed fairly quietly among the public, though that was apparently due to Ana's own attitude.

“I try to help as much as I can. I've spent over 10 years as a UNICEF ambassador and I find great satisfaction in that cooperation. It is a privilege to help people when that help is essential, and the most important thing is for that help to always arrive where it is needed.

Everything else is irrelevant. Among other things, when you give sincerely then you don't expect anything in return.”

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Everyone experiences this isolation in their own way and adapts to the new living conditions, in the hope that things will soon return to normal. I think we all face the feeling of being in some sci-fi film Luka, Leon and Bastian are the three men who ensure Ana's life is even more successful and happier than it was during her playing days. Confirming that is her smile, which shines in the photos that she posts on social media.

“Of course, family life has brought me a lot of joy and I enjoy the role of mother. The dimension of success is now measured through the smiles on the boys' faces and the extent to which we will, as parents, succeed in enabling them to grow with true values and to develop their potential. I experience parenting as a great fortune, but also a responsibility.” It was on 7th June 2008 that Ana played the point that would define everything for her. She took advantage of her match point against Dinara Safina in the final at Roland-Garros and everything gained meaning – all her efforts and sacrifices. That point definitively placed her life in the category of those about which all athletes in the world dream.

“That is the crowning glory of my career, the most emotional moment at multiple levels,

By Nebojša Višković

ANA AND BASTIAN

because a lot happened in that one day. Many times after that I “rewound the film” in my head and every time that same emotion was there. Incredible happiness, pride and the realisation of a dream. Roland-Garros is also the only Grand Slam tournament where the national anthem of the winner's home country is performed after the presentation of the trophy: the Serbian national anthem in Paris! Two days later, I officially became the number one female tennis player on the WTA list... To experience all of that is indescribable, especially since I was only 20 at the time.” However, the big question is whether that will ever happen again. Serbia still has top tennis players, but there is currently a major gap when it comes to the ladies competition. Why is that the case?

“It has simply come to a change of genera-

tions and it will take some time for top results to return. It is important for new talented youngsters to emerge.” Ana decided to retire at quite an early age, when she still must have had more to offer – perhaps not at the very top level, but certainly enough to have increased her bank balance even more. She lost some valuable contracts due to that decision, but she weighed everything up and gauged her priorities. And what does she see when she looks back?

“There are some things that you only see more realistically when your career is over. From this perspective, I think that in one part of my career I put myself under too much pressure and thus I didn't enjoy myself as much as I should have.”

It is a privilege to help people when that help is essential, and the most important thing is for that help to always arrive where it is needed. Everything else is irrelevant. Among other things, when you give sincerely then you don't expect anything in return

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Trends For

After months locked indoors, summer is finally coming, and if you’ve looked at your closet and felt like you are ready for a shopping spree, it’s time to get inspired by the best street style from the fashion capitals. From classic pieces with an updated twist to fresh tailoring, there’s a myriad of looks for everyone’s personal style. Get ready to update your wardrobe with new coolest fashion trends spotted at Spring/Summer 2020 fashion weeks.

Summer 2020 Stella Mccartney Monca ruched silk-blend jacquard gown €x1,350

Bottega Veneta

Wood intrecciato leather clutch €2,400

Saint Laurent

Cotton jersey tank €320

Zimmermann

Edie embellished printed silk-chiffon dress €1,100

Chloe

Plisse crepon maxi skirt €1,400

Saint Laurent

Lexi lace-up leather sandals €500

Spinelli Kilcollin

Nova 18-karat gold, sapphire and diamond rings €8,500

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Canali

Army-Green Kei Slim-Fit Linen and Wool-Blend Suit Jacket €1,200

Tom Ford

Open-Knit Polo Shirt €825

Richard James

Mayfair Short Sleeve Half Zip Polo Shirt €120

Anderson & Sheppard

Pleated Linen Trousers €403

Anderson & Sheppard Linen Shorts €230

Bottega Veneta

Intrecciato-Embossed Leather Backpack €1,538

Christian Louboutin

MR P.

Rantulow Orlato Debossed Leather Sneakers €587

Larry Full-Grain Leather Sneakers €209

Burberry

Leather Sandals €454

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AFTER WORK 22 VUČIĆ PROMISES SERBIA'S MAY MEDICAL STAFF HIGHER WAGES On gathering for Serbian medical staff, on 22 May, President Aleksandar Vučić said the country is grateful for the medical staff for their suffering during COVID pandemic, and that those times would be remembered as their "days of glory and feat," the FoNet news agency reported.

Besides the praise, Vučić promised them higher wages and better work conditions at the reception for some of the medical staff who fought against the coronavirus epidemic.

"On top of applause, admiration and gratitude, what else can we give you?

Much better working conditions, higher salaries, safety and better hospitals.

And not even then could we say we repaid the debt, but only reduced it," Vučić said.

He added the state had already done a lot for the health system recently, but "that is not enough, and we'll invest more money and efforts to improve it."

27 10 YEARS OF THE COMMISSIONER MAY FOR PROTECTION OF EQUALITY The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality marked ten years since the establishment of the institution.

The current commissioner Brankica Janković said that a lot has been done in ten years of existence of this institution and assessed that the Serbian society today is more ready to accept the diversity, but that a lot still needs to be done - because, as she said, there is no real equality "prejudices and customs" are stronger than the law.

On 27 May, the five-year mandate of the commissioner expired. The President of the Assembly of Serbia, Maja Gojković, said that she had already initiated the procedure for re-election, ie the election of a new commissioner, for which the deputies have three months.

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SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

28 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE MAY “THE WORLD AFTER CORONAVIRUS” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic took part in the international conference "The World after the Coronavirus" in Belgrade on May 28, held in the Club of Deputies.

According to Vucic in the previous 6 months, more things have changed than in the previous 20 years.

Speaking about the situation in the region, Vucic said that the idea of traveling only with an ID card failed, because he "did not have a tutor".

The conference is being held as part of the "Belgrade Strategic Dialogue" initiative, and as the organizers announced, it will be dedicated to analyzing the geopolitical, economic and health aspects of the coronavirus pandemic through three thematic panels.

28 PATRIARCH IRINEJ SERVED THE LITURGY ON THE OCCASION MAY OF THE PATRON SAINT OF BELGRADE The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, served a liturgy on 28 May, in the Vaznesenjska crkva in Belgrade, on the occasion of the city's celebration - Savior's Day. This year however due to the COVID-19, the liturgy was not be open to the public.

"The church has respected the suggestions of epidemiologists, who are responsible for measures in the fight against coronavirus," it was said in a statement by the Church.

This year's host of the liturgy was Marko Stojčić, the chief urban planner of the city of Belgrade.

In previous years, since it was renewed in Belgrade at the beginning of the 1990s, liturgy gathered a large number of citizens.

