CorD Magazine No.99

Mutual Trust and SUPPORT

H.E. Mr. Armando Varricchio

Italian Ambassador to Serbia

Developing New Principles

The Future is in the Left

Ove Fredheim

Nada Popović Perišić

CEO Telenor Serbia

Dean of the Faculty of Media and Communications

december ‘12 / ISSUE No.

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Time to Move

Forward

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COVER Mr Ivica Dačić, Serbian Prime Minister

Time to Move Forward

December 2012

contents

Regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations are among the postulates of the European Union. Therefore we should be more focused on the common interest to both countries in the future, such as cooperation, especially in economy, to make better lives for our citizens, instead of dealing with the issues Page 8 around which we will certainly not agree.

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Acquittal Blows Away the Reputation of the Hague Tribunal

48

Ljubica Gojgić, RTV B92 reporter

8

Forbes: The Best Countries for Business

Time to Move Forward

Mr Ivica Dačić, Serbian Prime Minister

14 16

52

Global diary

58

Mutual Trust and SUPPORT Developing New Principles

62

Ove Fredheim, CEO Telenor Serbia

24

The Future is in the Left

66

Xi Jinping new leader of China Communist Party

68

40

Insuring the Future

graphic designer: Meri Ivanovska, m.ivanovska@aim.rs

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christen Bradley Farmer, c.farmer@aim.rs CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Mirjana Jovanović, Radmila Stanković, Steve MacKenzie, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Sonja Ćirić PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović, Časlav Vukojičić TRANSLATION: Snežana Bjelotomić PROJECT MANAGERS: Biljana Dević, b.devic@aim.rs Nataša Nešić, n.nesic@aim.rs Svetlana Okanović, s.okanovic@aim.rs Jelena Bulić, j.bulic@aim.rs Nataša Popović, n.popovic@aim.rs

GENERAL MANAGER: Ivan Novčić i.novcic@aim.rs FINANCIAL DIRECTOR: Ana Besedić a.besedic@aim.rs editorial MANAGER: Tanja Banković t.bankovic@aim.rs

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

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ruža Ristanović r.ristanovic@aim.rs

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Andrea Simoncelli, President and CEO Delta Generali Osiguranje

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Serbian Media Strategy

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Nada Popović Perišić, Dean of the Faculty of Media and Communications

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F ACES & places Zvonko Bogdan, singer, composer, ethnomusicologist

H.E. Mr. Armando Varricchio, Italian Ambassador to Serbia

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Techno Talk

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comment

Acquittal Blows Away the Reputation of the

Hague Tribunal

Regional connections are created by new generations on new grounds where the opinion about the Hague Tribunal never plays the crucial role. It would be devastating if this sentence passed by the Tribunal, now that the Tribunal’s reputation has been ’blown away’ by ‘The Storm’, fuels the new intolerance in the region

Ljubica Gojgić, RTV B92 reporter garded. What he saw was systematic looting of Serbian houses, hauling away of the usable furniture and burning down whatever could not be used. Official statistics shows that the number of exiled people who have returned to their homes 17 years since ‘Storm’ is negligible.

O

n the Hague Tribunal’s 20th anniversary, a sentence passed

The Appeals Chamber wrote its opinion (of a mere 50 pages) which

by the highest tribunal has destroyed the pillars on which the

said that there was no evidence of the attacks being selective; there

tribunal was built– punishing criminals for their crimes, justice

was no evidence of the population running away from the grenades

for victims and reconciliation in the region.

that were showering the towns; there was no evidence of the plan for

The decision made by the Appeals Chamber to acquit Croatian

banishing the Serbs. Gotovina, Markač, Tuđman, Croatian state offi-

Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač of any responsibility for

cials: none were found guilty. The silent partners of the Croatian state

the crimes committed during ‘Operation Storm’ in Krajina in 1995, has

and army, the US generals, were also not guilty. Many people believe

caused the biggest outrage in the Serbian public so far, re-opened the

that it was these generals who were the main ’trump cards’ used by the

wounds of the victims of that crime and was severely criticized by the

defence teams of Gotovina and Markač.

experts who, so far, had been very reserved about objecting to any decisions made by the Tribunal.

The findings of the final sentencing are grotesque, says a member of the Appeals Chamber, Judge Fausto Pocar, adding that the sentence

The Appeals Chamber has completely shredded the unanimous

“went against any sense of justice.” His colleague, Carmel Agius, won-

sentence passed by the Trial Chamber which sentenced Gotovina

ders if the appeal judges should be allowed to remain in their current

and Markač to 24 and 18 years in prison respectively after it had

positions after the acquittal. The sentence came as a disappointment

been ascertained that they had participated in creating and execut-

to Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz too.

ing a plan devised by top Croatian officials to use the fight against the army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina to completely banish the Serbs from the territory of Krajina, or “to change the demographic composition of the local population,” in the words of former Croatian President Franjo Tuđman. The plan had been developed in detail at the meeting on the Brioni Islands, only a few days be-

When the President of the Tribunal and the Appeals Chamber

The findings of the final sentencing are grotesque, says a member of the Appeals Chamber, Judge Fausto Pocar, adding that the sentence “went against any sense of justice”

fore Storm actually commenced, and the transcripts of the meeting, as well as audio recordings of the creators of Storm

Theodor Meron, submits his report on the Tribunal at the UN Security

were used as evidence in the trial.

Council’s session in December, he is probably going to be asked how

For years, the Office of the Prosecutor wanted to see Franjo

is the sentence concordant with the usual practices of the Tribunal and

Tuđman appear before the Tribunal for crimes committed during

what standards were used in differentiating exile and deportation, and

Storm, but he died before the investigation was even finished. The

how did the Tribunal decide on responsibility. A public debate in the UN

trial of Gotovina and Markač was considered by many as the trial of

General Assembly, meant to be held next April, will be an opportunity

Tuđman and other Croatian officials, since these two Croatian generals

to speak out about the political contamination of the court which, prior

were considered their extended arm.

to sentencing Gotovina and Markač, also disregarded adopted proce-

According to data compiled by the Hague Prosecution Office, at

dures and made legally inexplicable decisions. It would be good to hear

least 160 civilians were murdered and tens of thousands banished

from the Tribunal’s principals – Carla Del Ponte or Geoffrey Nice - who

from their homes by Croatian army and police. Lord David Owen called

have already been very vocal about this.

‘Storm’ the biggest ethnic cleansing conducted during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.

The acquittal of Gotovina and Markač will not help reconciliation in the region. Luckily, the reconciliation process is no longer affected by

Yet, the Appeals Chamber, with a marginal majority of 3 to 2, ac-

the sentences passed by the Hague Tribunal. Regional connections are

quitted the generals by reducing the events associated with ‘Storm’ to

created by new generations on new grounds where the opinion about

a banal debate about whether the Croatian artillery was precise or not

the Hague Tribunal never plays a crucial role. It would devastating if this

and what was their margin of error. Testimony given by a UN officer,

sentence passed by the Tribunal, now that the Tribunal’s reputation

shocked to the core by what he saw upon arriving to Knin, was disre-

has been blown away by ‘Storm’, fuels new intolerance in the region. ■

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

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99 December 2012 | 7

interview Mr Ivica DaÄ?ić, Serbian Prime Minister

Time to Move

Forward Regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations are among the postulates of the European Union. Therefore we should be more focused on the common interest to both countries in the future, such as cooperation, especially in economy, to make better lives for our citizens, instead of dealing with the issues around which we will certainly not agree

T 8 |

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

he dialogue with Hashim Thaci, mediated by the European Union, always has the same goal, and it is the normalization of relations and discussions on possible solutions to the everyday problems of all citizens of Kosovo.

We should build a good relationship between the Albanian and Serbian sides, and I think that this can be achieved through our focus on the need for cooperation for economic development and infrastructure construction.

Police

I have consistently worked on the depoliticisation of the police, which was evident during my first mandate.

EU

Opening membership talks with the EU is something that Serbia wants to get moving as soon as possible.

Kosovo

The Kosovo problem was not created overnight, and it is not realistic for it to be solved overnight.

The current political situation for Serbia is not tion of the European standards and procedures. Our the most difficult to remember, but it is one of the ultimate goal is a better and quality of life for the citimost complex. The start of the dialogue between zens of Serbia.

Prime Ministers Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaci on the complicated relations between Belgrade and ■ Is it to be expected that that the judgment of Pristina, the acquittal of Croatian Generals Ante Gothe Croatian generals could affect relations in the region? tovina and Mladen Markac by the ICTY, creates the possibility of complicating relations between Bel- The judgment of the Croatian generals, in any case, grade and Zagreb.

The Serbian government announced that its relationship with The Hague tribunal will be solely “technical” in future.

The tension that currently exists in regional relations among neighbouring countries has not been quite so intense for a long time. It is on the Serbian government and the national leadership to channel this tension and to articulate it. All the more so since issues such as regional relationships and ICTY cooperation are closely connected to Serbia’s goal of EU accession. According to reactions from the government these days, notably from Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, it seems that Belgrade has chosen a calm approach when it comes to the latIvica Dačić and Catherine Ashton est upheavals in the political arena and the commitment of the governOne of Serbia’s national priorities is ment not to endanger any of the planned strategic objectives. accession to the European Union, and we ■ Recently, you spoke with Ms Catherine Ashton. What was the EU reaction over The Hague’s judgment?

will continue to do all we can in the future to complete the internal reforms underway and to continue with the adoption of the European standards and procedures

- The European Union has taken note of The Hague’s court decision. In normal situations, one would not comment on these court decisions. However, this is obviously a political decision that is based on some political motives rather than on legal facts. Otherwise, how could such a gap between first and second instance decisions be explained?

■ How to proceed with further cooperation between Serbia and the EU?

- One of Serbia’s state and national priorities is accession to the European Union, and we will continue to do all we can in the future to complete the internal reforms underway and to continue with the adop-

has an impact on regional relations. The message of this judgment - that no one is responsible for the expulsion of 200,000 Serbs from Croatia and the death of hundreds of people - is a question of an elementary sense of justice and conveys a sense that not all victims are equally valuable. The judgment will certainly have a negative impact, above all, on the hardinitiated process of reconciliation as it opens wounds which have not fully healed.

■ Will the decision on solely technical cooperation with The Hague jeopardize the chance of obtaining a date for accession talks, given that cooperacordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 9

tion with the ICTY has long been one of the key conditions for the beginning of the story about Serbia’s EU Association Agreement?

- Serbia will continue as before, with all of its obligations involved with cooperation with the ICTY, and we do not consider that it could further jeopardize the continuation of European integration.

■ What exactly does technical cooperation with The Hague tribunal mean?

- Technical cooperation with The Hague Tribunal

that after the liberation of Croatian generals we can do more than that.

■ It looks like, for now, that the judgment could disrupt Serbo-Croat relations at almost all levels, from cultural, interpersonal relations to economic and political plans. Is there a possibility of a threat of serious disruption of relationships?

- This judgment reopened some old wounds that have not healed entirely and call into question the withdrawal of the genocide lawsuit, which all inevitably indicates the need to overcome problems and seek the points that unite us, not divide us.

■ Can we and should we afford to allow further deterioration of relations with Croatia in this political moment?

- Relationships, as we all know, never depend only on one side. From our point of view we do not think that this judgment has anything to do with the Croatian state and nation. It was purely the position of The Hague Tribunal and, more particularly, one council of The Hague Tribunal. However, we consider the glorification of the two generals and their proclamation as national heroes to be inappropriate. We ask ourselves: what message does this send to all Serbs who remained living in Croatia, as well as many Serbs, citizens of Croatia, still living as refugees in Serbia?

Technical cooperation with The Hague Tribunal means that we will meet all international legal obligations that we must, such as the submission of documents required by judicial processes and the like

10 |

means that we will meet all international legal obligations that we must, such as the submission of documents required by judicial processes and the like.

However, we cannot develop other forms of cooperation with the Hague Tribunal which would imply our accepting of the judicial institution as the best example of international justice to be promoted and praised. There will not,,therefore, be seminars and conferences devoted to The Hague Tribunal in Serbia in which members of the government praise what we expected, and we did not get - equal satisfaction to Serbian victims of violent breakup of the former Yugoslavia.. I do not expect that such an attitude can jeopardize in any way the continuation of the European integration process, since we will fulfil all our legal obligations. I do not believe anyone expected

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

■ What kind of cooperation do you expect with Croatia in the future?

- Cooperation with Croatia, of course, depends also on the willingness of Croatia.

We had a slowdown in cooperation in the past period, however, regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations are among the postulates of the European Union of which Croatia will soon become a member. Therefore we should be more focused on the common interest to both countries in the future, such as cooperation, especially in economy, to make better lives for our citizens, instead of dealing with the issues around which we will certainly not agree.

■ You are supposed to meet again with Hashim Thaci during this month. What will be the topics of discussion during this the third meeting?

- The dialogue with Hashim Thaci, mediated by the European Union, always has the same goal, and it is

the normalization of relations and discussions on possible solutions to the everyday problems of all citizens of Kosovo. We should build a good relationship between the Albanian and Serbian sides, and I think that this can be achieved through our focus on the need for cooperation for economic development and infrastructure construction. Only in this way will the citizens live better and tensions decrease. I believe that Kosovo Albanians will then begin to perceive a different potential cooperation with Belgrade and, in time, will show willingness for the historic compromise between two nations.

my predecessor remained in their positions. The depoliticisation and professionalization of the police mainly depend on police officials. They know that I require them to work hard, to react on time, and they have to inform me on time about the main activities undertaken. I do not involve myself in the decision-making during the operating procedure.

Certainly there are people who feel they cannot meet the requirements of a higher professional level or within a European context. Or some of them do not want to learn new things and change the

■ Does the idea which you recently mentioned, of the joint construction of the Nis-Pristina motorway or any other form of economic cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo really exist?

- Of course it exists. In the end, it all comes down to how citizens live. It is both in our interest as well as the interest of Pristina to have better infrastructure, roads, railways, and anything else that would contribute to economic growth, investment and the improvement of living standards.

■ How do you see the future of general economic relations between Serbia and Kosovo?

- I believe that you should always look for a common economic inRelationships, as we all know, never depend terest and be very practical in these matters. only on one side. We, for our part, do not think

that this judgment has anything to do with

■ Thaci was very categorithe Croatian state and nation; it was purely cal in an interview for the ‘Jutarnji list’, saying that the position of The Hague Tribunal and, more he is tired of the Serbian particularly, one council of The Hague Tribunal politics of Kosovo’s secession. What is your position on that? way the police is managed. Those kinds of people

- We clearly stated our position so far. If the question of secession and independence of Kosovo were done by a deal, we would have no need for a dialogue. The status of the Serbian community in the north and in the south is a crucial issue for us.

■ This is your second mandate as the head of the Ministry of Interior. According to media speculation, the influences of different political parties are at work within the ministry. Do you have any knowledge of that?

- I have consistently worked on the depoliticisation of the police, which was evident during my first mandate. All senior police executives appointed by

attempt to find political mentors represented in all parts of the administration. The reforms are going well and in the long run I am completely confident in their success.

