CorD Magazine No.123

H.E. MASAFUMI KUROKI

www.cordmagazine.com

Japanese Ambassador to Serbia

TIME FOR ACTION ERNST BODE

Executive Director of Messer Tehnogas

PRIMITIVES ERASED THE PAST AND THE PRESENT ZIJAH A. SOKOLOVIĆ

actor, author, director

JANUARY ’15 / ISSUE No. 123

ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EFFECTIVENESS

interviews opinions news comments events PRICE 300 RSD

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year The World As It Was in 2014

ISSN 1451-7833

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123 January 2015 | 3

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

January 2015 • Issue No. 132

EDITOR: Saša Marić s.maric@aim.rs

CONTENTS

ART DIRECTOR: Ilija Petrović i.petrovic@aim.rs

PAGE 6

PAGE 26

WE LEARNED OUR WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS

PAGE 72

TIME FOR ACTION

BEAUTY OF HUMAN FORM

CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Mirjana Jovanović, Radmila Stanković, Steve MacKenzie, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Sonja Ćirić EDITORIAL MANAGER: Tanja Banković t.bankovic@aim.rs PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović, Časlav Vukojičić

ERNST BODE Executive Director of Messer Tehnogas TANJA MIŠČEVIĆ Head of the Negotiating Team for the Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union PAGE 8

DANCING WITH A TITAN

Third Meeting of Heads of Government of China and the 16 CEE Countries in Belgrade PAGE 10

THE WORLD AS IT WAS IN 2014

PAGE 29

ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIĆ Ballet principal of the National Ballet of Canada PAGE 79

CANCELLATION CAUSES ECONOMIC LOSS IN BALKAN NATIONS

GIFTS FOR YOUR LEADING LADIES

South Stream pipeline

Christmas & New Year’s presents

PAGE 30

PAGE 80

PRIMITIVES ERASED THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

GIFTS THAT WILL DELIGHT YOUR NEAREST & DEAREST THE MOST

ZIJAH A. SOKOLOVIĆ Actor, author, director

PAGE 20

Christmas & New Year’s presents PAGE 83

FOR DAYS OF REST AND RELAXATION

GLOBAL DIARY

Fashion

PAGE 22

ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EFFECTIVENESS

PAGE 86 PAGE 71

OVER 50% OF AD SPEND GOES DIGITAL

LISTEN TO THE MEDIA

UK Digital Media forecast 2015

H.E. MASAFUMI KUROKI Japanese Ambassador to Serbia

BRANISLAV JORDANOV Marketing Manager at LG Electronics Serbia

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123 January 2015 | 5

COMMENT

We Learned Our

Weaknesses and Strengths TANJA MIŠČEVIĆ

Head of the Negotiating Team for the Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union

The Serbian Negotiation Team expects 2015 will be a year of even more work at home, reforms and a possible breakthrough in the negotiation process

T

he opening of negotiations coincided with the moment When it comes to chapters 23 and 24, the outcomes of Screenings when we reached political consensus among both the govincluded very precise benchmarks for the opening of chapters. The ernment and the opposition regarding Serbia’s European fusecond draft Action Plan for the implementation of criteria for the ture. This consensus is reflected in the new resolution of the opening of Chapter 23 was assessed positively by the European National Assembly of Serbia, adopted a year ago, and in the strong Commission. More than 20 institutions participated in the prepamandate of the new government, based on the pro-European vote. ration of the Action Plan, including civil society representatives.

It was in this positive atmosphere that the first Intergovernmental The Action Plan included a detailed plan of activities, a timeframe Conference and our screening meetings were prepared and held as for their implementation, as well as indicators and instruments by scheduled. To date we have finished screenings on 26 of 35 negowhich civil society will monitor implementation. The Action Plan for tiation chapters and received three screening reports for Chapter Chapter 24 is in the pipeline and following a similar procedure. Next 32 Financial Control, 23 Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, and 24 year we will host several EU expert missions in the area of asylum Justice, Freedom and Security. The Republic of Serbia submitted policy, minority issues, media laws, integrated border management its first Negotiation position for Chapter 32 in late summer and is and the prosecution of war crimes, which will assess developments ready to open this chapter. in these areas and the implementation of laws and standards. We So, this first year of Serbia’s negotiation process is finished are dedicated to fulfilling the benchmarks and creating conditions to and we are taking stock in order to do even open chapters 23 and 24 as soon as possible. more. It is not enough that the European For Chapter 35 both Explanatory Let’s not forget that Commission and EU Member States have and Bilateral screenings were completaccession to the EU is nothing but extremely positive assessments ed in January 2014. We are waiting for the always, but always, a regarding our readiness, preparedness and Screening Report to be prepared by the capacity. We would like to prove even more political accession, but European Commission and the European that we are capable of implementing all of External Action Service. Considering that it is one that cannot those agreed things – the biggest challenge Chapter 35 is a complete novelty for both be achieved without for the reforms. the Commission and for Serbia, it is still unWe expect 2015 will be a year of even technical approximation clear how we will proceed through this chapmore work at home, reforms and a possible ter. Moreover, the post-election institutional breakthrough in the negotiation process. Having said that, we rely impasse in Priština was longer than expected and it hampered the on our strong dedication and help and support from our European dialogue at the political level, though there were positive developpartners, but also on our public support – and according to polls ments at a technical level. With good news coming from Priština, more than half of the population of Serbia supports EU memberwe expect the political dialogue to resume soon. ship, while 67% of citizens support reforms for themselves.

To date we have learned a lot during the negotiation process The Serbian Negotiation Team is aware that, according to Article – where are our weaknesses and our strengths are in each of the 11 of the Negotiation Framework, in the early phase of negotiations screened chapters; how to do things in advance to ensure fewer we should open chapters 23 and 24, as well as Chapter 35, through benchmarks are set for opening negotiations. But we also learned a which the dialogue on the normalisation of relations between lot about this important and intrinsic correlation between the techBelgrade and Priština is monitored. This novelty has been incorponical and the political in the negotiation process, and that is the rated into the Framework in order to ensure the maximum period of substance. Let’s not forget that EU accession is always, but always, time required to adopt the necessary legislation, establish institua political accession, but it is one that cannot be achieved without tions and monitor implementation within chapters 23 and 24 before technical approximation. That will remain the lesson we take away the negotiations are closed. And for well-known political reasons, from 2014...

Chapter 35 has the same importance as the other two for Serbia.

Happy 2015! ■

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THIRD MEETING OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF CHINA AND THE 16 CEE COUNTRIES IN BELGRADE

Dancing

With a Titan For the countries of Central Europe, and the Western Balkans in particular, worn down by savings and worried about a new Cold War in the neighbourhood, China’s decision to increase its level of investment in infrastructure projects, energy and industrial zones in the region represents a God send. However, it carries with it a serious price

I

f just the 16 prime ministers of CEE countries had met on 16th and 17th December in Belgrade, it would have been an important political and diplomatic event that would perhaps have assisted in enhancing the relatively small level of trade exchanges. If Belgrade had hosted a two-day visit of the Chinese Premier with a far more modest delegation of businessmen than the 200 who joined him, the visit would undoubtedly have been recorded as an event of great political importance, the likes of which Belgrade has not seen in the last 28 years. But when you add it all together – the fact that Belgrade hosted the third 16 + 1 Summit that brought together 17 prime ministers and 1,500 company representatives to talk about projects potentially worth the previously promised $10 billion, plus three billion more, continuing with the official visit of the Prime Minister of China to Serbia and a series of bilateral meetings between the heads of CEE countries – it becomes clear that this is undoubtedly an extremely important event.

And that event’s main winners at first glance appear to be Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia and (absent) Greece, which form the southern launch pad for

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the penetration of Chinese goods onto the EU market and facilitate the natural continuation of building a high-speed railway from Budapest to Belgrade and, via Skopje, to Athens and its origins at the Port of Piraeus (the so-called China-

Europe Land Sea Express Line), where Chinese company Cosco has built one of the largest international terminals for container traffic in this part of the world.

In addition to continuing prepara-

The announcement of the Chinese premier that the cost of borrowing will be reduced and that opportunities will be created for other types of borrowing through public private partnerships and leasing, testifies to the exhaustion and level of indebtedness of the region

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

tions for the Belgrade-Budapest rail on tourism, healthcare and IT, it should $1.7 billion is left over from the previous project and the continuation of the be noted that at present China is much credit line. project related to the Kostolac Power more focused on the Balkans, while it The announcement of the Chinese Plant (Block 1 and Block 2), under more has invested much less in the Czech premier that the cost of borrowing will favourable credit terms, a memoranRepublic, Slovakia, Slovenia and the be reduced and that opportunities will dum of understanding was also signed Baltic states. Chinese money amountbe created for other types of borrowas part of preparations of the feasibiled to only 0.2 per cent of inward investing through public private partnerships ity study for the construcand leasing, testifies to the tion of Serbian-Chinese inexhaustion and level of industrial zones. Other sigdebtedness of the region, nificant agreements were which is unable to absorb signed during the visit, new loans. ranging from the developOne of the most imporment of cutting-edge techtant lessons, which was renologies and telecommunipeated many times by cations, and construction of Premier Li, was that coopa coal-fired power plant, to eration between China and exports of lamb to China. the countries of Central and The total trade volume Eastern Europe is crucial, not between China and the 16 CEE only for these countries, but countries stands at around for overall China-EU ties, and $50 billion annually, with a that all agreements reached pronounced imbalance in between China and the CEE Prime Minister ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ and Chinese Premier LI KEQIANG China’s favour. countries are in accordance The example of the Zemun with European rules.

Nevertheless, the Borča Bridge could be takAlthough all summit participants said Summit of China and CEE en as an image of the major(which observers from the ity of projects that CEE counthat all the plans of China and CEE are in EU were also invited to attries have with China and can accordance with the interests of Europe, tend, as noted by Prmier Li) be seen from both sides of it must be said that EU Member States are was followed by great silence the coin. A Chinese bank provery divided when it comes to the notion of in the European media, and vided money at a low interest silence in Brussels. Europe rate, a Chinese company is a strengthening ties with China is, as noted by many anacontractor and the workers lysts, preoccupied with neand the construction mategotiations on a transatlanrial are primarily from China. tic trade agreement with the “The bridge was practically U.S. Moreover, EU Member imported,” investment expert States are very divided when Milan Kovačević said to DWE. it comes to strengthening And the Chinese companies ties with China and their involved didn’t pay any ducurrent cooperation is charties or taxes on this project, acterised by a number of the Serbian transport minisoutstanding issues, ranging try told DWE. from China’s cautious treatChristian Dreger, of ment in the case of Ukraine the German Institute for and relations with Russia, Economic Research, sees to the question of the fight the positive aspects: “The against climate change, the bridge is in Eastern Europe Premier LI KEQIANG and Serbian Prime Minister ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ at the ceremony marking treatment of human rights and helps connect the re- Chinese the completion of the “Mihajlo Pupin” Bridge across the River Danube between Zemun and Borča in China and a long-standgions. Trade between China ing dispute over China’s membership of and CEE has increased tenfold in the ment in Poland in 2013, according to the WTO. In other words, the CEE counpast decade and there is room to grow.” the National Bank of Poland, and even tries and China could come across an Experts in Beijing expect to see the less in Romania. even bigger European (and thus also trade volume increase to over €100 bilWhile a lot is planned or pledged, it is American) wall than Russia faced from lion within a few years. worth noting that apart from a new inEurope with plans to finance the South Although all countries are planning vestment fund worth $3 billion, which Stream pipeline. ■ to organise new summits with China will be available to CEE countries, some

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 9

THE WORLD IN 2014

The World As It Was in 2014

From conflict in Ukraine, to flooding in Europe; wars in the Middle East and the emergence of Ebola in Africa; from protests and bad weather in the U.S., to continuing economic crisis worldwide – there is little reason for us to remember 2014 fondly.

These are the happenings that marked the past year. We hope that 2015 will bring us more reason, good intentions and numerous friends

JANUARY

WORLD

U.S. and Canada Snowstorm Wreaks Havoc A winter storm blanketed parts of Canada and the north-eastern U.S. with up to 61cm of snow and dangerously cold temperatures.

Flooding Continues to Threaten UK High tides and strong winds led to flooding in Wales and south-west England as officials warned of a continued flood threat across the western UK. Protests in Ukraine Continue Parliament hastily passed sweeping measures that stifled protesters and demonstrations. Five protesters were killed in battles with police. Yanukovich agreed to meet with opposition leaders

ECONOMY

China ‘Overtakes’ U.S. as Top Trader China claims that it is “very likely” that it overtook the U.S. as the world’s top trading nation, a title the U.S. has held for decades, Google sells Motorola unit to Lenovo Google announced the surprise sale of its Motorola Mobility unit, which it bought in 2012, to Chinese computer maker Lenovo for $2.91bn.

SOCIETY

Millions of German Passwords Stolen The passwords and other details of sixteen million email users in Germany have been stolen, according to the country’s security agency.

Croatia’s Ex-Spy Chief Extradited Croatia’s former spy chief was handed over to Germany on suspicion of murder, after a row which strained ties between the EU and its newest member.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Dies Israel’s former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has died. The official cause of death is heart failure, although Sharon had been in a coma since suffering a stroke on 4th January 2006.

CULTURE

Goran Gocić Wins NIN Literary Award for 2013 The winner of the 60th NIN literary award for 2013 is Goran Gocić for the book “Tai”, published by “Geopoetika”.

Kustendorf Festival Kicks Off The seventh six-day Kustendorf Film Festival opens with a choreographed performance of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie Chotek.

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Serbia’s Exit Festival Scoops European Award The music festival that has taken place since 2000 in Novi Sad has been declared Europe’s best at the European Festival Awards ceremony in Holland.

SPORT

Eusebio ‘Will Always Be a Great’ Leading global football figures pay tribute to Portugal and Benfica legend Eusebio, who has died at the age of 71.

Chelsea Re-sign €25mln Midfielder Matic Chelsea complete the €25mln re-signing of Benfica’s Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic on a fiveand-a-half-year deal.

Wawrinka Win the Australian Open Stanislas Wawrinka beats Rafael Nadal of Spain to take his first Men’s Singles Championship.

SERBIA

Serbia begins EU Membership Talks Serbia starts formal EU membership talks in Brussels, following a breakthrough deal with Kosovo.

Serbian Army Rescues Drivers Trapped by Snow Serbian soldiers are helping rescue dozens of drivers who have been trapped in their cars in deep snow on the Zrenjanin-Belgrade road.

FEBRUARY

WORLD

Bad Weather Batters Europe Areas of Italy and France are on flood alert and Serbian motorists get stuck in snow, as bad weather brings chaos to parts of Europe.

Violent Protests Spread in Bosnia Bosnian protesters set fire to government buildings in Sarajevo and in Tuzla as unrest grows over political and economic issues.

Italian PM Enrico Letta Resigns Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta submits his resignation after his centre-left Democratic Party call for a change in government.

Merkel Proposes Secure European Web Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel says she will talk to France about building a European communication network to improve data protection.

ECONOMY

Senate passes U.S. debt ceiling bill The U.S. Senate sends a bill to the president to raise the country’s borrowing limit for another year, ending a series of standoffs over the issue.

Merkel Visits UK German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the rest of Europe is not prepared to pay almost any

price to keep Britain in the EU. Cuban Cigar Sales Jump in 2013 Sales of Cuba’s famous cigars jumped 8% in 2013, says Habanos SA, due to strong demand from Chinese consumers.

SOCIETY

Spanish Princess Quizzed in Court Spain’s Princess Cristina is being questioned in court over a corruption scandal involving her husband, a historic first for Spain’s royal family.

Clashes at Istanbul Internet Protest Turkish riot police fire water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators marching in Istanbul in protest at new laws tightening government control of the internet.

US Navy Technician Jailed For Spying Former US Navy cryptologist technician Robert Hoffman is sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempted espionage for Russia.

CULTURE

Chinese Film Wins at Berlin Festival Chinese film Bai Ri Yan Huo (Black Coal, Thin Ice) wins the Golden Bear for best picture at the Berlin film festival.

Major Art Fair Opens in Madrid One of the biggest art fairs in Europe, bringing together over 200 galleries from around the world, opens in the Spanish capital Madrid.

SPORT

Glittering Ceremony Opens Sochi 2014 The 22nd Winter Olympics open with a spectacular ceremony in the Russian resort city of Sochi.

Super Bowl Draws Record TV Audience The American Football Super Bowl is the mostwatched TV event in U.S. history, with 111.5m viewers, the Fox TV network says.

Russia on top as 2014 Games end Hosts Russia finish top of the medal table as Sochi 2014 comes to an end.

SERBIA

Serbians struggle in winter snow Hundreds of drivers in Serbia have been rescued after becoming stranded due to heavy winter snow Serbia and Croatia Sue Each Other for Genocide Hearings have started at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where the two countries have brought cases against each other, alleging genocide during the 1990s war.

MARCH

WORLD

G7 Condemns Russia Over Ukraine Russia’s G8 partners condemn Moscow’s military build-up in Ukraine amid fresh diplomatic efforts to avert further escalation of the crisis.

Bachelet Sworn In as Chile President Michelle Bachelet - Chile’s first woman president in 2006 - is sworn in for a second time after her election victory in December.

Putin Signs Russia-Crimea Treaty President Vladimir Putin signs a treaty on Crimea joining the Russian Federation, as a Ukrainian serviceman is reported killed at a military base.

Slovak Andrej Kiska WIns Presidency Slovak tycoon Andrej Kiska wins the country’s presidential election, despite having no previous political experience.

ECONOMY

Safeway to be Sold to Cerberus US supermarket firm Safeway agrees to be bought by an investment group led by Cerberus Capital Management, the owner of Albertsons and other supermarket chains.

Airbus to Supply 70 Jets to China China signs a deal to buy 70 planes from the Europe’s Airbus, reviving an order that has been on hold due an EU tax dispute.

Network Rail Plans €45bln Investment The operator of Britain’s train tracks and stations, Network Rail, announces a five-year plan to invest €45bln in rail infrastructure.

SOCIETY

Turkey PM Warns Social Media Sites Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan says his government could ban Facebook and YouTube, amid leaks suggesting government corruption.

Malaysia Airlines Plane Vanishes A search is under way in waters between Malaysia and Vietnam after a Malaysia Airlines plane vanished on a flight to Beijing, with 239 people on board.

Ex-Croatia PM Guilty of Corruption A court in Croatia sentences former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to nine years in jail after finding him and the HDZ party guilty of corruption.

CULTURE

The 86th Academy Awards – Oscar 2014 The 86th Academy Awards ceremony was presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories, honouring films released in 2013 Vatican Library to Digitise Archives

The Vatican Library begins digitising its priceless collection of manuscripts dating from the origins of the Church with support from Japan’s NTT Data.

SPORT

Kosovo’s Footballers in World Debut Six years after declaring independence, Kosovo’s footballers play their first match at international level, drawing 0-0 with Haiti in a friendly.

Winter Paralympics Open in Sochi The 2014 Winter Paralympics are opened by Russian president Vladimir Putin in a spectacular ceremony in Sochi.

Djokovic beats Federer in thriller Novak Đoković fights back to beat Roger Federer in a tie-break decider in a thrilling final at Indian Wells.

SERBIA

Progressives on top in Serbia poll The ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) wins a parliamentary majority in the general election The Serbia-Germany Forum founded The Serbia-Germany Forum association has been founded in Belgrade with the goal of improving economic and political cooperation between the two countries.

Alleged Balkan Drugs Lord Surrenders Darko Šarić, who is accused of heading an organised-crime gang involved in large-scale drug smuggling, gave himself up to the Serbian authorities after being on the run in Latin America.

Progressives Win Most Votes in Belgrade Polls Belgrade’s new city assembly will contain the same four parties as before after election, but the Serbian Progressive Party overtook the Democrats as the majority party.

APRIL

WORLD

Nato Suspends Russia Co-operation Nato foreign ministers suspend all practical civilian and military co-operation with Russia over the latter’s annexation of Crimea.

Hungary’s PM Orban Declares Victory Hungary’s conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban declares victory in parliamentary elections, winning a second consecutive term.

Nigeria School Kidnap - ‘230 Seized’ Some 190 Nigerian schoolgirls remain missing after being abducted, their head teacher tells the BBC - far more than the official figure

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Algeria’s President Gets Fourth Term Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who suffered a stroke last year, wins a fourth term in office taking more than 81% of the vote.

ECONOMY

Eurozone Clears Next Greece Bailout Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Athens sign off the next 8.3bn euro instalment of Greece’s bailout, amid high security on the capital’s streets.

Germany Approves First Minimum Wage German Chancellor Angela Merkel approves the country’s first minimum wage, at 8.50 euros an hour, to start in 2015.

Boeing Gets $4.6bn China Plane Order China’s Shandong Airlines says it has placed an order for 50 Boeing 737 aircraft, worth $4.6bn) at list prices

Lithuanian President Wins Run-Off Lithuania’s incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaite declares victory after a second round of voting in the Baltic country’s elections.

Narendra Modi Sworn in as Indian PM Narendra Modi is sworn in as India’s new prime minister in a ceremony attended by his counterpart from rival Pakistan.

Sisi Declared New Egyptian President Ex-army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi urges Egyptians to work to restore stability after being declared

ropean champions for a tenth time ended in an extra-time victory against neighbours Club Atlético de Madrid in Lisbon.

Djokovic Too Strong for Nadal in Rome Novak Djokovic wins his third Italian Open title and lays down a marker for the French Open with victory over Rafael Nadal in Rome.

SERBIA

Deluge in Serbia Threatens Town of Obrenovac As the worst floods in over a century ravage parts of Serbia, claiming five lives so far, the

SOCIETY

Putin Divorce Goes Through The Kremlin confirms that the divorce of Russian President Vladimir Putin from his wife of 30 years, Lyudmila, has been finalised.

Berlusconi to do Community Service Italian ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi must perform community service in a home for the elderly, following his conviction for tax fraud.

Ferry Disaster Captain Arrested The captain of a South Korean ferry that sank this week leaving hundreds of people missing is arrested, along with two crew members.

CULTURE

Gabriel Garcia Marquez Dies The Nobel prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, dies in Mexico aged 87.

SPORT

Wawrinka Takes Monte Carlo Title Stanislas Wawrinka beats fellow Swiss Roger Federer to win the first Masters 1000 title of his career in Monte Carlo.

Belgrade Marathon One of the largest sporting events in Serbia, the Belgrade Marathon has been one of the major events on the international marathon calendar since 1988.

SERBIA

EU Praises Serbia’s Accession Progress Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said that Serbia’s future membership of the EU was now an “apparent certainty” but urged the country to press ahead with key reforms.

New Serbian PM Pledges Economic Recovery Aleksandar Vučić was elected as the new head of the Serbian government, vowing that his main goal is economic recovery and warning that austerity measures lie ahead.

Siniša Mali Takes Over as Mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali, member of Serbia’s ruling Progressive Party, who headed the interim council in the capital, has been elected new mayor of Belgrade.

MAY

WORD

U.S. and Germany ‘at Odds’ Over Spying The U.S. and Germany remain at odds over digital spying and privacy policy, U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel say.

12 |

the winner of last week’s presidential election.

King Juan Carlos of Spain Abdicates King Juan Carlos of Spain says the time has come to abdicate and pass the throne to a younger energised generation, after a reign of nearly 40 years.

ECONOMY

Eurozone Business Maintains Growth Business activity in the Eurozone kept up a steady pace of growth in May, a survey indicates, but France and Germany continue to experience contrasting fortunes.

China and Russia sign huge gas deal Russia’s President Vladimir Putin agrees a multi-billion dollar, 30-year gas deal with China at a summit between the two in Shanghai

SOCIETY

Deadly Turkey Blast An explosion at Turkish mine killed 301 workers Mladic War Crimes Defence Begins The defence in the genocide and crimes against humanity trial of former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic opens its case in The Hague.

Pope Visits Jerusalem Holy Sites Pope Francis visits the most important holy sites for Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem’s Old City on the final day of his Middle East tour.

CULTURE

Austria wins Eurovision Song Contest Austrian drag act Conchita Wurst is crowned the winner of the 59th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen Timothy John Byford Dies Timothy John Byford, a British television director and scriptwriter who made some of the most popular Yugoslav children’s shows of the 1970s and 1980s, has died in Belgrade.

SPORT

Injured Djokovic Misses Madrid Masters World number two Novak Djokovic pulls out of the Madrid Masters as his right wrist injury has “flared up again”.

Madrid End Wait For ‘La Décima’ Real Madrid CF’s 12-year quest to become Eu-

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

situation in the town of Obrenovac remains especially critical.

Serbia Faces Severe Floods in Danube Basin Away from the devastation along the river Sava, settlements on the Danube and Velika Morava rivers are also facing severe flooding with no water and electricity supply or mobile networks.

Dobrica Ćosić Dies Dobrica Ćosić, a writer who served briefly as Yugoslavia’s president, has died. He was 92.

JUNE

WORLD

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad re-elected Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wins a third term in office after securing 88.7% of votes in Tuesday’s presidential election.

G7 warns Russia of fresh sanctions Leaders of the G7 industrial nations warn Russia of further sanctions over its actions in Ukraine, as they meet at a Brussels summit.

Isis Rebels Declare ‘Islamic State’ Jihadist militant group Isis declares the establishment of a caliphate, or Islamic state, on the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria.

ECONOMY

Bulgaria Halts Pipeline After U.S. Talks Bulgaria is to halt work on its Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline after criticism from the EU and U.S.

Bolja produktivnost i efikasnost poslovanja Uz kompletnu i praktičnu uslugu Telekoma Srbija Evidencija radnog vremena i kontrola pristupa možete lako da unapredite svoje poslovanje bez dodatnih ulaganja u hardver i softver.

Evidencija radnog vremena i kontrola pristupa omogućava Vam da precizno upravljate radnim vremenom u Vašoj kompaniji uz detaljan pregled radnih sati, popunjenosti radnih mesta, obradu zarada, uvid u terenski rad i izvršavanje svih radnih i putnih naloga.