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Book Review

By Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven

The Post-Pandemic Economic Overhaul Will Take More Than Tweaks In Capital and Ideology (first published in 2019), Thomas Piketty documents the global rise of inequality and critiques ideas that legitimize it. He builds on his bestselling 2013 book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, which spurred a public debate on growing gaps between the haves and have-nots in Europe and the United States

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is latest work is important, especially because — before the pandemic — magazine The Economist had raised doubts about the extent to which inequality has really been rising. But in downplaying the roles of material interests, structures of production and capitalist dynamics, Piketty’s analysis is concerning.

His argument is that societies always try to justify their imbalances and that the prevailing justification rests on shaky foundations. He argues that differences in wages today are often justified by a “meritocratic fairy tale”, in which people believe that the entrepreneurial earn wealth and those living in poverty simply need to work harder. But, of course, Western societies are not meritocratic. As Piketty demonstrates, discrimination is common — based on status, race, gender and religion. In the COVID-19 pandemic, could our obvious dependence on undervalued work in sectors such as nursing, care of children and older people, grocery provision and delivery shift perception of the extent to which these workers deserve the low wages of their jobs, which are often precarious?

Piketty discusses what he sees as the success of the period of social democracy in Europe and the US in the 1950s to the 1970s when the gap between the richest and poorest was narrower.

He notes that most people who voted for socialdemocratic parties between 1950 and 1980 were workers, but that the vote has since shifted to the educated and middle class. Uneducated workers have thereby largely been left behind, paving the way for phenomena such as the election of US President Donald Trump and the United Kingdom’s referendum on leaving the European Union.

Piketty does not recognize the political battle

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over ideas in academia, although this could help him to explain shifts since the 1970s, including economics departments squeezing out Keynesian and Marxist perspectives. Instead, Piketty simply draws a sharp line between knowledge production and politics. He labels his own empirical work “rational” and “unbiased”, but his policy recommendations “ideological”.

This is problematic. Economists’ perceptions of their own analyses as being free of ideology often hinder open and democratic debate. The behavioural-economics work suggesting that the United Kingdom should not enter lockdown, which might have guided the UK government at the beginning of its COVID‑19 response, is just one example. In that case, a particular way of seeing the economy — as composed of separate individuals responding rationally to incentives — was presented as an objective foundation for an evidence-based policy that legitimized delays in social distancing. Yet such evidence cannot be considered purely objective, and in this case, it contradicted World Health Organization recommendations.

Piketty makes sweeping statements: he sees ideologies as social constructs with lives of their own, independent of what stakeholders stand to gain or lose. For example, he argues that one of the stated justifications for colonialism was the colonizers’ idea of having a “civilizing mission”; this is true, but the prevailing motivation was, without doubt, the vast wealth to be acquired.

Clarity here is essential for understanding the generation of massive global injustice. Similarly, Piketty does not provide convincing evidence that, as he claims, inequality in post-colonial countries such as South Africa is driven by ideas legitimizing chasms in opportunity, rather

than, for example, the stubborn persistence of racist institutions.

It is ironic that Piketty nods frequently to Karl Marx while simultaneously ignoring key Marxist insights about dynamics such as the profit motive, unequal access to and ability to develop technology, and labour-squeezing cost-cutting. At times, it seems that Piketty simply equates capital with wealth, because he focuses both his analysis and his policy recommendations largely on wealth transfers. For example, rather than interrogating how we as society work, produce and consume, his solutions are biased towards redistribution without changing the core of the system.

This limits his capacity to explain global phenomena. This is clear in his view on the effects of trade liberalization: rather than exploring how the removal of barriers to imports in the 1980s led to a collapse of industry in the global south, Piketty focuses on the loss of income from tariffs. In the same vein, his proposals shy away from discussing the massive rebalancing of global finance and production that is necessary; instead, he focuses on aid transfers to governments and taxation.

His policy proposals don’t challenge our reliance on capitalist growth. Rather, they involve adjustments to the existing order, such as redistribution and the inclusion of employees on company boards. Therefore, the worry articulated in the United Kingdom’s most right-leaning quality newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, that Piketty is back “more dangerous than ever”, because of his vilification of entrepreneurs and billionaires, is in my view unfounded.

Despite its shortcomings, this book does have the potential to start an important debate about how to restructure society in a more egalitarian and ecologically sustainable way.

The Land Is Everything 2020

Branislav Nedimović, Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management ● Vuk Radojević, Provincial Secretary for Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management ● Srbislav Vidojević, Director, Timomed ● Željko Mardešić (CEO) and Dragan Radovanović (Technical Manager), AQUADUCT ● Ilan Levanon, CEO, Adama Serbia ● Vladimir Vasojević, Country Sales and Marketing Manager for Balkan Countries, Belchim Crop Protection ● Jovana Đorđić, Marketing Manager, Fresh Agriculture Technologies

Soil Of ABUNDANCE

INTERVIEW

BRANISLAV NEDIMOVIĆ, SERBIAN MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND WATER MANAGEMENT

Agriculture Has Strategic Importance

Extraordinary circumstances showed the necessity of independent food production

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erbia succeeded, in just 24 hours, to ensure the full production of products that were lacking during the Coronavirus pandemic, as well as quickly developing an electronic platform for the sale of agricultural products. In this interview for CorD Magazine, Minister Nedimović notes that strong financial support has been secured for producers and processors and that new markets have been opened for the placement of Serbian food despite the state of emergency.

• In crisis situations like the one caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, previously untapped potentials are activated, such as the action

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taken for Serbia to become a producer of yeast.

Can you tell us more about this and plans for the future?

- More than ever before, it has become clear to everyone how much agriculture and food security are of national or strategic importance to every country, including ours. Neither millions of barrels of oil nor tonnes of gold can help in such situations, because they simply cease to be important. That’s why it’s important for a serious country to have its own food production that’s independent of anyone else. This was brought into question by a series of historically bad privatisations and factory closures. However, we managed, in 24 hours, to ensure the full production of all lacking products, such as yeast, and then secured supply across the entire territory of the country. Furthermore, this is not just about yeast, but also alcohol and other similar products. That’s why we will undertake special measures in the coming period that will ensure continuous production in sectors that are of the utmost importance in extraordinary circumstances.

• The previous period also gave rise to another project that will continue to be realised in the future – the electronic market. How does it function and what kinds of opportunities does it provide to producers and customers?

- The electronic market is a platform that we’ve also developed in a very short period, in order to additionally ease the operations of small farmers. I must say that I’m very satisfied with how it turned out, because more than 100 tonnes

of vegetables and fruits were sold in just the first seven days of operations, while more than 2,000 producers are registered at present. Of course, the ePijaca cannot completely replace classic trade outlets, but it is certainly a new step and an indicator of the direction in which we should develop sales. Every small and medium-sized food producer can recognise their interest in it, because it ensures that their goods are available throughout the country, not only in their own region. On the other hand, every citizen can choose what type of food they want to buy and from which part of Serbia, and then receive it at their home address. The process itself is very simple for both those who want to sell their goods and those who buy them.