■ One of your biggest complaints relates to administrative procedures and bureaucracy which inhibits the entry of new investors. What will the government do to remove this problem which has last for almost a decade?

- Slow bureaucracy has long been a problem that exists and is related to the reform of public administration in general. Now the government has started to address this problem in a comprehensive cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 11

that we have fulfilled the political criteria cited in way. Among other problems, bureaucracy and slow last December’s European Council conclusions on procedures provide a good opportunity for corrupSerbia, namely, the “normalization of relations tion, and there is the biggest problem. We started with Pristine” and therefore, we deserve to get a operationally to work with the most relevant issues start date for negotiations. of corruption cases. Simultaneously we have startAfter the opening ed activities on a new of negotiations, we strategy for the fight have a long way to go against corruption, towards full memberwhich should answer to the question ship, during which of which parts of the the reforms will conadministration are tinue. But we believe deliberately delaying that we have met the the administrative ackey conditions for opening of negotiations. In addition, it is necessary to continue tions. The process of with the project of dialogue with Pristi“cutting regulations” na has been started at to eliminate unnecesthe highest political levels. We are ready to sary procedures and implement the agreeshorten those which are still needed. ment on regional repAlso, whenever posresentation and intesible, the principle grated administrative of a “single-window” crossings, although should be applied, we do not think that so that citizens and it was negotiated or business people may achieved in the best turn to a single point After the opening of negotiations, way by the previous of contact, while the The prowe have a long way to go towards government. administration will cess of dialogue has full [EU] membership, during circulate the necstarted, moving away from the standstill essary documents which the reforms will continue. was to the detwithout sending citiBut we believe that we have met which zens running to mulriment of Serbia. But the key conditions for opening of the problems should tiple addresses. be solved, and we negotiations have shown a willing■ You said that on the initiative of Sweden and Italy, eight EU counness to do it. We believe that the time has come to tries are lobbying for Serbia to receive provisional move forward in European integration. start date for negotiations in March. You mentioned the changed and constructive image of the country as a reason for this. What has helped to a change of that image?

12 |

- The issue of opening membership talks with the EU is something that Serbia wants to get moving as soon as possible. This primarily involves the implementation of systemic reforms and the introduction of EU standards and procedures to ensure compliance with the values of the European Union.

We believe that we have worked very hard to make changes within the system so far. We have shown that we have the will, that we can get it done and that we have people who are capable and competent to operate to the highest standards. We believe

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

■ The date of negotiations means that work is still ahead. How realistic is it that this process is going forward regardless of the negotiations with Kosovo, and what’s the plan of action, given that these two subjects are closely related?

- The Kosovo problem was not created overnight, and it is not realistic for it to be solved overnight. We think that no one can require this from us. It is not realistic to end the story about Kosovo without an agreement with Serbia. We are ready to discuss everything, and I think that this is a process that should go in parallel with negotiations on membership. It would be very wrong to stop Serbia’s European path due to relations with Pristina. ■

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 13

Hearts

global diary

“We have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come.” — Barack Obama, President of the United States

Wizard Of Oz Dress Fetches $480,000 at Auction

Denmark's Gay Penguins Become Fathers

Judy Garland’s blue and white gingham dress from The Wizard Of Oz has sold for $480,000 at auction

In what the Toronto Star describes as an "apparent world first," a Danish zoo's King penguin chick has two "adoptive" fathers

Julien’s Auctions said the price for the pinafore dress and white puffy-sleeved blouse which Garland wore throughout the 1939 film classic was in line with estimates from the Beverly Hills

Buckingham Palace Rejected Queen’s Image Helen Mirren won an Oscar and widespread acclaim for her sympathetic portrayal of the monarch in the film, The Queen

auction house, but below the sky-high figures paid last year for Hollywood costumes worn

by Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.

The buyer of the Judy Garland dress, made by MGM costume designer Adrian, was not identified.

Prices have soared in recent years for top Hollywood costumes. Marilyn Monroe’s white “subway dress” from the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch sold for $4.6 million last year and Audrey Hepburn’s Ascot dress from My Fair Lady fetched $3.7 million.

Low-water and Low-energy Vertical Farm

So when Dame Helen Mirren agreed to take up the mantle again in a new West End production, the play was expected to receive the royal seal of approval.

But The Audience, a new work based on the Queen’s weekly meetings with her prime ministers, has been met with opposition within royal circles.While the play is believed to portray the Queen in an overwhelmingly positive light, courtiers have objected to her image being used for the production.

The play’s designers created an image featuring a profile of the Queen wearing the Diamond Diadem, silhouetted against the door of Number 10 Downing Street, to be used in promotional material for the production which opens next year.

But when the image was submitted to Buckingham Palace for approval last month, it was rejected.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “We ask companies not to use the Queen’s image in their advertising or promotional material.

We felt the use of the Queen’s portrait for this play breached this code and suggested they might like to use a different image. It had nothing to do with the play itself.”

for low-carbon compact farming could prove vital in the future.

Japanese company Daiwa House Industry has already offered its Agri-Cube hydroponic unit, and now the Sky Greens vertical farm in Singapore is the world’s first low-water, low-energy urban food production space.

Singapore’s Sky Greens vertical farm is a compact solution to low-impact food production With an ever-growing global population and ever-diminishing natural resources, solutions 14 |

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

Hoping to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign food, the garden can produce 500kg of vegetables per day in the 120 nine-meter aluminium towers that make up the farm. The system is powered by hydraulics, which rotate the shelves in order to save on land, of which there is a scarcity in the mostly urban Singapore. The whole farm is located in a greenhouse, which maintains the conditions required for vegetables to grow all year round. The farm is able to produce leafy greens such as Chinese cabbage, lettuce, spinach, nai bai and bayam.

After a female penguin abandoned one of her eggs, zoologists at the Odense Zoo decided to see how two male penguins would handle the egg. As it turns out, they were “natural parents.” “ King penguins mix it between the male and female.

One stands with the egg while the other goes to feed and then they shift,” zoologist Nina Christensen is quoted as saying.

“It was the same with this pair.

They both incubated the egg.”

Odense Zoo’s penguins aren’t the first “gay” couple to become parents, even though they are a first as far as King penguins are concerned.

Crusade Against the 'Bunga Bunga' Almost a year to the day after the fall of Silvio Berlusconi, a quiet revolution is under way in Italian television Once notorious for streaming a steady diet of inane game shows featuring barely-clothed showgirls, it is now under pressure to both clean up and cover up.

At the forefront of the campaign is the formidable new head of Italy’s state broadcasting body,

Ideas “In my view the British voice is sorely needed in this competition of ideas. I firmly believe Europe would be the poorer without this input to our debates. Britain should retain and regain a place at the centre of Europe.” — Wolfgang Schaüble, German finance minister

Anna Maria Tarantola (67), who has launched what some Italian commentators view as a “crusade” against the excesses of the bunga bunga era.

Mrs Tarantola whose golden coiffeur and steely resolve have invited comparisons with Mrs Thatcher, has been appointed the head of Radio Televisione Italiana,

was supported by Prime Minister Petr Necas and his conservative allies, but is opposed by many Czechs and the center-left opposition in a time of tax increases and austerity measures that the government has adopted to try to reduce the budget deficit. The measure will now go to President Vaclav Klaus, who has voiced reservations about it. But there are enough votes for the plan in the lower house of Parliament to overturn any presidential veto.

Coffin-maker Calendar 2013

by Mario Monti, the sombre technocrat who replaced the flamboyant Mr Berlusconi as prime minister last November.

Mrs Tarantola, who was educated at the British LSE and rose to become deputy director general of the Bank of Italy, called for programmes that were less “banal” and with more “values”, in an appeal with distinct overtones of the BBC’s founder Lord Reith.

A Polish firm that makes coffins has angered the Catholic church by trying to drum up business with a calendar depicting topless models posing next to its caskets

“My son had the idea of creating the company’s calendar... so that we could show something half-serious, colorful, beautiful; the beauty of Polish girls and the beauty of our coffins,” said

Zbigniew Lindner, the firm’s owner.”Why are people afraid of coffins and not of business suits, cosmetics or jewelry?”, said Zbigniew.

As well as attracting publicity for his firm, the calendar is in-

Granny Obama Celebrates White House Win

tended as a source of revenue. It is on sale on the company’s website. Anyone who places an order receives a complementary key ring in the shape of a coffin.

The Catholic church has condemned the calendar as inappropriate. A church spokesman has said that human death should be treated with solemnity and not mixed up with sex.

Most Expensive Olympic Games in History With a budget estimated at $18 billion, Sochi Games will be the most expensive Winter Olympic Games in history In Russia, everything is being built exclusively for the Games begin in February 2014. That includes not only every venue for the ice events that will be contested in a coastal cluster on

Church Restitution Plan Advances The lower house of Parliament approved last month a plan to return billions of dollars worth of property that was confiscated from churches by previous Communist governments, over-

riding a veto by the upper house.

The plan would hand churches land, property and financial compensation worth about $7 billion over a period of 30 years. It

“Bolshoy” Ice Dome

Residents of Barack Obama’s father’s home town Kogelo hoisted branches of green leaves to celebrate Obama’s win Sarah Obama, step-grandmother of President Barack Obama, speaks to the media about her reaction to Obama’s re-election, in the garden of her house in the Kenyan village of Kogelo. Waving her walking cane and smiling broadly, the step-grandmother of Barack Obama celebrated as this tiny Western Kenyan village danced and rejoiced after the US president won four more years in the White House.

Kogelo, a dirt-road town where children play soccer in bare feet, was the home of Barack Obama’s father, and claims several relatives of the president among its population. The family matriarch is Sarah Obama, who was married to the president’s late grandfather.

“Take the great job that people have given to you and lead them well,” Sarah Obama advised her relative by marriage after his victory.

“They have shown immense love to have voted for you.” Source: AP

the Black Sea, but an entire mountain resort to host the alpine events and new hotels to house the athletes, media, officials and spectators in Krasnaya Polyana. A few years ago, nothing existed in these mountains.

Now, there are ski hills, a sliding centre, ski jumps, a half-pipe tunnel and a cross-country and biathlon centre.

Not only are existing roadways being improved, but work is underway on a new rail line and highway linking the coast to the mountains, making these the most compact Games in Winter Olympic history.

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 15

interview

■ Photo: Zoran Petrović

H.E. Mr. Armando Varricchio, Italian Ambassador to Serbia

Mutual Trust and

SUPPORT

Italy has always looked benevolently on Serbia while supporting the effort invested by Belgrade in making Serbia a part of the European Union

in Serbia or Italy. That is something that is a constant. President Nikolić’s visit to Rome also has a great symbolic value since Italy is the first EU country that President Nikolić has visited. In July, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi was the first European official to visit Serbia following the formation of a new government. Italy is as important to Serbia as Serbia is to Italy.

■ During his official visit to Italy, the Serbian president met

with the top Italian officials. Judging by the statements made after the meetings, his visit was more than successful. What were the main topics of these meetings and what kind of agreements were reached?

- The visit was successful and significant not only symbolically but also because of the topics that were discussed. The officials primarily talked about our bilateral cooperation, bearing in mind that that cooperation is very intense politically, economically and culturally. The main topic was yet again validating Italian support for Serbia’s European perspective. We think that Serbia does belong in Europe, and that we should work together on Serbia’s joining the EU. As far as concrete agreements or treaties go, it wasn’t the time or the place to sign them. There is a strategic partnership between our two countries and the two governments regularly attend summits where concrete forms of cooperation are negotiated. We are currently working on setting up the third summit. The last one was held here, in Belgrade, on March 8, while the topic of the next intergovernmental summit will be on specific agreements.

■ Your arrival to Serbia coincided with a more dynamic politi-

I

n an interview for CorD magazine, Italian Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Mr. Armando Varricchio talks about this, as well as political, economic and cultural cooperation and opportunities to further its development.

■ Serbia and Italy share a long tradition of good bilateral relations. In early October, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić went on his first official visit to Italy in his new role. Could we interpret that as an indication of Serbian foreign policy priorities?

- The official visit of President Nikolić is a validation of our excellent bilateral relations, based on a strategic partnership. That is really important for us, but it is also important to mention that our relations do not depend on changes of governments, whether 16 |

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

cal and economic cooperation between Serbia and Italy. What is your overall view of the relations between the two countries?

- I am very satisfied with everything that has happened in the last few years. We have been given an opportunity to build yet another ‘floor’ on the solid base that our relations are, and our goals keep on getting more ambitious. In terms of the political segment, the first summit, with the two governments in attendance, was held in 2009, and an agreement on strategic partnership was signed on that summit. In respect to the economy, a lot has been done not only in the commercial and trade segment, which has grown several times, but also about the investments made by Italian companies here in Serbia. These investments keep on multiplying. That is not only an economic indicator, but also an indication of trust that Italian companies have in your country. A lot has been done

EU

We think that Serbia does belong in Europe and we should work together on Serbia’s joining the EU.

experiences

Investing in Serbia means thinking for the long-term. Italian companies here have good experiences.

in culture too. I can say that these past years have been very dynamic, and it was my pleasure to have been able to participate in that.

■ Bearing in mind that you have been living in Belgrade for quite some time now, you have a good perspective of the Serbian take on the Kosovo issue. In your opinion, how should the Kosovo issue be resolved?

- I am confident that a mutually acceptable solution can be found. It is not up to me or the international community to determine what kind of solution that will be. That is up to the two sides to decide. The dialogue is on-going. The only role that the EU has played was to create conditions for the two sides to meet and talk about certain things. Since Belgrade and Pristina are the main participants in the process, they should be the ones to find a mutually acceptable solution. We totally trust that Serbia’s engagement, as well as efforts on the part of Prime Minister Dačić and President Nikolić, will result in finding a satisfactory solution.

dynamic years

These past years have been very dynamic, and it was my pleasure to participate in that.

The integration of the entire region is very important to us. For instance, a conference dedicated to creating a railway, road and energy integration strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian countries, promoted by Italy and the EU, took place in Brussels on November 19. This is something that we had been working on which would create political stability in the end.

■ Since the beginning of your mandate, Italy has embarked

on several large-scale projects in Serbia which have a good regional potential. How much do such projects contribute to the advancement of regional cooperation?

■ Italy is an important political partner to Serbia in the EU

accession process. Is it realistic to expect that Serbia will be given a date for the beginning of accession negotiations by spring next year?

- The EU is sympathetic to Serbia’s European perspective.

The dialogue between Belgrade and Priština is underway, as is the reform process in Serbia. I am certain that, once the European Council acknowledges the effort and the results, the EU will be willing to give Serbia the date of for the beginning of accession negotiations. Italy hopes that that it will happen sooner rather than later.

■ Considering the unfavourable regional economic situation, do you think that substantial financial assistance from the EU together with the joint regional projects implemented by Serbia and Kosovo could yield better results than the political skirmish between the two sides?

How realistic is this option?