Svi prikupljeni podaci su Vam dostupni putem interneta u bilo kom trenutku.

Izložite nam svoje želje i potrebe, a mi ćemo za Vas pronaći jedinstveno, kompletno i najbolje poslovno rešenje.

Pišite nam na e-mail adresu sluzba.partneri@telekom.rs

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123 January 2015 | 13

China and Greece Sign Major Deals China and Greece sign business deals worth about $5bn (£2.94bn) during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit, in areas including airports and shipping.

SOCIETY

Germany Opens Merkel Bugging Probe The German federal prosecutor opens an investigation into the alleged NSA surveillance of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone.

Bulgaria Ravaged by Deadly Floods At least 12 people have been killed and sev-

to win his ninth French Open title and a record fifth in succession.

Colourful Ceremony Opens World Cup The 2014 Fifa World Cup opens with an extravagant ceremony before hosts Brazil beat Croatia 3-1 in the first match.

SERBIA

Clashes at Kosovo Blockade Bridge Demonstrators in Kosovo clash with police over a blockade at a bridge in Mitrovica between the local Albanian and Serb communities.

The leaders of the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - sign a deal to create a new $100bln development bank and emergency reserve fund.

SOCIETY

Crisis Meeting as Ebola Toll Rises The World Health Organisation is hosting an emergency meeting in Ghana after confirming the death toll in West Africa has risen to 467.

Storm Arthur Hits South-East Canada Post-tropical storm Arthur batters south-east Canada, leaving more than 200,000 homes and businesses without power.

Malaysian Jet Crashes in Ukraine All 295 passengers and crew are believed dead as a Malaysian airliner crashes in the east Ukraine conflict zone, amid claims of a missile attack.

Novak married Jelena The Montenegrin resort of Budva is gearing up for the Serbian tennis star’s ‘wedding of the century’, to included at least 140 guests.

CULTURE

eral are missing after torrential rain and heavy floods hit the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna.

Albania Hails Drugs Raid on Village Albanian PM Edi Rama praises a major anti-drug police operation in the southern village of Lazarat that netted more than 25 tonnes of marijuana.

Ebola Outbreak ‘Out of Control’ Director of Operations at MSF, Dr Bart Janssens, says the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia is totally out of control.

EU Leaders Gather for WWI Memorial EU leaders commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI in Ypres, ahead of an EU summit set to be dominated by talks on the Commission leadership.

CULTURE

Museum Night 2014 This year’s Night of Museums took place under the motto “Great time in museums”.The original date, 17th May was used to collect humanitarian aid in 29 locations in Belgrade and in 24 cities across Serbia for flood victims.

SPORT

Sharapova Wins French Open title Maria Sharapova beats Simona Halep in three gripping sets to win her second French Open title and fifth Grand Slam crown.

Nadal Wins Ninth French Open Title Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic in four sets 14 |

Bojan Pajtić New Democratic Party Leader Bojan Pajtić, who heads the provincial government in Vojvodina, has defeated Dragan Đilas to take the top post in Serbia’s former ruling party.

Rector Mića Jovanović Forced to Resign The ex-rector of the private Megatrend University, Mica Jovanovic, forced to resign after allegedly lying about his thesis, vowed to fight the ‘conspiracy’ against him PM rime Minister Vučić meets with Chancellor Angela Merkel “Germany has specific expectations of Serbia in the accession negotiations with the EU concerning the rule of law, the issue of Kosovo and economic harmonization,” Merkel said after meeting Vučić.

JULY

WORLD

German Schulz to Lead MEPs again The new European Parliament has begun its first session and elected German Socialist Martin Schulz to a new term as parliament president.

Political Novice Wins Slovenia Poll A centre-left political novice, Miro Cerar, wins a snap election in Slovenia and questions EU privatisation targets for his country.

Juncker Elected to Top EU Job MEPs elect Jean-Claude Juncker - a veteran champion of EU integration - as head of the European Commission.

Assad Sworn in For Third Syria Term Bashar al-Assad is sworn in for a third seven-year term as president of Syria, after an election last month that opponents dismissed as a “farce”.

ECONOMY

Germany Approves New Minimum Wage The German parliament approves the country’s first minimum wage, set at a level of €8.50 per hour.

Emirates Finalises $56bln 777X Order U.S. plane maker Boeing and Emirates Airline finalise a $56bn deal for 150 new 777X minijumbo jets.

BRICS Nations to Create $100bln Bank

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Monty Python Return to Mixed Reviews Comedy group Monty Python get reviews ranging from two to five stars as they perform on stage together for the first time in decades at London’s O2 arena.

EXIT Festival Promises Energy and Adventure For the first time this year, the EXIT festival will be held at two locations, the Novi Sad fortress and a new venue, Jaz Beach in Montenegro.

SPORT

Kvitova Wins Second Wimbledon Title Petra Kvitova thrashes Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard for the loss of just three games to win her second Wimbledon title. Đoković Wins Second Wimbledon Title Novak Đoković has won his second men’s singles title at Wimbledon after an epic five-set final against Roger Federer.

World Cup Finals: Germany 1-0 Argentina Germany are crowned world champions as Mario Gotze’s extra-time winner beats Argentina in the 2014 Fifa World Cup final Commonwealth Games’ Opening Ceremony The 2014 Commonwealth Games have officially opened at a ceremony in the Scottish city of Glasgow

SERBIA

Donors Raise €1.8bln For Serbia, Bosnia An international donors’ conference in Brussels held to raise funds for May’s disastrous floods in the region has offered a total of €1.8 billion for Serbia and Bosnia.

Serbia Finance Minister Resigns Finance minister Lazar Krstić said he is resigning because of differences with Serbia’s Prime Minister over economic reforms.

Vučić Tightens Serbia’s Russia Ties in Moscow Following the Serbian Prime Minister’s meetings with Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow, the two countries are to deepen economic cooperation and sign the deal on construction of South Stream pipeline

AUGUST

WORLD

Erdogan Wins Turkey Presidency

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins his country’s first direct presidential election, promising a period of “social reconciliation”.

EU Sets Russia Sanctions Ultimatum The EU gives Russia one week to reverse course in Ukraine or face new sanctions, as Ukraine’s leader talks of the “point of no return”.

Balkan Leaders in Berlin Pledge to Work Together Balkan economy and finance ministers meeting in Berlin have agreed that their countries must jointly resolve economic issues that trouble the region.

lion email addresses, in what is being described as the “largest data breach” ever.

Funeral Held for Ferguson Teenager Hundreds of people attend the funeral in Missouri of the black teenager Michael Brown, who was shot dead by a white policeman.

polo in 2014 with a clean sweep of the major events, beating Hungary 11-9 in a penalty shootout on the sixth day of the FINA Men’s Water Polo World Cup Grujić and Novaković Win Gold At the World Kayak Championships in Moscow, Nebojsa Grujić and Marko Novaković triumphed in the final of the K-2. The crew of Marko Tomicevic and Vladimir Torubarov won bronze.

Sisters Moldovan Take Silver In the 500m race for women, Nikolina and Oli-

London is the most expensive city in Europe for cultural activities, with Warsaw the cheapest.

Brass Bands Tune up for Guca Festival The Guca Brass Band Festival, one of Serbia’s most thriving national brands, has kicked off in the western Dragacevo region.

vera Moldovan won the silver medal. For the sisters Moldovan this was their greatest career success and their second medal this season.

Nikolina was also successful in the K1 200m race, taking bronze.

CULTURE

Robin Williams Found Dead Actor and comedian Robin Williams, star dies at home in California in an apparent suicide.

London ‘Europe’s Dearest Culture Hub’

ECONOMY

Norway’s Statoil in Russian Deal Norway’s Statoil partners with Russian state energy giant Rosneft to search for oil in the Arctic, despite Western sanctions against Moscow.

Bulgaria Suspends South Stream Bulgaria suspends work on South Stream project, a pipeline stretching across the Black Sea to southern and central Europe.

French PM Resigns Amid Economy Row French PM Manuel Valls presents the resignation of his government amid a cabinet row over economic policies, and is asked to form a new administration.

SOCIETY

Southern China Quake Kills Hundreds At least 367 people are killed and scores more injured after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes in south-west China.

Russia Gang in ‘Largest Data Breach’ A Russian group hacks 1.2 billion usernames and passwords belonging to more than 500 mil-

SPORT

Serbia retains Water Polo World Cup Crown Serbia proved its dominance of world water

SERBIA

Serbia’s New Finance Minister Unveils Reform Plan Dušan Vujović says Serbia’s economic reform

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123 January 2015 | 15

will be based on ‘four pillars’ that will show results within a year and put the country back on the road to financial stability.

Heavy Floods Hit Serbia and Bosnia Again At least one person has been reported dead as floods hit Serbia and Bosnia three months after heavy flooding killed almost 80 people in the region.

SEPTEMBER

WORLD

Swedish director Roy Andersson’s comedy, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, wins the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Opening of the 55th October Salon Founded in the 1960s, October Salon for a long time worked as an overview on contemporary art presenting the most important artists from the Serbian art community.

SPORT

Serbia Celebrates 2014 FIBA World Cup Silver Medal

The public health challenge posed by the Ebola outbreak is unlike anything since the emergence of HIV/Aids, a top U.S. medical official says.

Putin ‘Orders Russia Troop Pullback’ Russian President Vladimir Putin orders the withdrawal of thousands of troops stationed near the Ukrainian border, Russian media report.

Donors Offer $5.4bln for Palestinians Donors at a Cairo conference pledge $5.4bln in aid to the Palestinians, after the 50-day Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas The 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Milan The Summit brought together more than 50 European and Asian leaders, to discuss the enlarging scope of the Europe-Asia relationship.

ECONOMY

Islamic State Kills U.S. Hostage An Islamic State video purporting to show the beheading of Steven Sotloff, a U.S. journalist abducted by the group, is released.

New Commission - Juncker’s Team Revealed Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President-elect announces the distribution of portfolios within his team in Brussels Five Die in Bosnia Mine Collapse Rescuers at a coal mine in Bosnia free 29 trapped miners but five others are confirmed dead after a small earthquake rocks the mine.

Scotland Votes ‘No’ to Independence As Scotland votes to stay in the UK, Alex Salmond calls for the pledge of more devolved powers to be carried out, while David Cameron says commitments will be honoured in full.

ECONOMY

Russia and China Launch Gas Pipeline Russia and China begin the construction of a new gas pipeline linking the countries, with a ceremony in the Siberian city of Yakutsk.

Alibaba ‘Breaks Share Sale Record’ Chinese internet giant Alibaba has raised $25bln in its share flotation, according to US media, making it the largest initial public offering in history.

EP Wants South Stream Scrapped The EU Parliament adopted at a meeting in Strasbourg a resolution urging for stepping up sanctions against Russia and cancelling contracts for the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline.

SOCIETY

Ebola ‘Threat to Global Security’ President Barack Obama told the UN than the spread of Ebola in Africa represented a “threat to regional and global security”.

Japan Volcano Rescue Finds 31 Bodies The bodies of 31 hikers are found near the peak of Japan’s Mount Ontake as rescuers search for those missing since Saturday’s sudden volcanic eruption.

CULTURE

Swedish Film Scoops Top Venice Award

16 |

Nokia Back in Profit as Sales Rise Nokia’s fortunes since selling its mobile handset unit to Microsoft appear to be improving with the Finland business returning to profit.

Russia-Ukraine Deal Secures EU gas Russia will resume gas deliveries to Ukraine this winter in a deal brokered by the EU, which will also safeguard supplies to EU countries.

SOCIETY

Serbia’s national basketball team won a silver medal at the World Cup in Spain after being defeated in the final match by the United States.

Williams Wins US Open Serena Williams beats Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets to win her sixth U.S. Open and 18th Grand Slam title. Čilić Wins First Grand Slam Title Croatia’s Marin Cilic wins his first Grand Slam title with a straight-sets win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori at the U.S. Open.

SERBIA

Gay Pride March Held in Serbia Serbia holds a Gay Pride march in the capital Belgrade amid massive security - an event that was called off for several years due to violence.

Serbia TV Ditches Flagship Political Talk Show Union calls for protests after B92 axes Olja Bećković’s well-known politics programme ‘Utisak Nedelje’, which started in 1991.

EU Supports Vučić’s Measures Head of the Integration Section of the EU’s Delegation to Serbia, Freek Janmaat, said that Brussels supports the set of measures presented by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić as part of broad structural reforms.

OCTOBER

WORLD

Ebola Challenge ‘Biggest Since Aids’

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Russia Turns Back Clocks For Good Russia prepares to turn back the clocks, moving the country on to “permanent winter time”.

Hungary Scraps Web Tax Hungary shelves a proposed tax on internet data traffic after tens of thousands of Hungarians marched against it.

Alan Eustace Jumps From Stratosphere Alan Eustace Google’s most senior executives has broken Felix Baumgartner’s record for the highest parachute jump in history. He successfully jumped from the edge of space at 40,000 metres.

CULTURE

Picasso Museum Sees Grand Reopening Picasso Museum in Paris reopens after a fiveyear renovation.

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra begins US tour For the first time in their 91-year history, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, “one of the leading European orchestras” (The Independent), will tour the U.S. Belgrade Book Fair The 59th International Belgrade Book Fair represents the oldest, the biggest and the most visited book fair in the region of South East Europe, with China being this year’s guest of honor.

SPORT

Djokovic powers to fifth China Open World number one Novak Đoković wins his fifth China Open title by beating Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-2 in Beijing.

Serbia-Albania Qualifier Abandoned A football match between Serbia and Albania was abandoned after a drone displaying the so-called ‘Greater Albania’ flag appeared at the stadium..

SERBIA

Putin attends Serb military parade Vladimir Putin stresses Russia’s support for Serbia at Belgrade’s first military parade in decades to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its liberation.

Western Balkans Six “ Ministerial Meeting”,

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Belgrade This Conference about new economic governance and better connectivity in the West Balkan region, held in Balgrade was attended by EU Commissioner Štefan Füle, Vice-President of the Commission Jyrki Katainen and Foreign Ministers and Economy or Finance Ministers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.

NOVEMBER

WORLD

Republicans Win Control of U.S. Senate Republicans win control of the Senate in the U.S. mid-term elections, increasing their power in the final years of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Catalonia Poll ‘Backs Independence’ An informal vote on independence for the Spanish region of Catalonia has shown more than 80% in favour, officials say.

G20 Leaders in Global Growth Pledge The G20 summit held in Brisbane, Australia closes with pledges from leaders to boost the global economy, after Russian leader Vladimir Putin leaves the summit early.

Romania PM Admits Election Defeat Romanian PM Victor Ponta concedes victory in presidential election to Sibiu Mayor Klaus Iohannis.

SPORT

Đoković Beats Raonic to Paris Title Novak Đoković strengthened his grip on the world number one ranking with a 6-2 6-3 win in the Paris Masters final Đoković wins ATP World Tour Finals Novak Đoković won his third consecutive ATP World Tour Finals title on a walkover after Roger Federer withdrew ahead of the match.

Hamilton Wins Formula 1 World Championship Lewis Hamilton clinches his second Drivers’ Championship title with a comfortable victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

SERBIA

French PM vows to back Serbia’s EU membership French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has ended a two-day official visit to Serbia during which he vowed to provide firm support to the Balkan country on its path towards joining the EU. Kosovo Row Marks Historic Visit The first visit to Serbia for 68 years by an Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, turns into a diplomatic spat broadcast live on TV. Johannes Hahn Visits Belgrade

posed South Stream gas pipeline will not go ahead, blaming opposition from the EU. Meeting of Heads of Government of China and CEECS The cooperation between China and CEE region is in keeping with the European integration process and the EU legal framework, said Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang at a joint news conference with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić upon the conclusion of the 16-plus-1 meeting in Belgrade.

SOCIETY

Turkey Criticised Over Media Arrests Top European Union officials sharply criticise the mass arrest of Turkish media representatives linked to opposition political movements.

CULTURE

Tiepolo, from Udine to Belgrade Exhibition Opens An exhibition entitled Tiepolo, from Udine to Belgrade, which focuses on the work of Venitian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, has been opened at the Belgrade National Museum.

Museums Nominated for European Award

ECONOMY

EU Ministers Back Greek Credit Eurozone ministers move towards agreeing a new credit line for Greece as it prepares to exit its bailout at the end of the year.

Pacific Leaders Back China Pact A summit of Asia-Pacific nations backs a Chinese plan for a new free trade area - seen by some as a rival to U.S. economic influence.

EU Divided Over Russia Sanctions European Union ministers decide to target more pro-Moscow separatists with sanctions but fail to agree on stepping up economic sanctions on Russia

SOCIETY

Germany Marks Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall Some 8,000 helium balloons have been released into the night sky over Germany’s capital at the culmination of events to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Swiss Reject Immigration Curbs Swiss voters decisively reject a referendum proposal to cut net immigration to no more than 0.2% of the population.

Red Star Belgrade Supporter Stabbed to Death in Istanbul Crvena Zvezda supporter Marko Ivković was stabbed to death outside a football stadium in Istanbul.

CULTURE

Sotheby’s of New York: The Biggest Sales Sotheby’s of New York has had the best night of sales in its 270-year history, with two modern sculptures helping the auction house to achieve a record $422.1 million.

Authors Film Festival in Belgrade The 20th Authors Film Festival took take place in Belgrade from 26th November to 3rd December.

18 |

Photo: Xinhua,Rao Aimin

European commissioner for neighbourhood policy and enlargement negotiations, Johannes Hahn, stated EU Commission and the European family of peoples are Serbia’s partner on the EU pathway.

DECEMBER

WORLD

Senate Intelligence Committee Report on CIA Torture The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has released a summary of a report into the CIA interrogation program established by U.S. spy chiefs after the terror attacks of 11th September 2001.

U.S. Congress Approves $1.1tn Budget The U.S. Senate completes congressional approval of a controversial $1.1tn federal budget which will now be sent to President Obama.

Japanese Election Victory for Shinzo Abe Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe secured a sizeable new majority at the country’s general elections, giving him the clear mandate to push ahead with his “Abenomics” economic reform measures.

Pakistan Mourns School Dead Funerals begin in the Pakistani city of Peshawar after the country’s deadliest Taliban attack leaves 132 children and nine staff dead at a school.

ECONOMY

Russia Drops Gas Pipeline Plan Russian President Vladimir Putin says the pro-

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

The museum in Tršić and the Zrenjanin National Museum were listed among 42 museums nominated for the annual European Museum of the Year Award.

SPORT

Stjepanović Wins Bronze Top Serbian swimmer, Velimir Stjepanović, won bronze in the 400m freestyle at the World Swimming Championships in Doha.

Serbia Drawn to Tough EuroBasket Group The Serbian men’s national basketball team has been drawn to play in EuroBasket 2015 Group B alongside Spain, Turkey, Italy, Iceland and hosts Germany.

SERBIA

Government Adopts 2015 Budget Bill The Serbian government dopted on Monday the 2015 budget bill that projects RSD 924.4 billion of revenue and RSD 1,083 billion in expenditure, Dacic Re-Elected Leader of Serbia’s Socialists Ivica Dačić, the country’s current foreign minister, was re-elected as president of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Govt Set to Take over Air Serbia’s Financial Obligations The Serbian government is seeking approval from parliament to take over the financial obligations of national flag carrier Air Serbia. According to the document, Air Serbia’s obligations tower to over 19 billion dinars (€155.3 million.

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GLOBAL DIARY

December “December is the toughest month of the year. Others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, October, August and February.” — MARK TWAIN, American author and humourist

ClauWau Santa Claus Championships SWITZERLAND SANTA CLAUS SKIING COMPETITIONS

In early December each year the ClauWau Santa Claus Championships revolve around a comprehensive selection of skiing competitions. The preliminary action happens in the resort of Silvretta Arena, in Samnaun, and culminates in a grand final race held on Musellahang.

The competition winners are decided by a grand final in the evening, which is followed by the prize-giving ceremony.

The only condition for participation in the ClauWau Championships is that all team members compete in a Santa costume.

Belgium Dowager Queen Fabiola Dies

More than 300 lots were auctioned in Glasgow in aid of St Jerome’s orphanage, Clic Sargent and the Scottish Youth Theatre.

rest of the collection was forgotten.

The collection will be put up for auction in Paris on 6th February 2015.

FRANCE THE COLLECTION WILL BE PUT UP FOR AUCTION IN PARIS ON 6th FEBRUARY 2015

MCLAREN F1 FOR JUST €25,000

Polish Top Gear Fanatic Royal Vintage Cars Found Builds Replica McLaren F1 POLAND AMATEUR MECHANIC in Junk JACEK MAZUR MADE HIS OWN REPLICA

BELGIUM FUNERAL HELD FOR BELGIUM'S DOWAGER QUEEN Belgium has held a state funeral for the dowager Queen Fabiola, who died at the age of 89.

Born Fabiola de Mora y Aragon in Madrid, she was the widow of King Baudouin and reigned as queen consort from 1960 until his death

high regard”, the request had been declined “for obvious reasons”.

The Vatican and the Chinese government are at odds over control of the Catholic Church in China.

It is the first time a departing first minister has donated his official gifts and memorabilia to charity with his trademark saltire tie fetching €2,000 alone..

A Top Gear fanatic from Zabrze, Poland has completed the ultimate motor challenge - building a €6.3 million supercar with scrap and spare parts. Amateur mechanic

FIRST LADY’S JOKE

Pope Declines Dalai Lama Meeting in 1993.

Representatives of global royalty attended the ceremony at Brussels’ Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula.

Alex Salmond’s Charity Auction

VATICAN THE POPE WON'T MEET THE DALAI LAMA Pope Francis will not meet the Dalai Lama because of the “delicate situation” with China, the Vatican says.

The Dalai Lama, who is visiting Rome, had requested a meeting.

A Vatican spokesman said that although the Pope held him “in very

SCOTLAND MEMORABILIA AUCTION NETS MORE THAN €50,000 Gifts and memorabilia gathered by former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond during his time in office have raised more than €50,000 for charity.

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After calling in auctioneers, the grandchildren of entrepreneur Roger Baillon discovered that the collection of 60 vintage automobiles from the 1930s to the 1950s left to rust in sheds on the family’s farm in western France could be worth £12 million (€15.1mln) or more at auction.

One Talbot-Lago in the collection had previously been owned by Egyptian King Farouk and a Ferrari had been used in the filming of a movie with Jane Fonda. Along with the rare Maserati in this collection, Baillon had intended to build a museum with his collection. When things didn’t go as expected, however, he had to sell 50 cars, and the

President Obama reacts as First Lady Michelle Obama makes a joke about him as she delivers remarks before helping to sort toy donations for Toys For Tots at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. Toys For Tots is a U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve programme aimed at collecting and distributing toys to less fortunate families throughout the country.

Source: UPI

Life “Nobody has more than one life. But there are many who, besides their own life, also consume a few other people’s lifes.”

— DUŠKO RADOVIĆ, Serbian poet, writer and journalist ing €7.7million at classic car auction Gooding & Company. All are kept at his own garage in Zabrze, Poland.

BELGIUM WWI 'CHRISTMAS TRUCE' FOOTBALL MATCH

South African Named Miss World 2014 Jacek Mazur (48) made his own replica McLaren F1 for just €25,000 - 250 times cheaper than the real thing.

He even paid tribute to his favourite TV show by building a tiny rear seat for Top Gear co-host Richard Hammond. His previous projects have included building his own Lamborghini and a Porsche - but the British-designed McLaren F1 has been his ‘ultimate’ success. They can fetch unbelievable sums and in August 2013 one sold for a stagger-

PRINCE WILLIAM & KATE'S U.S. TOUR

Prince William and his wife, Kate, have ended their trip to the United States at a black-tie dinner to raise money for St. Andrews University in Scotland, where they met.

The three-day visit is the last the couple will make together before they have their second baby next year.

WW I 'Christmas Truce' Football Match MEMORIAL UNVEILED

UK MISS SOUTH AFRICA, ROLENE STRAUSS, CROWNED MISS WORLD

A hundred years after the famous World War I “Christmas Truce,” UEFA chief Michel Platini unveiled a memorial to the football match British and German soldiers played in no man’s land as the guns fell silent.

German and Allied forces emerged from their trenches, walked into No Man’s Land, shook hands and some even exchanged gifts, such as cigarettes and food.

“I pay tribute to the soldiers who, one hundred years ago, showed their humanity by playing football together, opening an important chapter in European unity and providing a lasting example to young people,” Platini said.

According to the journal of Kurt Zehmisch, a soldier from the 134th Saxon Regiment, the Germans won 3-2.

Rolene Strauss (22) inherited the crown from Miss World 2013, Megan Young of the Philippines. Edina Kulcsar of Hungary was the runner-up, and Elizabeth Safrit of the United States took third place after a lengthy competition involving contestants from more than 120 countries. Strauss is the first South African Miss World since 1974.

High School Student Scores $72mln US A 17-YEAR-OLD STUDENT HAS MADE MILLIONS TRADING STOCKS Mohammed Islam is only 17 and still months away from finishing school — but he is worth a ru-

moured $72 million. “The high eight figures,” is as specific as this shy, modest teen would get when asked his net worth.

Islam bought a BMW but doesn’t have a driving license. And he rented a Manhattan apartment, though his parents, immigrants from the Bengal region of South Asia, won’t let him move out of the house yet.

Islam and a pair of other young, Wall Street wolf-cub friend eat regularly at hot spot Morimoto, where they enjoy $400 caviar and freshsqueezed apple juice.

Islam’s biggest inspiration, though, is Paul Tudor Jones, a billionaire hedge-funder and private asset manager from Connecticut who ranks as the 108th-richest American.

More Than 5,000 Santa Claus Run in Madrid SPAIN THE RACE WAS ORGANISED FOR A CHARITY THAT BUYS

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS FOR DEPRIVED CHILDREN Around 5,000 people dressed as Santa Claus and his elves have run a “mini-marathon” through the streets of Madrid to promote festive cheer as the country tries to emerge from a two-year recession.

While grown-ups dressed in red costumes with wispy white beards, children donned green elf outfits to run the 5.5-kilometre course through the city centre.