• Alongside assistance in marketing their products, farmers also received one-off financial assistance. Could you remind us which sectors and categories of producers received assistance, and the total amount that has been allocated for these purposes?

- We secured numerous lines of financial assistance for agricultural producers and processors.

This relates to direct financial and credit support.

The one-off financial assistance encompasses the three most endangered sectors – vegetable growers in protected areas, bee-keepers aged over 70 and dairy farmers. These groups were selected after comprehensive analysis of newly emerged conditions on the market showing that vegetable producers were unable to place their products on markets, which impacted on their revenue significantly; bee-keepers could not visit

their hives due to the limits of old age, and small dairy producers were unable to deliver milk to customers. This support has to date been paid into the accounts of about 10,000 producers who have registered greenhouse vegetable production and about 7,000 bee-keepers, while payments to milk producers are underway. The amount of this one-off assistance is determined according to units of registered surface area, or per head of livestock or numbers of hives. When it comes to owners of greenhouses, up to 90,000 dinars was paid, dairy farmers each receive up to 30,000 dinars, while bee-keepers aged over 70 received up to 20,000 dinars per farm.

It is planned for this type of assistance, or the use of funds, to last until 1st November, and enough funding is available for everyone interested. Interest is high, as much as three times higher compared to the same period last year, and amounts of 80 to 100 million dinars are approved on a daily basis.

• During the state of emergency, the EU abolished controls on raspberries from Serbia for norovirus, while Serbia became a full member

speaks volumes about how great a chance this is for Serbian agriculture. Arabic countries are also increasingly importing our products, so in the previous period we saw the start of exports of lamb and beef to the United Arab Emirates, which is a high paying market and therefore a good opportunity for all producers. We last year also opened the market of Egypt, which is the world’s largest buyer of wheat. I will repeat once again, for the umpteenth time, that without a buyer it is not worth having the highest yields

• Another set of measures included credit support. What is the repayment period and grace period, and how high is the interest rate? What can farmers use these loans for and in what amounts?

- These are extremely favourable loans with a subsidised loan rate, and additional breaks are envisaged for loans intended for purchasing raw materials, working capital and liquidity, with an interest rate of one per cent, a repayment period of up to 36 months and a grace period of 12 months. A farmer can take out a loan for almost everything he needs at this moment. About 11

Alongside the existing markets of the European Union or the Russian Federation, where we specifically export the most fruit, then the People's Republic of China, where beef exports are becoming increasingly intensive, we have opened new markets despite the state of emergency billion dinars of credit has been provided through incentivised interest subsidies alone. Farmers can submit a loan request at their selected bank, without additional conditions or evidence, for a loan of up to three million dinars for liquidity, while the bank controls how the funds are invested and whether the investment is justified.

Moreover, farmers can receive loan funds up to six million dinars for the procurement of raw materials and other working capital, and they are then obliged to submit a proforma invoice to the bank, or a sale and purchase contract if they are buying animals.

of the International Grains Council. What’s new when it comes to the opening of new markets for Serbian food and which types of products does this relate to?

- Alongside the existing markets of the European Union or the Russian Federation, where we specifically export the most fruit, then the People’s Republic of China, where beef exports are becoming increasingly intensive, we have opened new markets despite the state of emergency. Apple producers will now be able to export their produce to the Indian market, with a population of 1.3 billion, which in itself

in the world, which is why opening markets that want to buy our products will also continue to be an absolute priority for us in the future.

• A development strategy has also been adopted for winemaking, which also has significant export potential. What is envisaged by that document? In which way is the state already supporting the winemaking and viticulture sector?

- Winemaking is a particularly important sector in our economy. That’s why we’ve multiplied our budgets for support, both through annual subsidies and other sources of funding. A total of 300 million euros will be allocated for the 2020-2030 period, and one of the goals is to establish up to 1,000 hectares of new plantations annually. Together with the aforementioned measures, we have thus secured complete financial support for viticulture and winemaking, from equipment and seedlings to mechanisation and laboratory analyses.

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INTERVIEW VUK RADOJEVIĆ, PROVINCIAL SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE,

FORESTRY AND WATER MANAGEMENT

Continuing The Implementation Of Significant Projects More than 18.4 billion dinars has been invested in the development of Vojvodina's agriculture

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ntensive branches of agricultural production, small and medium-sized farmsteads and young farmers are in the focus of the agrarian policy of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, and at the Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture they note that funds have also been retained for the construction of an automatic hail protection system and activities on IPA projects. The digitalisation of agriculture and the construction of irrigation systems are also continuing • What measures can farmers from the territory of Vojvodina rely on? Which areas of agricultural production are in focus this year?

- The focus of the agrarian policy of the Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture is on intensive branches of agricultural production, with an emphasis on supporting small and medium-sized

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farmsteads and young farmers. Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, a rebalance of the provincial budget was conducted, with which the funds of the relevant Secretariat were reduced by about 10 per cent. This did not impact significantly on investments in Vojvodina’s agriculture, because we announced our competition lines at the beginning of the year, which provided space for us to process applications and approve funds to applicants even under the conditions of the state of emergency. We have concluded 1,145 contracts with registered farmsteads, with a total value of investments exceeding 1.57 billion

the procurement of equipment and elements for protection against natural disasters and raising fruit orchards, grape vines and hops, over 21 million for the construction of new fishponds and the reconstruction of existing ones, 211 million for improving the physical property of farmsteads, about 50 million for bee-keeping, in excess of 14 million for organic production, and about 93 million for equipping wineries and distilleries. The total value of investments in the registered farmsteads and local self-government units in Vojvodina with which we implement project activities

Summarising the results of what was done in the previous period, the Provincial Government – via the relevant Secretariat – invested funds amounting to more than 18.4 billion dinars in the development of agriculture in AP Vojvodina, while we also signed 9,887 contracts dinars, which is more funds than the previous Provincial Government had foreseen in 2016.

Viewed according to measures, the total value of investments in the procurement of equipment and irrigation systems is over 743 million dinars, with over 126 million dinars, for polytunnels/greenhouses, 162 million dinars for equipping livestock farms, 121 million for

total around 3.2 billion dinars. I would like to stress that we’re also retained funds for the implementation of important projects, such as the construction of an automatic anti-hail system, the Fruška Gora radar centre worth 600 million dinars and activities on IPA projects.

Summarising the results of what was done in the previous period, the Provincial Government

– via the relevant Secretariat – invested funds amounting to more than 18.4 billion dinars in the development of agriculture in AP Vojvodina, while we also signed 9,887 contracts.

led by young farmers aged from 18 to 40. The generational renewal of farms and encouraging of agribusiness among young farmers will continue to be among our priorities.

subsystems, financed through the Abu Dhabi Fund, began three years ago. This relates to 30 projects which, when implemented, will enable irrigation on an area of over 105,000 hectares.

• The previous two months, which have been marked by the struggle against the Coronavirus and limited movements due to the state of emergency, showed some weaknesses, but also some potential, such as in online trade and product placements via social networks.

Is this the future of our agriculture?