- Developing regional cooperation is the key to creating political stability. All of us should be working on creating conditions that would facilitate economic and business development. Regional projects are very important. Prime Minister Dačić’s visit to Slovenia is also good in that respect since he discussed joint regional projects there. Also, there are important projects in the construction of infrastructure, and a very positive attitude that the Serbian government has towards such projects which could be implemented together with Kosovo. This is a positive dynamic that will subsequently create political stability or political agreement.

In respect to the economy, a lot has been done not only in the commercial and trade segment, which has grown several times, but also about the investments made by Italian companies here in Serbia - There are two important projects to mention. One is constructing infrastructure along the Belgrade-Bar route, linking Belgrade to the Adriatic Sea. This is an exceptionally important route that will facilitate Serbia’s development since this is the road that Serbian exports will take. Apart from that, there are energy projects, such as connecting Serbia to the Italian power grid. This project will lead to a higher electricity production in Serbia. The construction of the South Stream gas pipeline will start soon with a large Italian corporation, ENI, participating in the project.

■ Today, Italy is among the top three foreign investors in

Serbia. Apart from Fiat, there are also investments in the banking sector (Banca Intesa), as well as in the insurance sector (Delta Generali) on top of the investments made by Benetton, Geox and other potential investors. To the best of your knowledge, what kind of experiences have these investors had in Serbia so far? cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 17

- Italian companies have had a systemic presence in Serbia.

Both small and medium companies, which use advanced technologies, operate here. That really wouldn’t be possible if Italian companies did not believe that Serbia was a land of great opportunities. Investing in Serbia means thinking for the long-term. Italian companies here generally had good experiences. They are satisfied with the relations with local authorities and other people. It is very important for investment conditions and the business environment to keep improving. Hence, we are supporting a Serbian government initiative aimed at expediting and simplifying investment procedures. We also think that it is very important that the Serbian government has engaged itself in fighting corruption.

That is really positive and has a good influence on simplifying procedures when investing in your country.

Developing regional cooperation is the key to creating political stability. All of us should be working on creating conditions that would facilitate economic and business development ■ Bearing in mind that Italy is also battling economic crisis, what does the Italian government think about large companies leaving Italy?

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- Following his meeting with President Nikolić in Rome, President Napolitano recalled that, by operating in Serbia, Italian companies were not only positively influencing Serbia’s economic growth, but also Italian economic growth. In the integrated world that we live in, it is very important to be competitive on the market. The presence of Italian companies (in Serbia) has a positive influence on the Italian economy.

A whole system of Italian companies operates in Serbia, and these companies have never lost a contact with Italy. They keep broadening their horizons. If we are talking about Fiat, there was no relocation of production. The production line that was assembled in Kragujevac is a brand new one and hasn’t been relocated from Italy. This is the most modern Fiat production facility in the world.

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

■ What is the status of energy collaboration and agreements between Italy and Serbia, also with regard with the implementation of investments?

- A high-level technical meeting between experts from the two countries’ energy ministries took place in early November. A list of facilities that will be developed based on the existing energy treaty was put together. The Serbian government is working on devising the procedures that are required in order for the treaty to be ratified in the parliament. Once that is done, we are going to start implementing the project very quickly. I think that we can expect construction of power plants to start in spring next year. This time around, we are talking about a very important regional project that will further improve relations between the two countries.

■ Despite the economic downturn, the trade exchange be-

tween Italy and Serbia has exceeded EUR 2.2 billion, while last year’s trade grew by 15%. What economic sectors in Serbia could be successful in Italy?

- Trade relations are developing. Italian exports to Serbia have grown. In the first eight months of this year, our exports grew by 25%. We should be working on increasing Serbian exports to Italy too. A lot has been said about that this year bearing in mind that metal-processing products make up a big part of Serbian exports. However, a decline was registered in that export segment following the shutdown of some of the production of the Smederevo steelworks. We now should think about other areas with a high potential that could instigate the growth of Serbian exports. I am primarily referring to the energy sector and agriculture. I see a great untapped potential in those areas.

There is a big interest for good quality Serbian products in Italy.

■ In the last EU report on Serbia’s progress in the inte-

gration process, judicial reform and fighting crime and corruption was underlined yet again. Italy has had similar problems. What Italian experiences could Serbia use in fighting organized crime?

- I have spoken recently with your Justice Minister Nikola Selaković, and we agreed on establishing cooperation on the implementation of a series of initiatives devised by the two countries in the justice sector. On top of that, cooperation between Serbian and Italian anti-organized crimes bodies is exceptionally important. Prime Minister Dačić and Italian Interior Minister Cancellieri talked about that in Rome. The two countries have a very close cooperation in this area, both on an operative and investigative level. The relations and the collaboration between our prosecution offices are also very good. We have an extensive experience in that area that we can share with you. One of the experiences that Serbia has taken from Italy is the possibility of seizing illegally acquired assets from organized crime.

■ Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić, who has also recent-

ly visited Italy, has announced further steps in the convergence of business people from the two countries. Which direction will the convergence activities take?

- We are working on organizing a Serbian-Italian business council in early next year. I would like to underline that the business sectors of the two countries are in contact with each other, as are the two governments. It is very important to work on both of these segments. This will be an opportunity for Serbian business people to meet with their Italian counterparts and launch certain initiatives, give suggestions to their respective governments and agree on possible cooperation.

■ During Prime Minister and Interior Minister Dačić’s official visit to Italy, was there any mention of advancing cooperation in jointly fighting crime?

- What was pointed out during that visit was that the collaboration on fighting organized crime was on a very high level.

It was also underlined that there was a great cooperation in preventing violence at sporting events. This cooperation is a textbook example of good collaboration and something that other countries could copy.

cooperation. Serbs are perfectly integrated into our society and there are no problems whatsoever.

■ Scientific and cultural cooperation between Serbia and Italy takes an important place in our bilateral relations.

How can this cooperation develop further?

- The cooperation in those areas is really great. As far as the cultural cooperation goes, I think that we should give credit to our citizens. Italian culture is very present here, while there is a great interest for learning Italian language whose presence has been also growing. An agreement on cultural cooperation has been signed recently and we consider it to be very important. Scientific cooperation is also well developed. We have worked together on establishing an organization called AIS3 which establishes contacts between the scientists from the

■ The economic crisis has hit Italy too. Many Brussels of-

ficials predicted that the ‘Greek scenario’ would befall Italy. It seems that since the new government came to power, with Mario Monti at the helm, some things have been moving forward. What are the biggest challenges that the Italian government will have to overcome in the following period?

- In a few days, it will be exactly a year since we had a new government led by Prime Minister Monti. The government’s actions have been taking three directions. The first one pertains to fiscal consolidation and, this year, our budget will be in the black which is very important for restoring the trust in the market. The second task that Italian culture is very present here, while there is a the government had was fighting unemploygreat interest for learning Italian language whose ment and the third was economic growth. presence has been also growing. An agreement There are still sectors that are troublesome, on cultural cooperation has been signed recently and these are primarily those that are focused on the domestic market. We should not forand we consider it to be very important get that Italy is a big exporter and the second two countries. A great potential lies in this area. Serbia has a most industrially developed country in Europe. All of these long scientific tradition. We are also working on enabling Serthings provide Italy with an opportunity to get moving again, to improve its economy and breathe a new life into it. That’s bian scientists to participate in certain research projects in the why I think that it is virtually impossible for us to experience EU. Science is closely tied to technology, so the business comthe “Greek scenario.” We are past that. munity has decided to provide grants for Serbian researchers.

■ There are quite a few Serbs from eastern Serbia living in

■ You have been living in Belgrade for several years now.

Italy. What is their status and is Italy feeling the pressure of asylum seekers from Serbia?

Could you tell us whether you have changed your earlier opinion or views of Serbia?

- The Serbian community has been traditionally living in Trieste, Italy. This community is fully integrated in both the economic and social life of the city. There are Serbian communities in other towns too, like Vicenza, where quite a few Serbs live. There are no problems there. Italy has never had a problem with the so-called fake asylum seekers. If there are some illegal immigrants living in Italy, these are sporadic cases and that problem is usually resolved through our excellent

- I wouldn’t say that I have changed my opinion, rather that I know the Serbian people much better now. For the past years, I have had an opportunity to meet many people who have personally enriched me. I am a career diplomat, and I live here with my wife. I have lived in many countries, and I can say that being an Italian in Serbia opens many doors. If you would like me to summarize, I would say that my opinion is exceedingly positive. ■ cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 19

interview

■ Photo: Zoran Petrović

Ove Fredheim, CEO Telenor Serbia

Developing New

Principles

“From any investor’s perspective, it is very important to have a predictable future ahead of you. Especially for a foreigner, because you are bringing in your investment, your funds, resources and know-how. That’s what we are trying to communicate through the White Book this year: that predictability and transparency are what we need”

■ Despite the slow economy, Telenor Serbia has recorded growth. How did you achieve that?

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espite the overall sluggishness of the Serbian economy, Telenor Serbia is one of the rare companies that have achievedconstant growth in every area: from revenues to number of customers.Telenor is the country’s largest mobile operator, with a 43 percent market share, 3.25 million mobile subscribers, 1,118 employees and total revenues of NOK 2,911 million (2011).

Since September, Telenor Serbia has a new CEO, Ove Fredheim, who has held numerous management positions in the Telenor Group.

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

- There are, of course, many reasons. If I were to point out one key driver in this field, it would be the fact that we have continued to invest, and we are building our network and extending our coverage, reaching thereby a bigger part of the Serbian population and business community with our services. This is probably the main reason. Then, there are the supporting factors. We have captured a little more growth, so we are taking a little bigger piece of the pie.

■ You have been CEO of Telenor Serbia since Sep-

tember 1, 2012. What would you say differentiates the Serbian market from other countries in which you worked?

Dedication

I am glad to know that there’s real a dedication that I find among people doing business.

Principles

In Telenor Serbia, we have been very successful in developing new principles on how we serve our business.

- There are really positive things, I must say. On that front, I am not surprised, but glad to know that there’s real a dedication that I find among people doing business. It’s this positive, forward-looking attitude to fix challenging situations. There is a tough economic climate around us, but here I see a lot of positive things. On the other hand, it is by far the country with the highest level of bureaucracy that I’ve ever seen. The red-tape component here is not good. We are working with Serbian government officials to address this as it is a worry for us doing business here. This is slowing us down and hampering the potential positive development for the economy in Serbia. It needs to be fixed, and I think the government is aware of it and starting to work on improving the situation.

Standards

It is good that society is setting tough standards on how companies should behave.

■ At the recent Job Fair, Telenor again was among the most preferred employers. What do you think are the main reasons for that?

- Again, there are many reasons. We probably have to say that there is some fascination surrounding the service we are selling: mobile communications. Mobile communications are also included in the data connec-

■ How much of your international experience is applicable to this market considering all the obstacles you mentioned?

- All markets have their differences, but the core of our business activity here is to be a developer of mobile network operations. The basic business model is the same to a large extent. There are different types of experiences that you have when you are working with the same business model all over the world, so there are lots of them that you can reuse and improve. We are learning things here in Serbia too, and we share them with our sister business units in other countries within the Telenor family. It works both ways.

■ In terms of innovation, does the Serbian market

have the same status as any other market in which Telenor operates?

- Absolutely. Anything that we use here in Serbia we will also use somewhere else, and vice versa. For example, in Telenor Serbia, we have been very successful in developing new principles on how we serve our business.

We tend to think that our industry is only about technical innovations, but how we engage and are linked with our customers is also key and here in Telenor Serbia that is in the forefront.

■ How is implementation of the HSPA+ 42Mbps

technology in the existing Smart Network coming along?How close are you to the plan of covering 70 percent of Serbia with this technology?

- That’s done already.We are already at more than 70 percent of the population of Serbia, and expanding. So that’s another sign of our dedication to continue investing in Serbia.

In Serbia, you are educating very good university-level engineers. Where we potentially see some shortcomings is more in the area of business management tivity category. But, I think also it is about how we run our organization from the software side.

In the HR category, it is really about leadership based on values. I think that our employees see that, then they tell it to their friends, and their friends to their friends.

That’s how people get to know that Telenor Serbia is a good place to work. It is so for many reasons. We have career opportunities. We provide the Telenor family with a lot of skills, and they are well received all over the world. We have experts working on the projects; we have Telenor Serbia employees working at the Telenor headquarters in Norway. So, there is a possibility to move around in a big company, which is of course a value in its own right.

■ Telenor has been investing a lot in the further training of its employees. Big companies that operate here usually point out the fact that the Serbicordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 21

an educational system is not well adjusted to their needs. Do Serbian schools provide you with welltrained young experts?

- Having been here only for three months, I don’t know this by heart and from personal experience. But I think that some early observations can be that the basic school system has a lot of positive qualities. There is a higher level of competition among top talents. Here in Telenor, we are proud of the fact that we are an attractive employer, so I would assume that other companies are probably struggling a little more than we are. In Ser-

The red-tape component here is not good.

We are working with Serbian government officials to address this as it is a worry for our doing business here bia, you are educating very good university-level engineers. Where we potentially see some shortcomings is more in the area of business management. I think this is natural, but from what I have heard it is moving in the right direction. Also, it’s good for Serbian students to have the ambition to pursue their education abroad and then to return here to share their experiences.

■ For the past ten years, Telenor Group has been among the top performers on Dow Jones Sustainability Index. How much does corporate social responsibility improve the company’s reputation and the trust people have in it?

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- I think it’s very important to be recognized in that area. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is something we really use on the Group level. It is also important when we talk to global institutional investors because, for them, you either perform well on that index or you don’t. If you don’t, you are not on their prospect list. It really is a black and white picture. I think this is also

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

something which is appreciated by local governments and authorities; they like to see that Telenor has a clear strategy in this field. But this index is not so relevant for individual customers. Dow Jones gives the higher level view, one that sets some standards about how we work in other important areas of the CSR agenda.

■ What are the main principles that Telenor implements in CSR?

- It is a very long story, but I think we are the leading brand in all the countries where we operate. Typically, in the 95 to 98 percent awareness level about who we are, we come across as a service which is very important in everyday life for a lot of people. You always carry your mobile phone with you. Being a successful company means it is only fair to give something back to the society. We can do that through, for example, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index type of work but also through general CSR work. And we split that into two parts. It is a highly non-commercial agenda there, in what we do,for example, through the Telenor Foundation in Serbia. But let us not pretend that this is not about business. So, we want the Telenor brand to communicate that we are a responsible company and that we set standards. This we do for ourselves, for all our stakeholders around us: governments, customers, and businesses.

■ Telenor has been twice the recipient of the Virtus Award presented by the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund. Last year, you received the award in the category of ‘Long-term partnership between profit and non-profit sector’. Why is collaboration between businesses and the Serbian NGO sector important?And what direction will the Telenor Foundation take in 2013?

- I think the Telenor Foundation will continue in its current mandate and role. We are funding it financially at the same level as we have thus far. And I think that we just make sure that we have a board for that foundation that will consider all the proposals in an objective way. Because we are getting a lot of proposals, we have to deal with that in a professional way. Also, we will continue to pursue that for sure. The reason we do it is that we think it is the responsibility of a company to really give something back to the community without purely financial motives. This is why we have the Telenor Foundation.