The race was organised by one of Spain’s leading department stores and it contributed €1 for each entrant to a charity that buys Christmas presents for deprived children around the world.

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INTERVIEW

Accountability, Transparency,

EFFECTIVENESS H.E. MASAFUMI KUROKI JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO SERBIA

J

apan may not be among the leading investor nations in Serbia, but when it comes to aid and support for the country, Japan is undoubtedly among the most generous and most consistent. However, the recent formation of the Japanese Business Club, and increasing interest among potential investors from the Land of the Rising Sun, heralds a new era of commercial relations between the two countries.

■ Japan was among the first to react to the flooding in Serbia, providing significant donations. Are you satisfied with the way your country responded and the manner in which your assistance has been implemented?

We place importance on accountability, transparency and effectiveness… We are using Japanese taxpayers’ money for the benefit of the Serbian people, so we should be accountable to the Japanese people, but also to the Serbian people,” says Ambassador Masafumi Kuroki, speaking to CorD 22 |

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

- We are mostly satisfied with the implementation of our flood recovery assistance. We committed five million euros of grant assistance at the International Donors’ Conference in July and most of that is already under implementation. We provided direct grants to the municipalities affected by the floods, particularly for the rehabilitation of schools, health centres and also a gerontology centre. We also provided grant for the repair of the riverbanks damaged by the floods in six municipalities, and we will also donate rescue equipment to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to enable them to better respond to flood disasters, and surgical equipment for hospitals covering the flood-hit municipalities. All of that accounts for almost five million euros, while next year we will implement some training courses on disaster prevention for officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

■ One of your predecessors said that Serbia would be able to emulate Japan if it pays attention to punctuality and precision. Was that the case with the utilisation of Japanese flood donations and can you see room to improve this in Serbia?

- I think the smooth implementation of assistance requires both sides to make efforts, particularly with issues like

FAIR MARKET

EU PARTNERSHIP

SCHOLARSHIPS

Some Japanese companies are relative newcomers to the Serbian market and we hope that the Serbian market is open for all companies.

Japan is currently negotiating with the EU on an Economic Partnership Agreement to promote further economic ties with the EU.

We offer scholarships from the Japanese Government every year and Serbian students can go to study in Japan, particularly Masters’ or Doctorate degrees.

flood recovery. On the Japanese side, we accelerated our internal procedures in order to approve the allocation of our assistance as quickly as possible. On the Serbian side, I think this Government’s Flood Office, which was newly created when the floods hit, played an important role in coordinating the different Ministries and filling any existing gaps between donors and the Serbian side. As such, I think the creation of this Flood Office provided a good mechanism to speed up the allocation of assistance.

When it comes to “punctuality and precision” in our assistance work with Serbia, we place importance on accountability, transparency and effectiveness. Because we are using Japanese taxpayers’ money for the benefit of the Serbian people, we should be accountable to the Japanese people, but also to the Serbian people. We are ready to work with public institutions or agencies that can respect those requirements.

ment . These new vehicles are in two categories: hybrid vehicles and clean diesel vehicles. There are two purposes: to reduce air pollution by providing very fuel-efficient vehicles ; the fact that these vehicles are fuel-efficient means that they need less petrol and reduce maintenance costs, which will contribute to reducing the budget expenditure required to run official cars. We will hand them over in March 2015. In addition to that, we are implementing technical co-

■ Japan is a country with vast experience of dealing with the various consequences of challenges posed by nature. What major lessons learned by your country could be applied in Serbia?

- We do have a lot of experience with natural disasters, but they always happen and we cannot control that. You cannot prevent 100% of the damage, but our lesson is that the most important factor is the preparedness – in terms of hardware, like infrastructure, but also in terms of the people, who must be prepared for the fact that disaster could strike at any time. So, both of these aspects of preparedness are very important. However as time passes, people tend to disregard what happened in the past. We should always strive to remember what happened in the past, in order to be prepared in the future.

■ Another major area of Japanese support to

Serbia is in the environment, with the work on the Nikola Tesla thermo power plant perhaps representing the biggest project. How is this progressing and what are the other important Japanese projects and donations in this area?

This year saw the formation of the Japanese Business Club in Serbia. We already have about 50 companies doing business here.

There are only three direct investments from Japan, but there are many companies with representative offices or agents importing their products

- Nikola Tesla Thermal Power Plant is actually discharging sulphur dioxide in the air. This is not good for the health of people and the environment. Japan provided a soft loan of 200 million euros in 2011 to EPS to install the equipment to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions to the minimum level. To my regret, this Project has been delayed significantly. Even three year after the loan agreement, EPS has not yet started the installation.

Japan also agreed to donate eco-friendly vehicles to the govern-

operation on energy efficiency in order to reduce the consumption of energy within private companies and factories.

In terms of the living environment, we donate garbage collection vehicles to municipalities in order to help improve their sanitation and living conditions.

■ Japan is also very active in support-

ing Serbian schools and the health sector. What were the major activities in these fields in 2014?

- This year we allocated all our school and healthcare assistance to the municipalities hit by the floods, to help revitalise schools, health centres and a gerontology centre. We usually provide this kind of assistance to the least developed municipalities in Serbia. We repair primary schools – everything from roof and toilets to heating systems, etc. – and for the health centres we provide ambulance vehicles, x-ray machines and paramedic equipment. We have a budget of around 700,000 euros per year that we can provide to the municipalities and NGOs. We divide this in ten projects, each worth around 70,000 euros. cordeditorial@cma.rs |

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■ Do you approach the least developed municipalities or do they apply directly to you?

- They apply. Every year we receive more than 200 applications,

but we can only implement10 projects. After they apply, we send our staff to the municipalities to see the real needs on the ground, in terms of schools and hospitals, and then we decide.

We started this assistance in 1999 and to date we have already implemented 177 projects in different municipalities.

■ Japanese company Yokogawa Electric Corporation recently

opened its representative office in Belgrade. Could this be a sign that Japanese companies trust in the growth of the Serbian market?

- I think so. Yokogawa has been working here through a Serbian company for the last 20 years or more and they have decided that it is now time to open their own office, in order to meet the needs of many clients they have here in Serbia. There are also other Japanese companies that used to go through agencies, but have opted to establish their own offices here. Japanese companies are relative newcomers to the Serbian market, compared to European companies, and we hope that the Serbian market is open for all companies.

This year saw the formation of the Japanese Business Club in Serbia. We have already about 50 companies doing business here. There are only three direct investments from Japan, but there are many companies with representative offices or agents importing Japanese products. I suggested that it was perhaps time to develop a networking framework. This Club has already started the activities. This week they had consultations with Deputy Prime Minister Ljajić [Trade, Tourism & Telecommunications Minister] concerning fair competition and public procurement.

is something that characterised the Japanese economy for a long time. What challenges did it pose to Japanese companies and can lessons be learnt?

- We almost certainly have lessons to offer, because we had zero growth for more than a decade in the past. But for the last two years – under the government of Prime Minister Abe –Japanese Government has launched a bold economic policy, what we refer to as “Abenomics”. This policy has three arrows. The first is a bold monetary policy; the second is an aggressive fiscal policy, to increase government expenditure; and the third arrow is revitalisation of the economy, including deregulation in certain sectors. So, our government is trying to revitalise the economy through these measures and for the moment we have seen positive results. Japan is among many countries that have had recessions and negative growth and lessons can be learned from all of them.

That said, the economic and industrial structures are not always the same and Europe has a different way. The revitalisation of the European economy is important for the Japanese economy .

Japan is currently negotiating with the EU on an Economic Partnership Agreement. The fact that we are negotiating on this Partnership Agreement shows how interested Japan is in promoting economic ties with the EU. ■ We see a growing interest in Serbia

for the Japanese language, especially among young people. What possibilities do Serbian citizens have to learn your language and culture?

- There were traditionally two schools that had Japanese language sections here: one is the Faculty of Philology at The three arrows of the University of Belgrade and the othAbenomics: a bold monetary er is the Philological Gymnasium [high school]. However, last year we had anpolicy; an aggressive fiscal other gymnasium that began teaching policy and the revitalisation Japanese, and this year we have two of the economy, including gymnasium schools and two primary deregulation in certain sectors schools that have started Japanese lan■ How would you assess the investment climate in Serbia; in which asguage classes. That makes about 400 pects has it improved or perhaps deteriorated? new children who have started studying the Japanese language.

- I think the government is exerting a lot of efforts to improve the I’m very happy about that and I hope it will be expanded to other investment climate, particularly with the amendments of laws, schools and perhaps companies that might be interested in their such as the labour, privatisation and bankruptcy laws, and plans to staff learning Japanese. update the construction law. It is also good that this government is ■ Do you think this demonstrates the success of Japanese culture very open to maintaining a dialogue with the private sector, both to promote your nation’s image? domestic and foreign. So, I think the investment climate is improving, but what is always important is the implementation of legisla- Perhaps these children are interested in learning Japanese betion and rules and regulations. As such, I really hope they implecause they are interested in Manga comics or animation or comment the decisions that have been taken. puter games, or maybe martial arts. Whatever their motivation, for studying the Japanese language, they will broaden their inter■ Analysts are predicting a decade of zero growth for Europe. This est in japan.

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■ The embassy recently posted a call for researchers interested in Japanese history. Did anybody from Serbia apply and have locals received Japanese scholarships?

■ How can cultural exchanges between Serbia and Japan be improved?

- I think there are two aspects. One is how to promote grassroots - We offer scholarships from the Japanese Government every year cultural exchanges, because there are some Japanese people who and Serbian students can go to study in Japan, particular Masters’ have lived here for a long time and they are voluntarily contributing to cultural exchanges. For example, there is one Japanese or Doctorate degrees. Around three or four Serbian students received that scholarship after passing citizen resident in Serbia who has already translated Serbian literature into the examination. This scholarship does not limit studies to the Japanese lanWe usually provide assistance Japanese and vice versa. There are also guage or literature. Our government many Serbian people who have been to to the least developed also provides scholarships for underJapan and want to introduce Japanese municipalities in Serbia… graduate studies, but unfortunately culture to the Serbian people, while not many succeed in the exam. I hope there are many who have never been We have a budget of around that in the near future there will be Japan but who are interested in Japa€700,000 per year that we can to nese culture and they organise some more Serbian undergraduates and reprovide to the municipalities Japanese cultural events etc. So, I would search students in Japan. and NGOs. We generally divide like to encourage this kind of grassroots ■ We see Japanese students studyexchange activities. The other this in ten projects, each worth cultural ing the Serbian language and history. aspect is how to bring Japanese culture around €70,000 What makes Balkan history interesthere directly from Japan. Every year we ing to Japanese scholars? try to organise a Japanese film festival, - I think the main interest of Japanese scholars in this region is as well as some performances and exhibitions. This year we organised an exhibition of Japanese photography. the post-conflict peace-building, the reconstruction and reconciliation process, and also the perspectives of Serbian and the Balkan I think the grassroots cultural activities are quite sustainable, region. Some of them are specialised in the Balkan region, but othbecause these people are really interested in cultural exchange, ers are specialised more in the post-conflict, peace-building and but at the same time, having something from Japan is also very reconciliation issues in many regions of the world. stimulating for the Serbian people. ■

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INTERVIEW

Time for

ACTION ERNST BODE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MESSER TEHNOGAS

The time has come for big words to give way to serious work by professional people willing to resolve the “Bermuda triangles” of the Serbian economic system. Along with the bold measures that have been taken in the last few months, adopting this approach could bring higher economic development, higher employment and higher income in three to six years’ time

E

rnst Bode, Executive Director of Messer Tehnogas and one of the longest resident foreign businessmen in Serbia, can discern the slightest shifts in the Serbian industry based on his company’s results. Although this gauge has been showing a three-year standstill in the Serbian economy, Bode has noticed a few encouraging signs.

Apart from the passing of the Labour Law and the announced adoption of the Spatial Planning and Construction Law, he has noticed that the government is now more willing to listen to the suggestions made by business people and foreign investors, and to view them as a constructive contribution that should lead to substantial changes in a complex, congested and inefficient economic and financial system in Serbia.

■ How serious is the Serbian recession from your company’s

standpoint?

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- We are a company that manufactures and sells technical and medical gases and relevant equipment, as well as cutting and welding equipment. Our clients come from all sorts of industries, so gas sales have always been an excellent indicator of the health of the country’s economy. In 2013 our sales figures dropped compared to 2012 and, unfortunately, 2014 has not brought major changes so far. On the contrary. The country’s economy is still at a standstill and foreign investments are not sufficient enough to carry out the deep-rooted changes that are vital to making major headway.

■ When devising the company’s 2015 business plan, did Messer take into consideration announcements that the Smederevo Steelworks and RTB Bor will finally gain strategic partners?

- We did not base our plans on announcements that the Smederevo Steelworks and Bor are possibly getting strategic partners, but we accepted the premise that the two companies will continue to

operate in 2015 and that the steelworks will even perform better than before. We are feeling quite optimistic about the government’s steps. I have a feeling that they finally understand how important industry and these large systems are for cities, regions and the entire Serbian economy. The Smederevo Steelworks alone provides a significant share in the country’s GDP.

■ Of all foreign investors in Serbia, you are one of the best judges of the country’s business envsteelment. Could you draw a parallel between the macroeconomic challenges facing Serbia today and their impact on operations, and the period from 2000 onwards?

ing of building permits will also be an added incentive for foreign and domestic investors.

■ Do you think this government pays more attention to the remarks of domestic and foreign business associations and does it take their initiatives on board?

- I get the impression that this government at least wants to cooperate with business people, to hear them out and take into consideration their experiences, when writing and adopting new regulation. For the most part, Serbian ministries view our recommendations not as a critique of their work, but rather as an opportunity to make things easier for businesses and, by so doing, provide more opportunities for new and existing investors, which certainly contributes to accelerating Serbia’s development.

- Most German companies that do business in Serbia would be willing to invest here again. Serbia has a lot of development potential, but quite a few years have been wasted merely talking, while wise and concrete measures aimed at resolving problems have been implemented too slowly. The system should have started to function already, instead of always relying on the exceptional results of individuals. Many big speeches have been given and many big words wasted, but now is the time for people with experience, knowledge and will to finally do something about this “Bermuda triangle” that is an administrative abyss based on sometimes absurdly obsolete regulation; the court system where honest citizens have to fight tooth and nail for their rights, while the dishonest are privileged; and where the banking system is not engaged in its primary activity of providing funding for working capital and investments, but is encumbering businesses with unbearable fees and interest rates. Resolving these issues, along with the bold measures undertaken in I get the impression that this the last few months, will definitely yield government at least wants positive results like economic developto cooperate with business ment, lower unemployment, higher income, lower budget deficit and other people, to hear them out and measures in three to six years’ time.

■ In the last two years, which segments

take into consideration their experiences, when writing and adopting new regulations

have recorded progress in terms of an improved business envsteelment in Serbia and which segments should be improved further?

- I am happy to see that this government has at least tried to start cutting regulation and shortening administrative procedures. The situation has changed for the better in terms of bylaws’ compliance with relevant laws. However, a lot still needs to be done in this respect, in order to create a healthy and efficient business envsteelment.

I think a big step forward was taken, to the benefit of existing and future investors, with the passing of the new Labour Law, which eases hiring and, in turn, makes it easier to find required experts. The announcements made by Minister Zorana Mihajlović about the government expediting procedures regarding the issu-

■ Considering your vast experience of

working in Serbia, what would you recommend to potential foreign investors seeking to establish a successful business here?

- Serbia has educated, diligent, innovative and creative people who want to participate in the country’s technological development. I believe it is important for foreign investors to be aware that things here are very different than in their countries, especially if they are coming from Western Europe or the U.S.; that they should exercise patience here and that, just like anywhere else, they should double check all the information they receive. Many problems and headaches can also be avoided if you hire a good law firm from the very beginning.

■ How much of an impact does reduced consumer spending power have on the operating dynamics of food producers and supermarkets in Serbia, in terms of the volume of cooperation that Messer has with this group of gas consumers?

- The food industry is important for us and, with the increasing quality of food and the extending of expiry dates, our gases will be more in demand. Moving towards Europe and complying with European food standards will probably increase the volume of work we do with this group of clients, and even more in the case of the envsteelmental protection sector.

■ What, if anything, does Messer expect from the final resolution of the problem with companies undergoing restructuring, considering that many of them owe money to Messer?

- The restructuring process is dramatic and painful for both companies and their employees. It is also risky and something that nobody wants to face. On the other hand, restructuring brings opportunity. However, the process is inevitable and we hope the cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 27

post-restructuring situation will be much better. Easy and pleasant restructuring, with everybody involved and happy with the outcome, does not exist.

■ In developed countries it is recycling processes and the electronic and chemical industries that are the biggest consumers of industrial gases. Do you expect the same to happen in Serbia?

- If we are talking about the envsteelmental protection industry, as well as the water and air quality industry, the consumption of gases will grow as Serbia approaches EU membership and complies with European regulations. The discontinuation of the South Stream project has a negative impact on the petrochemical and chemical industries and this is bad for Serbia, regardless of who is it to blame for the project being abandoned. If Europe or Russia were really adamant on continuing the project, they would have done so. It is quite obvious that there is a dynamic in place that defies rational economic reasoning and countries like Bulgaria and Serbia are just collateral damage. This certainly cannot be good for our industry, since competitive electricity, oil and natural gas prices are prerequisites for industrial development, especially in cases where natural gas is used as a raw material. I saw the South Stream as an excellent opportunity for development of this part of Europe. It is such a pity that the project is probably not going to materialise.

■ Do you have any immediate plans with regard to continuing investments in the expansion of the company’s capacity?

In all former Yugoslav republics the metal processing industry relied on machines manufactured in Western Europe with an emphasis on Messer’s cutting machines, produced in the Federal Republic of Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. The modern Messer machines have been present on the Serbian market for over 10 years now and they are deployed with major consumers of technical gases. With faster industrial development in Serbia in the near future, our machines will become even more applicable in our clients’ facilities. I would also like to underline the implementation of welding robots in industrial production, which require precisely cut parts in order to ensure the repeatability of operations.

All Messer machines are known for such high quality.

■ In 2013 and 2014, huge changes im-

pacted on the operations of large, privately-owned Serbian companies that are also Messer clients. These included, for instance, the Car Battery Plant in Sombor. Do you think creditors in Serbia enjoy enough protection?

- It is always up to suppliers to decide whether they are going to sell to their buyers or not and, if they do, under which conditions, or they will stop the supply all together. In a difficult economic situation like the current one, suppliers often have to compromise when it comes to sales and to make a decision to stop supplying non-paying clients. It is not the state’s job to protect companies from making mistakes. Still, considering a very complex administration and very low judicial efficiency, I think creditors in Serbia face more difficulties compared to their counterparts in other countries.

With accelerated industrial - After completing a huge €20 million development in Serbia in the ■ You attracted a lot of attention when investment in Bor, which was spent on building an air separation plant that near future, our machines will you decided not to choose EPS as your official power supplier. Do you think supplies new smelting facilities, and become even more applicable that you have made a good decision and a €3.5 million investment in a helium in our clients’ facilities how much has this decision influenced bottling plant in Pančevo (we will have Messer’s business results in 2014? invested almost five million euros by - In 2013 we faced an unplanned and drastic increase in the electhe end of the investment phase), Messer has rounded off its production programme. As such, no, we don’t have any plans for major tricity price of almost 70%. This price jump was applicable to 27 investments in the near future. high-voltage electricity consumers, including us and the Smederevo Steelworks. Although we did have an opportunity to buy ■ Messer Cutting Systems manufactures CNC precision cutting electricity from another supplier, unlike another 26 companies, we machines. Is there much of a market in Serbia for this type of still paid 50% more for the electricity we bought and this did have machinery? an impact on our business in 2013 and 2014. We took a risk and - Generally speaking, metal processing equipment in Serbia is very became the first company in Serbia to choose a power supplier old and its average age spans from 20 to 40 years. One of the preother than EPS. Our choice was Gen-I, a power trader that gave us requisites for technological development is increasing competia better price. The decision was right and Gen-I proved to be a fair, tiveness of our metal processing industry, which is tied closely to competent and flexible partner. However, in 2015 we are going to acquiring new metal cutting machines. Such equipment is quite revert back to EPS for electricity supply, since their price is quite expensive and requires a qualified workforce to handle it. realistic for now. ■ 28 |

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SOUTH STREAM PIPELINE

Cancellation Causes Economic

Loss in Balkan Nations

The South Stream pipeline abandonment has triggered frustration in several nations of Southern Europe, as they have lost money in either potential benefits, or their actual investment in the pipe construction

es for future deals.”

Gazprom, Russia’s gas giant, purchased a majority stake in Serbia’s carbohydrate provider, NIS, back in 2008 for some €400mln, according to some estimates.

However, despite Gazprom owning several gas stations ad refineries, along with the fter Russia’s leader Vladimir exploration rights, it is not obligated to consubsidiary, Tsentrgaz, won a contract to Putin cancelled the controstruct any new infrastructure by the 2008 build the Serbian part of the pipe on 8th July.

The contract provided multiple job opportuversial ‘South Stream’ natutreaty. In regard to the South Stream pipenities for Serbian construction workers, meral gas pipeline, the nations line, Gazprom never provided any written chanics, welders, engineers and other relatof Southern Europe are facing increased guarantees to Serbia that the pipe would be ed staff. Moreover, many local businesses risks to their businesses, who contractbuilt, meaning it will be extremely hard for were planning for possible outsourcing opBeograd to cover its potential financial lossed to participate in the project’s realisaportunities. According to a Reuters report, es of the project’s abandonment. tion, as well as overall economic frustrathe region’s fragile economies were expectAccording to estimates by Serbian tion, as the pipe, if constructed, would ing a big influx of investment money, and Infrastructure Minister Zorana Mihajlovic, the have brought plentiful gas transit money for Serbia, the pipe would have been the nation’s developers have lost an opportuinto the region’s emerging markets. The biggest investment in 15 years, with the tonity to earn up to €300mln. Had the South recent developments have sparked a disStream pipeline been built, she cussion about possible compensaid, Serbia’s GDP would have sation payments from Russia for The region’s fragile economies were added 2% at least. Also, there is a its sudden unilateral decision. expecting a big influx of investment The South Stream gas pipelost opportunity to obtain cheaper money, and for Serbia the pipe would line was designed as an alternagas, the total amount in lost earnhave been the biggest investment tive route for the Russia to supings for Serbia reaching €700mln. ply Europe fuel, bypassing the Bulgarian authorities said rein 15 years, with the total cost of the Ukrainian pipeline, as Kiev has emcently they have lost €3.5-4bln in ambitious pipeline project between broiled in war during the last year, investment and around €480mln €16.5bln and €50bln, according to East yearly in transit fees. In Hungary, adding to its already damaged repEuropean Gas Analysis utation of an unreliable supplier, as experts say the nation has lost a legacy of its mid-2000’s gas dis€320-480mln in investment capital. tal cost of the ambitious pipeline project putes. The South Stream pipeline would Slovenia’s situation is also frustrating, between €16.5bln and €50bln, according to link Russia through Bulgaria and Serbia to as the nation’s oil and gas companies have the East European Gas Analysis.

Hungary and Austria and many local conspent €150,000 of their own money on ‘prep“We thought we’d earn enough to susstruction firms were planning to participate aration works’. Ljubljana is intending to seek tain us for the next five or six years,” one of in the infrastructure development, thus compensation payments from Gazprom. ■ Serbian developers told Reuters. “We lost boosting their revenues.

By Ramil Sitdikov, Sputnik not only potential profits but also referencIn particular, in Serbia, the Gazprom

A

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■ By Radmila STANKOVIĆ

INTERVIEW

Fools Erased the Past

AND THE PRESENT ZIJAH A. SOKOLOVIĆ ACTOR, AUTHOR, DIRECTOR

He lives in Austria in an administrative sense, with all his documents showing an address in that city. Artistically, however, he lives in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia and elsewhere... He plays on dozens of stages in the former Yugoslavia and also holds a kind of record – his monodrama Glumac je glumac, je glumac (An actor is an actor is an actor) has played exactly 1,538 times in 36 years! That text, authored by Sokolović himself, has been translated into German, English, French and Polish, and performed in more than 20 countries around the world

H

e has staged or performed in 126 plays, recorded 24 television series and 33 films, won more than 60 awards at various festivals and competitions. He has never couched his acting engagements in specific genres, but it seems theatre is somehow the dearest to him. He says it provides an opportunity to organise our own time, an ability to cross, like mountaineers, the mountain called the doorstep, an ability to see from some different angle, to surprise, sadden and

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bring joy. For him, the theatre is the illusion of our reality, an mountains to erase the future, and now again renewed by the obligation of our crippled imagination, a cure for computers EU’s people, because of the present. and social networks. Theatre is opportunity, and man is a being If I leave the house and head left, then right, I come across Bey of opportunities.

Mosque, the clock tower and the Baš čaršija bazaar. Around the And he concludes that the theatre is not a shopping experience city are hills and through them the narrow-gauge train ran to the where you come to buy what you already have, and which means east. To the west of the city are plains and broad-gauge rail tracks nothing to you, nor is it a whore who will do what you want. running to the west. My father was a judge and did not want to This 22nd December he turned 64. be a member of the League of Communists, because he was a He left his native Sarajevo in 1992, forced out as a result of judge. My mother had to leave her job as an economist, in order the war. When the political frivolity began in the early ‘90s, he for her children to complete university and not become football had already seen it all, and if he hadn’t seen it then he’d perplayers and singers of folk songs. My brother graduated from the formed it, and if he hadn’t performed it then he’d read about Faculty of Electrical Engineering, which I think was enough from all that infatuation and stupidity. He performed in plays that our family for the faster development of poor countries and the had addressed this very issue and could not believe people electrification of rich Non-Aligned countries. could not see any warning in the parts he played. He did not Former Ferhadija Street, then Vase Miskina Street, served cry over anything or for anything, because he considers that as a pedestrian zone during the day and a place to find out a waste of time. He was aware that with his name and surname, and no affinity with any of the emerging religious and national belligerents, he could expect no joy from Sarajevo, except by not being there.