- Digitalisation is the future of agriculture.

The Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture has recognised the importance of digitalisation in agriculture and cooperates with the Biosens Institute on the project “Monitoring the use of remote detection in agriculture, water management and forestry”. The result of this cooperation is the development of the Agrosens digital platform, which enables the monitoring and verification of competition lines, the condition of soil, analysis of sowing structures, planning of land sampling and the development of a system for reporting on soil fertility. Contracts with the Biosens Institute have been concluded at an annual level in the amount of up to 10 million dinars. The Agrosens Platform of the Biosens Institute is today used by over 13,000 farmers.

• Climate change and periods of drought are again being discussed this year, which raise the question of irrigation. How much money has been invested to this end and which areas are in question?

- The entire society must been engaged in easing the impact of climate change. We see how the EU approaches solving this problem, with the Proposal of the first Law on Climate adopted this year. The goal is for the EU to be a

• There has been a lot of talk about investing in the plan to develop organic agriculture in Vojvodina for the period from 2020 to 2025.

What kind of investments does this relate to?

- The Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture uses an incentive policy to support organic producers in the area of the certification of production and the procurement of specialised mechanisation.

The value of investments in the development of organic production in Vojvodina during the term of the current Provincial Government totals approximately 40 million dinars. In addition to this, we supported the drafting of the Action Plan for the Development of Organic Agriculture in Vojvodina for the period until 2025, with which the further development directions of this branch of agriculture are defined, and relevant institutions are working on that, including the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad, the ‘Teras’ Association in Subotica, the Open University and NALED.

• How can young people be encouraged to stay in rural areas or, better yet, return to them?

Do you have special programmes for those

Young farmers have been supported by the Start-up programme since 2017. Thanks to this agrarian measure, over 675 million dinars has been used to support the opening of 455 new farmsteads led by young farmers aged from 18 to 40 wanting to start working in farming?

- Just 3.1% of farmsteads in Serbia are led by young people aged under 35. We are convinced that young farmers should be leaders in the development of domestic agriculture. Young farmers have been supported by the Start-up programme since 2017. Thanks to this agrarian measure, over 675 million dinars has been used to support the opening of 455 new farmsteads

climate neutral region by 2050. A proposed Law on Climate Change has been drafted in Serbia and a strategic approach is being taken in the fight against extremes. In this mandate, with the help of subsidies, over 3.6 billion dinars has been invested in irrigation systems in Vojvodina and new areas of approximately 21,000 hectares have been covered by irrigation systems. The construction of regional irrigation systems and

• Work is underway on the development of strategy for winemaking in Serbia. How much potential does viticulture have in Vojvodina and are possible investments in wine tourism being considered, given the large number of wineries on this territory?

- Vojvodina has over 5,000 hectares of vineyards, with 158 wine producers registered and 190 wines protected with indicators of geographical origin. The agrarian policy first recognised the wine sector and the importance of winemaking in 2017. Over 300 million dinars has been invested in wineries.The provincial government donated a wine analyser worth 17 million dinars to the Novi Sad Faculty of Agriculture’s Department of Fruit Growing and Viticulture in Sremski Karlovci, in order for domestic winemakers to be able to quickly and efficiently obtain results of wine production analysis, with the aim of improving quality. The development strategy of the wine sector also include plans for the development of wine tourism and investments in the field of tourism, while winemakers can utilise National Support Measures, as well as funds available to them from the IPARD programme MERA-7.

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BUSINESS

SRBISLAV VIDOJEVIĆ, DIRECTOR, TIMOMED

Timomed Planning Exports Of Organic Honey Higher bulk buy prices and state subsidies for organic honey

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imomedhasbeenoperatingsuccessfully already for 31 years, thanks amongst other things to good cooperation with collaborating bee-keepers, and is currently working on marketing its products abroad after offering organic acacia, linden and meadow honey on the domestic market.

• It was a few years ago that Timomed took the bold move of advancing its production and enriching its already wide and recognisable range with the addition of organic honey. What types of organic honey are in your offer and where do you sell them?

- Our offer for the domestic market includes organic acacia, linden and meadow honey. Our organic honey is sold at DM retail outlets and some health food shops. We are planning to sell organic honey abroad and are working on that, but we still don’t have sufficient quantities of honey for export, while the beehives of our collaborators are undergoing conversion for the production of organic honey for export.

• How are your experiences in the process of transiting to organic production, when it comes to regulations, rules and costs? What are the specificities of organic honey and how are its export prospects, given the growing demand for organic products around the world?

- Organic production is strictly controlled production. We have collaborators who work in organic production, but all the quantities of

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honey they have produced are not classified as organic if the bee-keeper has violated any of the postulates of organic production. Apart from the fact that organic production demands the respecting of certain rules and principles, organic production is also expensive. A bee-keeper operating in organic production may place hive colonies in areas without pollutants, so during the honey harvest period bee colonies are only allowed to collect pollen in places where no modern agricultural production is present. Such places are difficult to find to-

organic production they are not permitted to treat bee colonies with conventional remedies.

No residues of medicines can be contained in organic honey. Organic production can be carried out by bee-keepers who love people, bees and nature generally, who know the importance of sustainable development and who consider the benefits of their product to human health.

In recent times, due to the global economic crisis, buyers from abroad have been seeking cheap honey, and not organic honey. At present, alongside the higher purchase price of organic

Organic production can be carried out by bee-keepers who love people, bees and nature generally, who know the importance of sustainable development and who consider the benefits of their product to human health day, even in legally protected places (such as nature parks), because unscrupulous owners of agricultural land also apply pesticides in such places. Another major problem is that municipal leaders across the entire territory Serbia, despite having a specific protected territory, indiscriminately give citizens fruit seedlings that they plant in the aforementioned places and thus endanger organic production. Organic production is expensive, because bee-keepers mostly locate hives at higher altitudes, where there are smaller amounts of pollen that are also collected during a short period of time.

Organic production is also uncertain, because bee-keepers operating in organic production can see their bee colonies die due to the appearance of some disease or parasite, and in

honey, producers of organic bee products in Serbia receive a higher subsidy for their bee colonies compared to conventional production.

• In parallel with the development of your company, you also work constantly on improving bee-keeping in Serbia generally, educating producers and developing cooperative relations with them. What’s new in that segment - when it comes to the number of bee-keepers you work with and bulk purchases?

- Timomed has existed for 31 years already, thanks also to good cooperation with collaborating bee-keepers. Timomed secures raw materials and a market for the placement of bee products, while collaborators provide the product.

ŽELJKO MARDEŠIĆ, (CEO) AND DRAGAN RADOVANOVIĆ (TECHNICAL MANAGER), AQUADUCT BUSINESS

Global Innovations In Serbian Fields State-of-the-art irrigation systems on an area of 18,000 hectares

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hanks to company AQUADUCT, owners of private agricultural estates in Serbia have the opportunity to install irrigation systems that satisfy global standards, while – as company representatives note for CorD Magazine – AQUADUCT devotes the same high level of attention to each client and establishes long-term cooperation with them • Your company provides investors with many years of experience, innovative technologies and extensive knowhow when it comes to irrigation and agricultural production. What types of solutions do you develop and what kind of support do you offer clients?