■ Telenor also takes care about working conditions and improves them constantly. It started with the case in Bangladesh and inhumane working conditions discovered over there in 2008. What are the main principles of the company in that field?

- It started with the fact that it happened in Bangladesh.

That was not within Telenor, it was a sub-contractor.

But our first observation was that we are responsible for the entire supply chain. That’s also an extremely important principle we adhere to: we need to engage our partners, our vendors, and our sub-contractors around this agenda. We do it in order to improve society and working conditions for everybody that works with us, but also to set standards for thesociety as a whole. I think experience here is telling us this is key. Our customers do care, and you can read on the social networks these days that customers care how brands treat their sub-contractors, about how products are made. They don’t accept that people are ill-treated, in China for instance, because then they walk away from those products and don’t buy them. It is good that society is setting tough standards on how companies should behave.

very important to have a predictable future ahead of you. Especially for a foreigner, because you are bringing in your investment, your funds, resources and know-how. That’s what we are trying to communicate through the White Book this year: that predictability and transparency are what we need. We have so far received positive signals from the new government. They have been very attentive and promised to operate by many of the principles opened in the White Book. Of

■ Based on your international experience, do you think that Serbia should provide additional incentives for socially responsible companies?

- Incentives can mean a lot of different things.Sometimes they can be the carrot, but sometimes they can also be the stick. We have a combination here. I don’t think there should be direct subsidies from the state budget of Serbia for companies moving in this direction. But there can be other positive rewards, or writeoffs, for example, where you can cover an investment faster, and so on. That doesn’t cost the state budget anything. We have more to do in this field, setting the path is important for the government to find a way they can stimulate it. On the other side, I think thegovernment should set clear requirements and regulations for everybody.

■ As a member of the FIC Board of Directors, what

impressions do you get of the business environment in Serbia and, especially, the impact of The White Book?

- We are in a challenging situation when it comes to the monetary policy here, and the overall economic climate in Serbia. From any investor’s perspective, it is

I don’t think there should be direct subsidies from the state budget of Serbia for socially responsible companies course, it’s too early to say; the government is here only for a little over a hundred days and it remains to be seen what actions will be taken. But there is a dialogue, in general, and it’s positive. We will have a review of the situation next year to see what progress was made, and then we can discuss more. ■

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

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interview Nada Popović Perišić, Dean of the Faculty of Media and Communications

The Future

is in the Left

■ By Radmila Stanković ■ Photo: Zoran Petrović

As time goes by, an increasing number of people believe that Dr. Nada Popović Perišić has been one of the best culture ministers in Serbia. In acknowledging that, many public figures in the world of culture agree that, during her mandate as a member of Mirko Marjanović’s government, Dr. Popović Perišić managed to obtain funding which her successors have never been able to do so. For instance, during her term in the office (from 1994 to 1998), over 3% of the state budget went to culture. Today, this sector gets less than 1%

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fixture of the cultural scene in all of the past regimes, Jovan Ćirilov says that Nada Popović Perišić has mastered the art of dissimulation.

She was on good terms with her compatriots from the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) as much as she had to be or wanted to be, since that was in keeping with her ideology. However, she did a lot for culture, has fulfilled every single promise she gave, and, in Ćirilov’s words, managed to stay completely objective: “She never made it personal. She allocated the money from the budget to the people who deserved it and even funded projects of those artists who were publicly against her.”

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The minister will be remembered the most for a campaign called ‘It is better with culture’. Billboards and TV clips were supposed to revise the term and the place that culture occupies. The campaign was created by Saatchi & Saatchi, managed by Dragan Sakan back then. Many people were critical of using this way to fight for good cultural values, but, today, many of them have nothing but praises for the campaign.

There was another move made by the minister which also divided the public. She tried to introduce a tax on cultural trash, like, for instance, what was considered the new folk music at the time, which angered some singers. The

Solution

We are going to have to look for a new solution for the global situation. I am confident that we will have to search for this new solution among leftist ideas.

Opportunity

Women have participated in every single political or social change. That’s why I wanted to engage in politics, so that I could have an opportunity to change something.

Mobile society

For me, information and communication theory is not only the present, but also the future. We live in mobile societies which are increasingly abandoning classical education standards.

most vocal among them was a celebrity from JUL (the Yu■ How much is the left-wing thinking relevant in today’s goslav Left Party), Zorica Brunclik. Everybody knew that Europe?

Perišić was never favoured by that party.

- Badiou and Žižek are currently considered the most imThis capable and energetic woman has graduated portant philosophers in Europe. Then there is Frederick philosophy and literature, obatained a Ph.D., worked as Jameson in the US who criticizes contemporary capitalism. a proofreader of the Serbo-Croatian language at French The left is growing stronger, but you should understand universities, and was a visiting professor at the Sorbonne. that we are comparing it against a left-wing option which, She is the author of several books, and a connoisseur of at a certain point of time, had been completely suppressed. contemporary literary and philosophical trends in Europe Of course, this position is not dominant but it has become (especially France), while she has always been keenly inrelevant inasmuch as changing the way we think has beterested in and successful at women’s studies. She was also the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s ambassador to UNESCO from 1999 to 2001.

When she established the Faculty of Media and Communications six years ago, she could not have even fathomed the great interest that the study courses would provoke, especially the communications courses. As the Faculty’s dean, she hired renowned professors to teach, while some of the most respected experts from abroad are often visiting professors. A sociology expert from Ljubljana, Dr. Rastko Močnik, will teach graduate studies at the Faculty. Dr. Močnik’s name and reputation have been well-known outside the borders of the former Yugoslavia for a long time.

The last recognition that Nada Popović Perišić got was being admitted to the Serbian business club ‘Privrednik’ as one of only three female members.

Today you have a situation where come relevant. We don’t Leftist ideas have been in linear categories capitalism in many countries has think Nada’s ideological opany longer, or linear clusbeen shaken to the core by the tion since very young age. ters, as we call them toShe was an excellent studay. I believe, or rather I economic downturn would like to believe, that dent at the 5th Belgrade leftist ideas could be dominant.

Gymnasium, she was a member of the Yugoslav CommuIn the meantime, the importance of feminist ideas has nist Party, participated in youth labour actions, and was been growing, as well as the importance of minority group a strong-willed participant of the 1968 student demonideas and post-colonial studies. All of them are based on strations, while her Master’s and Ph.D. theses were about leftist thinking. left-wing options including the feminist movement which sprung up from the left-wing movement. “Leftist ideas were my choice from a very young age. Of course, the ideas ■ Do you think that the economic theories that have have been changing along with political environment, just been predominant in the last few decades have actually like the idea of a left-wing option. Today, these ideas have neutralized other ideas, including the one that we are made a comeback and are gaining momentum. In philosotalking about? phy, for instance, there is an option represented by Slavoj - Of course they have. Today you have a situation where Žižek and Alain Badiou who are trying to bring back thinkcapitalism in many countries has been shaken to the core by the economic downturn. We are going to have to look ing similar to Socialism or Communism, whatever it was for a new solution for the global situation. I am confident called, albeit in an altered version of it, while being mindful that we will have to search for this new solution among of flaws in those systems”. cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 25

leftist ideas. I am referring to the idea of social justice above all. Regardless of which system is in power, we will have to search for the solution to the crisis that has gripped the entire world in a higher degree of social justice.”

Many people say that a lot of good has been done thanks to leftist ideas in the former Yugoslavia. For instance, the position of women in society used to be much better.

I think that, in Yugoslavia, women’s issues were wellresolved in terms of law since women were absolutely equal with men. For instance, the salary for the same job was the same for women and men. However, life for a woman living in our patriarchal environment was not as

That just validates your thesis about women having very little economic power.

- Yes, but I would like to add something that can shed more light on that. I think that women don’t have enough courage or simply don’t want to do certain kind of jobs. In a conservative and patriarchal environment as ours, it is very difficult to let go of the attitude which ‘determines’ the role that women play in our culture, regardless of the law’s being on the woman’s side, as well as women having equal rights to education. Women are reluctant to take a risk and set up a business on their own. There are many reasons for that. In part, women are usually ascribed natural, classic, conventional or imposed stereotypes.

■ You have talked about how the left-wing ideas swayed you to join the SPS. What is your take on that today?

26 |

- My take on that hasn’t changed for the past twenty or so years. I was a member of the Yugoslav Communist Party, which fell apart. After that, the SPS was formed. At the time, this party seemed the closest to my ideas. That was the time when I obtained my Ph.D., which was all about women and left-wing issues. My Ph.D. thesis was called “The concept of women’s writing in contemporary French critical thought”. Following the research I conducted, my conclusion was that women were hesitant when it came to taking on responsibility. Women have participated in every single political or social change. That’s why I wanted to engage in politics, so that I could have an opportunity to change something. Laws are made by men since they make up the majority in the parliament and in other managing bodies. I have chosen, to the best of my abilities, not to let only men decide about my problems. The idea of Following the economic crisis, taking action, solidarity, and empathy is what guided the position of women all over me. I feel sad when I see that younger generations care only about personal interests and that their only goal the world is becoming very life is to amass a fortune. There is no solidarity, joint complicated, just like in our country in action and joint interest. easy as the law stated. Still, if we look at politics as an activity segment, women have managed to conquer so much, ■ Why did you decide to establish the Faculty of Media just like they conquered education, culture and healthcare and Communications and what was your model? thanks to their education.

- We live in a time of communications, and communicaFollowing the economic crisis, the position of women tions theory gives answers to all those questions that all over the world is becoming very complicated, just like philosophy, linguistics and semiotics have been askin our country. It is the economy that synthesizes all the ing throughout history. Communicology is currently the power, and I am not sure that women have conquered any broadest science, covering several scientific areas and coimportant positions in that area. The most they have done opts methodologies from those science areas. The term is to be a manager of certain departments inside large cor‘communications’ is often reduced to something simple, like media communication, which simplifies this science porations. Seldom, they are CEOs or large business owntoo much. For me, information and communication theers. Even when they do take on those roles, it is usually because they have inherited companies and factories. Toory is not only the present, but also the future. We live in mobile societies which are increasingly abandoning clasday’s economic crisis threatens to complicate the position of women even more. sical education standards since we have new relations, new technologies and new sciences emerging. In such societies, it is simply not enough to complete a journal■ Out of 44 members of the Serbian business club ism school and become a journalist afterward. You need Privrednik, only three are women, yourself included.

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

a much broader knowledge which makes it possible for a young person to do various jobs.

That’s why I have decided to start a faculty that will deal with that, and it will be modelled on a great French information and communications school: Sorbonne 4.

■ Media advisors are very much in demand on the public scene. How do you train people to be media advisors at your Faculty?

- First and foremost, advisors need to be creative, possess a detailed knowledge of the past and be able to interpret it, as well as able to properly create the present and the future. That can be achieved through a good, comprehensive and diverse education that our faculty offers.

expensive, are political campaigns expensive? How many films you can make with the money spent on those things?

I always think that not enough money is being spent on culture, and even the small amount that is being spent on it is not distributed properly. A lot could be done in a different way, and if we distribute the available money differently.

The Ministry of Culture should finally decide the priorities in culture, that is, in which cultural area we can cross borders and correspond to what has been going on in the world, while still staying true to ourselves. How should we process the fact that our main national culture institutions have been closed for years?

■ You have this interesting theory that small and poor countries like Serbia can be successful only if their population is highly educated.

- That’s right. Only well-educated people can drive society forward. They can make the necessary changes and use their knowledge towards the advancement of their country. We have between 6.5% and 7% university graduates.

In European countries, that percentage ranges between 25% and 40%, with Finland and Sweden taking the lead.

Our education strategy is aimed at increasing this percentage to 20. That is a lofty goal, which, in the current conditions, seems unattainable.

■ What happened after year 2000 when culture dropped to such a low level?

- Change of systems. A very important change. The leftwing idea promotes culture and education and that is the difference between the left and the right. CulI feel sad when I see that younger ture and education are written in bold letters generations care only about personal when you are left-wing. The change took place, interests and that their only goal in and culture became less important. I think that culture is returning to the agenda. I know life is to amass a fortune. There is no that people who see culture as an expense are solidarity, joint action and joint interest against that, but let me give you an example that refutes that – the Guča Trumpet Festival, which is a highly ■ What is your view of the Serbian political scene today profitable event, came about after Emir Kusturica’s movie and the possibility of this government’s functioning which celebrated trumpet players. I won’t get into other properly and surviving? evidence about the importance of culture which is often - My first question is whether this government will invest economically categorized. in education, since without education there is no economy.

A government that understands the fact that it needs to put education first is a government that has a future. I see that ■ Many people say that culture is expensive since the education budget is larger and that many fiscal levies it takes a lot of money to make a feature film, for inwill be abolished which gives me enough reason to be opstance. You were in a government; you knew where the timistic. The question is also how two or three governing money was being spent. Is there any truth to my first political parties can implement their ideas when one party sentence considering that we have a globally renowned is advocating left-wing ideas like the URS advocating libfilm director Emir Kusturica and not a single globally eral economy. I would love to see the SPS using its leftist renowned economy expert? ideas to do something about culture and education. I do - It’s not only Kusturica. We had Makavejev, Saša Petrović hope that the unity between the governing parties will and others. When you say that making films is expensive, I be reflected in what we call social policy, since that is the would ask you: are commercials expensive? Are billboards cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 27

number one priority in our society, out of necessity and not ideology. Life in this country has become very hard. I have listened to economy expert Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize laureate in Economics, and he also talks about the necessity of social benefits. Of course, reforms are also a necessity.

- Yes, that is true. There is no critical public opinion, just as it is true that there are strong individual interests. Maybe we would have had critical public opinion about certain social scene and you know that the new French presievents, but the issue here is dent, Francois Holland, has alwhether we would have a media ready done a lot in the social that would broadcast that opinbenefits area.

- The first thing that Holland did ion. I think that the problem lies was raise taxes on the property in the fact that there are no such of the wealthiest French citimedia. Today, they live from the market, and it is the market that zens, increase education funddetermines what they are going ing, and create new jobs, since to report about. For instance, Sarkozy, at a certain point, had we don’t have serious columndrastically reduced the number of jobs in education. During his ists whose word would mean election campaign, Francois something and whose opinions Holland talked a lot about inand attitude would be expected and respected. The Nobel Prize creasing funding for education. laureate that I mentioned earIt was logical to expect wealthy French people to complain, but lier, Paul Krugman, has been the crisis in France is so deep writing weekly columns for the that most of the people are New York Times. Everybody is aware that they need to have soeagerly awaiting his column to come out since people want to cial justice in place. see what he has to say. And the New York Times is the market.

■ What is your view of the meThere is also another seridia scene in Serbia?

- The Media Strategy, which ous issue in this area, and that entails the state’s is political passion.