Upon arrival in Vienna he met with the pressure to restore normal life facing an administration that takes your time and privacy, before laws and regulations that are tailored in such a way that they organise your full day and you no longer have anything to look for in that.

While you establish that, you essentially lose a large part of your life due to terrible fear that you might overlook something, that you might be penalised or lose the status you have and be sent backwards. This system, the force of the state as such, forces you to do so. And when you’ve done all of that, then you are as happy as though it was about a spiritual, intimate victory over something. what was going on in all segments of ... I felt that with acting, He has long been a goodwill ambassador civilisation. At night it is served my which also exists in real for tolerance and non-violence and his annual friends and I as a place to walk endfee for what he does is just one dollar. During lessly from east to west, planning life, you can play some 2012 and 2013 he played in 400 performances detail lost and forgotten and imagining the paths of our lives, of Say no to drugs and he believes that the theaand by morning they would just stop in reality. That feeling led us. It seemed to us that the world tre can and must be used in the service of real me, not intentionally and was only waiting for us. We were fedsocial circumstances. eral and self-managed and voyeurs not mandatory, to the ■ How did your childhood and youth in Sarajevo of capitalism. look? Who did you hang out with, how were you brought up in your house?

occupation named Actor.

And it did not leave me to this day

- I was born in 1950 in the street of a man who had been a hero, but not always and not for every system. Left from the house led straight to Hotel Europe, then left, then right to the Catholic cathedral, then left to the Orthodox Church, then left again and your gaze will rest on the Jewish synagogue. To the right of the house is the River Miljacka and, over the river, Tsar Dušan Park, where we played, and, to the left, the old stone bridge named after the man they are thankful for, it is said, sparking World War I and killing a pregnant woman.

Further along the river, Emperor’s Bridge, then a town hall built by people to preserve the past, then burned by people from the

■ How much were you attracted to

acting in your youth; how did you decide for that to be your calling?

- “For us to live, live work!” In that time and during my upbringing it was a hard illusion of theatre arts, as something important, put in the sum of real facts and work actions, and acting as a profession. Then theatre life was made up of emotional amateur actors, from east and west, who were unable and did not even know how to build a new cultural life for new times and that city of Sarajevo, since they did not live and were not born in that city.

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tem. Only then did I feel that in everyone and about everyone that Time and Space can be Acted, like a theatre play, considered, discussed, debated, suggested, ridiculed, dreamt... I felt that with acting, which also exists in real life, you can play some detail lost and forgotten in reality. That feeling led me, not intentionally and not mandatory, to the occupation named Actor. And it did not leave me to this day.

■ Was it necessary to graduate philosophy, in addition to acting,

in order to be an actor? Or in your time was acting beyond the decent system of values and so it was necessary to study something that your parents wouldn’t be ashamed of?

-If a man today, by the occupation Actor, wants to be able to artisti-

cally experience Time, Space and to be an interpreter of Action, he must be a little bit of a writer and a philosopher and a scientist and a labourer and a poet and a beggar and shit and gold. If he is not those things, then he is an “executor of dramatic works”! To experience artistically is a wise way of life, with greater benefits than any kind of drug.

■ What kind of relationship do you have with your children today? First, tell us how many you have and what they do? What does your wife do?

Why did you do that?

- Back in those times many people also placed beside their name “Member of the League of Communists” and today they place next to their name that they are “a member of such and such party and religion”, because it is an affirmative way of achieving possible unnatural success and public evidence that they have no personal identity. Thus they aggressively highlight their education and opinion. And next to my name Zijah I put an “A”, for Asim, the name of my father, the man who brought me up as best he could, to build own his own character and preserve his identity, such as it is. If I could, today I would put the first letter of the name of my mother “R”, Refija. In that way I also have the feeling that I didn’t forgot

People belong to nations, groups, the mass, the horde, members, participants, with many engaged. And in the theatre world the monodrama is an almost unrecognised form of solitude, a little sad, an acting game, when you have nothing left but to play.

- “In any public appearance there is something forbidden and hidden...” ~ Ivo Andrić, “Conversations with Goya”. That’s why I want my wife, my children and grandchildren to remain beyond these limits of public appearance, because that is not their life, but my life. Returning to their world ignites in me nostalgic for my world of theatre.

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■ As of late, you began signing your name as Zijah A. Sokolović.

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them. I would also put the first letters of the names of my children and grandchildren, because they influence me.

■ How did you create your two most notable plays – “An actor… is an actor… is an actor…” and “Cabares, Cabarei”?

What has been their fate?

- “An actor… is an actor… is an actor…” was created in 1978 in Sarajevo, as a personal last attempt to romantically convince myself and the world of the importance of acting transience and the sense of duration of a theatrical performance. I think to an extent I proved, and continue to prove by acting, that an actor’s call is the hardest and most miserable of all calls, which man explains to himself, but it is the smallest misery in the general misery of globalism. In 36 years I’ve performed that play 1,538 times in persistent transience. The text was translated into German, French, Polish, English, Italian and Norwegian. The play has been performed

by 18 actors worldwide and has had premiere performances in Vienna, Paris, Warsaw, London, New York, Berlin and Sydney.

To be an actor! “CABAres, CABArei” was created in 1993 in Vienna. The cabaret form is personal adventurism to play the character of a modern man who has lost his ideals and general faith in them, a cabaret treatment of today’s culture of aging! The midlife crisis is the main dramatic action, and the characters are the state and marriage, as organisations of enforcement for the benefit of the ruling class. I have been performing Cabaret for 22 years and repeated it 1,238 times. The text was translated into Bulgarian and performed in Sofia. To be a cabaret performer, and remain an actor!

■ How many monodramas have you so far played, which of them are still alive today and which are still part of your repertoire?

■ In the 2013/2014 season you had a premiere in Rijeka, where you dramatised and directed the play KURVA (WHORE), based on the columns of Croatian writer Vedrana Rudan. What is this about?

- If at any time we stop and try to change our battered, bleak everyday life and stop chasing the artificial white rabbit of unobtainable capitalism, then we have two possibilities: to remain what we have been so far and not change anything, in this case we are WHORES for ourselves, we have trespassed personal ideals and dreams, or to reject it all and head along the road that makes us complex and different beings. But even in this case we are still WHORES, but for all those around us, because we let them down, abandoned and left in their backwaters, and we change and we go into a new life and world. So, we are all

- Monodrama expression is a symbolically lost form in today’s way of life and thinking. People belong to nations, groups, the mass, the horde, members, participants, and many are in engagements. And in the theatre world that is an almost unrecognised form of a solitude, a little sad, acting games, when you have nothing left, other than to play!

Clov, Endgame by Samuel Beckett. But when you youself play and when that game is repeated, you feel the Atlantis of a lost world, which, nevertheless, forms part of a meaningful whole world and the cosmos. I feel that you prolonging the idea of playing, which someone, sometime, invented before you.

In Ljubljana in 1997, in the framework of the European Month of Culture, with the band Lolita, based on the text of Anton Chekhov’s The Bear, Theatre as information, WHORES!!! ... It just depends on which I made a joke for a jazz quartet and as help for children in side. HNK Rijeka and actress Olivera an actor in ten images. The characBaljak. Every performance of whores, ter of Jelena Ivanova Popova, who understanding the complex as a repeat, is sold out! The whores plays the saxophone, the character social problems they face come to fnd out who’s side they’re on! of the servant Luke, who plays bass in their adolescence. Drugs, guitar, and the character of Gregory Sepanovich Smirnova, are performed ■ What does your life in Austria and Viviolence, corruption, money, by me. The dialogue of composed look like? abuse of the internet, gender enna music and Chekhov’s text, actora and - To live a new life is really difficult, beequality issues... Theatre as an cause you have to erase many details. instruments, brought us 110 plays and twenty awards at festivals worldBut when an actor plays a character, emergency service! wide: Grand Prix for best director in when he plays a role, which is lost and Moscow, Grand Prix for dancing and acting in Kiel, Kiev, Yerevan, sought in his own life, when he finds routes of integration and asNizhnevartovsk, Bitola, Nikšić... In Ljubljana in 2006 I repeated similation within himself, in his own world and the world of the the feeling of cabaretism and made “Interludes 0 – 24”, modestly, state, where he requires a residence visa, then that also makes like Cervantes interplay, how, with the help of a small event, one sense for existence and for theatre philosophy and romantic sadbetter understands major events or how one can better underness. Thus, it’s easier when you play or act. I first played in Vistand small events with the help of big events. enna shows, in German. Then I entered the world of directing, To date this dance of transience has recorded 262 performances, because in my new life it seemed to me that I could also do that, as well as interplay in the “great creative effort” of Samuel Beckett. as I had dreamed of that while walking Vase Miskin Street. And cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 33

then, when everything becomes a game, you don’t know which side reality is on and which is a possible theatrical illusion, so you collapse yourself in new dialogues.

I founded, with the help of the Ministry of Culture, the The/ Arto project in Salzburg, where acting and actors help Austrian children develop communication, certitude and imagination.

Theatre as information, as help for children in understanding the complex social problems they face in their adolescence. Drugs, violence, corruption, money, abuse of the internet, gender equality issues... Theatre as an emergency service! Then I took an exam and became a professor of Acting at Bruckner University in Linz.

That is a time of total theatre and total actor, when you seek a means of seeing thoughts and emotions.

■ How would you describe your in-

volvement in this year’s project that you have run the streets of Novi Pazar?

- The/Arto has been in Croatia for years, in the production of 500 to 600 performances in schools and classrooms, and it has been seeking its place in Serbia for a couple of years already. The EU and UN project on domestic violence, “Violence - No excuse for violence”. Art in schools, theatre in the classroom. Two actors in the form of a theatre play, through play and dance, spend 45 minutes informing young people about the forms of everyday and domestic violence. That’s how we were in Novi Pazar, Prokuplje, Bor, Sombor, Bujanovac, where we presented the project and then performed a pilot of five plays. In 2013 at a meeting of all European Union countries, our performances organised by the Croatian police received an award as the best European project in the prevention of violence.

■ It is interesting that you have performed your monodrama and cabarets in private homes. Why did you agree to that?

■ What do you do now and what you are working on today?

- I was a visiting professor of doctoral studies at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade. Now I also give lectures on doctoral studies at the Faculty of Musical Arts in Belgrade and I am a visiting professor at the Police Academy in Zagreb, with the subject “Industry of public roles”. This 2014/2015 season, based on an agreement with the “Theatre//an der Rott” in Eggenfelden, Germany, where I already preformed in one play, “Topalovic// & Sohne,” a musical based on the text of Dimitri Dimeva, on the topic of the text of Dušan Kovačević’s “The Marathon Family”. And I perform my own plays, so I don’t forget.

■ How does it feel today performing in Zagreb, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Ljubljana...?

If we think that the whole world is one big theatre, and that the theatre stage and auditorium is a small atom of that world, then why would that atom not be anywhere, even in a flat or a room?!

- If we think that the whole world is one big theatre, and that the theatre stage and auditorium is a small atom of that world, then why would that atom not be anywhere, even in a flat or a room?! “…when a man walks across an empty space whilst someone else is watching… theatre is created” ~ Peter Brook. If an actor recognises in the mirror the nature of a detail or event in the invisible reality, then he has an obligation, a moral artistic obligation, to show and play that detail or event, so if need be, or needs must, then that can be done in homes.

If the cleaner can clear dust and disorder from the home, why would the not clear ignorance and invisibility?

In The/Arto project that I founded in Salzburg, and later in 34 |

Zagreb, we played 100 performances for 100 children suffering from cerebral palsy in their rooms, beside their beds or wheelchairs. That’s total theatre! When people decide not to eat or gossip at family birthdays and familial gatherings, but rather to play theatre or cabaret, then the art of acting most swiftly destroys boundaries and prejudices that stand in the way of us viewing our present in its entirety. That’s total theatre!

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

- “To travel and to move is in my dreams the greatest happiness...”

Ivo Andrić “Ex Ponto”... To see with friends, acquaintances, with the displaced, with the misplaced and to tell them how hard I lived before! Today by playing something also from that time and when I play myself who is exactly the same as from that time, and now I’m playing, in some places it looks as though something was not changed and like that somewhere in me, for me and for others, something else passed that was romantic and nice and possible. The theatre and actor preserved something, which is some reality long forgotten.

■ What did you find the hardest during the wars of the ‘90s?

- My father Asim was a judge, as I said. He often recounted court cases and I remembered why. Only the peasants fought like primitives, arguing, hitting, slaughtering and killing around the borders of their country, estates ... whose pillar stands several metres inside, barbed wire fences more in the upper part, whose plums fall on my property, and grow in someone else’s, whose grandfathers spent years mowing grass that no longer grows, whose predecessors shat more shit in the land so today the grass would be how it is... The hardest thing for me was that primitives deleted and erases the past and the present... ■

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

BUSINESS LEADERS’ MEETING POINT

JANUARY 2015

36 PAGE

37 PAGE

40 PAGE

The Devil is in

Reliable Partner for

Knowledge for

the Details ANASTASIA SAGIANNI

HEAD OF THE EUROFAST TRANSFER PRICING DIVISION

Exporters

Better Products MIODRAG JELIĆ

DEJAN VUKOTIĆ

CEO AT AOFI – THE SERBIAN EXPORT CREDIT AND INSURANCE AGENCY cordeditorial@cma.rs |

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT LESAFFRE SERBIA 123 January 2015 | 35

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

INTERVIEW

The Devil is in

the Details ANASTASIA SAGIANNI

HEAD OF THE EUROFAST TRANSFER PRICING DIVISION

Eurofast’s team of highly skilled professionals works together with the client “back to back”, in order to guide them through the demanding procedure of Transfer Pricing Rules, which are new to many clients in Serbia

T

he 2013 introduction of the Serbian Rulebook for the implementation of the Transfer Pricing Rules proved to be very demanding for many domestic companies, which were forced to deal with very intricate rules requiring every taxpayer to accurately interpret various transactions taken in different jurisdictions based on the arm’s-length principle. Eurofast possesses a network of offices in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, able to advise clients in specific jurisdictions and guide them through the process of transfer pricing application.

■ How was the first year of implementation of the Transfer Pricing Rules in Serbia?

- Well, actually for some multinationals operating in Serbia 2013 was not the first year of implementation of the Transfer Pricing Rules. The Law has been present in Serbia for more than a decade.

More specifically, Transfer Pricing Rules have been present since 1st July 2001, but the Serbian Rulebook enacted in July 2013 gave clarity to Transfer Pricing Rules.

So, actually, some multinational companies operating in Serbia already had their transfer pricing 36 |

policies in place, due mainly to the fact that their headquarters were in countries with developed Transfer Pricing Rules.

For the large majority of businesses, however, 2014 was the first year of implementation regarding transactions that took place during 2013. For those

length principle requires the ability to see the nature of each inter-company transaction by also understanding the circumstances under which those transactions took place, interpreting comparable situations and applying judgement. Moreover, since Transfer pricing is not an

We have the ability not only to service a local entity operating under a specific jurisdiction, but also to offer broader based advisory services in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean

entities the procedure was demanding both for their financial departments and their advisors.

■ Is there a “right” or “wrong” way to prepare a Transfer Pricing Study?

- The application of the arm’s-

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

exact science, there is no “right” or “wrong” way, but there are some “risky” areas where taxpayers should be very careful. For example, by saying merely that the applied margin is in accordance with the Group’s policy you do not document that the

transaction is in accordance with the arm’s length principle. Also, by preparing a Transfer Pricing study which does not include justification for the selected TP method you may face a pitfall because in a potential transfer pricing audit the Serbian tax authorities may have another opinion about the selected method.

■ How does Eurofast address Transfer Pricing Risks?

- Good question! Quality is our first priority. Eurofast’s team of highly skilled professionals works together in each country with the client, “back to back”. We have centralised our work, which means that through our network of offices in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as our associates worldwide, we have the ability not only to service a local entity operating under a specific jurisdiction, but also to offer advisory services by understanding the interaction of each country’s legislation to the Group operations. ■

For more information please contact Eurofast global d.o.o., 31/4 Beogradska Street +381 11 3241 484 or via email at: anastasia.sagianni@eurofast.eu

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

INTERVIEW

Reliable Partner for

Exporters DEJAN VUKOTIĆ

CEO AT AOFI – THE SERBIAN EXPORT CREDIT AND INSURANCE AGENCY

AOFI offers clients efficient and fast processing of credit applications, as well as claim insurance and factoring services that are especially important in times of crisis

O

ne of AOFI’s basic aims is to change the structure of Serbian exports towards a higher degree of processing, which means increasing the share of finished and semi-finished products in total exports. AOFI provides its contribution to the development of Serbian exports in this direction through intensive direct support for producers of both finished and semi-finished products, through the wide array of its services, says Dejan Vukotić, CEO at Serbian export credit and insurance agency AOFI.

■ AOFI expands its portfolio of services year after year.

Which of your services attract the most interest during this time of continued economic crisis?

- In the period of the current crisis, which is present in both small economies and the world’s leading economies, businesses show growing interest in the service of covering insurance claims from the risk of non-payment.

Many Serbian export-orientated companies are assisted by AOFI, through insurance claims, to solve liquidity problems caused by the failure of foreign buyers to pay, because of their insol-

vency as a result of extended payment deadlines.

■ In which segments does the provision of credit lines through AOFI differ the most compared to applicable bank loan conditions?

- AOFI’s comparative advantage in relation to the Serbian banking sector is primarily reflected in efficiency and the speed of processing and responding to all client requests. Moreover, in addition to banking products we also provide insurance for claims and fund them through factoring, which speeds up the

in a qualitative sense it is to be expected that the Serbian economy will attempt to conquer new markets and, in parallel, try to export new products, which should lead to an increase in the volume of exports in 2015 compared to 2014.

■ You have long been linked to international financial flows. How does this cooperation function and can these sources provide you with the capital necessary to realise your needs?

- By the nature of its work, AOFI is linked with numerous inter-

economy recognise the benefits of factoring and do you have risk exposure problems in this area?

- Serbia’s economy increasingly recognises the multiple benefits of factoring as a means of short-term financing. Factoring increases the liquidity of companies, but also provides the possibility of extending payment deadlines for foreign buyers, which allows Serbian exports to become more competitive.

Likewise, factoring also enables better contracting payment conditions in terms of price. AOFI successfully handles the risks

Thanks to long-term cooperation with international financial institutions, AOFI has access to more favourable sources of financing at any time production process and allows for greater realisation.

■ How would you assess the prospects for the volume of exports of Serbian companies in 2015?

- It is difficult to evaluate quantitatively. On the other hand,

national financial institutions that recognise the quality of AOFI’s operations. This longterm cooperation allows us, at any time and in accordance with the needs of the economy, to have access to more favourable sources of financing.

■ How much does the Serbian

present in the market, while endeavouring to reduce them to a minimum. AOFI does this in cooperation with renowned companies whose prudential reports represent the initial basis for quality analysis of buyer risk by AOFI’s expert services. ■

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 37

HARBOUR

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

“Montenegro is an important and safe harbour for intra- and inter-regional cooperation.

It can be a valuable economic partner and this has been proven by our recent history, our current situation and our aspirations.” — MILO ĐUKANOVIĆ, Montenegrin PM

LOCAL NEWS 01 PHILIP MORRIS

Launching 107 Small Businesses in Serbia

IVAN MILETIĆ, corporate affairs director at Philip Morris Serbia & Montenegro

A ceremony at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce saw company Philip Morris, in collaboration with NGO ENEKA, award 107 grants for small and family business start-ups under the auspices of the fifth cycle of the donor programme “Launch yourself for a job” (Pokreni se za posao) in Serbia. The ceremonial event also included discussions on the importance of empowering entrepreneurship as one of the preconditions for the recovery of the domestic economy.

Entrepreneurs received the necessary equipment to launch their own enterprise or improve their existing business, as well as free business and professional training and ongoing advisory support in order to better prepare for a competitive market.

A panel discussion was organised as part of this event on the topic “Strengthening entrepreneurship - a prerequisite for the economic recovery of Serbia”.

02 FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE

03 UNIQA

New Factory Unveiled in Vršac

Help for the Children’s Shelter

RAJKO HRVAČEVIĆ, (left) PETER PALMQUIST, Prime Minister ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ, NORMAN ERHARD and GABRIJELA BENEMAN

Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) Serbia has opened a new factory at the Vršac Technology Park for the manufacture of medical devices for hemodialysis.

The opening ceremony saw Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić officially cut the ribbon together with representatives of Fresenius Medical Care - Peter Palmquist, senior vice president of the sector for the organisation of production of dialysis products globally, Norman Erhard, executive vice president for the region of northern and southeast Europe in the field of service production and marketing for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America, and Rajko Hrvačević, CEO of Fresenius Medical Care Serbia. The factory’s opening ceremony was also attended by Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar.

This investment is worth in excess of €16 million. The opening of this new factory in Vršac sees the creation of 429 new jobs, while long-term plans for the factory envisage the number of employees eventually reaching 1,150.

Insurance company UNIQA osiguranje, together with its long-term brand ambassador, Head Coach of the Serbia National Basketball Team, Aleksandar “Saša” Đorđević, visited the Belgrade Children’s Shelter and handed over a donation of 300,000 dinars towards the construction of a new home desperately needed by this institution.

“I am happy that today, in our shared company, I can brighten up the day of children at the Shelter and draw attention to the problem this institution faces – and that is an insufficient number of beds to accommodate children,” said coach Đorđević.

“In the year in which we celebrate eight years of work in Serbia, we decided to the campaign “Think UNIQA”, which teaches us to think differently, to think with the heart, to think of others and to help those who need help,” said Sonja Marić, Marketing Director at UNIQA osiguranja.

The visitors were welcomed by the Head of the Belgrade Children’s Shelter, Danijela Stajković, who thanked them for their support.

04 SERBIAN BUSINESS COUNCIL

Serbian Business Council Awarded in Abu Dhabi

OGNJEN SUDŽUM, president of the Serbian Business Council, NOALEEN SAEED, president of the Irish Business and Economy MOHAMMED HELAL AL-MUHAIRI, Director of the Business Council Abu Dhabi Chamber of Economy

38 |

The Serbian Business Council of the United Arab Emirates has been awarded for its outstanding contribution and enthusiasm in promoting the economy and investment at Abu Dhabi’s annual Business Forum.

The annual business forum was held for the 14th consecutive year, under the organisation of the Chamber of Commerce of Abu Dhabi, the American Chamber of Commerce and the Pakistani

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

Business Group, with the aim of sharing experience with members of business advisory services from around the world. With the aim of familiarising Serbian business leaders with the UAE market, method of functioning and business climate, the Serbian Business Council, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in the UAE, is organising the first Serbian Business and Investment Forum in the UAE from 25th to 30th January 2015.

REFORMS

NEW YEAR

— NIKOLA GRUEVSKI, Macedonian PM

The earliest recording of a New Year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C., and was celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March

“We are also focused on investments in energy, gas supply networks and the modernisation and growth of agriculture, and in the area of the continuing education reforms.”

05 PIRAEUS BANK

Best Students Awarded

appointments@aim.rs

The top six students of the Mathematical Gymnasium School of Belgrade have received valuable cash prizes from Piraeus Bank AD Belgrade totalling €3,000. The winners of the cash prizes, worth €500 each, are Marko Šušnjar, Luka Vukelić, Bogdana Jelić, Marijana Vujadinović, Nikola Sadovek and Nikola Aleksić.

“With this cooperation between Piraeus Bank and the Mathematical Gymnasium School we want to encourage students to achieve excellent results throughout their education and careers. The Bank wants to support the community it works in and provide additional stimulus to the best students,” said Neoclis Neocleous, CEO of Piraeus Bank Serbia.

06 MIRABANK

UAE's Bank Will Start Operations by the End of March

Serbia’s central bank, NBS, has issued an operating licence to Mirabank, a unit of the UAEbased Royal Group conglomerate, the NBS confirmed in a statement. The move is part of deepening business ties between Belgrade and Abu Dhabi, including investment in Serbia’s agriculture sector, a $1 billion loan from the UAE and the 2013 sale of a 49 per cent stake in flag carrier Air Serbia to Etihad Airways. It is expected that the bank will start its regular operations by the end of March 2015.

Placements & postings

H.E. PHILIP PINNINGTON

NEW CANADIAN AMBASSADOR TO SERBIA

Philip H. Pinnington (BA, University of Toronto, 1981; MA [International Relations], University of Toronto, 1985) joined the Department of External Affairs in 1986. He has served in Ottawa in many different capacities, including a stint as deputy director of the International Crime Division, deputy director (political) of the Assignments Division, director of the Bilateral Relations and Operations Division in the Europe and Eurasia Bureau and director in the Office of Transformation. Overseas, Pinnington has served as second secretary in Bridgetown, counsellor in Dublin and counsellor at the Canadian mission to NATO in Brussels. In 2013 he joined the transition team managing the amalgamation of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency. He is married to Erica and they have three adult children.

Pinnington has become Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia, with concurrent accreditation to Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia.

TOP 10 TIPS

FOR A COFFEE MEETING

The coffee meeting is a low-risk way to meet new people, swap advice and lay the foundations of a more substantial relationship.

1. Be clear when asking for the meeting.

2. Do your homework.

3. Never, ever, ever be late.

4. Offer to pay.

5. You don’t have to drink coffee.

6. Have one clear, specific ask.

7. Take notes and follow up.

8. Offer to add value.

9. Offer to end on time.

10. Communicate any outcomes.

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 39

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

INTERVIEW

Knowledge for

Better Products MIODRAG JELIĆ

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT LESAFFRE SERBIA

The world’s leading yeast production company, Lesaffre, offers baking professionals in Serbia a wide range of products and the transfer of knowledge that makes production processes simpler, safer, more practical and more efficient

L

esaffre enables baking industry professionals in Serbia to learn about new production trends, improve their knowledge and utilise this company’s innovative products.

■ What makes the Lesaffre concept unique and what knowledge transfer does your company brings to the Serbian baking industry?