- Our solutions for irrigation are based on world innovations and achievements that have been tried & tested, and adapted to project conditions. Our clients have at their disposal all the experience and knowhow of the AQUADUCT team from the very outset – from the idea of establishing production, via the development of solutions, financial and economic analysis and risk assessment, the defining of all project details, managing and coordinating construction, to monitoring and consulting on the usage and maintenance of our irrigation system.

Our clients receive solutions from AQUADUCT for water supply, water accumulation, analysis of soil and climatic conditions, production, solutions for drainage, irrigation, protection against late spring frosts, summer

cooling of plants, the application of fertilisers via the irrigation system, automatic system management and user education.

• Could you explain to us how you approach the implementation of individual projects and the type of cooperation that you establish with users? What distinguishes you from the competition and why should potential investors opt specifically for AQUADUCT? - AQUADUCT uses its customer relations policy to establish long-term partnership cooperation. Experience on the ground has shown us that a winning combination is establishing a relationship in which the participants feel like a unified team, who achieve synergy by working together and results that then exceed expectations.

AQUADUCT's approach is exactly the same for both "small" or "large" systems. Every user has available all the information they require. Ensuring the AQUADUCT team is a desirable partner is our flexibility and speed of responding to client requests, as well as great experience and continuous education. We are recognised by the market as a professional and responsible team that is able to successfully address challenges that arise when investing.

• How many hectares of irrigation systems have you designed and implemented to date?

What are all the conditions that need to be met in order for us to be able to assess an

irrigation system as being good? What is the situation on the ground – what needs to be improved and do users possess sufficient knowhow to manage systems?

- Since its establishment, AQUADUCT has participated in the design and construction of irrigation systems on an area exceeding 18,000 hectares, with the irrigation of private estates dominating.

An irrigation system can be assessed as being good if it is energy efficient, supports the growing technological requirements of plant production, works precisely, reliably and simply, without standstills. This requires that AQUADUCT create a system that will satisfy the requirements of development for the next 20 years, which is envisaged to handle upgrades and the influence of modern communications and other technologies.

The use and maintenance of an irrigation system is the weakest link in the entire process. The transfer of knowledge progresses slowly, while exploitation is limited by the problem of frequent changes in the personnel who manage equipment.

With the aim of ensuring good exploitation, AQAUDUCT launched a programme of long-term cooperation with users that includes the conducting of education, control and consultation in the management and maintenance of systems. The application of fertigation – the injecting of fertilisers through irrigation - is an obligatory part of the programme.

June

9

BUSINESS

ILAN LEVANON, CEO, ADAMA SERBIA

Global Standards Of Crop Protection Unveiling ADAMA's major development plan for farmers in Serbia and the region

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or 30 years, global company ADAMA has been a faithful partner to Serbian farmers, offering them the highest quality crop protection products, whilst also transferring high-tech knowledge. At ADAMA they believe that Serbia can become a regional hub that will contribute significantly to the growth of the company's business.

• Your company operates in a large number of countries around the world, while you've been doing business for over 70 years.

You've grown from a private business into a corporation. Why did you decide to invest in Serbia specifically?

- ADAMA has grown continuously in its 70 years of existence, though its major leap forward started two decades ago and is still ongoing. The company has rapidly developed a global presence in all key markets around the globe, mainly in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. ADAMA's interest in Serbia started back in the '90s, during the times of Yugoslavia, through a local agency in Subotica. Business at that time mostly related to industrial sales of active ingredients or bulk chemicals. Later on, in the early 2000s, the company started selling its own branded finished products on the Serbian market

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and has since grown substantially. During all those years of cooperation, ADAMA's Serbian customers and partners were perceived exceptionally well in Israel. I believe this is due to the warm, personal and unique culture of the company, which is at the heart of the Israeli mentality. This special Israeli-Serbian connection was created by businesspeople with big hearts and far-reaching visions. I may also add, on a humble personal note from an Israeli who has been living here in Belgrade for the past four years, that there are many

very different from what it was just couple of years ago, and even more so two to three decades ago. By now, the industry has managed to provide a solution to almost every crop protection problem that exists, so the market is populated with similar solutions and is growingly generic in nature.

Authorities increase their pressure on the industry to reduce the use of Agro Chemicals and are enforcing restrictions where needed. Finally come the farmers, who continuously demand the highest quality

Insects, weeds and diseases can damage crop yields by 50%, 70% and even cause the complete destruction of a crop cultural and behavioural similarities between us as peoples. I have no doubt today that this fact has contributed much to the strong foundations of this cooperation through the years . Serbia is today perceived as an important market for the company's business. • You deal with investments in plant protection and new technologies in agriculture.

What new and innovative solutions are you developing?

- The AgroChemical industry of 2020 is

and cheapest solutions. This environment dictates a different competitive approach moving forward. Innovation today is about more sophisticated delivery systems, for example, such that a fraction of the active ingredient will provide the same or even better results. Formulation and packaging ideas from other industries, aimed at solving the same or similar challenges, are examined thoroughly. This includes the use of advanced digital technologies, which can individualise every single plant rather than optimising

the whole field, or the use of sophisticated drones and other digital vehicles to optimise the use of traditional field operations, such as herbicide spraying. All these innovative directions aim to further maximise yields and allow the farmer to have maximal efficiency of his resources, including crop protection, savings on operational costs and reducing negative environmental impacts.

• Why do you consider it important to invest in plant protection? Does awareness exist in Serbia regarding the importance of investing in prevention?

- Crop protection is a key component in stable and secure food production. Insects, weeds and diseases can damage crop yields by 50%, 70% and even cause the complete destruction of a crop. There is no question about the critical role of crop protection in food production. In Serbia, the awareness of crop protection is relatively high and is in line with any European or global standard.

The advanced and large farming systems in Vojvodina, for example, view crop protection as a critical factor of their success.

• You deal with advisory work in the field.

How do farmers accept your advice? How are such services and work organised?

- ADAMA Serbia focuses its field activity at the farmer level, in line with our strategic pillar of “farmer proximity”. Our field team covers all parts of Serbia and is known for its high technical knowledge and is very well perceived by all stakeholders. We encourage a “listen, learn, deliver” approach, by which we want to identify farmers' pain points and address them directly. The contact is made through farm visits, face-to-face meetings, farmers' gatherings and digital communication.

• How do you view the legislative framework in Serbia? Are any changes required?

- Legislation in Serbia has changed quite a lot recently and is now getting closer to following the EU's products registration, though not in full. It is in the public interest that registration be a growing higher entry barrier for the market, especially in a market like ours that is

The total Serbian agriculture area is about five times bigger than in Israel. However, from a crop protection point of view, the two markets are of a similar size pretty much saturated with generic versions of almost every off-patent pesticide.