The left-wing idea promotes culture relinquishing its Today, if you advoand education and that is the difference cate a certain ideolownership of media, will lead to private between the left and the right. Culture ogy or belong to a ownership. Private political tenand education are written in bold letters certain owners have their dency, you are usuwhen you are left-wing own intentions, aims ally disqualified or and ideologies. This, in turn, will result in pluralism, which insulted by the opposing political group. The arguments is something for which we have all been fighting, I hope. used, regardless of how serious they are, are another What is not good is that there are not stricter controls phenomenon. As much as somebody has good arguments over media owners in terms of quality and objectivity. Our and tries to seriously explain something, his ideologimedia are a reflection of the particular interests of their cal option is immediately brought up in a sense that it owners. I am not disputing that, but I think of the owndemeans his evaluative and critical attitude. When the political scene is as defragmented as ours is, your ideolers’ interest more as a global or ideological option than a sort of daily information war. At the same time, what is a ogy will always come up in whatever you say on radio or common tendency in most media is tabloidization, which TV or write. There is no single relevant critical statement obviously cannot be regulated with drastic penalties as is that would serve to bring together a relevant majority. the case is elsewhere.

Belonging to a political party certainly does not mean that different people of different political options should not gather around certain phenomena and events and try ■ Back in the day, intellectuals influenced the media and to work together toward changing something for better. even created some of them. When, in 1984, you raised Depoliticisation was one of the election promises, but I your voice against the arrest of poet Gojko Đogo and fail to see it happening. ■ when you wrote your first text in Književne Novine (The ■ You are well-acquainted with the French political and

28 |

Literary Gazette) in defence of his poetry book ‘Woolen Times’, that was an act of courage. Today, there is no elite, either in public life or in the media. There is no public criticism, while many claim that public criticism is obsolete since everything is allowed these days.

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

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99 December 2012 | 29

focus

Serbian Media

Strategy

At a recent media conference held in Aranđelovac, attended by representatives of all media groups, the EU Delegation to Serbia and the OSCE, it was clearly stated that the media strategy, which was adopted at the end of last year, should be implemented as soon as possible. This opinion was shared by everyone present, but little has been done in this regard.

The main obstacles in implementing the Media Strategy are the state’s ownership of media and the problem with media funding. The Media Strategy is currently being redefined and media law harmonized while the state is promising to reform the Serbian media scene.

What do you expect from the redefined Media Strategy and how much is the literal implementation of this document, primarily in its segment of the state’s withdrawing as a media owner and having more transparent media funding, important for the overall democratic process in Serbia?

The State Will Withdraw from the Media Gordana Predić State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Information

A

cess of regulating the media scene has begun. It entails keeping and developing good parts of the strategy, removing the parts that have become obsolete or inapplicable due to the economic conditions, as well as gradually searching for solutions that would give a clear contribution to development of democratic society.

It is necessary to implement this act. In the following period, the Ministry of Culture and Information will start implementing it without delay; they will implement the parts of it which are indis-

year after the Media Strategy had been adopted, the

putable – namely, the state withdrawing from the media and ena-

Ministry of Culture and Information found itself at the

bling transparent funding.

launch of something that everybody thought was already

ready to go, waiting for the strategy to be implemented.

Thus begins a story about redefining the existing Media Strategy which now, a month and a half since the redefining process has been even

The state or its individual segments cannot directly or indi-

The state or its individual segments cannot directly or indirectly establish public information organs and, where that has happened, the state will systematically withdraw from such media in line with the relevant regulation

rectly establish public information organs and, where that has happened, the state will systematically withdraw from such media, in line with the established regulation. In order for this process to be successful, it

considered, is causing an uproar among people directly or indi-

is necessary, among other things, to eliminate any conflict be-

rectly involved in creating and adopting the strategy. A task force

tween the Public Information Law and the Broadcasting Law

had been put together that was supposed to redefine the strate-

which prevent the state from establishing media, as well as

gy while the Ministry, which formed the task force, hired experts

that between the Local Self Government Law and Capital City

that had already been task force members in order to keep the

Law which allow it.

momentum going. By participating in a seminar in Aranđelovac,

Competitions and public acquisitions need to be transpar-

the Ministry has demonstrated that it wants to discuss transpar-

ent with precisely defined criteria and equal treatment for all

ently and democratically the topics that have been causing divid-

participants, while project funding and implementation of the

ed public opinion.

European rules and laws on supervision of state assistance will

Considering the very clear stance of the European Commission

definitely facilitate a healthy and competitive market, which is,

that the existing strategy devised by the Ministry of Culture and

after all, the state’s goal. Also, at the same time, European stand-

Information should be implemented as soon as possible, the pro-

ards for this sector will be met and public interest protected. ■

30 |

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

In this way, we are not talking about the state having to abandon its ownership of media because “that’s how things are done in the EU” and “that is in line with European standards.”

Certain people who advocate this stance have told me off the record that they are aware that this has nothing to do with reality, and that Serbia is a specific case since you cannot trust anybody in this country, which is why it is better to keep the state from the media by Branka Đukić forcing it to relinquish its ownership.

Director of Tanjug News Agency In other words, this state, and specifically the governing majority, is inclined toward imposing its party and political politics on the ringing order into the media segment, and especially into “the editorial policy of the media to the detriment of its independence. entire democratic process” in Serbia, does not hinge on strateAnd we think the same. gy or the laws that stem from it, but on other, more significant We are not pretending to have been living in a world of ideal deand more decisive circumstances which are outside media regulation. mocracy, without private, group, political, tycoon and other interests Having a debate about a strategy that is full of incomplete and inwhere corruption and manipulation, crime and immorality do not exist. consistent arguments and interpretations, making the situation even Doesn’t a private owner belong to some power structure, maybe a more obscure rather than offer expedient solutions, certainly does political one, which has its own internot instil optimism.

First and foremost, the imperative of Who can say for sure who is financing ests? If so, even that is not too bad. The media in Europe or the rest of the world the state’s relinquishing its ownership of the media in Serbia, whether are not exempt from being influenced. media is debatable. It is not true that the legally or illegally, from budgets, On the contrary. For instance, state authorities in the EU do not own foundations or secret funds? in Germany, everyone knows which media. If we look at the members of the magazine is close to which political party or political group. That is European Alliance of Press Agencies, there is almost the same number not only true with Germany. It is also the case with the US, Austria, of state-run media (some media are exclusively run by the state, while Belgium, and elsewhere. I have nothing against that. two are run by public institutions) and the private ones. They all use What I object to is the attempt to misuse the media and exert a the money from the state budget in one way or another. More informanon-transparent influence on its editorial, evaluative or any other protion about this can be obtained from the Alliance’s website.

No Expectations from the Strategy

B

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 31

focus file whether in Serbia or abroad. I will not even go into the influence that a private owner or big capital can exert on the media they own.

That is a very clear and transparent influence.

Without a doubt, it is in the state’s best interest for true and timely information about all aspects of social life from politics to sport, which is not, at the same time, commercial or tabloid, to be available to everybody. Do we have any objections to that?

At this moment, Tanjug has the most transparent funding in Serbia. The information about our funding can be found and is registered in series of documents and archives – from state bodies and ministries, to the National Bank of Serbia, supervisory bodies and agencies. They are not kept secret.

What about other media? Who can say for sure who is financing the media in Serbia, whether legally or illegally, from budgets, foundations or secret funds? Who dares to say that this is a transparent zone, rather than a “twilight zone”?

Who dares to say maintain this position after the information about certain cash flows towards certain media and from certain media has been released? Or when, as it often happens in this country, we get to see the identity of the owner only when he announces that he is withdrawing from a certain media.

Hence, “insisting” on transparent ownership of media is not sincere. Puritanism, primarily our Puritanism, is always shady.

For me, this whole story is rather repulsive, since we are focusing on essentially unimportant things, while the important things, which are bad afor the democratic process in Serbia are slipping away unpunished. ■

How Can We Change Everything Without Changing Anything?

Aleksandar Đivuljskij Editor-in-Chief of Dnevnik

T

he Media Strategy, written over a year ago following long talks with media associations and international organizations, was supposed to eliminate the stalemate despite many objections made to its content.

We had heard so many times before that adopting the Media Strategy was one of the main conditions for Serbia’s being granted an EU candidate status. It came as no surprise then, when such an important document was fittingly adopted in a short and obvious way at a government telephone conference session. What about its application?

The main flaw of the current and future procedure is actually the state’s being insincere in its effort to help the media and make the media scene more transparent. By the way, no one knows how the state is supposed to quickly abandon its ownership of certain media, while, at the same time, ensuring that these media can survive without state aid.

Following the adoption of the revised Media Strategy, the question of all questions still remains: how can the government, while 32 |

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

strictly adhering to the European media standards, actually eliminate its heavy influence on the media? How can the state withdraw from any form of ownership of the media two years after the strategy has been adopted?

Simply put, the state is unsure to whom to relinquish its control over the media. Judging by the government’s latest moves, one thing is certain: the state authorities, meaning the new government, are certainly not going to allow the media to be run by tycoons.

Is the legal framework regulating the media scene sufficient for the Balkan area where there are only two powerful media groups, both

The main flaw of the current and future procedure is actually the state’s being insincere in its effort to help the media and make the media scene more transparent close to the former government, which are distributing advertising to good and less-good media? Or should we invent a shadow form of state ownership wherein the state would exercise even stricter control over the media while supposedly adhering to the recommendations of the European Council about media freedom?

These are, unfortunately, probable dilemmas of the influential creators of the revised Media Strategy (media and journalist associations excluded). The remaining time until the Media Strategy is finally implemented will be spent on searching for a magic formula which will change everything without changing anything. ■

Missed Opportunity Veljko Lalić Editor-in-Chief of Nedeljnik

T

he media is the most important thing for a democratic process in any country. I think that we are currently regressing, going back to the time of the brutal tabloidization of society.

As far as the media strategy goes, I think we are also late. Very late.

Serbian journalism was pushed into an abyss back in 2002 when a big publisher, the Novosti Company, failed to find a strategic partner. It was not for lack of interest: Northcliffe, the publisher of the most lucrative newspaper in Great Britain, the Daily Mail, was interested. If Novosti had been given the strategic partner, and it is important to remember that we had a strategy of the state withdrawing from the media back then, today the situation in the media would have been regulated, and we would still have the three big publishers –Politika, Novosti and Blic, with the biggest concentration of editors and journalists. They would have been the ones to regulate media behaviour by themselves.

We would have been in the same situation as Croatia. However, we missed an opportunity that even prime minister Zoran Đinđić had talked about. Tycoons, shady capital and shady journalists took over the newspapers. The state continued to manage them in the same way, and what we got was chaos.

Now, the question is what we really want to achieve by having

Hence, I think that we are irreversibly late, as always. Again, that the state withdraw from media ownership, since there are no sedoes not mean that we do not need a modern media strategy. But the rious buyers any longer. WAZ left for India; nobody wants to intime it took for the strategy to be written and the amount of times it vest here. What we can have is a really bad situation with the state has been altered causes a great deal of concern for me. After all, why withdrawing from the media but not having anybody to whom to cannot we copy a media strategy sell those media. The situation Tycoons, shady capital and shady from a European country to which in Politika is somewhat simijournalists took over the newspapers. The we aspire? The new government, lar. Several tycoons, not on good terms with the current governstate continued to manage them in the just like the old one, does not want ment, are raising their voices. same way, and what we got was chaos to let go of the independent meNevertheless, there is no buyer in dia and, since there are no serious sight interested in acquiring WAZ’s stake. Apart from the Kurir daily. buyers, I don’t believe in positive developments happening on the The situation in Novosti, of which I am still a shareholder, is very simSerbian media scene. That is why I volunteered to withdraw from daiilar. I know all too well how difficult it was to find a buyer prior to 2008, ly journalism since I have a problem with uproar and anger. In such let alone today when there are no buyers for magazines like Newsweek. conditions, devising a good media strategy is virtually impossible. ■

Project, Not Budget Financing Zoran Sekulić Editor-in-Chief of FoNet News Agency

F

ollowing the change in govern-

ucts in the public interest, as well as see a consistent implementa-

ment, the Serbian media scene

tion of European rules about supervision of state aid and protection

has been undergoing great edito-

of competition.

rial upheavals and re-grouping while si-

The media community’s stance is that the new Information Act,

multaneously having to deal with the harshest business and finan-

as the umbrella law for the entire media sector, should be given pri-

cial crisis since the beginning of the transition. At the same time, the

ority. On top of that, journalist and media associations should have

media stage is concerned with preparations for the implementation

their own representatives in the task force which is going to draft the

of the Media Strategy and the drafting of new media laws which the

Information Act and other media laws, not only during the public de-

Ministry of Culture and Information started in early November.

bate stage, but from the very beginning of its drafting.

After initial quandaries and dilemmas about what to do with the

Also, the media community thinks that the Law on National

Media Strategy, adopted by the previous Serbian government in late

Broadcasting needs to redefine the position, financing mode, obli-

September 2011, the new ministry has supposedly abandoned the

gations and responsibilities only of existing national broadcasters.

Finally, the media community thinks

intention of making major changes to this document and promises that the journalist and media association will find the ministry a partner in reforming media legislation.

The problem, however, lies in the fact that all draft media laws are supposed to be finished by March 31, so this mammoth job, one of crucial

Just as adopting the Media Strategy was one of the conditions for Serbia’s being granted candidate status, so is media reform considered one of the key issues for Serbia’s being given the date of the beginning of accession negotiations

importance for the media, should be

that the rules on transparent ownership should be defined down to the last taxpayer, as well as avoiding the possibility that the concentration rules should jeopardize or restrict successful operations and development of media companies which would be based on market interests and principles.

In sum, what we have here is a list of

carried out in ‘stop time,’ i.e. in practically only four months, since

difficult subjects with serious media and political implications. These

the last 14 months since the Strategy was adopted were spent on

subjects mean the institutional dispossession of the state in the me-

virtually nothing.

dia sphere which should finally clear enough space for liberal and re-

Maybe we would still have been at the standstill or things would

sponsible journalism in the public interest and a level playing field.

have been conducted in secrecy by the system’s institutions, bear-

The European Union should play a critical role in this entire mat-

ing in mind that the ministry had already formed its task force to deal

ter. The EU, together with the OSCE, should be permanently includ-

with this issue and please the governing majority, if it weren’t for the

ed in the process of drafting media laws. Just as adopting the Media

media groups which stood up to the state with joint demands.

Strategy was one of the conditions for Serbia’s being granted candi-

By insisting on the consistent implementation of the Strategy

date status, so is media reform considered one of the key issues for

within the deadlines stated in the Action Plan, the media ’commu-

Serbia’s being given the date of the beginning of accession negotia-

nity’ wants to move from budget to project financing of media prod-

tions. The ball, in other words, is in the state’s court. ■ cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 33

profile

Xi Jinping new leader of China Communist Party The world’s second largest economy ushered in a new political era, as China’s Communist Party unveiled its new commander-in-chief and elite ruling council referring to the giant mountain in China’s Standing Committee, Shandong province. “The journey ahead is which decides all malong and arduous.” jor policy and preFollowing Mr Xi’s speech, state-conviously had 9 memtrolled CCTV rolled out a lengthy and gushing bers, are: Wang report on the seven years China’s new leadQishan, a financial er had spent working in a remote country vilexpert and the new lage in Shaanxi province during the 1960s head of China’s anand 1970s. ti-corruption body, China’s new Politburo Standing Committee members: Leader of China Communist Party Xi Jinping (centre), (clockwise from top left) Zhang Dejiang, Li Keqiang, Yu The unveiling of China’s new leaders folYu Zhengsheng, Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan, Zhang Gaoli Photo: Reuters lows the highly choreographed seven-day Shanghai’s party 18th Communist Party Congress, which saw chief, Zhang Dejiang, over 2,200 delegates descend on Beijing for who replaced disgraced politician Bo Xilai as fter months of speculation, the once-in-a-decade leadership transition. party boss in Chongqing, Zhang Gaoli, the the seven new members of While senior officials gave a series of party chief of Tianjin, and Liu Yunshan, a forChina’s top governing body, the Congress-related press conferences, the remer journalist and propaganda chief.