- What distinguishes Lesaffre as a company is a strategic approach that implies openness to investment in product quality, as well as investing constantly in the development of baking in Serbia.

Through a unique educational concept, in the context of the work of the first Lesaffre Baking CenterTM in Serbia, we ensure knowledge and new production trends are available to bakery professionals in our country. Next year professional bakers from Serbia will, for the first time, have a unique opportunity to participate in the prestigious international bakery competition Louis Lesaffre Coupe, which is organised with the aim of selecting the best bakers from five continents.

40 |

■ In which areas of the baing industry are innovations most frequent and how much do they contribute to the quality of bakery products and more efficient production?

- One of Lesaffre’s innovations is Kastalia liquid yeast, which facilitates the preparation of the dough mix and makes the production process much easier, safer, more practical and efficient. We have developed this

■ How much has the consolidation and professionalization of the Serbian baking industry been influenced by the Lesaffre business policy concept on this market?

- Consolidation in the industrial segment is one of the characteristics of the bakery market in Serbia. Larger groupations of industrial bakeries become the owners of smaller bakeries and, as a result of that, the number of larger producers is reducing.

Lesaffre adjusts its business policy in Serbia fully to the current market situation, while our range of products are created and adapted to the real needs of clients and consumers.

■ What compelled you to choose to open a Lesaffre Baking Center in Serbia and

With innovations like liquid yeast, we undoubtedly contribute to improving the quality of bakery products and the development of the baking industry liquid yeast in order to respond to the need to improve the production process and offer the best solution when it comes to saving time, quality, efficiency, hygiene and ease of cleaning, which are very important to bakers in the process of making bread and pastries.

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

which countries in the region do you expect to utilise its opportunities?

- Educated and experienced personnel, who are ready to apply new knowledge and trends from the European Union, is one of the main reasons we opened a Lesaffre Baking Center in Serbia. Like-

wise, we also wanted to go a step further in the development of the baking industry in this region and we offer bakers the option of acquiring additional training and professional experience. We are pleased that bakers have recognised the experience and knowledge we are ready to share and that we receive ever increasing requests and inquiries about the dates of training. For now those inquiries come mostly from Serbia, but our intention is certainly to also offer bakery professionals from countries in the region various training course in accordance with their needs and desires for improvement.

■ How much of your product range is available in Serbia and what kind of structure of demand do you expect for your products in the coming period?

- Lesaffre offers customers in Serbia a wide range of bakery products. Some of the most popular brands in our country are VRENJE, ALPHA, FERMIN, MAGIMIX, INVENTIS. We continuously direct our business plans towards additional development and production enhancers, concentrated mixtures and fufilling the needs of the bakery industry, as well as raising the quality of thr work of distributors, but also improving the logistics network that covers the entire journey – from the factory to the final customer. ■

Building on

Better Options

Solid Ground for Buyers Inveco expects to sign contracts for two new industrial plants for two new foreign investors coming to Serbia in 2015 FILIPPO BARBETTI

CEO OF INVECO I.B.C. , BELGRADE

I

nveco has built a solid portfolio and expertise working in both northern and southern Serbia over the last four years.

■ 2014 is about to end, how it was for your company?

- Compared to last year, 2014 was a complicated year and foreign investors, our target customers, didn’t achieve their planned investments. This is because they preferred to wait for the outcome of the presidential elections in March. Very few companies have built new plants.

■ How do you see Serbia in the near future?

- Serbia is one of the most reliable countries in the Balkan area, not because I say so, but according to macroeconomic figures. In the fu-

- In the past four years Inveco IBC has worked in the north and the south of the country. We have constructed four industrial plants and developed turnover of almost 30 million euros. In recent years many municipalities have been promoted by the central government as attractive areas, in terms of logistics and strategically. I don’t see the further development of new industrial areas in the next few years, but rather an affirmation of the existing areas, which would represent a competitive advantage for all investors, enabling more services to be provided.

■ What are your company’s objectives for 2015?

- Our company is planning to build two new factories for two new foreign investors in the next

We expect more clients from the automotive industries in the coming years

ture two to three years I see several investments by multinationals specialised in the automotive and agricultural sectors. I hope that all this will translate into employment, new jobs and more disposable income.

■ What are the industrial areas of greatest interest to foreign investors?

year. I hope we can conclude the negotiations and sign contracts by the first quarter of next year, in order to be able to start work next spring. Inveco IBC, from an organisational aspect, is ready to address two important orders in parallel. However, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of hiring new engineers and new technicians. ■

The new law on privatisation mirrors the aim of the Serbian Economy Ministry to attract potential buyers and offer flexible solutions in the privatisation process. Two models seen as preferable choices by investors are DUBRAVKA KOSIĆ those whereby capital and KOSIĆ LAW OFFICE property are sold

T

he new Privatisation Law brings new models that are much more suitable for prospective buyers, says Dubravka Kosić, from the Kosić Law Office.

According to her, the new Privatisation Law contains serious improvements in prescribed measures regarding debt, number of employees and payment method.

■ Does the new Privatisation Law offer better model for the

capital and property, the strategic importance of the enterprise to be privatised and the number of employees. It was determined that the greatest number of privatisations would be conducted under the methods of selling capital and property with the implementation of measures.

The new Privatisation Law contains serious improvements in terms of prescribed measures: debts may be withdrawn or con-

One of the solutions in the new law, the regulation of strategic partnerships, is particularly important as a model privatisation of the enterprises on offer?

- The innovations of the Privatisation Law introduce four models and different methods of privatisation that are applied on the basis of a decision of the Economy Ministry that was initially proposed by the Privatisation Agency. In reaching a decision on the model, method and measures, the Ministry took into account the interests of potential buyers considering the value of

verted, the number of employees reduced and the full price must be paid at once, which is an eliminatory factor for suspicious buyers and improves control over the privatisation procedure.

The regulation of strategic partnerships as model is particularly important. The participation of this law office in major strategic projects indicates the necessity to resolve certain issues legally, which was recognised and regulated by the legislator. ■

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 41

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

REGIONAL NEWS 01 FYR MACEDONIA

ADVANTAGES “Bulgaria offers various advantages as a favourable business environment.

Our economic policy is underpinned by the goals of maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability.” — OYKO BORISOV, Bulgarian PM 02 MONTENEGRO

EBRD Buys 20% of Ilovica Mine The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has purchased 20% of the shares of Canadian company EurOmax Resources Ltd., which will search for gold and copper in the Ilovica Mine in the region of Strumica, FYR Macedonia.

The sale of these shares has generated five million Canadian dollars for this company and enabled the approval of a $175 million loan from company Royal Gold. The owners of the mine said that the money from Royal God is extremely important to deliver on the entire project, worth half a billion USD, for excavating gold and copper from the Ilovica Mine.

The first amounts of minerals from this mine will be dug in 2017 and the mine will employ more than 400 people. The Ilovica Mine contains an estimated 120 tonnes of gold and 700 thousand tonnes of copper.

Source: ibna

Telenor Montenegro Launches Digital News Service Telenor Montenegro has introduced a new digital service called Newsstand, enabling pre-paid and post-paid customers to read their favourite magazines and newspapers.

This service is free for the first activation, later increasing to €3.45. Users of the Play+ package can also select Newsstand as one of the free services in the package.

03 HUNGARY

Online Trade Could Rise Over 20% This Year Retail sales conducted via the internet are expected to reach 266 billion forints (€864 million) in Hungary in 2014, up 22.5 per cent on last year, according to a recent survey.

Online retail sales amounted to 217 billion forints in 2013 (€692.7 million), accounting for 3.1 per cent of total retail sales turnover in Hungary, excluding sales of vehicles and vehicle fuels. Observers project further growth acceleration for the 2014-2018 period.

Several major new operators have entered the market this year and growing confidence in online trade has also contributed to the substantial increase in sales.

As part of their Black Friday offers alone, web stores generated sales of 2.3-2.7 billion forints, eNet said. However, in connection with the restrictions on Sunday shop openings, expected to be introduced from March 2015, the question is whether e-traders will be able to profit from the change.

05 KOSOVO

Government Approves 2015 Budget Kosovo’s government has approved the 2015 budget totalling €1.57 billion. It does not include the 25% pay rise planned by the previous government.

Finance Minister Avdullah Hoti said that the 25% pay increase, which took place in 2014, will consist of a budget increase next year. He added that, in contrast to 2014, next year there will be an increase in income as a result of the fight against the grey economy and increased collection of taxes.

“Revenue from taxes and customs is expected to increase by 7% and internal revenues are expected to increase by 17%. This comes as a result the collection of taxes taking place in the country and not on the border, as well as the fight against the informal economy and other measures against money laundering to fund terrorism and other financial crimes. There are also some revenues expected to come from the Kosovo Agency for Privatisation and the Pension Savings Trust, amounting to €37 million,” said Hoti.

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123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

04 BULGARIA

South Stream Pipes Continue to Arrive Russian companies continue to manufacture and deliver pipes to Bulgaria for the construction of the undersea section of the South Stream gas pipeline. This information was confirmed by Director General of the Pipe Industry Development Fund, Oleg Kalinsky.

“We have not received official information about the suspension of the South Stream gas project and are continuing to work, in order to fulfil the contracts,” said Kalinsky.

A spokesperson for the South Stream project said that Castoro Sei Company was the only one to have already stopped working on the project. He also added that all agreements with the rest of the subcontractors under the South Stream project were still valid.

According to the contract agreements, pipe manufacturers have to produce and deliver pipes to the sorting storehouses in Bulgaria.

UNDERSTANDING “There is a common understanding in Europe that in the following years Central Europe will become the growth engine of the EU.” — VIKTOR ORBÁN, Hungarian PM 06 ROMANIA

Advertising Budget to Grow 1.9% in 2015 Investments in Romanian advertising will see 1.9 per cent growth in 2015, reaching a total of $403.9 million, according to the Zenith Romania Advertising Expenditure Forecast. After five years of decline, the ad market grew by 3.6 per cent in 2014.

Mobile telephones saw the highest growth as a platform and are set to occupy an increasingly visible chunk of ad consumption between 2014 and 2017, on the wave of the widespread presence of mobile devices and technological innovation.

However, mobile still holds a rather small chunk of overall media consumption. Advertising on mobile phones will reach one per cent of Romania’s overall advertising consumption in 2015 and seven per cent of investments in digital.

Overall, digital has seen the steepest annual growth, amounting to 12 per cent in 2014 compared to 2013. Over the next two years digital is set to grow by 10 per cent.

CORPORATE TRAVEL However, television still holds sway over advertising investments in Romania (63.5 per cent), which will hold true over the next years, followed by digital, with a 13.6 per cent market share, and outdoor advertising, with 10.7 per cent.

Print media represents six per cent of the total investments in advertising, followed by radio with 5.8 per cent and cinema with 0.4 per cent.

Richard Branson's 07 SLOVENIA

Reducing CO2 Emissions Slovenia will spend €1billion over the next seven years to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, according to an operational plan being drafted by the government. The greatest effort will be required in transport, where emissions continue to rise.

The programme, drafted as part of EU plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, tackles pollution in sectors not included in emissions trading, including transport, households, agriculture and waste processing.

The total budget earmarked by Slovenia for the emission reduction programme until 2020 stands at €1.02 billion, which will cover incentives in the target sectors. The bulk of the money will come from EU funds.

Slovenian efforts in the area of reducing greenhouse gas emissions set a four per cent increase target on the 2005 baseline as the target until 2020. This means Slovenia will have to ensure CO2 emissions do not exceed 12.12 million tonnes in the target year.

The 2020 target represents a challenge for Slovenia due to rapid increases in transport emissions.

INCENTIVES MEETINGS CONFERENCES EVENTS

TOP 10 TIPS

FOR SUCCEEDING IN BUSINESS

HRG Serbia & Montenegro BT Pegrotour d.o.o.

1. Follow your dreams.

2. Do some good.

3. Believe in your ideas: give your venture everything you’ve got.

4. Have fun and make sure that your team members are enjoying themselves too.

5. Don’t give up.

6. Listen, take lots of notes and keep setting yourself new challenges.

7. Delegate and spend more time with your family.

8. Communicate, collaborate and communicate some more.

9. Turn off your laptop and iPhone, and get out there.

10. Do what you love and keep a couch in the kitchen.

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

Topličin Venac 19-21 11000 Belgrade Tel: +381 11 20 28 070 Fax: +381 11 20 28 091

office@rs.hrgworldwide.com

www.hrgworldwide.com

Member of:

123 January 2015 | 43

WORLD ECONOMIC SITUATION AND PROSPECTS:

The Global Economic

Outlook for 2015 Global economic growth is forecast to increase marginally over the next two years, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 (WESP) report, launched mid-December. The global economy is expected to grow 3.1 per cent in 2015 and 3.3 per cent in 2016, compared with an estimated growth of 2.6 per cent for 2014

T

he global economy expanded during 2014 at a moderate and uneven pace. Legacies from the global financial crisis continue to weigh on growth, while new challenges have emerged, including geopolitical conflicts such as in Ukraine and the Ebola epidemic.

Unemployment figures remain historically high in some regions, but appear to have stopped rising. While global inflation remains subdued, the spectrum ranges from deflation risks in the Eurozone to high inflation in some developing coun44 |

tries. Foreign direct investment inflows have remained the most stable and relevant source of financing for developing countries whereas portfolio capital flows are highly sensitive to changes in risk appetite.

Trade growth is expected to pick up moderately with the volume of world imports of goods and services projected to grow by 4.7 per cent in 2015. Fiscal tightening will continue in most developed economies in 2015, although the pace of tightening is expected to slow. The strong U.S. dollar is expected to remain

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

Only a slight improvement in growth is expected in Western Europe. The region is held back by the travails of the Eurozone, where the GDP level has yet to regain its pre-recession peak the dominant trend on foreign exchange markets.

“While some economic indicators are positive and moving in the right direction which points to the potential for a gradual return to consistent economic growth,” said Pingfan Hong, Director of the Development and

Policy Analysis Division for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “many risks and uncertainties could dash efforts to get the global economy on track and moving forward.”

Developed economies Among the developed economies, while the U.S. maintained an

annual growth rate above two per cent in 2014, the economic situation in Europe has been precarious, particularly in the Eurozone, where a number of euro members

of Independent States (CIS). In contrast, East Asia, including China, experienced only a mild slowdown, while India led South Asia to a moderate uptake.

Among the world’s developing regions, Africa’s overall growth momentum will continue, with GDP growth expected to accelerate to 4.6 per cent in 2015 and 4.9 per cent in 2016. East Asia will remain the fastest-growing region and is projected to see stable growth of 6.1 per cent in 2015 and 6.0 per cent in 2016 teetered on the brink of recession. In Japan, momentum generated by a fiscal stimulus package and monetary easing from 2013 tapered off in 2014.

The U.S. economy is expected to improve in 2015-2016, with GDP projected to expand by 2.8 and 3.1 per cent, respectively.

Only a slight improvement in growth is expected in Western Europe. The region is held back by the travails of the Eurozone, where the GDP level has yet to regain its pre-recession peak.

A projected slowdown in Japan is mainly attributed to the drop of private consumption due to a higher consumption tax.

Developing countries and economies in transition Growth rates in develop-

Many developing countries and economies in transition appear vulnerable to a tightening of global financial conditions, as well as a further aggravation of geopolitical tensions and an escalation of the Ebola epidemic

ing countries and economies in transition diverged more during 2014, as a sharp deceleration occurred in many large emerging economies, particularly in Latin America and the Commonwealth

Among the developing regions, Africa’s overall growth momentum will continue, with GDP growth expected to accelerate to 4.6 per cent in 2015 and 4.9 per cent in 2016. East Asia

will remain the fastest-growing region, and is projected to see stable growth of 6.1 per cent in 2015 and 6.0 per cent in 2016.

Economic growth in South Asia is set to gradually pick up, while economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to moderately improve. In the CIS, prospects are weak, with nearzero growth expected in the Russian Federation.

Looming risks and uncertainties could set back global economy The Eurozone’s recovery remains precarious. While the sense of crisis has dissipated,

great risks remain. The underlying growth momentum in the Eurozone has decelerated to the point where an exogenous event could lead to a return to recession. The forthcoming further normalisation of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy holds significant risks and uncertainties for the global economic outlook, depending on the timing and strategy of the monetary tightening, as well as the response by financial markets.

Many developing countries and economies in transition ap-

pear vulnerable to a tightening of global financial conditions, as well as a further aggravation of geopolitical tensions and an escalation of the Ebola epidemic.

The ongoing high currentaccount deficits in some large emerging economies, such as Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey, remain a concern, along with rapid credit growth in several emerging economies.

A sudden change in market sentiment, similar to mid-2013 and early 2014, could trigger a painful adjustment process, especially in countries with large external deficits. A broadbased downturn in emerging economies, particularly a sharp slowdown in China, would weigh on economic performance worldwide.

A further risk lies in extreme volatility in oil prices which can have significant impacts on both oil exporting and oil importing countries. The crisis in Ukraine continues to have major regional macroeconomic repercussions.

The situations in Iraq, Libya and the Syrian Arab Republic continue to hamper economic and human development regionally and remain major sources of uncertainty.

International policy coordination must be strengthened To reduce risks and meet challenges, the report says, it is imperative to strengthen international policy coordination. In particular, macroeconomic policies worldwide should be aligned toward supporting robust and balanced growth, creating productive jobs and maintaining long-term economic and financial stability.

(WESP is produced at the beginning of each year by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the five UN regional commissions and the World Tourism Organisation. The report’s full version will be available from 19th January 2015.). ■

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 45

DIALOGUE

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

“Europe and East Asia are bound to conduct a substantial dialogue on security, international law and restraint in the use of force on the international environment.”

WORLD NEWS

— EWA KOPACZ, Polish PM

01 NORWAY

Statoil Approves €686 million North Sea Development

02 BRAZIL

Sugarcane Jet Fuel

Norwegian energy firm Statoil will spend 4.6 billion crowns (€686 million) to develop its small Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen gas and condensate field in the North Sea. The company aims to tie the discovery into the much bigger Gullfaks field and recover around 80 million barrels of oil equivalents in total after production as of the first quarter of 2017.

The Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen project will use existing infrastructure and also extend the lifetime of the Gullfaks A platform, keeping costs relatively low.

The field, which is expected to operate for 15 years, will produce 31,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day at its peak production in 2019.

Shareholders in the project include Statoil, with 51%, Norwegian state holding company Petoro, with 30%, and Austria’s OMV, which has a 19% share.

Sugarcane feedstock will comprise up to 10% of Brazilian jet fuel under a landmark law approved by Brazilian hydrocarbons regulator ANP. Biotechnology firm Amyris said it had received approval to begin using farnesene in commercial jet fuel for Brazilian routes.

The announcement comes five months after local airline Gol became the first commercial carrier to power a jet using conventional aviation fuel blended with farnesene, for a flight from Orlando to São Paulo.

Air France, Lufthansa and KLM have also agreed to use the fuel, according to Amyris.

The California-based company said the use of farnesene would reduce carbon emissions and ease Brazil’s fuel import bill.

03 KOREA

Mobile Money Korean industry analysts expect that the mobile payment sector will become the foundation of all industries in the future. Therefore, a growing number of people in the industry urgently needed to foster the financial technology (fintech) industry, which encompasses the mobile payment sector.

According to market research firm Gartner on Decemeber the global mobile payment market is estimated at over 300 trillion won this year ($277 billion), and is expected to grow 30 to 40 percent year-on-year to reach $737 billion in 2017.

05 CZECH REPUBLIC

Prague Has Second-Lowest Office Rents in CEE Prague offers the second cheapest leases in the CEE region, with 330,500 square meters of new office space becoming available during the next two years due to new development projects.

“The current vacancy rate amounts to 14 percent (Q3 2014) and represents approximately 416,100 sqm of available space. The current availability office space in Prague is relatively high – 2.9 million sqm,” says Katarina Wojtusiak, head of Office Agency at CBRE. The most expensive leases of office space are found in Warsaw and Vienna.

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123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

04 UNITED KINGDOM

BT Deal to Acquire Mobile Provider EE? The UK’s British Telecom, BT, has announced plans to acquire mobile provider EE for nearly €16 billion. The deal may be followed by further mergers in the European telecoms market, in the face of weakening margins.

The stocks of both Deutsche Telecom and France Telecom gained sharply following BT’s announcement that it was in exclusive talks about a takeover of EE, the country’s largest mobile network, which is jointly owned by the German and French giants. If the sale goes through, it will create Britain’s largest telecommunications company.

The deal would involve €15.7 billion in cash. Deutsche Telekom would end up owning 12 per cent of BT shares, while Orange would own four per cent.

06 INDONESIA

ENERGY

EMAIL

“Fresh energy could now be seen in Serbia that gave Slovenian businessmen opportunities to do good business in the country.”

Ninety per cent of emails that receive responses are replied to within one day of being received.

— MIRO CERAR, Slovenian Prime minister

Ministry Revokes Licenses of 2,166 Importers

07 SPAIN

New "Silk Train"

The Indonesian Trade Ministry has revoked the registered importer status (IT) of 2,166 companies due to their failure to reg- RACHMAT GOBEL Indonesian Trade Minister ularly report.

“The Trade Ministry has lifted the licenses of 2,166 ITs of the 5,017 registered importers for certain products, or 43.17 per cent of the total,” Rachmat Gobel Trade Minister said.

Rachmat explained that of the 2,166 ITs whose licenses were revoked, 836 were ITs for electronics products, 321 for garments, 151 in footwear, 290 for food and drink, 133 for medicines and 256 in cosmetics and household health utensils.

The revocation of the IT licenses is part of efforts to create an orderly national import regulation and create a wider space for the development of the nations industries.

A 13,000-kilometre crossing from eastern China to Spain, passing through eight countries and taking 20 days, has raised hopes of a new “Silk Train” transport route.

The carriages passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France, before arriving in Madrid. Regular services already exist between China and Germany - arriving from Chongqing to the city of Duisburg and from Beijing to Hamburg.

Roughly 80% of global trade is shipped by boat as a freight train service faces several technical and bureaucratic hurdles which vary according to country.

The goods on the train which arrived in Madrid had to be transferred to different wagons at three points during the trip because of incompatible track gauges.

The train’s 40 shipping containers carried goods including spinning tops for children and cutting tools.

It will return to China in the New Year with wine, olive oil and cured ham.

08 IRAN

09 INDIA

Exporting More Food to Russia

New Tech May Add a Trillion Dollars to GDP

Iranian Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati said preparations have been made to export dairy products and other food stuffs to Russia.

The Russian Federation has issued licenses for 18 Iranian companies to export fishery products to Moscow.

Head of the Iran Fisheries Organisation, Hasan Salehi, said that Iran will send the first consignment, consisting of trout and shrimp, to Russia by the end of December 2014.

The widespread use of new technologies in India, from mobile internet to cloud computing to genomics, could add $550 billion to a trillion dollars a year by 2025, according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).

MGI assessed more than 100 technologies and focused on 12 that could have a “profound impact on growth and social progress” in India. These technologies could account for 20-30 per cent of India’s GDP growth between 2012 and 2025.

The list includes digital payments, verifiable digital identity, internet of things (where objects have network connectivity), intelligent transport and distribution systems, advanced geographic information systems (GIS), renewable energy and advanced energy storage.

10 ALGERIA

Renault Inaugurates New Factory French motor manufacturer Renault inaugurated a new multi-million-euro plant in Algeria. The Algerian state owns 51 per cent of the factory, which has an initial annual production capacity of 25,000 cars.

The factory is to produce the Symbol, a saloon based on Renault’s Clio compact sold mainly in markets where hatchbacks are not traditionally favoured. The initial production capacity is expected to rise to a maximum annual output of 75,000.

Production is destined for the Algerian market, Africa’s second largest in terms of sales, with more than 400,000 vehicles imported every year.

Algerian sources say overall investment in the plant is expected to reach €800 million.

Source: AFP cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 47

AFTER WORK 25.11-07.12.2014

“The Sari - Magic of Indian Weaving” The Embassy of India in Belgrade, in conjunction with the New Delhi-based Indian Council for Cultural Cooperation and the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade, organised the exhibition “The Sari - Magic of Indian weaving”, which ran until 7th December 2014 in the gallery of the Ethnographic Museum. In the same place on 1st December, under the organisation of Fashion Studio Click, a fashion show was held to present the sari in the traditional way, but also in combination with contemporary examples.

Hemofarm Management Team

04.12.2014

Traditional Hemofarm Reception Hemofarm marked the end of yet another challenging business year with its traditional cocktail reception for business partners and friends of the company.

- Through the synergy of the best domestic and German business practices, Hemofarm has reconfirmed its leading position on the market and achieved new “personal” records. Production volume was up 16% and a record high quantity of four billion pills and capsules were produced – said Ronald Seeliger, CEO After extending his apologies for not being able to attend the event in person, Hartmut Retzlaff, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of STADA Group, addressed those present via a video link.

The event was also attended by representatives of state institutions, the corporate sector and a number of public figures from the domains of culture, media and healthcare.

RONALD SEELIGER, CEO

04.12.2014

ProOptimist Index 2015 ProCredit Bank organised a press conference dubbed ProOptimist Index 2015, during which the bank’s management presented and discussed the results of research conducted by ProCredit in cooperation with agency GFK. A panel discussion was held on the expectations for the Serbian economy, also discussing why companies that cooperate with Germany are more successful and more optimistic than other companies in Serbia.

This provided an opportunity for participants to exchange opinions and reflect on current economic issues.

Editor of weekly magazine NIN, Milan Ćulibrk, led the discussion as moderator of the panel, which saw views presented by Economy Minister Željko Sertić, Serbian Chamber of Commerce representative for Germany and Austria, Marko Čadež, and Dejan Janjatović, representing the executive board of ProCredit Bank.

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123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

MARKO ČADEZ (left) and Minister ZELJKO SERTIĆ

04.12.2014

Star Import Company: Traditional Annual Media Dinner Star Import, general distributor for MercedesBenz and smart vehicles in Serbia, organised its traditional annual media dinner at the Emil Frey Auto Centre showroom in Belgrade.