• Your company originates from Israel. Are there any similarities in the way operations unfold in Israel and Serbia?

- The total Serbian agriculture area is about five times bigger than in Israel. However, from a crop protection point of view, the two markets are of a similar size. Agriculture is a far higher part of GDP in Serbia than in Israel. The small-scale Israeli village family farm has disappeared and made way for large consolidated units that are of higher competitive power and economy of scale.

Many top-quality speciality crops are grown in the desert with top-technology irrigation and controlled conditions systems. Both Serbian and Israeli farmers are in need of greater governmental support, to help them overcome fluctuating market conditions and ensure sustainability. In Israel, cultivating is more than just farming. It has wide national and cultural aspects that are at the heart of

the national identity and history. I believe that the local agriculture segment is also perceived as being of special importance in Serbia.

• What next steps will you take? Are you planning expansions and additional investments and, if so, in which segments?

- We have recently expanded our territory from Serbia (and Bosnia) to all ex-Yugoslav countries, as well as Albania. ADAMA's operations in Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia and even Albania are not new, but are also not developed fully. We believe that, with the proximity of our Serbian expertise, knowledge, similar agriculture and business practises, the same language (in most cases), through the sharing of best practices and making Serbia a regional hub for the region, we will grow our business significantly.

We have a large development plan for the next five years that includes new solutions for farmers in Serbia and the region. We hope to launch some of those products very soon.

June

11

NEWS

COTECNA ACQUIRES KAIXIN CERTIFICATION

KEZZLER DELIVERS FARM-TO-FORK TO CHINESE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL PARK

Cotecna announced acquisition of a 51% equity stake in Kaixin Certification (Beijing) Co., Ltd. in Beijing, China. Cotecna is a global provider of inspection and testing services and supply chain solutions, providing conformity assessment across a number of industry sectors, including Food, Agriculture, Government & Trade, and Metals & Minerals.

Kaixin Certification is a leading certification body in China approved by CNCA with accreditations from CNAS and ANAB. Founded in 1998 and privately owned, Kaixin Certification has been a preferred service partner by over 10,000 customers in multi-industry sectors. The company has issued over 16,000 certificates until 2019, covering a comprehensive range of system certification and product certification services.

N o r we g i a n c o m p a n y Kezzler enables RunHui Agriculture to secure its supply chain and protect well-known Chinese food products from counterfeits Kezzler was selected by RunHui Agricultural Comprehensive Development Co. Ltd (referred to as CHRISTINE C. AKSELSEN, CEO OF KEZZLER RunHui) to provide a traceability and authentication solution to The National Modern Agricultural Industrial Park in Hanting District, Weifang, Shandon Provence China. Kezzler’s serialization technology is initially being utilized for the production of the renowned Weixian radish, which is specific to the region. With full traceability across the entire supply chain, RunHui is able to ensure food safety and quality for their consumers.

The project involves the application of unique, secure, and traceable QR codes to every pack of radishes. In addition, there is a four-digit hidden pin code for authentication.

The solution is integrated with China’s popular WeChat platform allowing consumers to scan the product directly from within the app on their phone.

RETHINKING MENUS TO HELP RESTAURANTS ENHANCE SAFETY The COVID-19 pandemic has all but eliminated the role of communal menus in restaurants. Menus are often the most germ-riddled part of an entire restaurant, according to WebMD. Customers come in, pick them up, handle them, pass them around, and leave them for the next patron. For restaurants looking to reopen, menu safety will be a top priority, and many state governments have zeroed in on it as a necessity.

Here are some best practices for cleaning laminated menus: Thoroughly clean and disinfect after each use.

Use a soft cloth without abrasions Allow the menu to fully dry Keep menus organized into “used” and “clean” stacks Avoid harsh cleaning chemicals like bleach Don’t fully submerge the menu underwater Avoid putting menus through the dishwasher Chalkboard, large signage or A-frame menus

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June

UK STUDY REVEALS 74% OF DAIRY FARMERS STORE EXPIRED MEDICINES ON-FARM

Research in the UK has revealed 74% of dairy farmers have expired medicines on-farm, in one instance being as much as 16 years out of date. In addition, only 63 percent of the study farms were storing medicines correctly which could also impact treatment effectiveness.

The study also found on-farm medicine records varied wildly, from very accurate to non-existent. Recording and managing medicine use and stock is particularly important when meeting assurance scheme requirements and creating health plans.

“Using a simple medicine book to record when medicine is used, why it was given, and how much was administered, will help farmers to keep track of herd health. It is also valuable to include withdrawal periods and any subsequent doses needed to fulfil treatment,” said Dr Rees from University of Bristol.

NEWS

COULD ALPACA FARMING BE A WORTHWHILE VENTURE? Alpaca farms are becoming more common throughout. But would it be a worthwhile venture?

Believe it or not, there are many benefits to farming Alpacas over other alternatives. The first is the fact that they are much easier on ground than sheep or cattle. They have soft pads on their hooves instead of cloven hoofs, meaning they do not leave as much tracks, a handy feature for those of farmers with wetter, marginal and peaty lands. A flock of sheep would cause up to three times more damage to land than a herd of Alpacas of the same size.

They are very docile in nature and make great pets as well. They are very approachable, even mature males are gentle in nature.

Although originating from the regions of South America, they

SWISS CATTLE BREED EXCITES DAIRY BREEDERS At this year’s Eldoret Agricultural Society of Kenya International Trade Fair the gorgeous 1,300 kg Simmental cattle was the star. The beast is well toned skin is wine red, it is neatly horned and with good muscling, large frame and heavy dewlap. As curious eyes gazed at him, he just looked back with stern sharp eyes oblivious of how attractive he was.

By the way, most of the Simmental cattle have pigmentation around the eyes, which help reduce eye problems.

Simmental breed, also known as Swiss Fleckvieh is a Swiss breed of dual-purpose cattle. It is reddish with white markings. Kimutai explains that vets in the farm breed the Simmental-Borana crossbreeds with Friesian cows to produce high yielding breeds.

are more than capable of adapting to our climate. In fact, where they come from in the Peruvian Andes is subjected to far more extreme weather at times.

Females produce an average of one cria each year, with birthing usually trouble-free. In the current market, one could buy a young male for as little as €350 online. Registered breeding females with a cria at foot and pregnant, can make even up to and over €3,500.

Therefore breeding could be a very profitable option. Registered pregnant females average at €3,000, while stud males can again be worth up to €3,500 in the current markets.

ZOETIS INVESTS IN ANGUS GENOMIC REFERENCE POPULATIONS Zoetis Animal Genetics and Angus Australia have entered into a partnership that will assist Australian Angus seedstock and commercial breeders extract additional benefit from genomic, or DNA-based technology.

Through the partnership, Zoetis has made a considerable investment in the expansion of the Angus genomic reference population through the provision of genotyping services and sponsorship.