Politburo Standing Committee, al action took place behind close doors where Welcoming his six “comrades” onto the filed onto a stage inside Beijing’s Great Hall a small group of elite powerbrokers and parstage, Mr Xi said China’s new leaders would of the People. ty elders hammered out the details of First to appear before the world’s Despite being confirmed on China’s new leadership. cameras was 59-year-old Xi Jinping, On November 14 , the Congress’ the new leader of the 82 million-memNovember 15, China’s incoming final day, outgoing president Hu ber Chinese Communist Party and the leaders will not formally take office Jintao gave up his position at top of man who should take over as president until next March the Communist party following a turnext March. bulent year. battle to improve people’s lives and not to Addressing a room of delegates and In his valedictory speech as Party boss lose touch with the population. China’s new journalists, Mr Xi vowed to “take up the hisMr Hu urged China’s senior leaders to “strive leaders faced “severe” challenges, he admittoric baton and continue working for the to be role models”. “We must keep firmly in ted, including a difficult fight against ramgreat renewal of the Chinese nation.” mind our sacred duties,” he told delegates. pant corruption.

“We will do everything we can to live up Despite being confirmed on November “Ours is a political party that serves the to your trust and to fulfill our mission,” he 15, China’s incoming leaders will not forpeople wholeheartedly. We have every reason said during an unusually long and charismatmally take office until next March, when to be proud,” he said. “Proud but not complaic speech. “This is a major responsibility we China’s parliament, the National People’s cent. We will never rest on our laurels.” owe to the people. My responsibility is to ralCongress, will rubber-stamps their pro“Our responsibility is weightier than ly and lead the whole country.” motions. ■ Mount Tai,” China’s incoming leader added, The remaining five members of the

A

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, born 15 June 1953, is the paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China, who holds the positions of Vice President of China, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of the Party Central Military Commission, President of the Central Party School and the first member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, China’s de facto top power organ. He is expected to become President of China and Chairman of the State in early 2013 when the full National People’s Congress convenes and is expected to hold the position for two five year terms. He has Source: REUTERS 34 |

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

served as the top-ranked member of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, the Vice-Chairman of the State Central Military Commission.

Son of communist veteran Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping served mostly in Fujian province in his early career. He was later appointed party chief of the neighboring Zhejiang province, and then was appointed as Shanghai’s party chief following the dismissal of Chen Liangyu.

Known for his tough stance on corruption and a frank openness about political and market economy reforms, Xi now heads the Communist Party of China’s fifth generation of leadership.

dec 2012 business leader’s meeting point

Page 40

Page 44

Andrea Simoncelli

Conference of Academies for Applied Studies in Serbia (KASSS)

President and CEO Delta Generali Osiguranje

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99 December 2012 | 37

local news

Loan

Business Dialogue 01

“The Russian government should soon make a decision on the US1 billion loan to support this year and next year’s Serbian budget.” — Milan Bacević, Serbian Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning Minister

PIRAEUS BANK GROUP

A Year of Growth

02

Mercedes-Benz: “Golden Steering Wheel 2012”

The GL-Class is the Best SUV

During 2012, Piraeus Bank Group recorded significant growth in size and market share

After the Piraeus Bank Group’s acquisition of the healthy part of the Agricultural Bank of Greece, it took up a central position in Greek banking with a market share of 19% in deposits and 16% in loans, while the loan-to-deposit ratio was reduced to 124%. Total assets in March 2012 amounted to EUR 74 billion, customer deposits were EUR 35 billion and net loans were EUR 44 billion.

In mid-October 2012, the Piraeus Group signed an agreement with Société Générale for the acquisition of its stake of 99.08% in Geniki Bank Greece. By doing so, the Piraeus Group increased its capital adequacy ratio by 1.2% and its liquidity by more than EUR 300 million. Through this, the Piraeus Bank Group again strengthened its central position in Greek banking, reaching a 20% market share in deposits and 17% market share in loans. The Piraeus Group is now one of three large “systemic” Greek banks which have been assessed by European Regulatory Authorities to be viable and which have been approved to be fully recapitalized following the haircut of Greek government bonds.

With ATE Bank and Geniki Bank, the Piraeus Group now has six million customers, employs about 18,000 people and has 1,328 Branches in ten countries, including Greece.

03

Vip mobile

Vip Reaches 17.4% Market Share In announcing their latest business results, Vip mobile Director Andreas Graf credits the mobile provider’s focus on the product and services for the steady acquisition of market share

The award represents recognition, from both readers and experts, of the first-class standards that define every aspect of this large SUV from the Stuttgart company’s premium brand. The seven-seater GLClass combines dynamism, efficiency and excellent off-road capabilities with elegance and the outstanding comfort of an S Class saloon. With it, Mercedes-Benz has set a new benchmark in the SUV world.

Mercedes-Benz is continuing a long tradition with its win in this year’s “Golden Steering Wheel” competition: this year marks the 22nd time that the brand known by its three-pointed star has taken first place among the most successful automotive brands competing for the “Golden Steering Wheel”, an award that has become a highly regarded institution throughout Europe since its inception in 1976.

04

Aerodrom Nikola Tesla AD

Nine-Month Profit Falls 38% Andreas Graf, Vip mobile Director

“Our stable growth is a result of our continuous acquisition of new customers, especially in the postpaid segment. This signifies that residential and business customers are recognizing the benefits our offer brings in a time of recession. This kind of trust motivates us to create a competitive offer with every new promotion that will bring more value to the customer and to constantly improve our network technology,” stated Mr. Graf.

During the third quarter, revenues increased by 23%, rising to RSD 4.9 billion, while its pre-tax earnings (EBITDA) amounted to RSD 1.6 billion, showing 57% growth compared to same period last year.

At the end of September, Vip had 1,818,979 customers which constitutes a 14.5% increase compared to the same period last year, with 17.4% market share compared to the previous 15.3%.

Vip remains the biggest greenfield investor in Serbia, having invested total of EUR 730.8 million since 2007, including the license fee. During first nine month of 2012, Vip invested RSD 4.7 billion, to a large extent into opening new shops and building the most up to date network. Currently, all cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants and many smaller places, 72% of population, are covered with 3G HSPA+ network technology.

Vip is the winner of the first independent test of Serbian mobile networks for 2011 and 2012, conducted by Connect magazine and P3.

38 |

This is the 22nd time that MercedesBenz has emerged as the winner of this Europe-wide competition. The prize was presented last night in Berlin to Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

More than 250,000 readers of “BILD am SONNTAG”, “AUTO BILD” and 25 affiliated publications in 22 countries were responsible for ensuring that the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class reached the final stages of voting for this year’s “Golden Steering Wheel” award, held at the Pirelli proving ground in Balocco (Italy). This is where, after a series of demanding field tests, a team of automotive experts met to agree on the best five vehicles. When it came to the SUV category, they voted to put the Mercedes-Benz GL Class in the top spot.

Readers of the German newspapers BILD am SONNTAG and AUTO BILD, together with a panel of motoring experts, have crowned the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class as the best SUV, voting to award the coveted "Golden Steering Wheel" to the luxury cross-country vehicle

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

Net income fell to 1.08 billion dinars ($12.3 million) from 1.74 billion dinars a year earlier, the state-controlled company said in a regulatory filing today. Sales increased 4.3 percent to 4.53 billion dinars as the number of passengers rose 8.3 percent to 2.64 million in the period. The number of flights was little changed at almost 35,000, it said.

JAT, the unprofitable carrier the Serbian government is seeking to sell to private investors, owed 3.1 billion dinars to the airport at the end of September 2012, the operator said.

05

Serbian/Italian cooperation

Energy Agreement Adopted The Serbian government passed an energy agreement between Serbia and Italy unchanged and returned it to the parliament for an urgent adoption. Practically, nothing has been changed in the energy agreement that was signed in 2009.

After opening the 4th Energy Community Oil Forum, held in Belgrade on November 21-22, the Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlovic told reporters that Annex 1 of the agreement, which listed projects and hydroelectric plants to be built on the Drina River in cooperation with Italian and Republika Srpska partners, had remained.

Investors

06

“Serbia is set to sell a US$2bn eurobond next year and is looking to attract investors from the Middle East in order to service its national debt.” — Mladjan Dinkić, Serbian Finance Minister

Saint-Gobain Weber

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New Owner of Karbon

Only a few years after its first investment in Serbia, Saint-Gobain continues to develop with a recent acquisition of Karbon Company from Topola

Dragan Đilas New President of the Democratic Party

Only a few years after its first investment in Serbia, Saint-Gobain continues to develop by making a decision to invest yet again by acquiring Karbon in spite of the economic crisis. With this acquisition, Saint-Gobain will improve its standing in the construction material sector in regional markets, especially in Serbia and Montenegro. Regional Development and Local Self-Government Minister Verica Kalanović says that the government will do everything in its power to help the investors in making a decision to expand in Serbia regardless of the economic crisis.

“The acquisition of Karbon Company by a big international group Saint-Gobain is another step further in development. Positioning the company and its products, as well as winning over new clients at a dynamic market as ours, is certainly much simpler if you are supported by a strong and stable international corporation. This acquisition will be the tail wind for both companies and will help us with offering even better solutions and services to our clients”, General Manager of SaintGobain Weber Serbia, Milan Lukić said.

07

IMF

IMF Talks Next Spring

His Excellency Mr. Alexander Chepurin the new Russian ambassador to Serbia

Serbia and the International Monetary Fund will resume talks on a possible loan next spring as the Washingtonbased lender called for measures to cut government debt without choking economic growth Serbia’s fiscal deficit is “unsustainably large,” public debt has “increased significantly,” inflation is “volatile” and unemployment “elevated,” the IMF said in an e-mailed statement today after wrapping up a week-long mission to Belgrade.

The economy will contract 2 percent this year amid a difficult global environment and with a modest recovery expected next year, said the Washington-based lender said.

Fiscal consolidation is “an urgent priority” as Serbia faces “numerous challenges” and “addressing the economic challenges requires appropriately balancing fiscal consolidation and growth objectives,” it said in the statement.

Prime Minister Ivica Dacic’s Cabinet has drafted a 2013 budget targeting a fiscal deficit of

3.6 percent of economic output, down from 6.7 percent at the end of this year. The target is “overly ambitious” and “there remains scope for improving the quality of the 2013 budget,” the IMF said.

Serbia will need years of sustained fiscal consolidation to reduce its public debt to below a legal cap of 45 percent of gross domestic product through more spending cuts.

“We agreed on most issues, which gives us reason for optimism. And those we didn’t agree on are not reasons for pessimism,” said Dinkić.

Serbia needs the IMF “for credibility and the market is already appreciating our efforts toward fiscal consolidation. Serbia will be looking for a three-year precautionary loan program,” Dinkic said.

Ambassador Peter Burkhard new Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia

The Democratic Party elected Mayor of Belgrade Dragan Djilas as its new leader.

Dragan Đilas was born February 22, 1967, in Belgrade. He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in the aerospace engineering program. But his professional career started as a journalist at Radio Index.

Later on, Đilas was one of the founders of Radio B92 and soon became a news editor at the station. Đilas was active in leading the student protests in 1991 and 1992 and continued to participate actively in various anti-Milošević rallies between 1996 and 2000.

He entered politics in 2004 when he joined the Democratic Party (DS). Đilas served as Minister without Portfolio in charge of the National Investment Plan from 2007 to 2008 in the Cabinet of Serbia and prior to that as the director of the People’s Office of the President between 2004 and 2007. In 2009, Đilas became the president of Basketball Federation of Serbia (KSS).

He has been mayor of Belgrade since 2008.

Born in 1952, Mr. Chepurin graduated from the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) after which he performed various diplomatic duties in the Central Department of the Russian Federation’s Foreign Ministry both in the country and abroad.

From 1994 to 1996, he was the director of the Human Resources Department in the Russian Foreign Ministry, and from 1996 to 2000, the Russian ambassador to Denmark.

After that, he was appointed deputy director of the Fourth Department for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a duty which he performed until 2005. Prior to being appointed the Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Mr. Chepurin was the Compatriots Director in the Foreign Ministry.

Mr. Chepurin has the first level diplomatic rank and speaks English, French and Italian.

Ambassador Burkhard has in-depth knowledge of the OSCE, having served as the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine (1999-2002) and the Head of Mission of the OSCE Office in Baku, Azerbaijan (2002-2004). He also helped Switzerland prepare for its 1996 OSCE chairmanship. He then led the task force charged with investigating Switzerland’s role during WWII. He was named Ambassador by the Swiss Federal Council in 2000.

Previously, Ambassador Burkhard had assignments in Bonn (1989-93) and Moscow (199395). From 2004-2008 he was Ambassador of Switzerland to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, with residence in Tashkent.

Ambassador Burkhard will come to Serbia from Cuba, where he has served as Ambassador of Switzerland from 2009 until present. He speaks all six OSCE official languages: German, French, Russian, English, Spanish and Italian. He was educated in science, including physical chemistry, modern languages, and Russian studies.

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 39

Business Dialogue INTERVIEW

Situation “ Spain will return to positive economic growth in 2014 and the economic situation will be better next year.” — Mariano Rajoy, Spanish Prime Minister

Andrea Simoncelli, President and CEO Delta Generali Osiguranje

Insuring the Future “I keep on saying that for the cost of one “espresso per day” (this is part of my Italian culture) you can cover the cost of insuring an average Serbian house for one year from natural catastrophe, earthquake, fire, and other areas. Is this a cost or a wise investment? It is the same story for health and life insurances. Buying an insurance policy is the best investment that a Serbian family can do for itself and the family”

D

elta Generali plans for the next year are to increase training. The Delta Generali Academy is planning to provide 80,000 hours of education to our employees, and that is an undisputed record,” said Andrea Simoncelli, President and CEO Delta Generali Osiguranje insurance company as an explanation for the company’s future plans, as well as a base for current successes in Serbia.

■ In the first quarter, your growth was 13% higher compared to the same period last year. How did you accomplish such success considering that there is no industry at the moment that hasn’t been severely affected by the crisis?

Only protecting what is the most important pillar in the life of any human being, that is one’s life and assets, we can achieve peace of mind

40 |

- The latest available figures show that the insurance market has grown 6.2 % in the first half of 2012, of which 17.4% in life insurance and 4.2% in non-life.