CEO of company Star Import, Rolf-Juergen Seyerle, expressed his gratitude to the media for their support and professionalism.

“The year behind us was not an easy one, but I am satisfied with the results we achieved. Our new owner, the Emil Frey Group, which celebrated its 90th year of successful business operations this year, has become general distributor for Serbia and Montenegro. We are sure that the group’s values, which are based on quality and professionalism at its best, guarantee the further success and development of our business,” said Seyerle.

ROLF-JUERGEN SEYERLE, CEO

Star Import Company’s Top Management Team

09.12.2014.

German-Serbian Business Association Hosts Christmas Reception The German-Serbian Business Association (DSW) welcomed representatives of its 280 member companies and other guests to the DSW Christmas reception at Belgrade’s Metropol Palace Hotel on 9th December.

Offering best wishes for the future, guest of honour, Serbian Economy Minister Željko Sertić, emphasised the importance of German-Serbian economic relations.

DSW President Ronald Seeliger thanked the member companies for helping to eliminate the devastation caused by the May 2014 flooding and handed over donations collected at the DSW Oktoberfest for the nursery schools of Obrenovac to Miloš Desančić, director of P.U. Perka Vićentijević. This event was supported by ProCredint Bank.

09.12.2014

Slovenian Business Club Marks Successful Year The Slovenian Business Club marked the end of the year with a cocktail reception at Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel.

“The last year was very successful for the Slovenian Business Club. We increased the number of members, brought together even more foreign companies interested in future cooperation and strengthened our ties with other clubs and associations,” said Danijela Fišakov, President of the Slovenian Business Club, in her opening address.

The cocktail reception was attended by distinguished guests from the business world and representatives of Slovenian companies in Serbia, as well as members of chambers of commerce from other countries.

ŽELJKO SERTIĆ (left), Economy Minisiter, and MARTIN KNAPP, DSW Director

TIHOMIR RAJLIĆ, CEO Siemens Serbia (left), and RONALD SEELIGER, DSW President

DANIJELA FIŠAKOV, President of the Slovenian Business Club

IVAN SIMIĆ, Simic & Partners Ltd., SLOBODAN SESUM and LJUBINKA LOVČEVIĆ, President of IO KBM Bank

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 49

AFTER WORK 09.12.2014

Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel Opens Belgrade’s long-awaited Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel has welcomed its first guests. The opening ceremony saw the key handed to the first guest of the hotel – Belgrade Mayor Siniša Mali – by Thomas Świec, Director of Hotel Radisson Blu Old Mill Belgrade.

Mayor Mali expressed his thanks for the honour, stressing the importance of this investment for the City of Belgrade. He added: “Radisson Blu not only contributes to the beauty of this part, but the entire city. In addition to that, this hotel will contribute to further improving the hotel offer in the capital, which is becoming increasingly attractive to tourists.”

Awarded people and organisations who have done the most humanitarian and welfare work during 2014

11.12.2014

Hello! and Color Group Annual Award

THOMAS SWIEC, General Manager at the Radisson Blu Old Mill Belgrade, Belgrade Mayor SINIŠA MALI, ANDREAS HAIDENTHALER, Commercial Affairs Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy to Serbia, and representatives of the Soravia Group investors

“Hello!” Magazine and Color Press Group organised the 4th Hello New Year’s Gala Party award ceremony at Belgrade’s Crowne Plaza hotel. Awards were presented to 24 people and organisations who have done the most humanitarian and welfare work during 2014. This year’s institutional award recipients are Danube Foods Group, Avon, Telenor and the Telenor Foundation, the Belgrade Marathon, Laguna, Humanitarian Foundation Novi Beograd, the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, Belhospice, NURDOR, Handball Club Vojvodina, Coca-Cola System Serbia, NGO “Give us Wings”, Anti-terrorist force MUP Republic of Serbia, the International Women’s Club, Belgrade Youth Club, the SPANS Animal Protection Association and Dog’s Asylum “Draževac”. Individual awards were also presented to numerous individuals for voluntary cultural, social and humanitarian work.

ROBERT ČOBAN (left) President of Color Press Group and the staff

11.12.2014

Festive Cocktail Reception for Vojvođanska Bank

MARINOS VATHIS, Vovođanska Banka CEO

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Important clients and friends of Vojvođanska Banka attended the New Year’s cocktail party at the Belgrade restaurant “Top of the Hub”.

Guests were welcomed by Marinos Vathis, Chairman of the Executive Board, who thanked those in attendance for their successful cooperation, expressing hopes for better relations in 2015. Guests were then addressed by Executive Board Member Vojislav Lazarević.

The attendees enjoyed the “Intermezzo” string quartet, followed by the band “Macao”, while a special surprise was provided by a spectacular fireworks display over the Vojvođanska Bank administration building, watched by partygoers from the restaurant.

VOJISLAV LAZAREVIĆ, Executive Board Member

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 51

CULTURE CALENDAR CLASSICAL MUSIC

New Year Gala Concert Sava Centre 31st December @ 21.00

If you don’t like the cold weather; if fireworks annoy you, crowded places and noisy music irritate you and overpriced New Year events, pubs and clubs are not for you… come to the Sava Centre for the fanciest New Year 2015 celebration! On 31st December at 21.00 you are invited to a free concert of popular classical music performed by two excellent orchestral ensembles and numerous soloists! Enjoy this nearly four-hour programme, performed by symphony orchestras Camerata Serbika and the Belgrade Symphony Orchestra, under the instruction of conductors Bojan Sudjić and Vojkan Borisavljević, as well as soloists like pianists Lidija and Sanja Bizjak, flutist Ljubiša Jovanović, sopranos Katarina Jovanović and Snezana Savičić-Sekulić, bass Dragoljub Bajić, tenor Nenad Mihajlović and others. In addition to the programme in the Sava Centre’s Great Hall, a good time during the

whole evening is guaranteed for all. Celebrate New Year 2015 with the sounds of Verdi’s music, representing the most beautiful pages in the world of classical music!

21.00 Camerata Serbica Conductor: Bojan Suđić Antonio Vivaldi: CONCERT FOR 4 VIOLINS, op. 3, no. 10, ha mol Allegro-Largo-Larghetto-Allegro Soloists: Milica Žugić, Nemanja Belej, Ljuba Trujanović, Jovana Stošić Ottorino Respighi: ANCIENT AIRS AND DANCES no. 3 Italiana Arie di Corte Siciliana Passacaglia Antonio Vivaldi: CONCERT FOR VIOLONCELLO, ce mol, RV 401 Allegro non molto-Adagio-Allegro Soloist: Nemanja Stanković 22.00-22.30 KULT Programme of young authors, students of the Belgrade Faculty of Music 22.40-23.35 Camerata Serbica Conductor: Bojan Suđić Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: CONCERT ARIAS FOR SOPRANO, PIANO & ORCHESTRA Ch’io mi scordi di te KV505

Museum of Contemporary Art, Novi Sad, 15th January Concept: Dr. Inke Arns, HMKV, Dortmund Curators: Dr. Inke Arns, Gordana Nikolic (MSUV)

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Trg Republike 1st January @ 09.00-18.00

Conductor: Bojan Suđić Orchestra: BELGRADE SYMPHONIC Conductor: Vojkan Borisavljević Presenter: Katarina Erić

Absolutely Now

Association Absolutely was founded in 1993 in Novi Sad, in cooperation between its four members (Zoran Pantelić, Dragan Rakić, Bojana Petrić (and Dragan Miletić 1995-2001)).

Since 1995 works were signed as just 'Absolutely', without specifying the names of individual artists. From purely aesthetic origins in the visual arts, the group increasingly developed cultural, social and political aspects, while the basis of the work is interdisciplinary art practice and a plethora of media. The works of 'Absolutely' are presented at international festivals and galleries in Berlin, Paris, Budapest, Hiroshima and New York.

This exhibition is accompanied by a

Street of the Open Heart

series of talks involving numerous German, regional and international artists and scientists - in addition Inke Arns (DortmundBerlin), artist, composer and filmmaker in the field of documentary film, Christian von Boris, then Geert Lovink, scholar and historian in the media with a High School in Amsterdam and the European Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, Zas-Fe (CH), Kristian Lukić, Institute for Flexible Culture and Technology (AMLA), Novi Sad, Ana Peraica, University of Rijeka, Dr Bojana Petric, University of Essex and member of Absolutely, and Dejan Sretenović, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

On the first day of next year Belgraders and tourists visiting the Serbian capital will have the opportunity to have fun at several locations in the city, where the ‘Street of the Open Heart’ event will be traditionally organised. As in previous years, citiznes and guests will be able to drink mulled wine or hot chocolate, meet Santa Claus and also take part in humanitarian actions.

The festive atmosphere lasts for a week on Trg Republike, well known as the Square of the Open Heart, and will conclude on 1st January. The central event will take place, as before, on Svetogorska Street. Thus, the main artistic programme will be organised in front of the Theatre Atelje 212 and the ANDANTE Ce dur, KV 315 & RONDO FOR FLUTE DE-DUR KV 184 Anh. CONCERT FOR TWO PIANOS Es-dur, KV 365 Allegro Andante Rondeau Soloists: Ljubiša Jovanović, flute Katarina Jovanović, soprano Lidija & Sanja Bizjak, piano 23.45-00.45 Orchestar: BELGRADE SYMPHONIC Conductor: Vojkan Borisavljević Georges Bizet: CARMEN – Overture Ludwig van Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata Pjotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Waltz of the Flowers Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata - Wine song, soloists: Snežana Savičić-Sekulić, soprano, and Nenad Čiča, tenor Johann Strauss: Radetzky March Gioachino Rossini: The Barber of Seville - Aria Basil, soloist: Dragoljub Bajić, bass Jules Massenet: Meditation, soloist: Vesna Jansens, violin Paolo Tosti: Marechiare, soloist: Nenad Mihajlović, tenor Ernesto de Curtis: Non ti scordar di me, soloist: Oliver Mercurio, soprano Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.5 Giuseppe Verdi: Sicilian Evenings - Aria Elena, soloist: Snezana Savičić-Sekulić, soprano Aram Khachaturian: Masquerade Vittorio Monti: Czardas, soloists: Edit Makedonska, violin Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute - Papageno Papagena Duet, soloists: Snezana Savičić-Sekulić, soprano, and Dragoljub Bajić, bass Johann Strauss: plexus of Vienna Waltzes

fun is extended to the Palilula market, because this municipality is exerting efforts to expand the event through Elijah Garašanina Street.

Music, stunts, street entertainers, jugglers, acrobats, magicians, theatre artists and various attractions will be in the spirit of the whole action, in their own way marking the solidarity of Belgrade citizens.

Red noses will remain a symbol of "Open Heart", the purchase of which will see citizens contribute to humanitarian actions.

Johann Strauss: Tritsch-Tratsch polka Piano Duo, Guarnerius, 16th January @ 20.00 Two outstanding young pianists, Vesna Zelenović and Katarina Jovanović, winners of numerous awards, founded their duo in February 2011 while studying at the Belgrade Faculty of Music under prof. Dejan Subotić.

Vesna and Jelena won over the Guarnerius audience in 2011 when, thanks to the votes of the audience, they won second place in the competition for young talents ‘Award of Guarnerius’.

Prominent among their awards won so far is the first place at SIMC Bijeljina and first prize at the Republican Contest in Belgrade.

For this latest Guarnerius concert the pair have prepared a very interesting programme including pieces by Belafonte, Milhaud, Casel and Sedlar.

CULTURE NEWS OPERA

The Barber of Seville National Theatre 10th January @ 19.30

The Barber of Seville is certainly the best known work of Gioacchino Rossini, but also one of the most popular operatic works today. This is evidenced by the sheer statistics, which speak of the ubiquity of his repertoire theatre scene. In addition, probably the most recognisable piece of operatic literature among the general public is precisely an aria from this opera. It is well known that Rossini had to submit this opera, as per the signed contract, within a month (sometimes referenced period of 13 days), during which he did not go out, he ate poorly and completely neglected his personal hygiene. It is also said that its premiere performance in the Roman theatre ‘Argentina’ passed unluckily - with injured singers, a leaky roof and animals thrown on stage. The audience contributed to these initial failures because it was purportedly comprised of supporters of a rival composer (now almost

unknown) who wrote an opera on the same topic a few decades earlier. However, Rossini’s musical genius of playing characters, recognisable addictive melodies and satirical background actions, thrilled the rerun audiences. Since then the Barber of Seville has become a standard of operatic repertoires that also provides a good chance of success and sold out opera houses throughout the world. Although the genre of drinking and anti-tragic opera certainly requires the highest degree of discipline - music and theatre - bel canto music-making skills, musicality and phrases recitative and dramatic appeal - meaning elements ensuring that lesser artists should not engage in projects of this sort.

The aim is that the end result exudes impeccable

ease of singing and musical flow, effortless and fluid recitation intermissions and perfectly concentrated stage intent. In the web of all these standards, musical and dramatic movements are specific, craving the constant attention of the audience and maintaining water and artistic tension from beginning to end.

Exhibition ‘Bridge to Belgrade’ Goethe Institut, 15th-31st December

Scholarship student of German academic exchange organisation DAAD, Marina Nikolić, presented her artwork in the windows of the Goethe Institute in Belgrade (Knez Mihailova 50). Marina spent months working on her artistic project, which sought to create a photomonograph dedicated to Belgrade and the creative people who live and work there, as well as their energy and originality. The project is supported by DAAD. "In the context of my project, the word 'bridge' should be taken literally, as the road leading to Belgrade, but also as a metaphor indicating that this path leads to a city that exudes the joy of life and the desire for development and progress. This photo monograph is devoted to the creative development of my hometown, which has experienced a new impetus. As a photographer I

Christmas charity concert by „The International Belgrade singers” 9th December

Ice Age Live Kombank Arena, 30th & 31st January, 1st February @ 19.00 The heroes of the famous film series are coming to Belgrade in this adventure on ice at the Kombank Arena!

Enchanting heroes from the movie ‘Ice Age’ - Sid, Manny, Diego, and the famous squirrel Scrat in the eternal chase for acorns - finally come alive at the end of January in Belgrade Arena, on ice!

‘Ice Age Live’ will run from 30th January to 1st February at Belgrade's Kombank Arena, with the following performances: 30th January at 18:30, 31st January and 1st February at 11:30, 15:00 and 18:30.

Tickets are priced at 1900, 2100, 2300, 2500, 2800 and 3200 dinars and are available at all CS Event locations, as well at the box offices: Belgrade Arena, Ticket Centre Belgrade, Dom Omladine Youth Centre and the Ušče Shopping Centre, or via the websites: www. kombankarena.com and www.eventim.rs.

Tickets can be purchased in monthly

instalments without interest using credit cards at Komercijalna Banka using four specified points of sale.

‘Ice Age Live’ takes its audience on an unforgettable journey with a brand new story based on the first three parts of the film! All fans of this series will enjoy the hilarious adventure on ice together with the main characters and their friends in their native language!

‘Ice Age Live’ is a fantastic mix of film, acrobatics, figure skating and dance, which takes viewers into new hilarious adventures of Ice Age that are full of suspense, excitement and laughter!

‘Ice Age Live’ is an arena spectacle that the whole family will enjoy!

Traditional Christmas charity concert by „The International Belgrade singers” the choir which exists since 2012 under the auspices of the Embassy of Canada, whose members come from 16 countries, was held at Palilula Cultural Centre on 9/12/2014.The concert was described by the representatives of domestic and foreign audience, who enjoyed listening to the variety of traditional and popular Christmas songs, as „a true Pre Christmas musical delicacy”. Concert proceeds were donated to the Novak Đoković Foundation for assistance in Serbian community projects. www.facebook.com/groups/ theinternationalbelgradesingers/

Photos: Boško Karanović

feel the need to follow the spirit of the times and witness these waves of change and innovation. Due to the fact that I was born in Belgrade, and that for almost 20 years I've lived in Germany, the Balkans is a topic to which I devote great attention. For two decades I have followed events in Belgrade and Serbia from a distance, but with great interest, affection and care. I noticed that the creative development of Belgrade has received new momentum, so I wanted to show that through my project. From DAAD I received a six-month scholarship, which enabled me to spend half a year searching for exceptional artistic, authentic and original projects in Belgrade and their creators. My works are devoted to those Belgrade citizens who give a decisive contribution to the life of their city, defying the challenges of hard times, and who do not take the beaten track, but rather have their own, unique way. These maverick creative individuals are not only an inspiration for their own environment, but deserve attention in the wider European context," said Marina.

Product of Boredom

Štab Gallery, 20th December “The product of Boredom” is the first in a series of upcoming events organised by the Savamala Collective, with the intention of presenting to the public relevant artworks under the title “boredom”. These products outline and characterise the sociological situation of young people, for whom society does not manage to secure the basic human right to work, and the creative expression of each individual within the working collective.

On 20th December the Štab Gallery marked the opening of the photography exhibition “The Product of Boredom”. The featured photographs are the works of six young artists from Belgrade and elsewhere in Serbia - Marija Strajnić, Milica

Kolarić, Aleksa Bartol, Marija Radosavljević, Milica Balubdžić and Tatjana Radičević.

The members of the Savamala Collective include Katarina Šotra, Mina and Tanja Strugar, Milan Raković and Relja Bikić.

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FACES & PLACES 01.12.2014

Romanian National Day Celebrated at Hotel Hyatt

On the occasion of the Statehood Day and national holiday of Romania, the Romanian Embassy in Belgrade hosted a reception in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel for Serbia’s highest officials, representatives of the Serbian Armed Forces and members of the diplomatic corps.

The reception was organised by the Romanian ambassa-

Mrs and Ambassador BANU and H.E. LAURENT LOUIS STOKVIS, Ambassador of the Netherlands

dor’s wife, Mrs Ankuca Banu, who welcomed guests with H.E. Daniel Banu.

Addressing guests, the ambassador said: “This day for Romanians primarily means the realisation of the ideals of unity and the act of national solidarity, as well as testifying to joint efforts aim at ensuring the welfare of the entire nation.”

MAJA GOJKOVIĆ, National Assembly Speaker, and Ambassador BANU

04.12.2014

Finnish Independence Day To mark 97 th anniversary of the independence of Finland, H.E. Pekka Orpana, Ambassador of Finland to Serbia, hosted a reception at the Finnish Ambassadorial Residence, along with his spouse and staff of the country’s diplomatic mission. The Reception was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps, members of the Serbian Government and numerous public figures from political and cultural life, business people and representatives of the Finnish community in Serbia.

Mr. AL DHAHERI, Persident TOMISLAV NIKOLIĆ and Mrs. NIKOLIĆ

02.12.2014

UAE National Day in Belgrade The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Belgrade hosted a reception to mark the national holiday and the 43rd anniversary of the unification of the Emirates, in memory of the date in 1971 when the seven emirates joined in a union called the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking on the occasion, H.E. Ambassador Juma Rashid Saif Zayed Al Dhaheri said that the UAE and Serbia share warm and cordial relations. “The Emirates today celebrate an important event, the unification of the seven emirates that today constitute one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world,” said the ambassador.

The Hyatt Regency reception was attended, amongst others, by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, Speaker of the National Assembly, Maja Gojković, government ministers and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

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Mrs and Ambassador ORPANA greet Russian Ambassador ALEKSANDAR CHEPURIN

07.12.2014

IWC Charity Bazaar at the Belgrade Fair The International Women’s Club (IWC) is a non-profit NGO with approximately 200 members from over 40 countries, including Serbia.

“Each December we organise a Charity Bazaar at the Belgrade Sajam (Fair), which generously provides the space at no cost. The main purpose of this event is to raise funds to support local humanitarian and community projects in Serbia. With over 5,000 visitors coming through our doors, the Charity Bazaar has also become an important international event on Belgrade’s social calendar,” says Sara Kirby, IWC Co-President The proceeds from last year’s IWC Bazaar went to Serbian charities that work with the elderly, sufferers of gender-based violence, victims of trafficking or those under threat of being trafficked, persons living with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. This year’s tangible donated items will be given to those most in need, while the many victims who suffered during the devastating floods of last May will also not be forgotten. - Sara Kirby, IWC Co-President

H. E. LAURENT LOUIS STOKVIS was one of the best sellers at the Dutch stall

H.E. JULIA FEENEY was active on the Australian stand

The IWC Charity Bazaar Organising Committee

Hungarian Stand

U.S. Stand

Iranian Stand

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FACES & PLACES 09/12/2014

Japanese Business Club Conference

The first conference under the organisation of the Japanese Business Club in Serbia has been held at Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel, in the presence of representatives of Serbian state authorities, Japanese companies operating in Serbia, the private sector and other stakeholders. The conference was opened by Rasim Ljajić, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade,

Tourism and Telecommunications, while those present were also addressed by H.E. Japanese Ambassador Masafumi Kuroki and Goran Pekez, Chairman of the Japanese Business Club, who highlighted the experience of Japanese companies already operating in Serbia and the need to advance the business environment and make it more attractive for potential Japanese investors.

RASIM LJAJIĆ, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister (left), GORAN PEKEZ, Chairman of the Japanese Business Club, and H.E. MASAFUMI KUROKI, Japanese Ambassador

10.12.2014

Italian Chamber of Commerce

H.E. LEE DO-HOON (right) with the staff of the Korean Embassy

The Chamber of Italian-Serbian Entrepreneurs organised its annual celebration for members, business representatives, diplomats and the media.

The event, hosted at the Hotel Metropol Palace, saw H.E. Giuseppe Manzo, Italian Ambassador to Serbia, and Andrea Simoncelli, President of the ItalianSerbian Chamber, award the “GM Leonardi” prize to companies that particularly excelled in promoting economic and trade relations between Italy and Serbia.

On behalf of the Serbian Government, Serbian PM Vučić received the Chamber’s award for improving the investment environment during 2014, on the grounds that the government created the most favourable conditions for attracting foreign investments in the Balkans.

The event was also attended by other ambassadors and international companies operating in Serbia.

10.12.2014

National Day of the Republic of Korea The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Belgrade and the country’s newly appointed ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Lee Do-hoon, organised a reception to mark the National Day of the Republic of Korea at the city’s Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Korean National Foundation Day – Gaecheonjeol – is normally celebrated on 3rd October, when, according to medieval notes, the “grandson of heaven”, Dangun Wanggeom, founded Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, in 2333 BC. This year marks 25 years of the establishing of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Belgrade. This silver anniversary was marked with numerous events, the most reflective of which was the first Korean film festival to be held in Belgrade.

H.E. GIUSEPPE MANZO addresses guests

H.E. LEE DO-HOON and H.E. ANGEL DIMITROV, Bulgarian Ambassador to Serbia

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Prime minister ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ received the Chamber’s award presented by ANDREA SIMONCELLI, President of the Italian-Serbian Chamber

11. 12. 2014

Birthday of Emperor Akihito Celebrated The Crystal Ballroom of Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel provided the venue for a ceremonial reception to celebrate the 81st birthday of Emperor Akihito, the 125th consecutive emperor according to the traditional Japanese hereditary system.

Following renditions of the Japanese and Serbian national anthems by the female Barili Choir from Požarevac, guests were addressed by H.E. Masafumi Kuroki, Ambassador of Japan to Serbia, who expressed satisfaction with the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.

With tempura, sushi and sake, members of the Sakura no Ki Daiko Serbia brought the spirit of Japan with the song “Matsuri/Feast”, performed on traditional Japanese taiko drums.

The reception was followed by an exhibition, providing members of the government, representatives of the diplomatic corps and other high officials.

FREDERIC COIN, President of the Executive Board Societe Generale Banka Serbia and H.E. CHRISTER ASP, Swedish Ambassador

16.12.2014

Award for Corporate Volunteering

Taiko drummers group Sakura no Ki Daiko Serbia

APOLOGY

H.E. MASAFUMI KUROKI and City Ladies Choir Barili

H.E. Swedish Ambassador Christer Asp hosted an award ceremony at the Swedish Ambassadorial Residence in Belgrade for the 2014 Corporate Volunteering Award, which is this year dedicated to flood relief activities and is awarded within the framework of the international conference on corporate social responsibility, CSR Forum.

This year’s winners include the companies Erste Bank, Societe Generale Serbia, Coca-Cola system, Philip Morris, Lafarge, GSK, Straus Adriatic, Eurobank, Delta Holding and Meris.

Ambassador Asp personally presented the awards to representatives of these companies.

This event was organised by the CSR Forum and SMart kolektiv.

The CorD magazine editorial team would like to extend its apologies to the Embassy of Lebanon in Serbia for an error in the item featuring the Lebanese Embassy’s reception to mark the 71st anniversary of the independence of Lebanon, published in the faces & places section on page 55 of CorD #122

Lebanese Independence Day

PRINCESS KATHERINE KARAĐORĐEVIĆ, Speaker of the Serbian Assembly, MAJA GOJKOVIĆ, Ambassador and Mrs JABER and CROWN-PRINCE ALEXANDER KARAĐORĐEVIĆ

H.E. TOUFIC JABER and ORLANDO ANTONIONI, Apostolic Nuncio of the Vatican to Serbia

To mark the 71st anniversary of the independence of Lebanon, the Lebanese Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Toufic Jaber, hosted a ceremonial reception at Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel, along with his wife and staff of the country’s diplomatic mission.

The reception was attended by numerous representatives of the diplomatic corps, members of the Serbian Government and numerous public figures from politics, entertainment and cultural life, business people and representatives of the Lebanese community in Serbia.

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Serbian

MEDICAL CARE S P E C I A L

E D I T I O N

2015

FOREWORD

PRIVATE MEDICAL PRACTICE ON THE RISE

Greater Comfort,

FASTER DIAGNOSIS Private medical practice in Serbia has been in existence for over 20 years and during this period many privately-run medical facilities and private surgeries have found their rightful place in society, earning great reputations and winning the trust of patients

A

n issue that has been troubling private medical professionals and patients for years is why Serbia’s private healthcare sector has been marginalised and why its inclusion in the state healthcare system has been so slow.