The genomic reference population refers to a reference population of animals that have both DNA profiles and performance information, with the value obtained from genomic technologies influenced by factors such as: While efforts to-date have focussed on the development of the Australian Angus genomic reference population via the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program, a priority of the new partnership with Zoetis will be to explore how performance information collected on non-seedstock animals can be harnessed within the genomic reference population.

ZOETIS’ STANDARDS ALLOWING MORE ACCURATELY AND EFFICIENTLY MANAGE FLOCK

June

13

BUSINESS

VLADIMIR VASOJEVIĆ, COUNTRY SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER FOR BALKAN COUNTRIES, BELCHIM CROP PROTECTION

Smart Plant Protection In The Age Of Pandemics Innovative solutions have reached every farmer

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elchim Crop Protection has succeeded in overcoming all the challenges of the previous period and ensuring the unhindered delivery of its products and the monitoring of the condition of crops in the field. Company representatives announce the continuation of investments in the development of precise plant protection, both in Serbia and worldwide.

• The Coronavirus pandemic didn't prevent Belchim Crop Protection from continuing its committed work on plant protection solutions that guarantee certain yields... What kind of results have you managed to achieve?

- The unexpected global crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic surprised everyone in the world. Nobody expected such a scenario.

Our company, Belchim Crop Protection, is a global company with its headquarters in Brussels. We have for years promoted our company as being flexible and adaptable to all the challenges brought by agricultural production. This was the right moment to once again prove our key advantage and strength.

We have consolidated our operations, adapted ourselves and, in accordance with the measures of our state and international changes, proactively approached the performance of all necessary works, in order to ensure that our proven, innovative solutions are available

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to all of our agricultural producers. Due to the closing of borders, production becoming more difficult and quarantine measures, the most important area was the actual delivery of our products, while we simultaneously had to strike a balance with the expert part of our work as agronomists on the ground, where we conducted monitoring of the condition of crops in the field. Our team responded to this challenge in the right way.

• What can we expect from the production year ahead of us; can we hope for good yields?

- It's too early to provide any kinds of forecasts, although it now seems that things are quite complicated and difficult, I think we can be realistically optimistic that this will be an average agricultural year. Climatic conditions did not serve the needs of agricultural producers and will certainly impact on yields and the quality of

ture, but also solutions adapted to existing conditions in our country. What is specific about Serbia in the field of agriculture, as well as for Belchim's operations in Serbia and you personally as a manager?

- With our Japanese and European partners, we this year again introduced several new products to our market that will soon represent the standard in plant protection.

We have harmonised our business, both locally and globally, with all increasingly rigorous environmental and safety standards through our SMART Crop Protection™ programme, or smart – i.e. precise - plant protection. We are investing in the development of new products, through experiments that we conduct everywhere, both in Serbia and around the world. In Serbia we are working to ensure all innovative solutions are available to every hard-working agricultural producer.

With our Japanese and European partners, this year we again introduced several new products to our market that will soon represent the standard in plant protection production. We are all part of this chain, from the field to the table, and we have to think that the result will ultimately be positive. Our mission and goal is to offer high-quality, safe solutions that can maximise all production parameters in the right way, as well as to help our loyal partners get through this period, with a more flexible commercial policy.

• You strive to offer the Serbian market the most advanced global technologies in agricul-

We believe in that, which is why we are recognised for constantly providing something new and high quality. The smart plant protection promoted by Belchim Crop Protection actually represents a desire to optimise all processes that lead to top yields and production quality.

We want science to be in the function of production. Being part of that is a great honour and privilege for me personally, not only as a manager, but also as an agricultural engineer in the field of plant protection.

BLISS HONEY BUSINESS

Original And Elegant Honey Products

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liss Honey is a family company based in the city of Novi Sad that deals in the production of creamed honey with addition of nuts, freeze-dried fruits, aromatic plants and herbs, presented in elegant and innovative packaging that's created

creamed honey, which is the process of honey crystallization in a controlled environment.

Founded in April 2019, the initial idea of the company was to develop premium honey-based products and create a brand with its own striking visual identity.

The branding of corporate gifts occupies an important place in the company’s portfolio. Bliss Honey will help you design the ideal gift displaying your company logo and delight your business partners with sweet bites specifically for the world market.

Bliss Honey's production is based on the use of honey from its own apiary, while it also purchases honey from other local bee-keepers. Having its own beehives and knowledge of the honey production process helped the company to develop

Bliss Honey today boasts a production facility that adheres to the highest standards in the food industry, harmonised with standards required for export to even the most demanding markets.

It has established cooperation with retail chains in Serbia, as well as smaller

stores specialising in delicatessen products. Moreover, cooperation has also been established with numerous companies that carry out the branding of their corporate gifts, which occupy an important place in business culture and represent a good introduction to the establishing of business relations. The aim of the company is to expand its sales network on the domestic market, as well as its exports to foreign markets. At the heart of the story is hedonism and the products are primarily intended for those desiring the enjoyment of high-quality sweet snacks.

The Bliss Honey offer includes pure creamed honey, as well as creamed honey enriched with hazelnuts, pistachios and sea salt, coffee, freeze-dried raspberries, apples, lemongrass and ginger.

www.blisshoney.rs Tel: +381 64 54 39 278

June

15

BUSINESS

LA LINEA VERDE DOBRINCI: THE SERBIAN HUB OF LA LINEA VERDE GROUP

European Producer Of Fresh-Cut Salads And Fresh Ready Soups La Linea Verde Group, which is headquartered in the Italian town of Manerbio ( near Milan) is an agro-food company specialising in the production of fresh-cut salads and chilled fresh ready soups

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ounded in 1991 by two Italian brothers, Giuseppe and Domenico Battagliola, the group is the evolution of a family agricultural business that relies on solid family values. Standing at the top of the Italian market of bagged salads and chilled fresh soups, the company boasts 40 years of experience in agriculture and almost 30 years in the fresh-cut sector. The group manufactures under its own umbrella-brand DimmidiSì (Italian translation of “tell me yes”) and is a co-packer for European large-scale retailers. Over the years, thanks to continuous growth and investments in agriculture, production, innovation and communication, the group has increased its presence on foreign markets through both export activities from Italy and the opening of affiliated companies beyond Italy’s borders. With six production sites (situated in Italy, Spain and Serbia), five commercial offices (Italy, Spain, Serbia, Russia and France) and a turnover of 330 million euros in 2019, La Linea Verde is the right partner for large scale retailers in Europe.

The production units of the group are situated in different European locations, all with specific features to farm salads for fresh-cut and provide the availability of raw materials year-round. This allows the La Linea Verde Group to supply almost all European countries.

The key to the company’s success lies in its innovative, high quality and convenient

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products of exceptional added value. Reliability and flexibility are characteristics that have always allowed the group to meet consumers’ demands. In fact, La Linea Verde, as a reliable co-packer of fresh-cut products in Italy and the rest of Europe, works for as many as 60 European retail brands. The group opened a production plant in 2018 for fresh cut salads in Serbia’s Ruma region, “La Linea Verde Dobrinci”, acquiring fields and greenhouses for the farming of several varieties of salads. The core business of the Serbian hub is to offer ready-to-eat salads in bags and unwashed salads in trays. The factory now supplies the entire Serbian Retail market.