Our growth was 14.7% in total, which is double the market both life and non-life. These figures come as

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

the result of a complete reshuffle of our product offers and the increasing commitment of our sales network.

The present economic situation is quite difficult, but we are optimistic and the insurance market is growing beyond expectations.

■ You are the leader in the life insurance segment.

How aware are Serbian citizens of the importance of this kind of insurance and is there enough room for this industry segment to grow even more?

- With more than a quarter of the total life insurance market, Delta Generali is by far the leader in the segment offering products denominated in euro, dinar or other currencies in order to satisfy all of our customers’ requests. The present situation notwithstanding, the life insurance market is growing in the double-digits, showing that even during difficult economic times people are taking care of their savings and wish to protect their lives. Unfortunately, these wise people still represent less than 4% of total Serbian population. This is the reason why there is an enormous potential of market growth.

■ Delta Generali’s insurance portfolio is very extensive.

What areas are going to be your priority in the future?

Gold ”The world should consider switching to a monetary unit such as gold, which is at the very least an international constant and indicator which has maintained its honor throughout history. This is something to think about.”

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish Prime Minister

- Delta Generali is covering all lines of the insurance business from motor to property, accident, health and of course life. Our priority is to develop non-motor, non-life policies and particularly accident, health and agriculture.

■ In your opinion, how will the insurance industry, and your company for that matter, develop next year?

- The insurance industry, particularly non-life, grew at very low rate. The inflow of foreign direct investment is bringing a new perception of the importance of insurance coverage to protect the investors’ own businesses. Our target is to become number one and distance to reach this goal is not so far.

livestock thanks also to the support given by Ministry of Agriculture. I am very optimistic because this Government is very sensible to the farmers needs and we are working very closely with experts at the Ministry of Agriculture to

■ You have mentioned on several occasions that insurance should not be viewed as an expense but an investment. Could you elaborate?

- Once again, I would stress the importance to spread an insurance culture. Only protecting what is the most important pilWith more than a quarter of the total life insurance lar in the life of any human being, market, Delta Generali is by far the leader in the segment that is one’s life and assets, we can achieve peace of mind. I keep offering products denominated in euro, dinar or other on saying that for the cost of one currencies in order to satisfy all of our customers’ requests “espresso per day” (this is part of provide the most efficient insurance coverage my Italian culture) you can cover the cost of insuring an average Serbian house for one year to local farmers. from natural catastrophe, earthquake, fire, and other areas. Is this a cost or a wise investment? ■ What are your company’s plans for next year?

It is the same story for health and life insur- The company plans for the next year are to inances. Buying an insurance policy is the best investment that a Serbian family can do for crease training. The Delta Generali Akademija is itself and the family. planning to provide 80,000 hours of education to our employees, and that is an undisputed record. We also plan to increase investment in ■ This year, farmers have suffered a lot of IT, continuing in the building of Delta Generali damage due to the drought. Every year, hail Osiguranje as a paperless company with the and other natural disasters cause problems. extensive use of computers with high speed.

How much are farmers in Serbia interested The recent ISO 27:001 award given for the first in getting an insurance policy compared to time to an insurance company in Serbia shows their European counterparts? our commitment to spread IT culture in order - Only 10% of the arable land in Serbia is into place Delta Generali Osiguranje on the leadsured, and the drought of this year shows once again the importance of being insured. Delta ing edge in the market. So, trainings, IT, the reGenerali was the only insurance company prolentless search of internal efficiency to improve product offering and claims handling to provide viding drought insurance together with other every day the best service to our customers natural catastrophes. Farmers in Serbia are who are the only reason why we work. The cusgetting more and more interested in buying insurance policies to protect their crops and tomer is our king. ■ cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 41

regional news

Stabilization

Business Dialogue 01

“It is now quite clear the tribunal has made a political decision and not a legal ruling. Today’s ruling will not contribute to the stabilisation of the situation in the region and will open old wounds.”

— Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian President

02

Macedonia

Budget Draws Opposition Fire The opposition has accused the Macedonian government of unjustified spending and driving the country into debt

EU Supporting Key Reforms

Zoran Stavreski, Macedonian Finance Minister

Finance Minister, Zoran Stavreski submitted the draft budget with plan to spend €2.7 billion in 2013, while the revenues are estimated at €2.4 billion. It intends to plug the gap through loans.

The government insists that the 2013 budget is “realistic” and designed to combat economic hardship amid European crisis.

Economic growth this year in Macedonia is forecast to be zero and next year between zero and an optimistic two per cent.

The government plans to spend some 380 million euro, about 10 per cent more than in 2012, on capital investments, including roads and railroads, hospitals, sewage. It will also continue with the Skopje 2014 revamp.

“If there is one thing we took care of, it was increasing money for capital investments that will provide job for the local firms” said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The government says the increase in state spending on what they insist are genuine capital investments will help to keep the economy going.

03

Rosen Plevneliev, Bulgarian president

Albania

The EU Commission announced that it will invest €81 million as the EU's renewed financial support to Albania's reform efforts “The funds will be used to address key priorities such as the reform of the judiciary, fight against organized crime, and the reform of the public administration system. They will also help improve Albania’s transport infrastructure, modernize water and sanitation systems, and set up a range of services for social inclusiveness,” said EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle.

The funding comes under the 2012 annual program for Albania of the EU’s Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, and will be topped up with an additional €15 million of co-financing by Albanian authorities.

The funding will finance concrete

04

Bulgaria

China Encouraging Investments in Bulgaria

projects in the area of justice reform and will improve the performance of the Albanian State Police. It will help build the new courthouse in Tirana and will restructure two border crossing points. Better financial and management control systems will be set up in local and national authorities, improving the efficiency of financial inspections.

Infrastructure funding will contribute to constructing the Rrogozhina bypass, thus improving road transport and safety. They will also help rehabilitate the sewage system in Vlora, which the European Commission expects to benefit the tourism industry in and around the sea-side resort.

Dam Perucac on a Drina river

Republic of Serbska

U.S. NGP Could Built Hydro Power on Drina River

Following meeting between Bulgarian president Rosen Plevneliev and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Bulgaria hopes to be the host of the next China-Central and Eastern European (CEE) Cooperation Secretariat

Bosnia's Serb Republic said it signed an agreement with U.S.-based New Generation Power (NGP) that could see the development of 365 megawatts of hydro power capacity

According to the Bulgarian head of state, hosting the forum is an opportunity to launch a broad programme for cooperation with China at all levels. He added that Bulgaria is one of the CEE countries, which proved they were dynamic and could carry out reforms.

The Chinese prime minister remarked that in times of economic and financial crisis Bulgaria follows a culture of stability and managed to keep its market open and offer good investment conditions.

“That is why the Chinese government will continue encouraging the Chinese business to set foot and make investments in Bulgaria,” Wen Jiabao remarked.

In his words, Bulgaria has a strategic location in the region and the serious measures to encourage the investments were praiseworthy.

The cooperation agreement would allow to start assessing the hydro power potential of the lower Drina river with the view to the construction of four power stations, the deputy prime minister of the Serb Republic, Jasmin Komic, said in a statement issued after the signing ceremony in Banja Luka mid last month.

According to Branislava Milekic, director general of the entity’s power utility Elektroprivreda RS, the estimated value of the project is around €1.3 billion, while the annual output of the planned four power stations - Kozluk and Drina 1, 2 and 3 - is seen at 1,588 gigawatt-hours.

If the project is deemed feasible, it is possible that NGP may set up a joint venture with Elektroprivreda RS, Komic said, adding that the next move then would be to award a concession on the project.

05

Montenegro

Significant Progress Due to a number of governmental reforms, Montenegro rose from no. 56 to no. 51 in the World Bank’s 2012 Doing Business rankings 42 |

Montenegro jumped to no. 4 from no. 9 among 183 nations in terms of Getting Credit for businesses. This leaves Montenegro on par with leading nations such as Singapore and South Korea.

The Montenegrin government also improved 38 places to no. 81 in terms of Paying Taxes.

It requires 320 hours for a business to pay Montenegrin taxes, as compared to an OECD average of 176 hours. This is largely because a Montenegrin business is required to make

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

29 tax payments per year, as compared to an OECD average of only 12 payments per year.

The ranking for Enforcing Contracts moved up 2 to no. 135. For “Resolving Insolvency”, Montenegrin rankings went up by 9 places to no. 44.

Significant progress in all of these categories is needed to improve the economy of Montenegro, but the areas needing greatest improvement are paying taxes (no. 81), enforcing contracts (no.

135), and registering property (no. 117).

Reconciliation

06

Romania

“The verdict confirms everything that we believe in Croatia: that generals Gotovina and Markac are innocent.”

— Ivo Josipović, Croatian President

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Nuclear Plant Expansion Extended

Romania's government extends investment agreement Rodin Traicu, Romanian State Secretary at the for nuclear plant expansion Economy Ministry The Romanian government at its meeting on November 14 approved extending an investment agreement aimed at building reactors 3 and 4 of Cernaovda Nuclear Power Plant in a move meant to draw fresh investors, the Executive’s spokesman Andrei Zaharescu has announced.

The current investment agreement, which expires at year-end, when a decision on the investment should have been taken, has been extended by six months in the present form; modifications to the document will be discussed during the six months. In the event that nuclear power company Nuclearelectrica fails to reach an understanding regarding the investments with the other two EnergoNuclear shareholders -- ENEL and ArcelorMittal respectively -- the Romanian state will redeem their stake for no more than its par value.

State Secretary at the Economy Ministry Rodin Traicu has recently said Chinese company Guandong Nuclear had voiced intention to invest up to 40 percent of the estimated costs of Cernavoda nuclear plant, namely equipment and its installation from the classic area of the two groups.

An ErnstYoung survey has recently put the investment in the two Cernavoda units at 6.4 billion euros.

07

Rolf-Juergen Seyerle new CEO of MercedesBenz Serbia and Montenegro

Dr Miljko Ristić acting director of the Clinical Centre of Serbia

Croatia

Expecting to Boost Tourism in 2013 Croatia expects a boost in tourism next year from its entry in the EU in July and a sales-tax cut on tourist services to 10 percent from 25 percent in January

These two factors are expected to make Croatian tourism more competitive in the Mediterranean region. In additional, the government will step up the sale of state-owned tourist companies such as Club Adriatic d.o.o. and Brijuni Rivijera d.o.o.

“Tourism arrivals in Croatia rose 5 percent in the first 10 months from a year ago,” Tourism Minister Veljko Ostojic said. “Visitors from Germany increased 13.5 percent, the biggest year-on-year rise.”

Tourism accounts for one-fifth of the Adriatic Sea nation’s economy. Croatia needs foreign investment as it struggles to revive the economy after three years of recession and stagnation.

08

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Prevent Closes Deal with BMW

Prevent, a car component producer from Zenica in Bosnia & Herzegovina, have just recently sealed a deal with BMW to produce seat upholstery for the BMW 1 and BMW 3 series of vehicles. It is expected that they will be making enough for 400 cars per day, which will ensure employment for 150 workers.

This new contract allows Prevent to remain the country’s premier exporter, a position it has held for the past three years. Prevent also operates as a supplier of several renowned car producers. In addition to their upholstery operation, they also make break discs and safety equipment.

Dr Zlatibor Lončar new director of the Clinical Centre of Serbia’s Emergency Room

Rolf-Juergen Seyerle has been appointed CEO of Mercedes-Benz Serbia and Montenegro. Mr. Seyerle has been working for Daimler AG for over twenty years and held managing positions in the company’s offices in Germany, India, Turkey and Switzerland. Prior to coming to Serbia, he worked for Daimler Middle East and Levant in Dubai until January 2007. Mr. Seyerle was in charge of developing the regional dealership network and was a member of the Managing Board of Daimler Middle East and Levant.

Professor Ristić was born in Belgrade in 1948.

After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine, he completed his specialist studies in general surgery in 1979. He obtained a Ph.D. in 1986. His doctoral thesis was „Reconstruction of Mitral Valve“. He finished sub-specialist studies in vascular surgery in 2002, and, in 2008, he completed sub-specialist studies in cardiac surgery.

Professor Ristić underwent additional training at the globally renowned cardio surgical centres Clinique Saint Luc, Department de Chirurgie Cardiovasculaire (Brussels), L’Hopital Broussais Chirurgie Cardiaque (Paris), L’Hopital PitieSalpetriere, Chirurgie Cardiovasculaire (Paris), St Luck, Cardiac Surgery (Huston), and Medical University Hospital (Zurich). He held several highly responsible positions including the chief of the Clinical Centre of Serbia’s Cardiac Surgery Clinic and the head of the Cardiac Surgery Clinic at the Dedinje Institute. He was the chief researcher and participant in many of noted domestic and international cardio and vascular surgery projects.

Doctor Zlatibor Lončar was born in Belgrade in 1971 where he finished elementary and high school. He graduated from the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Medicine in the school year of 1996/1997. In 2001, he completed specialist studies in hepatobiliary surgery at the Hammersmith Hospital, London. He underwent additional training in the same hospital in 2006.

Dr Lončar also successfully completed his general surgery specialization in 2003. He enrolled in Ph.D. studies in the school year of 2008/2009 and is currently finishing his doctoral thesis. In 2011, he completed a specialist course in liver transplantation surgery at King’s College in London.

Dr Lončar wrote and co-wrote several scientific papers and projects. Before he was appointed the chief of the Clinical Centre of Serbia’s ER, Dr Lončar was the head of the ICU at Surgery I at the Emergency Surgery Clinic of the Clinical Centre of Serbia.

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 43

corporate Conference of Academies for Applied Studies in Serbia (KASSS)

Equal in European Community of Higher Education We became members of EURASHE, the European Association of Institutions of Higher Education, in early October taught about tional cooperation has helped higher learnnew standing institutions to find their rightful place ards and their both in our and the European higher learnimplementaing system. tion, as well “Apart from the regular activities that as how to fill higher learning institutions conduct indein an electronpendently in the framework of the internaic form. The tional cooperation, the Conference also acCommission for tively participates in those activities. On Accreditation October 13 this year, we became members and Quality of the EURASHE (European Association of Prof. dr Borivoje Rodić, (left), Vice President, KASSS, Stefan Delplace, Secretary Assurance has Institutions of Higher Education) which ofGeneral, EURASHE-a, prof. Andreas G. Orphanides, President, EURASHE-a, prof. dr Ružica Stanković, President, KASSS accredited apficially makes us a part of the European plied studhigher learning sector. At the same time, hrough its seven regionies academies in the Republic of Serbia. we have made it possible for our students al centres, the Conference of Thanks to the implementation of the to continue their studies and additionAcademies for Applied Studies quality system and accreditation, the al training unobstructed in all of the eduin Serbia (KASSS) has created a Conference of Academies for Applied cational institutions that are members of practical network of higher education instiStudies in Serbia has been admitted to the organization. Teachers can now partictutions in Serbia which is a unique system EURASHE.The total annual quota of stuipate in seminars and conferences coverwhich will strengthen the role that institudents enrolled into applied studies is 41% ing various areas of higher learning,” says tions of higher learning play in the Serbian or 22,500 students, while.