The very few previous experiences of integrating private healthcare into the Serbian state sector have shown good results. Ten years ago the state health sector signed a contract with privately-run dialysis centres. By so doing, the state no longer had to secure additional investments in building and equipping the dialysis facilities crucial for the well-being of kidney patients who, at the same time, are now able to receive the latest health services, which cost the same as they would if provided by the state health sector. A similar arrangement was also concluded with a privately-run hyperbaric chamber. All of this has led us to believe that the relevant state authorities should take previous experiences into consideration.

What are the advantages of private

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healthcare? First and foremost, doctors who are more focused on patients’ health issues and where diagnosis takes much less time. Many private healthcare facilities have prearranged programmes that immediately recognise patients’ needs, like executive check-ups or health centres specialising in the treatment of specific diseases, where an entire team of medical professionals can

Doctors in the private health sector are more focused on patients’ health issues and diagnosis takes much less time conduct all of the required check-ups in just a day. This is impossible in Serbia’s existing state-run healthcare system.

Professor Rajko Hrvačević, MD, who is also the director of the Fresenius Medical Care Company, believes changes are possible and necessary. He says that the society's transition into capitalism inevitably implies equal treatment of the public and private healthcare systems.

“This kind of integration is necessary for at least two reasons. Firstly, patients need to have improved access to health services, i.e. waiting lists need to be shorter. Secondly, patients have to be able to choose health facilities and doctors for themselves, which entails applying the kind of competition principles that always result in improved quality of health services. Of course, all of the aforementioned is a process that requires time, and it is up to us to decide how long this process will last,” says Professor Hrvačević.

He also mentions the limited financial resources available to the National Health Insurance Fund, adding that the amount of money allocated to healthcare in Serbia is significantly smaller than in other countries, including neighbouring states. With this in mind, he proposes the compiling of a list of the most urgent health services, including those rendered by private medical facilities, in accordance with current waiting lists.

“First and foremost, this list should include health services which, if post-

poned, could lead to a negative outcome for the patient. These services should be treated as a priority. The goal is to use all available resources, whether state or private, to provide our citizens with timely, high quality health services. In order to reach this goal, we have to rely on the experiences of other countries that have already been through the transition process. Private-public partnership could certainly become one of the modalities for applicable to certain segments of healthcare,” suggests Professor Hrvačević.

His opinion is shared by Dr Jasmina

tor as an aid or partner to the state sector. For instance, state hospitals with long waiting lists could sign contracts with private medical facilities possessing both the capacity and the staff to treat patients currently on these waiting lists. Moreover, if the state has no

Patients need to have improved access to health services and to be able to choose health facilities and doctors for themselves. Waiting lists need to be shorter

sector. Quoting the Association’s mission, Dr Predrag Stojičić says that the private health sector should have its ID, i.e. a detailed description of all private medical facilities in the country, the number of services they provide and the number of patients they treat. He adds that this would provide a precise overview of the private healthcare sector in Serbia and its potential.

“Also, the existing regulation should be improved, as it is not conducive with private medical facilities. The Association also plans to set up a network that will list the segments in which

FIGURES - There are close to 1,500 private healthcare facilities in Serbia.

- These facilities have 3,732 doctors.

- If we include nurses in this number, estimates suggest that the Serbian private healthcare sector employs over 10,000 health workers.

- Data compiled by the World Health Organisation shows that 38% of all the money spent on health services in Serbia goes to the private sector.

- Of a total of 45 MRI scanners in Serbia, 23 are located in private medical facilities.

- It has been estimated that 25% of all medical scanners in the country are located in private medical facilities.

Knežević from the Bel Medic General Hospital. She says that the money from the state healthcare budget should work for the patient, regardless of where they receive their treatment – be that a private or state health facility. She also suggests a compromise solution whereby the National Health Insurance Fund would pay private facilities the same money as it would pay state facilities for the services rendered, while the patient can cover the price difference or take out a private medical insurance policy.

“There are many segments in which we can engage the private health sec-

intention of investing in or developing certain healthcare segments in the foreseeable future, this opportunity should be offered to the private sector, which could be interested in taking it on and finding an appropriate solution.

There are many opportunities for cooperation and complementing each other, especially in areas like medical treatments for the elderly or cataract surgery,” adds Dr Knežević.

The establishment of the Association of Serbian Private Healthcare Providers in September was an important step towards improving the private healthcare

the private sector could help the state, while providing the best possible health services to the people of Serbia. Our long-term goal is to integrate private medical facilities and private practices into the Serbian healthcare system,” notes Dr Stojičić.

The Association of Serbian Private Healthcare Providers was established in September 2014 with the goal of regulating the private healthcare sector, reviewing the sector’s capacity and investigating the possibilities of integrating the private healthcare sector into the Serbian healthcare system. •

We wish you happy holidays!

GENERAL HOSPITAL Opposite to the Red Star Stadium 87, Koste Jovanovica Str.

OUT-PATIENT CLINIC Opposite to the Belgrade Fair 1, Viktora Igoa Str.

WORKING HOURS 00-24h

HEALTH CENTER Opposite to the New Belgrade Municipality 1, Palmira Toljatija Str.

www.belmedic.rs • +381 11 309 1000 • belmedic@belmedic.com

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MILENA GAJOVIĆ SHRESTHA

INTERVIEW

CEO of MediGroup

The Private Medical Institution that Handles

THE MOST PATIENTS - We expect concrete steps. For example, that a patient has his chosen doctor in a private health centre and that those employed with doctors in private health centres having state sick leave cover.

MediGroup offers the widest range of medical services at primary and secondary levels of healthcare

M

ediGroup is the first and only private healthcare platform in Serbia, with a total of six private health institutions: the MediGroup General Hospital, the Jevremova Specialist Gynaecological Hospital and Maternity Clinic, the Miloš Clinic and Special Hospital for Ophthalmology and three health centres: DZ Jedro and two Dr Ristić clinics, in New Belgrade and on Banovo Brdo.

• How does MediGroup stand at the end of 2014 compared to other private health institutions?

- Overall in the private health sector, MediGroup offers the widest range of medical services at primary and secondary levels of healthcare, has the largest number of patients per year and carries out the largest number of medical procedures.

• What do you expect from the health minister’s announcement on the introduction of the private system to state health, specifically in primary healthcare?

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• Do you introduce new services and procedures?

- MediGroup hospital has a modern, fully equipped diagnostic centre that offers comprehensive and precise radiological diagnoses: magnetic resonance imaging power of 1.5 T, 64-slice CT-scanner – a device that also performs virtual colonoscopy and bronchoscopy procedures. ULTIMAX RTG is one of the most advanced X-ray machines in the world, while there is also the latest generation mammography unit, in which the level of radiation is reduced to a minimum. Besides a complete polyclinic department with more than 20 specialisations, 24/7 patients can access the hospital, internal medicine department, general surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics. For surgery there is an operating block with three very modern operating rooms, intensive and semi-intensive care and suites with more than 20 beds.

Operating rooms are equipped with

Although the provision of healthcare is generally considered the responsibility of the state in any country, private capital and expertise are increasingly considered welcome as sources of assistance that serve to introduce efficiency and innovation highly sophisticated equipment for the implementation of classic and laparoscopy surgical interventions of all kinds.

In addition to developed abdominal and thoracic surgery, we place a special emphasis on the Centre for Obesity and Bariatric Surgery, as well as the Oncology Centre. In the field of ortho-

paedics, we conduct endoprosthesis operations of the hip, knees, shoulders, ankle surgery, arthroscopic joint surgery and spinal deformity surgery. We handle many urological operations, including the non-invasive modern ESWL method of breaking up kidney stones without X-ray radiation, then ENT surgery for children and adults.

In the field of IVF, as of late the Jevremova MediGroup member introduced new embryo transfer methods, which lead to an increase in the success of the method. Last year the success rate of clinical pregnancies via embryo transfer reached around 48%.

Programme THS – Total Health Screening is a unique programme that includes a full health check and diagnostic procedures in one day, in just six hours, enabling the patient to take detailed control over their overall health.

In order to meet the needs of our patients, we offered the “9 on 9” programme, which enables the complete management of the pregnancy, prenatal preparation, complete delivery with post-natal nursing for mothers and babies, with the option of paying in several instalments.

• What part of MediGroup functions the best? Has the maternity department fulfilled expectations when it comes to the number of deliveries?

- We are proud of the MediGroup maternity clinic, where more than 240 deliveries were carried out during 2014.

The Maternity Ward of the MediGroup General Hospital is equipped with modern birthing rooms, an operating room to perform Caesarean sections, as well as an intensive care unit and a neonatology unit that are ready for any situation.

• What are MediGroup’s future plans?

- Further development plans are focused on the creation of new health facilities in the primary healthcare segment. •

INTERVIEW

Professor BERISLAV VEKIĆ

MD, Serbian State Secretary for Health

Serbian Healthcare on the

RIGHT TRACK

Very soon there will be no obstacles to patients with national health insurance receiving treatment at private medical facilities

R

eforming the healthcare system and engaging private healthcare in the state system are the most urgent tasks to be handled by the Ministry of Health next year. We are busy modifying the Law on Healthcare and Health Insurance, and we are executing various changes and amendments. We are also awaiting an ordinance to be finished so that we can set clear and precise conditions to be fulfilled by private medical facilities in order for them to be engaged in the healthcare system – says Professor Berislav Vekić, MD, Serbian State Secretary for Health at the Ministry of Health, speaking to CorD. According to Dr Vekić, the health ministry will consult all relevant as-

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sociations of private medical facilities on these matters. These facilities will have to comply with certain standards relating to venues and staff.

If these standards are met and agreement is reached on prices of medical services that are going to be the same as at state facilities, then there will be no obstacles to patients with national health insurance receiving treatment at private medical facilities.

- Soon after that, patients will be able to use diagnostic capacities of private medical facilities, like MRI and scanners. In this way, we are raising the quality of service, boosting fair competition and eliminating or shortening waiting lists which are one of the main corruption sources. Waiting lists are deemed tools of corruption, because certain patients are paying to gain an advantage over others.

• Do you expect problems regarding prices of medical services?

- I expect private medical facilities to accept the prices that are applicable to the state healthcare sector, as that would bring them more patients and continuity in their work. These plans will begin

• Which waiting lists are currently the longest?

- Appointment lists in Serbia are just as long as in any other country. In regards to certain medical sectors, like orthopaedics, ophthalmology, diagnostic procedures (scanner and MRI), interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery and radiotherapy, our plan is to review the situation in each of them by the end of 2014 and hopefully conclude that we have shortened waiting lists by 10%. The activities pertaining to cutting waiting lists are being handled by our most renowned professors and academics. There are several factors that resulted in over 70,000 people in Serbia being on waiting lists today.

These include lack of appropriate equipment, delaying public acquisitions and insufficient medical accommodation.

Appointment lists in Serbia are just as long as they are in any other country. Our plan is to review the situation in each of them to be realised in 2015. That's one of our priorities. We are also embarking on reform of primary healthcare, i.e. enabling patients to be seen by private medical practitioners, namely GPs, paediatricians and gynaecologists.

• When do you expect to include other levels of healthcare?

• You have also announced the reform of primary healthcare.

of Serbia's healthcare system.

- Yes, that's right. The goal of this reform is to help doctors at local health centres, who sometimes perform up to 60 check-ups a day. The quality of their work is compromised when there is such a huge workload. By completing and implementing an IT system which these doctors will use, they will see a lower number of patients with chronic diseases (like chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes or chronic cardiovascular diseases). The plan is for these patients’ medication to be waiting for them at pharmacies that are to be linked through the same network with health centres and secondary/tertiary healthcare facilities.

• What else will this reform entail?

- Reforming primary healthcare entails everything done in health centres.

Also, we are planning to re-establish diabetes counselling and bring patients with mental disorders closer to their local communities, which were outlined in the 2007 Strategy for Mental Health Protection and the Law on Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders from May 2013. The Ministry of Health conducted the psychiatric care reform together with the OSCE mission in Serbia.

• How far ahead are you in terms of implementing this IT system?

- Hardware and software have already been installed in 158 health centres under the DILS project. Over half of all secondary healthcare facilities have already been installed, or will be fitted, with software thanks to the EU-IHIS project.

Both of these are steps towards completing computerisation of the Republic

The Rare Diseases Foundation has received the first requests.

Professional commissions at the state level will determine what constitutes an urgent case

• Could you tell us something about the work done by the Rare Diseases Foundation?

- The Foundation is now operational and all administrative procedures have been completed. The Serbian government has transferred the first million euros to the Foundation, while many companies and donors have donated funds too.

The Foundation has received the first requests, while professional commis

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sions at the state level will determine what constitutes an urgent case. The Foundation will provide funds for children who need treatment abroad, providing no such treatment is available in Serbia. The parents of children with rare diseases need huge amounts of money for medical treatment and medical treatment abroad is the only chance for these children. I think we are going to steer clear of practices that have been agitating people so far, like a lack of transparency in the flow of money that has been raised.

• What accomplishment are you proudest of in 2014?

- In the last seven months the newly appointed officials at the Ministry of Health have carried out changes and amendments to the Law on Healthcare and Health Insurance, while the Law on Medical Documentation and Health Records, which was written 35 years ago, was finally ratified. We have established the Rare Diseases Foundation.

We have delivered 35 top quality ambulances to various medical facilities across the Republic of Serbia. In accordance with the standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO), we have taken measures to prevent the Ebola virus from spreading. During the floods in Serbia this May we undertook all required measures to prevent an epidemic of infectious disease and we were commended by the WHO for that. In September and October we started working on applications for EU grants under projects like TAIEX, Twinning and IPA. We have written a specialisation and sub-specialisation ordinance. A Cardiovascular and Transplantation Surgery Clinic was opened in Niš. We have reconstruct-

ed several clinics and hospital units, including the Children’s Unit at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Clinical Centre of Serbia. We have approved a sig-

and nurses, and a month ago, following a decision by the Government’s committee for new jobs, another 343 doctors and 333 medical nurses and medical technicians were hired.

• Could you reveal some of the plans

We are going to continue improving and finalising installation of the IT system. This is our priority in 2015 nificant number of specialisations compared to previous years – 1,207, to be precise – of which 1,207 are specialisations, 220 are sub-specialisations, 833 are general specialisations, 7 are pharmaceutical specialisations, 127 are dentistry specialisations and 13 are health associate specialisations. Close to 1,000 new jobs were also created. Several months ago we gave approval to hire 312 doctors

for 2015?

- We are going to continue improving and finalising installation of the IT system. This is our priority in 2015. We are also close to purchasing a Gamma Knife and we expect a Gamma Knife centre to open in Belgrade in the first quarter of next year. Another important decision to make was the purchase of five linear accelerators with money from a World Bank loan. Once we buy these, the waiting lists for radiation therapy are going to be shortened. We also need to embark on reforming primary healthcare and engaging private healthcare in the state system, which we discussed earlier. We are also going to work on completing the Law on Medicines, the Law on Infectious Diseases, the Law on Controlled Psychoactive Substances and the Law on Precursors.

We are also awaited by amendments to the Law on Health Insurance, devising new staffing plans for 2015, developing and extending transplantation and transfusion programmes, defining more efficient implementation of the national screening programme, continuation of activities on shortening waiting lists and activities on establishing departments for palliative care in general hospitals.

We are certainly going to continue fighting corruption in healthcare, with zero tolerance. These are just some of the activities the Ministry of Health will engage in during 2015. •

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Serbian MEDICAL CARE

Niš is well underway. The clinical centre in Belgrade remains the biggest challenge. We plan to launch a tender in February 2015 and start works in June 2015. We hope there will be no complaints lodged regarding tenders and that no tenders will be annulled, which would slow down our plans. The blueprint of reconstruction of the Clinical Centre of Serbia is completed and is currently being reviewed by CIP (Institute of Transportation) and the Interior Ministry's Fire Protection Department,” says Professor Berislav Vekić.

www.jgl.hr

INTERVIEW

PROFESSOR VIŠESLAV HADŽI-TANOVIĆ

MD, President of the Association of Private Physicians of Serbia

Patients Increasingly

GO PRIVATE

Private healthcare professionals have progressed significantly in the last few years. Top doctors and medical professors have continued working in the private sector after retiring

“P

rivate healthcare in Serbia today can offer patients some of the best health services around, as most private physicians in Serbia are renowned worldwide and the quality of medical equipment here complies with the highest EU standards. Patient rights are observed strictly and patients get top notch healthcare for their money whenever they want it, provided by a doctor of their choice, nationwide,” says Professor Višeslav Hadži-Tanović, MD, President of the Association of Private Physicians of Serbia, speaking at the beginning of his interview for CorD.

• What does the private healthcare sector in Serbia comprise?

- This is a system that runs parallel to the staterun health sector and has been developing independently in line with free market principles, namely those of supply and demand. The sector comprises doctor’s offices, clinics, hospitals, diagnostic centres and laboratories, where patients can receive all sorts of check-ups, diagnostic methods, therapies and operations, including neurosurgical procedures. Cardiologists and internists dominate the sector, which is understandable considering Serbia is the third country in the world when it comes to the number of cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. Private gynaecologists carry out over 50% of the total number of check-ups because female patients like to have their own personal gynaecologists that they can reach at a moment’s notice. This applies to obstetricians too.

• What about surgery?

- Plastic surgery – namely facelifts, Rhinoplasty and Otoplasty, breast and lip silicone augmentation, and stomach and buttock lifts – is the most

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Serbian MEDICAL CARE

popular, followed by eye clinics where patients can undergo all sorts of vision correction procedures and lens replacement. Private hospitals also carry out orthopaedic surgery, such as hip and knee replacements and post-trauma surgery. Surgical clinics carry out endoscopic hernia surgeries, tumour removal surgery, liver surgery and urological surgery.

• What would you say about the quality private healthcare sector staff?

- Private healthcare professionals have progressed significantly in the last few years, since many top physicians from the state sector have crossed over into private healthcare for various reasons, including better pay and because

The Association of Private Physicians of Serbia was established 24 years ago and has been promoting private healthcare in Serbia successfully ever since top doctors and medical professors have continued working in the private sector after retiring. Patients were quick to notice this progress and the number of those using private healthcare services began to grow.

• Can patients afford these services?

- Unfortunately, patients pay twice for the same health service – the first time when they pay for the mandatory state health insurance and the second time when they visit a private medical practitioner. The reason for this is the fact that a patient’s money doesn’t work for them and there is no will for the state health sector to hire

private physicians. This constitutes a direct violation of a patient’s rights, in the sense that they cannot use the services of private doctors for the money they pay for state health insurance.

The current health minister did accept some of our suggestions and proposed primary healthcare physicians, i.e. general practitioners, paediatricians and gynaecologists, be made available through state healthcare insurance. The Association of Private Physicians of Serbia lends its support to this initiative, but at the same time we also want faster changes to happen.

• How is this issue regulated in the EU? - In every single EU country private health services are covered by state healthcare insurance.

There are different formats that have all been performing well. We shouldn’t be “reinventing the wheel”, but rather implementing one of the healthcare systems that is most applicable to the economic potential of our country. If we are talking about the most developed EU countries, I would like to mention the healthcare systems in Germany and France, and there are also those in nearby countries like Slovenia and Macedonia.

• So what do you suggest?

- My suggestion to the Serbian government and the health minister would be to invite the best EU healthcare experts to come to Serbia and give them the task of putting together a health system that can provide Serbian citizens with the opportunity to choose one of several mandatory health insurance policies, as well as to be given the right to choose their doctor, be that a private or state doctor.

• What are the tangible benefits of including private healthcare in the state health insurance system and the overall healthcare sys-

tem in Serbia?

- It’s a win-win situation. Patients will be able to choose a private or state doctor. There will be no waiting lists and, considering that competition will be fair, patients will be seen by their chosen doctor whenever they need. In such a set-up, private doctors will get more patients, while the doctors in the state healthcare sector will be stimulated to work in the private sector, as that would provide them with a higher overall income.

• How can the state benefit from that?

- The state will benefit through spending much less on the health care sector, be it through reducing investments or by purchasing less new equipment since the equipment needed already exists in the private sector. The most important thing is that corruption in the Serbian healthcare system will be reduced. Corruption is currently at an alarmingly high level. The number of nonmedical health workers will be reduced by 30% which, again, will reduce the burden on the state healthcare budget. The biggest obstacle to all of this actually being implemented is bureaucracy, which stalls any kind of reform.

• What is the best way to accredit health facilities?

- The best model of accreditation for private healthcare facilities is offered by private healthcare insurance, because whoever gives money and creates jobs is the one that sets the

The state will benefit through spending much less on the healthcare sector, be it through reducing investments or by purchasing less new equipment, since the equipment needed already exists in the private sector rules of the game. Since we are talking about private insurance here, contracts will only be offered to those medical facilities which have the highest professional, organisational and structural standards. The fallen state healthcare sector in Serbia needs to be reformed immediately, since – according to the Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI) – Serbia dropped to last

(34th) place in the EU in the last two years.

• What are the most pressing issues?

- My suggestion to the Serbian government is to change the healthcare system urgently. That is crucial for reforming healthcare in Serbia overall. The current state health insurance is monopolistic at its core; it hasn’t changed at all for the last 70 years and is the biggest obstacle to development of Serbian healthcare. It is dragging Serbian healthcare down with it. We need to change it immediately. Let’s use positive experiences from other countries and let’s apply the best possible model, while engaging the managers from the best health insurance sectors in the EU. Secondly, I would like the Serbian government to urgently create a better environment that would be conducive to establishing and using private health insurance. This would significantly disencumber the Serbian healthcare budget. Similar formats are being used in regional countries. If we start implementing the proposed reforms to Serbian healthcare right now, and if we start changing the system, I am confident we will not be ranked last in the EU next year. •

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Serbian MEDICAL CARE

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UK DIGITAL MEDIA FORECAST 2015

Over 50% of Ad Spend

Goes Digital

More than 50% of £15.7bln (€19.9bln) advertiser spend will go on digital and online media in 2015 beating print, cinema, buses, billboards, TV and radio combined. Digital media spending is set to overtake the advertising spend on print media, TV, radio, cinema, billboards, posters, buses

Advertisement “Display has been the main source of UK he UK is predicted to become the spend per head,” he said. “And there has aldigital ad growth since 2013, and we [see] first country in the world where ways been a high level of credit and debthis lead growing wider in 2015,” said Group more than half of all advertisit card use [online]. On top of that Britons M’s Smith. “The longer-term question is ing spend goes to digital media – have rapidly embraced smartphone and whether online will wrest [display] investthanks to a national obsession with gadgtablet use, all of which has fuelled where ment from network TV with the ease it did ets, social media and online shopping. advertisers spend their money.” from print. This is a fairer fight.”

Group M, the worldwide media buying According to Group M paid search adGroup M is forecasting that more than arm of the market services company WPP, vertising will grow to €5.5bln, with about €203,4mln in print advertising will be lost has forecast that the total UK ad market 29% of that on mobile devices, most of from the UK newspaper market next year. will hit €19.9bln in 2015. Within this online which is hoovered up by Google, which has National newspaper advertising is prespend is forecast to grow 12.7% year-onmore than 90% share of the UK market. dicted to decline 8.3% to €1,15bln next year, year to break the €10,1bln mark, making the The fastest-growing part of the internet and €102mln year-on-year fall.

UK the first in which more than £1 Regional newspapers are exin every £2 of ad spend will go on pected to see a 9.1% fall in print Group M has forecast that the total digital media. ad revenues to €1,04bln, a fall of The next closest countries €104,2mln year-on-year.

UK ad market will hit €19.9bln in 2015. likely to reach the milestone are Smith said that the bestWithin this online spend is forecast to Sweden (47% of total ad spend case scenario is that newspagrow 12.7% year-on-year to break the will be digital), Denmark (43%), per brands are able to make up €10,1bln mark, making the UK the first Australia (42%) and Norway (40%). about 20% of the lost print adNext year more money will vertising money from growing in which more than £1 in every £2 of ad be spent on internet advertising digital revenues. spend will go on digital media than in traditional media such as “We estimate that 10% of newspapers, magazines, TV, cinenewsbrand revenue is digima, radio, and billboards, posters and busmarket is display advertising, which is foretal in 2014,” said Smith. “Advertiser dees combined. cast to surge 20% next year to €3,4bln, with mand for online display is rising strongly.

Adam Smith, futures director at Group 39% of that mobile display advertising.

Video, social and mobile are the main drivM, said that Britons are gadget-obsessed Facebook is a huge beneficiary of disers. Newsbrands must therefore align with and advertisers follow such media usage. play ad spend, with eMarketer forecasting these as best they can.” ■ “The British are the most enthusiasthat the UK operation will make more than

Mark Sweney, TheGuardian tic online shoppers in the world in terms of €914mln next year.

T

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Self portrait by Aleksandar Antonijevic courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada.

INTERVIEW

Beauty of Human

Form

The 5th ‘Vip is Inviting’ prize, presented by the Belgrade Dance Festival and Vip Mobile to Aleksandar Antonijević, provides reason enough to interview this prominent dancer based in Canada, who received this award in recognition of his entire oeuvre and as affirmation of Serbian ballet abroad

ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIĆ BALLET PRINCIPAL OF THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA

A

leksandar Antonijević, winner of the 5th Vip is Inviting March the audience in Belgrade (Progres Galery) and Novi Sad prize, will be introduced in Serbia not only as a suc(Serbian National Theatre) will have a chance to enjoy his imagcessful dancer, but also as a photographer, which is es, “the breath-taking beauty of the human form in its perfechis “second love”. Born in Požarevac, he completed tion; and the dramatic beauty of its ability to reach the absolute Ballet School in Novi Sad and left his native country as a young limits of its potential,” as art critic Peter Clothier wrote for Art dancer. His first engagement was at the Zurich Opera Ballet and News about Antonijević’s recent work. this June, after 25 years, he finished his outstanding career as Principal Dancer at The National Ballet of Canada. He also per■ After Montreal-based Gradimir Pankov won last year’s Vip is Inviting prize, it has been announced formed as a guest star of the English that Aleksandar Antonijević, principle National Ballet, Inoue Ballet Japan, I performed only once in ballet dancer based in Toronto, will Ballet Santiago of Chile and PACT Serbia, which looking back be the next laureate. How do you feel Ballet South Africa. He performed clasabout this award? sical and modern pieces equally, had now is mind boggling. I - After such a long and successful camain roles in Giselle, Onegin, Sleeping was overwhelmed with the reer it is wonderful to be recognised Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Manon... response of the audiences and appreciated for the many years in Balanchine’s choreographies, inand how many people who of dedication to this difficult art form. cluding the ballets Apollo, Diamonds and Rubies from Jewels, Theme and I hadn’t seen in many, many This award is that much more meaningful for me as it comes from the Variations and Stravinsky Violin years came to see me dance country in which I was born, raised and Concerto. He highlights his collaboeducated. There were not many inration with contemporary choreograstances where I had contact of any kind with theatres in Serbia, phers, especially Wayne McGregor in his masterpiece Chroma. so I hope this year will bring a bit of awareness of my internaIn 2011 Antonijević won the Rolex First award for his role as the tional journey on the art scene, for people that would not have White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. had a chance to see me dance.