A total of 10 million euros was invested in the “La Linea Verde Dobrinci” hub, which covers

a surface area of 5,900 square metres and has a staff of 120 people. The latest modern technologies were introduced in the production plan, which can produce up to 65,000 units of washed bagged salads and up to 55,000 units of unwashed salads in trays per day.

The surface area dedicated to agricultural production has reached more than 140 hectares. Baby leaf salads are grown in greenhouses, while crunchy lettuces are farmed in open fields located in Debrc, in the county of Šabac and in Kraljevci, both near the production plant.

“La Linea Verde Dobrinci” represents the heart of the group’s Eastern Europe project.

The goal of the Serbian company is to supply the local Serbian market, all the Balkan countries and Russia. This project is the result of the 30-year activity of the group. An integrated supply chain allows the tracking of the entire product pathway, from the field to final delivery, with high quality standards, state-of-theart agricultural and production technologies and a focus on marketing and logistics. These features form the basis of the Italian model of “La Linea Verde” and were introduced at “La Linea Verde Dobrinci”, together with values of reliability and love for the earth.

Visit the group’s website: www.lalineaverde.it

La Linea Verde d.o.o.

Rumska 73, 22412 Dobrinci, Ruma, Serbia, email: office@lalineaverde.rs

JOVANA ĐORĐIĆ, MARKETING MANAGER, FRESH AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGIES BUSINESS

MapMyApple, Support For Your Apple Production

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resh Agriculture Technologies is a startup that develops advanced software solutions for fruit growing industry. For around two years now, they’ve been working on their first solution, MapMyApple, a mobile app specifically built for apple growers. The incentive to build such solution lies in the realization that expert’s help, i.e. agronomist’s or fruit specialist’s knowledge, is essential for most apple growers to succeed, yet often too expensive for them to afford it. Therefore, the application acts as a digital agronomist, offering growers all the expert’s knowledge they need and it is happily affordable for both, medium and small size apple growers.

Unlike other applications, MapMyApple

provides customers with daily recommendations for spraying, irrigation and fertilization, specifically tailored to their orchard needs. It collects and processes a large amount of orchard data, from basic plantation information (variety, year of planting, tree thickness ...) to chemical and mechanical soil properties and combines them with weather conditions to create timely and precise growing plans. To ensure the use of the most accurate weather data, the software is easily integrated with the grower’s personal weather station, if there is one, or with the reliable virtual weather station otherwise. Ultimately, the goal is to give grower’s plantation the optimal treatment it requires while reducing the overall negative environmental impact.

Using the app is simple and intuitive, and if you have a smartphone, you are ready to go. The app is available for both Android and iPhone users and can be downloaded via Google Play or App Store. To this date, over 2,000 users have downloaded the application, most of them coming from Serbia and Macedonia. Last season, Delta Agrar, one of the largest apple orchards in Serbia, has started actively using MapMyApple app for their orchard management, and since then, they have reported an increase in their productivity by more than 20%, and they continue to use the app today. This season, MapMyApple team has partnered with Cornell University from New York that will test and prepare the algorithm for the USA market needs.

Skerlićeva 24, 11000 Belgrade, Tel: +381 11 3821 002 www.zssrbije.org

June

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NEWS BELCHIM CROP PROTECTION SERBIA

REAL SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE CROP MANAGEMENT With a crop-oriented approach, BELCHIM is very close to the growers and develops SOLUTIONS responding to the needs of the market. BELCHIM knows how to respond rapidly and initiates registration procedures in order to have new technical solutions ready, prepared to encounter the problems of the market.

In particular, BELCHIM invests in minor crops and label extensions.

Alongside the efficacy of a product, the tox and ecotox profile of a compound is extremely important. With the right choice of products, meaning, safe products with a profile that will survive not only the present, but also future regulatory requirements, Belchim Crop Protection is offering real solutions for sustainable crop management. Belchim has shown, throughout its history, to be a reliable and competent partner, always with a high sense of reality.

TIMOMED KNJAŽEVAC

MEDICINAL BEE STING Bee venom is believed to have therapeutic value in the treatment of severe diseases. Apitherapy, as a traditional folk remedy, helps alleviate serious problems such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis and lupus.

Many beekeepers and people who trust them deliberately expose themselves to bee stings in order to cure various diseases. Bee venom contains about 40 different medicinal components, one of which is melittin, an ingredient that has anti-inflammatory properties. People who have been convinced of the power of bee products believe that apitherapy is an alternative to dangerous drugs that can have harmful side effects. Apitherapy, as a traditional folk remedy, helps alleviate serious problems such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis and lupus. Certain individuals confirmed that bee venom helped them treat Lyme disease.

AQUADUCT D.O.O

WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO LONGEVITY OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS? The life of every irrigation system that should function the next 15-20 years starts on the basis of a GOOD PROJECT. In order for the system to function well, all local factors should be considered: weather, soil, the plants need for water, the terrains topography, the need for drainage‌ There are no two identical irrigation systems. Each system is unique and each lot is approached with a complete understanding of the situation and surrounding.

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June

NEWS NETHERLAND

HUGE HIT FOR THE DUTCH FLOWER INDUSTRY The pots of chrysanthemums stacked in Henk van der Slot’s barn in the Netherlands bulb fields were supposed to decorate St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican over Easter.

But with border restrictions and lockdowns spreading around the globe as governments fight the coronavirus pandemic, the pope had to go without his usual donation of Dutch flowers this year.

That’s a huge hit for the Dutch flower industry, whose exports last year were worth more than €6 billion. According to government figures, the Netherlands has a 44% share of the world trade in floriculture products and accounts for 77% of flower bulbs sold worldwide.

ADAMA SERBIA

SIMPLY GROW TOGETHER

BRAZIL

BRAZIL GREENLIGHTS BEEF EXPORTS TO THAILAND Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry reports that Thailand has agreed to accept Brazilian beef imports. The agreement, announced on 25 May, is the second agricultural trade deal the countries have reached in the last two weeks.

The companies who own the plants have not been identified. Nor has the ministry specified when exports will start.

Brazilian agricultural exports reached a record $10.2 billion in April, it added, 25 percent above the same month last year.

ADAMA is one of the world’s leading crop protection companies.

They strive to Create Simplicity in Agriculture, offering farmers effective products and services that simplify their lives and help them grow.

At ADAMA, they strive for a world where everybody has food security by using motto, “Simply.Grow. Together.” Is three short words with the power to make a lasting difference to farming everywhere?

Yes, simply - Create simplicity in agriculture.

Developing and delivering simplicity – with employees, partners, farmers, and our peers in the wider farming world. The ADAMA’s aim is to build close relationships with farmers by being honest, open and agile.

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