Over the last five years he has reinvented himself as a photographer. He is enchanted with two dimensions of fine art pho■ You left the country as very young dancer. Was it difficult to tography and expressions of composition and light that bring build a career abroad? emotion and something “hidden”. He explains that he is influ- As an artist, one has to push aside feelings of longing for one’s enced strongly by the Dutch masters, Rodin’s sculpture and family and friends and truly embark on a road of searching for Mapplethorpe’s nudes, in shaping his artistic voice. After sevthe right environment for professional development and a chalen solo exhibitions in notable Toronto Galleries, from 13th to 31st

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123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

usually the big dramatic parts in which you were required to be a fully formed artist and to draw upon your life experiences with love, hurt, joy and pain, in order to be able to even consider inhabiting these characters. Works of John Cranco and Ashton and MacMillan come to mind. Onegin is probably one of my favourites, but also Des Grieux in Manon and Beliaev in A Month In the Country, as well as Oberon in The Dream. I was also lucky to work with today’s leading contemporary masters of choreography and the one I have to single out is Wayne McGregor and his masterpiece Chroma. He blew me away with his approach to dance in a highly intellectual way, where he demanded of us more in terms of why and how we dance through our brains, than physically speaking, even though it is an extremely challenging ballet in terms of stamina and technique. William Forsyth was also a particularly dear choreographer for me.

■ You also performed in the UK, Japan, South America and South Africa. Could you compare between those countries?

Where did you feel most at home?

- Travelling around the world gives you perhaps a superficial view of how those societies think and relate to art, but nevertheless I think that Japan has a strong infatuation with this art form. They are fanatical in their adoration of dancers and ballet. Britain, of course, can be a bit intimidating, as the history ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC in Onegin. Photo by Sian Richards courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada is long and rich and you are trying to continue in the footsteps lenging institution in which to achieve the most from the talof legends of British dance. South Africa and South America are ent you were given. Of course, it was not easy to leave my home young and are still learning what ballet is and what it stands and the security I was accustomed to, but in reality there really for, but they do enjoy seeing it, in my opinion. As I mentioned was no doubt in my mind that I would leave. It just so happened previously, I do love the repertoire from The Royal Ballet in that I left immediately after I served a London, so maybe that would be my 12-month army service in Belgrade and favourite place where I danced, and if I ended at the Zurich Opera Ballet and, afhad another 10 years of dancing ahead I feel that I have trained ter two seasons, at the National Ballet of me I would seriously consider joinmy “eye” for 30 some of Canada, where I spent the next 23 ing that company. years through my ballet years of my career.

Ballet is an extremely demanding ■ We know that you performed at the training and the transition National Theatre in Belgrade as a life, but I was lucky that my talent was from being in front of the guest. How it was to dance in front of recognised right away and literally as camera to behind was very your home audience? soon as I joined the Swiss company I natural and instinctual - In the 25 years I danced professiondanced principal and soloist roles under ally in the West I performed only once the directorship of Uwe Scholz. I was a very dedicated dancer, so even though it was difficult to build, and even more so to sustain, a high level of quality, it came naturally to me and with it came success in my home company, as well as internationally with guest engagements. In the art world you are judged on your talent and ability to perform, so in a way it didn’t matter where I came from, the success was a direct result of my artistry. I believe I would have experienced the same journey of having to prove myself had I stayed in Serbia.

■ As a member of the National Ballet of Canada for more than 20 years, you performed lead roles and worked with outstanding choreographers. What are you favourite roles?

- It is impossible to say what my favourite role is, after having danced all of the major roles in the truly huge repertoire of the National Ballet of Canada. There are so many that I can’t even remember all of them. The ones that do stand out for me are

ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by ANDREW OXENHAM

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123 January 2015 | 73

its quick success. I have been photographing for five years now and I managed to have seven solo exhibits and be represented by an important fine art gallery in Toronto. I feel that I have trained my “eye” for 30 some years through my ballet training and the transition from being in front of the camera to behind was very natural and instinctual. I am truly way more comfortable being behind the camera than I ever was in front of it. When I shoot I always make sure to express my appreciation and respect for my models, who give me full artistic freedom and trust in my visual voice.

■ What is your favourite genre in photography, we see different topics in your collections?

- My favourite subject by far is the human form and its possibilities to express and convey emotion and something “hidden” within the two dimensions. Fine art nudes are prevalent in my output, but lately I have become fascinated with portraits and capturing something subtle and true about my models.

■ Your portraits are like works of old masters. Is that the influence of Vermeer, your favourite painter?

ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Photo - Dutch masters of painting are an obsession of mine, especialby CYLLA VON TIEDEMANN courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada ly their mastery of light. In my last exin Serbia, which now, looking back, is hibition “Till We Meet Again, a love letPhotography, unlike being mind boggling. I used to visit my famiter” you can clearly see the influence of ly almost every summer, yet somehow Vermeer, my personal favourite. I would a dancer, is very personal it never happened. The biggest reason I like to think that I have a strong control and intimate… It is my art, danced in Belgrade was so that my famof light and how I use it to shape and my intellect and my life ily could see me at the top of my game influence the statement of my images. at that time, as the financial situation experience that shape the didn’t allow them to travel more of■ Is beauty in the eye of viewer; do you way I make a photo ever think about the viewer who will ten to see me perform elsewhere. I was see your works? overwhelmed with the response of the audiences and how many people I hadn’t seen in many, many years came to see me dance in Swan Lake and Don Quixote. I was told there were bus tours organised from Novi Sad and Požarevac (where I was born) to come and see the performances.

Even to this day I can’t forget how proud my family was seeing me on stage. It also meant a lot to have my dear teacher Ksenija Dinjaski, who formed me as a dancer and an artist, see the product of her dedication and excellence in major works.

■ What will you do after your career as a dancer; will you stay in ballet world, as a pedagogue or choreographer?

- It seems that the National Ballet believes in my coaching and teaching abilities and would like to have me as part of their artistic team. After such a long journey, which I just finished with my last performance on 1st June, I decided to take a year off and kind of process the last 25 years. My decision on whether I continue as a coach in the ballet world will be linked to whether or not it brings me artistic joy and fulfilment, which I need as an artist.

Passing on hard learnt knowledge does give me satisfaction, but photography does as well. We will have to wait and see...

■ You are also a very successful photographer. What brings you more joy – being in front of a camera or behind one?

- My fine art photography career has taken me by surprise in its ability to fulfil a major internal artistic hunger and also by

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123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC in Rooster. Photo by SIAN RICHARDS.Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada

www.aleksandarantonijevic.com.

- Photography, unlike being a dancer, is a very personal and intimate journey for me. I am the main “doer”, if you will, in that – from inception to execution, to post-production and display, there are no influences on how I do it. It is my art, my intellect and my life experience that shape it. So, in a way, without sounding arrogant, the feedback and how viewers interpret my art is of no influence to me. Of course, it is wonderful when people do like them, but their opinion doesn’t influence my process and desires of how to do it.

■ What will the audiences in Belgrade and Novi Sad see at the exhibition in March, when you receive the Vip is Inviting prize?

- I believe this exhibition in Belgrade and Novi Sad, which I am very excited about as a way to present myself in Serbia as a new artist, will be a kind of a mini retrospective of the last five years of my photography journey. It will be a small “slice”

My fine art photography career has taken me by surprise in its ability to fulfil a major internal artistic hunger and also by its quick success of the artistic output I have created and I believe the viewers will easily see the influence of ballet and the human form in space and painting as strong influences on my work.

■ Do you miss your country? How often you come to Serbia?

- As we all get older, I think we start looking back at our childhood and school days with sentiment and longing for the old “better” times. I do miss my family tremendously to this day and it seems it never gets easier to not have them near me. If I had more time perhaps I would be able to visit Serbia more often, but our lives just keep on getting busier and busier. ■

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123 January 2015 | 75

CHILL OUT

America’s First Vegan Butcher Shop USA THEIR FOOD IS ‘CHOLESTEROL FREE’, AND ‘PROTEIN RICH’

A vegan butcher shop sounds like an oxymoron, but “The Herbivorous Butcher’ will be setting up shop in Minneapolis – bringing meatfree meat to vegans and vegetarians in the area. They’re going to be serving a host of meatless options, including ribs, bacon, chicken, sausage and more.

Siblings Aubry and Kale Walch are the brains behind Herbivorous Butcher. They have combined their vegetarian lifestyle with their Guamanian roots, and added touches from culinary cultures from around the world to create fake meats that have the texture and flavor of real red meats.

Some of the benefits of their products include – ‘small batch from scratch’, ‘hand-crafted’, ‘cholesterol free’, and ‘protein rich’.

BAN TO USE KIM JONG UN NAME

North Korea has ordered people who share the name of leader Kim Jong Un to change their names, South Korea’s state-run KBS television reported. North Korea imposed similar bans on the use of the names of its two former leaders, Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, Kim Il Sung

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African King Living in Germany GERMANY AFRICAN KING

RULES HIS PEOPLE VIA SKYPE Togbe Ngoryifia Céphas Kosi Bansah, a.k.a King Bansah of the Hohoe, is a real African king who doesn’t believe in old-fashioned methods of governance.

He prefers to live in Germany and rules his subjects via Skype!

The 66-year-old king moved to Germany several years ago as a foreign exchange student – he fell in love with the country and decided to stay.

The coronation ceremony took place in 1992, but King Bansah decided him being a king didn’t require moving back to Africa. He still lives in Ludwigshafen, near Frankfurt, with his German wife Gabriele, where he runs a car repair garage and also finds the time to govern the 200,000 Hohoe people in southeastern Ghana.

Largest Human Christmas Tree

Football Fans Mass Brawl 'For Fun'

HONDURAS NEARLY 3,000 PEOPLE GATHERED TO SET A NEW GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

RUSSIA FOOTBALL FUN ORGANISED A MASS BRAWL

Honduras set a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Human Christmas Tree .Nearly 3,000 people gathered outside the National Presidential Palace in the capital and made the shape of a giant Christmas tree.

It included people in yellow shirts to form a star, red shirts for the tree’s ornaments and green shirts for the branches.

The previous record was set by Argentina in 2013 with 1,900 people.

The crowd cheered when the representative for Guinness Book of Records gave a plaque confirming the record.

A group of 76 Russian football fans, supporters of rival clubs Spartak Moscow and Dynamo Moscow, organised a mass brawl where they viciously beat each other .

The hooligans then incredibly hugged each other and shook hands with one another moments after delivering flurries of punches and kicks.

During the punch-up 38 people on either side launched themselves at one another in a barrage of blows. Four-minute video of the brawl has since gone viral on the internet.

The fight ends with one of the cameramen shouting “that’s it”, to the cheers of the winning side Dynamo.The victorious side are then seen helping the losing side to their feet and exchanging hugs.

One is even heard saying: “Thank you for the fight.”

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

HITLER PAINTING SELLS FOR €130,000

A watercolour painted by a young Adolf Hitler a century ago has gone under the hammer for €130,000 at an auction in the southern German city of Nuremberg.

Africa’s Little Switzerland MOROCCO THE TOWN IS LOCATED AT AN ALTITUDE OF 1,700 METRES

Ifrane is a small town and ski resort in Morocco, developed by the French in the 1930s. It is so reminiscent of the Swiss Alps that it is fondly referred to as ‘Africa’s Little Switzerland’.

The town is located at an altitude of 1,700 metres above sea level in the Middle Atlas region. Its neat red-roofed houses, blooming flower beds, lake-studded parks, and snowbound winters present a huge contrast to Morocco’s narrow, maze like streets and old, earth-colored buildings. It is truly a wonder that such lush greenery, cedar and oak forests, and pasturelands can even exist in the midst of the hot and dry climate of the region.

Grumpy Cat Earned €75 Million USA GRUMPY CAT HAS EARNED MORE THAN

HOLLYWOOD STARS Grumpy cat, America’s sour-faced feline star, has become the first animal to rack up a €75 million fortune, more than a big-name Hollywood stars The moggy, who shot to fame two years ago in a YouTube video that got 15.7 million views, has a film out, Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.She also appears in adverts, on gift items, and has a best-selling book in 15 languages.

The cat has earned more than Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Matt Damon and even Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey.

Grumpy’s owner, 28-year-old Tabatha Bundesen from Morristown, Arizona, said: ““What she’s achieved in such a short time is unimaginable and absolutely mind-blowing.

I was able to quit my job as a waitress within days of her first appearance on social media and the phone simply hasn’t stopped ringing since.”

Man Voluntarily Becomes Human Punching Bag CHINA RISING MONEY FOR LEUKEMIA-STRICKEN SON

In order to raise money for the treatment of his leukemiastricken son, a man in China turned himself into a human punching bag, offering passers-by in Beijing the chance to hit him in exchange for 10 yuan ($1.6).

The young father was first spotted on the streets of Beijing on November 27, wearing a t-shirt that read ” human punching bag, 10 yuan per punch”. In front of him there was a donation box covered with hospital diagnosis certificates that proved his son’s illness.

Voyageurs GENEVA ILLUMINATED

HUMAN FIGURES MADE BY SCULPTED CHICKEN WIRE An element of the installation “Voyageurs” by French artist Cedric Le Borgne is suspended at Place Bel Air in Geneva. The installation is part of the Geneva Lux Festival presenting four art installations in the town city centre until January 11, 2015.

Paris-born artist Cedric Le Borgne creates these illuminated human figures using delicately sculpted chicken wire. The figures are often installed in highly visible public places, suspended in the air in parks or in busy urban centers.

Cédric Le Borgne invites everyone to view daily life in a fresh way, to rise up, to dream. By abolishing barriers, his work of exploring spaces is sensitive, and free of formal constraints.

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 77

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR’S PRESENTS

Gifts for Your Leading Ladies F or those who have not yet purchased a gift for their wife, girlfriend, mother, sister or female friend, in the days ahead you are entering the zone when you should make a decision while you still can.

Finding the right gift for the most important woman in your life does not have to be as complicated as it first seems. Also,

never use the excuse that “she already has everything”, because you will never hear that from a woman, and with that you only reveal your own lack of creativity unnecessarily.

Check out our suggestions and ideas and don’t forget to offer a few nice words and wishes when giving your gifts – sometimes they are worth as much as the gift.

01 02

03 04

07

05 06

01.

OVERSIZED MONOCHROME CARDIGAN €158

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02.

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO SILK SCARF €315

03.

CASHMERE STRIPE BEANIE HAT €290

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

04.

FRENCH CONNECTION ROUND NECK JUMPER €90

05.

OVAL PEARL NECKLACE BRACELET EARRINGS SET €155

06. 07.

MICHAEL KORS SATCHEL €395

DIOR BACKSTAGE BOX AUTUMN WINTER 2014 €85

08 09

12 10

13

11

16 14 15

08.

JAEGER CASHMERE CARDIGAN €185

09. 10. 11.

SHIMMER FLEECE ROBE €50

CHANEL N°5 PARFUM €185

HELVETICA LEATHER STRAP WATCH €370

12.

MARJOLAINE SHORT SILK ROBE €290

13.

GOLD PLATED CRYSTAL BOW BROOCH €155

14. 15.

‘DAKOTA' SLIPPER €80

DENTS SILKLINED LEATHER GLOVES €85

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

16.

DIP DYE WOOL BLEND PASHMINA €78

123 January 2015 | 79

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR’S PRESENTS

Gifts that Will Delight Your Nearest & Dearest the Most W e wait the whole year to do our Christmas and New Year shopping, but when the time comes to make our purchases we are usually in a dilemma; what are you buying for whom and which gift will most delight your loved ones.

Our advice is not to buy a gift if you are not sure that it is precisely what your loved one needs. Otherwise the gift will end

up somewhere in a closet or a drawer, labelled “unwanted gift”.

And that is certainly not what you want.

That’s why we decide that, this festive season, we will recommend some gifts with the slightest chance of mistake. If you have a husband, brother, boyfriend, son, father, cousin, grandfather, grandson or uncle to shop for, we’re pretty sure we’ve got you covered.

01 02

05 06 03 04

01.

POLO RALPH LAUREN WOOL SWEATER €145

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02.

03.

MESSENGER BAG

LANVIN CUFFLINKS

€400

€315

04.

VERTU ASTER LAGOON CALF-LEATHER MOBILE PHONE €5,270

123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

05.

STEVE MCQUEEN SHIRT €75

06.

TWEED IPAD CASE, GREEN €50

07.

CASHMERE V-NECK JUMPER €99

08.

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO SILK TIE €150

07

08

09 10

13 11 12

16 14 15

09. 10.

SHORT RAIN JACKET €95

ACTIVITY TRACKING €80

11.

NEVILLE 3 PIECE SHAVING SET €185

12.

POLO RALPH LAUREN LEATHER BELT €55

13.

POLO RALPH LAUREN HAT AND GLOVE SET €120

14.

SAINT LAURENT CHECK SCARF €295

15.

APPLE IPAD MINI 2 WIFI + CELLULAR 128GB SILVER €675

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

16.

BUSINESS LEATHER BEAUTY CASE €440

123 January 2015 | 81

FASHION

For Days of Rest and PRICE:

€880

Belstaff 'Fadden' Coated Cotton Parka A water-repellent coating furthers the practicality of a smart cotton parka cast in a faded, military -inspired hue.

Relaxation THE HOLIDAYS ARE AHEAD OF US, with days of rest and relaxation. Try to

forget the responsibilities that await you in 2015, and devote all your free time to yourself, your family and your friends. Regardless of whether you will spend New Year's Eve and the first days of the new year in Serbia, or whether you are anywhere else in the world, try to avoid crowds and talking about BUSINESS, POLITICS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT BURDENS YOU in your everyday life.

With this in mind, you should dress in loose-fitting clothes, comfortable shoes, walk on fresh air and don’t forget that your next break is six months away.

Bottega Veneta Wool Knitted Sweater Bottega Veneta's grey sweater is cut for a relaxed, slightly longer silhouette that oozes elegance when styled with a chic leather pencil skirt and heels.

Price: €465

Rick Owens Leather Jacket Renowned for butter-soft leather and an urbane aesthetic, this jacket is cut to sit close to the body, with ribbed panels along each sleeve for aroundthe-clock ease.

Price: €2,159

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123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

Michael Kors 'Darci' Crystal Bezel Leather Strap Watch, Sparkling crystals pave the bezel of a classically styled watch designed with a slim profile and a rich leather strap.

Price: €157

PRICE:

€1,257

Burberry Wool Military Coat A lightweight technical wool pea coat with a detachable quilted warmer. Cut for a feminine fit, the coat has a defined waist and military pleats at the back.

Chloé Shoulder Bag The clash of soft and grainy leather is showcased on a cream-hued palette, oozing genteel elegance.

Carry it next to tailored separates and oversize cocoon coats for a seamless ensemble.

Price: €1,475

'Dot Gold & Silver' Chain Bracelet Shiny 18-karat gold dots pattern the clasp of a beautiful woven bracelet handcrafted in sterling silver.

Price: €383

PRICE:

€1,208

Stripe Long Breasted Coat

Carter Wool Sweater This sweater is made from lightweight and thin wool, and designed for an oversized fit that's emphasised by the dropped shoulders and ribbed sleeves.

Price: €319

Two-tone stripes add prepschool appeal to a long, slim-fit coat cut from a hearty woolinfused blend. Military-inspired details, including epaulets and a buttoned half-belt.

Accessories Saint Laurent Suede Ankle Boots Coated in black suede, the sleek pointed toe, block heel and embroidered leather strap are minimal details typical of the brand.

PRICE:

€669

Missioni Knitted Wool Hat

PRICE:

€505

Cashmere and Silk Scarf This cashmere and silk scarf is finely cut with fringed edges and features the season's iconic heart motif print.

Let the red lift an allblack ensemble.

Embrace the cold weather with chic accessories like this Missoni hat. A weightless knitted wool that offers warmth, wear it low on the head for laid-back style.

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

PRICE:

€89

123 January 2015 | 83

FASHION

PRICE:

€481

Cahmere V-Neck Cardigan Crafted from luxuriously soft garment-dyed cashmere, this slim-fitting cardigan has been specially washed to give it a faded look and is finished with genuine horn buttons.

Marc By Marc Jacobs Arch Logo Hoody Finished with a cosy drawstring hood, wear under a collegiate-inspired varsity jacket to complete the cool and casual look.

Price: €215 PRICE:

€321

Toggle ButtonLeather Jacket

Accessories

This handsome jacket fibre fleece lining, ribbed cuffs and hem. The toggle buttons and a zip fastening add a cool contemporary element to the design.

Price: €890

Cashmere V-Neck Sweater This timeless V-neck sweater is crafted from ultra-soft cashmere and is a superb layering piece for the cooler months.

'Beckman' Boot

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Watch

Classic work design defines a structured boot crafted from premium leather for wearing versatility and grounded by a hearty lug sole for durable style.

PRICE:

€275

PRICE:

€625

Mulberry Antony Cross Body Bag Expertly crafted with a natural leather exterior, suede-lined interior and secured with a Postman’s lock.

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123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore 42mm Chronograph Watch is a sophisticated, self-winding timepiece with an incisive design and a wealth of opulent detailing.

PRICE:

€24,000

'Royal Cord' ID Bracelet

Calfskin Belt

Plaid Blanket Scarf

Sterling silver. Leather. 8 1/2" length; 12mm wide (size Large). Magnetic clasp.

By David Yurman.

A rich double-Gancini buckle fronts a sleek belt formed from buttery-soft calfskin.

Pieced wool panels across the chest and down the sleeves accentuate a rugged lightweight jacket insulated with channel and squarequilted down fill in the body.

PRICE: PRICE:

€482

€356

PRICE:

€968 PRICE:

€80

'Aconcagua' Water Repellent Down Vest A channel-quilted vest is insulated with lofty 550 -fill goose down for lightweight core warmth any day of the year.

Alexander McQueen Triangle Scarf A central design of large and small skulls is surrounded by a complementary multitrim border. Throw over casual shirts to achieve a timeless look. Price: €334

PRICE:

€180

Burberry Trench Coat With Warmer This Burberry in chestnut brown cotton gabardine, comes complete with a cosy virgin wool warmer in the brand’s seasonal blanket check.

Price: €2,015

Quilted Interlock Vest This quilted vest is crafted from smooth cotton interlock and features contrasting trim and multiple utility pockets. Adjustable snapped tabs at the sides. Double-vented hem with contrasting trim.

Fully lined. cordeditorial@cma.rs |

123 January 2015 | 85

PROFILE

Listen to the

Media BRANISLAV JORDANOV

Marketing Manager at LG Electronics Serbia

Besides all the ways we can advertise, we attach great importance to communication through PR, because a good PR article or piece, as the result of product testing, can have a much bigger and stronger impact on users than paid advertising space

W

hen I speak about the way I view the world of adverconvinced that it is important not only for connoisseurs, but altising and how I perceive my own professional deso a much wider audience, to be able to better visualize the actual velopment, I cannot but mention the fact that my experience. Building customer trust towards a brand is a long and first serious job after college was in the print mecomplex process, but a process that delivers real results, and a prodia. Of course, this helped me immensely when it came to develcess in which the most important aspects are proven to quality and oping an easier and simpler way of understanding how the media honesty in work. Technology is assuming an increasingly important itself functions, but also helped me understand how best to inteplace in our lives, implying constant innovation, and articles covgrate the expectations of readers, editors ering this aspect contribute greatly to inand companies. creasing understanding.

My experience to date as a marketI consider that a man should spend There’s nothing more ing manager has shown me that suchis whole life improving and learning, inspiring for a marketing cess, in addition to creative approaches, not only because the time we live in demanager than to work requires a good advertising plan and demands that, but also from a personal detailed planning, very important and close sire to constantly be a better version of for a company that has cooperation with the media, ensuring oneself. Professional development is just spent more than 50 years another way to upgrade one’s own pertheir thorough understanding and an unintroducing the optimistic sonality, which can certainly only help in derstanding of the needs of their readers.

But in order to better understand the melife. Marketing, like most professions, is message that life is really dia, it is vital to continually maintain and kind of craft, but it is also a complex good to the everyday lives ascience, cultivate good relations, primarily with so I recently realised that it was of users around the world time to check current knowledge and exthe press, and to learn to listen to what they need in order to better address their perience and, of course, learn something readers’ needs. Your marketing plan can new. Thus I returned to the school bench be perfect, but if you do not keep abreast of what is current at and enrolled in master studies. that time, the actual message you want to send may not reach I’m currently juggling on several fronts, between student, parthe intended audience. ent and professional life, while also trying to find time to train, visThat’s why, besides all the ways we can advertise, we attach it friends and catch a moment to enjoy good wine and a book. So, great importance to communication through PR, because I believe at the moment it is quite time-consuming to be in my position, but a good PR article or piece, as the result of product testing, can have it is also very meaningful and full of life, because when you have a much bigger and stronger impact on users than paid advertising someone to rely on, a family that supports you and colleagues who space. Fans of technology certainly like to see an interesting, witunderstand you, everything seems much simpler and more realisty advertisement or a good photo of a product in an ad, but I am tic to achieve. ■

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123 January 2015 | www.cordmagazine.com

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