Professor Stanković. education, as well as facilitate their apAccredited academies of applied studAn increasing number of teachers pearance in the European and global eduies produce professional staff who is cafrom applied studies academies is encation sectors. pable of responding to employer and the gaged in scientific and research work.

“Our higher learning institutions have economy’s needs, since they have comQuite a few professors have published a long tradition. The first junior scientific papers in magazines Since 2002, academies for applied studies college, the so-called homefrom the SCI list. Professors have been cooperating with similar schools, making and trading schools, from higher learning instituwere established prior to academies, universities of applied and academic tions are also writing their own World War II. Today, there are studies, and faculties all over the world, primarily student textbooks, while some a total of 65 higher educaof them take part in scientific those from the European Union tion institutions in the country, projects through their faculties and they are evenly distributed throughpleted a dual education system by having or universities. out the entire territory of Serbia. This is both theoretical and practical classes, as “We do hope that, following the changimportant for higher learning and the balwell as work practice. es of the relevant legislation, this sector anced development of Serbia, since we are Since 2002, academies for applied will be able to engage in scientific work and still a transitional country,” says Professor studies have been cooperating with simithus in new projects too,” Stanković notes.

Ružica Stanković, Ph.D., President of the lar schools, academies, universities of apShe added that thanks to the Education Conference of Academies for Applied plied and academic studies, and faculties and Science Minister Prof. Dr Žarko Studies in Serbia. all over the world, primarily those from the Obradović, the Conference of Academies The Commission for Accreditation and European Union. Continuing this cooperafor Applied Studies in Serbia now has its Quality Assurance has organized an accredtion through harmonizing curricula, teachown headquarters in “Palace Serbia”, 2, itation seminar for academies of applied er and student exchanges and participaMihajlo Pupin Boulevard. The Conference’s studies during which the participants were tion in joint projects. Ten years of internawebsite is www.kasss.rs. ■

T

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

corporate Alubond Europe

New Production and Commercial Facility of the Global Brand This is the first US $6 million stage a US $20 million investment the brand’s conquering new high potential markets while meeting special demands.

Alubond U.S.A brand is currently the globally best-selling aluminium composite panel with a total of 60,000,000 m² builtin facades all over the world. The main purpose of the panel is to replace expensive and heavy materials like thick aluminium or steel sheets whose use was dominant Sanja Uzelac (left), Direktor Alubond Europe d.o.o - General Manager of Alubond Europe, dr Bojan Pajtić, up until recently. The new composite is President of the Government of Vojvodina, Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, Chairman, Mulk Holdings International, Farha Mulk, Deputy Chairman, Mulk Holdings International and Nawab Adnan Ul Mulk, Director, Metalplast Industries Fze able to form light ventilated easy to maintain façade cladding which is frequently Europe and the countries of the former he world best-selling brand of applied in new contemporary facilities.

Soviet Union. aluminium composite panels The increasing use of Alubond U.S.A Alubond Europe is a centre for proAlubond U.S.A, has justified its façade cladding has contributed to growduction and distribution of composite pansuccess by the opening of a new ing sales in all parts of Europe. The comels for Europe, Russia and former Soviet production and commercial facility, the pany’s plan for this year is to finish setcountries. Following the opening of a new first European factory for production of ting up a distribution network that covproduction line in Serbia, Alubond U.S.A this type of façade cladding. The opening ers Europe and Russia. ceremony was held in Banatski A new contemporary production line with a Continuous exports to the Karlovac in early November with 3,000,000 m² capacity was assembled in Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Vojvodinian Prime Minister Dr. Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Bojan Pajtić and over 200 guests mid-2012. The line will manufacture products Spain, Portugal, the Czech from Europe and around the world that will be exported across Europe and the Republic, Poland, Turkey, in attendance. countries of the former Soviet Union Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, The company started its Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, products are now manufactured in four difcommercial operations in rented premSlovenia and Croatia is certainly imporferent locations in the world, with a total ises in Pančevo in 2010 and, in a short tant for Serbian economy. Apart from a of 11 production lines of combined annual amount of time, managed to conquer the substantial number of European councapacity of over 15,000,000 m². most demanding European market with its tries, Alubond Europe also exports to Following the factories in the US, the products.

Russia whose market has the greatest United Arab Emirates and India, the facMid-last year, Alubond Europe expandpotential in terms of cladding sales. ■ tory in Serbia is meant to contribute to ed its investment by purchasing an old industrial facility and transforming it into a new facility for production of Alubond U.S.A panels, located in Banatski Karlovac.

By choosing a location in an undeveloped part of Vojvodina, the company wanted to facilitate better and faster development of this region. This is the first US $6 million stage a US $20 million investment.

A new contemporary production line with a 3,000,000 m² capacity was assembled in mid-2012. The line will manufacture products that will be exported across

T

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 45

world news

Globalisation

Business Dialogue 01

In the post-national globalised world of tomorrow, big trading blocks, emerging markets and continents such as India, China and the US will lead the world. Our European nation states are far too small to play a role in the world of tomorrow.“ — Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE leader in the European Parliament

Germany

Prosecutors Search UBS Clients German state prosecutors have begun a country-wide search of premises of UBS clients on suspicion of tax evasion

A number of state prosecutors and about 50 tax investigators were undertaking the searches of domestic German clients of UBS, Bochum state prosecutor Norbert Salamon said, adding that further action could follow.

UBS is one of several Swiss banks caught up in investigations into personal tax evasion in the US and Europe, putting the future of Swiss banking secrecy laws in jeopardy.

Bochum prosecutors had already been carrying out an investigation based on a computer disk of data that was purchased by authorities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), where Bochum is located.

“UBS does not provide support to its clients for the evasion of tax obligations,” a UBS spokesman said, adding that the Swiss bank had already conducted thorough checks of its business in Germany in 2009 and adjusted its rules where necessary.

In August UBS denied media reports it was telling wealthy Germans to move funds to Singapore and other money centers ahead of a Swiss tax deal due to come into force in January.

03

02

France

Google Open to Mediation in France Media Row Google was open to the idea of appointing a mediator to help end its bitter row with French news media sites that want to make the US Internet giant pay to display links to their content The battle has reached the highes0t levels of state, with President Francois Hollande warning that his government would if necessary introduce a bill to force Internet search engines to pay for media content.

Hollande’s remarks in October came following a meeting with Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

The firm has said it would exclude French media sites from

04

Slovakia is close to selling most of its surplus United Nations carbondioxide permits to Spain

Monti Would Prefer Not to Stay on as PM

Asked at an event organized by the Financial Times in Milan whether he would like to stay in the job, Mario Monti said: “No.” In September, Monti said he would, out of a sense of responsibility to the country, carry on leading the government if the election did not produce a leader with a clear majority.

Recent opinion polls show that no party or alliance of parties would win more than 32 percent of votes if the election were held now.

Italy’s business community and many politicians support a second term for Monti to lock in structural reforms he has launched and to maintain financial markets’ confidence in the economy.

05

Belarus

The government is “about to sign an agreement” with Spain to sell allowances, known as Assigned Amount Units (AAU), representing 22 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The purchase price will probably be less than 1 euro per ton, equal to the current market price, he added.

AAUs were distributed to nations based on the Kyoto Protocol, which set limits on greenhouse-gas emissions for the period 2008 to 2012. A global economic slowdown since 2008 caused industrial production to stagnate, boosting the supply of spare permits. Slovakia has surplus allowances worth about 27 million tons.

The east European country relies on proceeds from the sale of allowances to help it reduce the budget deficit. The government is also in talks with Austria on selling additional AAUs.

Duty-free Access for Bangladesh Belarus is going to provide duty-free market access for all Bangladeshi products

“Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are members of a single customs union and Bangladeshi products can enter the markets as Belarus is providing duty-free market access,” says Foreign Minister Dipu Mon af46 |

Mikhail Myasnikovich, Belarusian Prime Minister

ter a meeting with Belarus Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich.

The duty-free announcement was expected to come mid November and both the

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

Slovakia

Selling AAU Carbon Rights to Spain

Italy

Italy's Mario Monti he would prefer not to stay on as prime minister after elections in April

its search results if France were to adopt the bill requiring search engines to pay to link to news websites.

Italian and German firms have also joined the demand for Google to share some of the advertising revenue from user searches for news on websites.

Google, which receives four billion hits worldwide every month, has said such a law would “threaten (Google’s) very existence”.

countries would sign a dozen of agreements and memorandums of understanding.

Belarus is a new export market for Bangladesh but Dhaka imports a huge volume of fertiliser products from it.

Prime Minister Myasnikovich expressed desire to investment in Bangladesh especially in producing agriculture machinery, the Foreign Minister said.

Minsk is also interested in cooperation in technology and science, skill development and training, Moni said.

Engine Europe needs an engine, and the Franco-German motor has provided that when the two nations have converged on important topics during critical periods. But that partnership shouldn’t be a directorate for other EU members.“ — Francois Hollande, French President

06

07

Austria

Government to Pump €500 mln Into Hypo Austria is to pump another 500 million euros into state-owned bank Hypo Alpe Adria to help the troubled lender shore up its balance sheet

The bank, nationalised in 2009 to avert a collapse which would have been felt throughout the region, is scrambling to meet regulatory requirements to boost its balance sheet by 1.5 billion euros by the end of the year.

Hypo Alpe Adria said it would issue 204 million new shares, which only its sole shareholder, the Austrian government, would have the option to buy. The figure of 500 million euros exceeds the 300 million that Finance Minister Maria Fekter had said was earmarked for aid to Hypo, and will make it harder for her to get the state budget deficit below its target of 3 percent of GDP. Source: Reuters

08

Russia

Rosneft to Create Universal Bank

Russia’s largest state-controlled oil company Rosneft is to create a full service financial institution for implementing its international projects

09

Algeria

Economy Expected to Grow 3.4% in 2013

According to IMF, Algeria's economy should grow 2.5 percent this year and 3.4 percent in 2013 Rosneft hired former Morgan Stanley executives composed of Rair Simonyan, Elena Titova and Walid Chammah who will directly advise Rosneft President Igor Sechin.

“The Advisory Group was requested to establish a fullservice financial institution Rosneft Bank - on the basis of Rosneft-owned financial assets, including the Russian Regional Development Bank. The new bank will be designed to secure the effectiveness...control and complete transparency of the financial provision of Rosneft’s strategic areas of growth,” Rosneft said.

Rosneft Bank will assist in implementing the company’s largescale international projects, streamline Rosneft’s system of crude oil and petroleum products trading and provide a full range of high-quality financial services to individual and corporate clients in the oil, gas and energy sectors.

But rising food prices and public wage hikes have pushed up inflation, which spiked to 8.4 percent this year, the IMF said after the visit of its annual mission to the North African country.

The Algerian government has forecast growth of 4.7 percent for 2012 and 5 percent for 2013.

OPEC member Algeria experienced food riots early last year, but escaped a full-scale “Arab Spring” uprising like those that toppled entrenched rulers elsewhere in the region, partly because the government raised wages for public sector employees and deferred tax payments.

Revenues from oil and gas, which account for 97 percent of the country’s exports, helped subsidize wages and the prices of staple goods like wheat, milk, sugar, electricity and water.

“The main short- and mediumterm challenges facing Algeria will be controlling inflation, strengthening fiscal sustainability, and boosting growth in the non-hydrocarbon sector,” the IMF said in a statement.

Denmark

SAS Cuts 6,000 Jobs

Scandinavia’s tri-nation airline SAS AB plans to cut 6,000 jobs — 40 percent of its work force

SAS is struggling to compete with budget airlines, which are increasingly dominating European air travel, despite a series of cost-cutting drives in the past decade. The airline will renegotiate employment terms and pensions for its staff and slash about 800 jobs in a savings plan aimed at cutting costs by $440 million annually.

In addition, the company plans to raise 3 billion kronor by selling Norwegian subsidiary airline Wideroe, ground handling services and other assets. The moves would see SAS’ workforce shrink from 15,000 to 9,000 employees. The governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway own 50 percent of SAS, with the rest owned by private shareholders including Sweden’s powerful Wallenberg family.

10

Zimbabwe

Gems Exports to Belgium Hit Record High Zimbabwe's diamond exports to Belgium have reached record levels

Belgium is the world’s top diamond trader with recent indications showing that it exported 10 million carats in October, an increase by volume of 142,8 percent.

According to Antwerp World Diamond Centre, there was also a sharp increase in rough diamond exports from Belgium with the country trading 9,7 million carats worth US$1,16 billion also exported in October.

Belgium said last month that it was keen to fully engage Zimbabwe in a long term partnership to secure diamond supplies.

Speaking in Victoria Falls during the Zimbabwe World Diamond Conference, Antwerp World Diamond Centre board president Stephane Fischler said Belgium could not afford to ignore the emergence of Zimbabwe on the world market as a major diamond producer.

11

Peru

Economy Grows Below Forecast Peru's economy grew 5.94 percent in September from the same month a year ago, driven by strong domestic demand and an uptick in mining activity

The result was at the low end of forecasts from 16 economists that ranged from 5.9 percent to 7.1 percent with a median of 6.5 percent, according to a Reuters poll.

The Andean economy, which has boomed for much of the past decade, is forecast to grow around 6 percent this year, one of the fastest paces in Latin America. The government expects growth will again top 6 percent in 2013.

The construction sector grew 19.22 percent in September from a year ago, while retail sales rose 14.57 percent and the mining and oil sector gained 4.95 percent after months of slippage on softer global prices.

Peru is among the world’s top producers of copper, zinc and tin, but declining export earnings for minerals have led the central bank to trim its view for the full-year 2012 trade surplus to $3.5 billion from $6.7 billion.

Growth has cut unemployment. The average jobless rate in metropolitan Lima for the three months through October was 6.2 percent. Source: Reuters cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 47

Business Dialogue

Justice “There were mistakes in the war, for which Croatia is responsible and for which it will pay its debt to justice.” — Zoran Milanović, Croatian Prime Minister

Forbes: The Best Countries For Business

New Zealand Tops the List

The U.S. continues to lose ground against other nations in Forbes’ annual look at the Best Countries for Business.

The U.S. placed second in 2009, but it has been in a steady decline since. This year it ranks 12th, down from No. 10 last year. The U.S. trails fellow G-8 countries Canada (No. 5), United Kingdom (No. 10) and Australia (No. 11).

C

contracted 0.4% in the second quarter of have helped to push up unemployment to orporate taxes continue to put 2012. Yet, with its business-friendly cli7.3%—the highest level since 1999. a damper on American busimate, the country is poised to rebound New Zealand cut its corporate tax rate nesses. Following a tax cut in stronger than most of Europe. from 30% to 28% last year and eliminatJapan this year, the U.S. now Hong Kong ranks third. Its economy, ed certain deductions, making the cut fishas the highest statutory corporate tax highly dependent on international trade cally neutral. Investors have prospered, rate in the world. The effective rate is and finance, remains one of the most viwith the country’s benchmark stock inmuch lower thanks to numerous breaks, brant in the world. Credit one of the world’s dex, the NZX 50, up 24% over the past but owning the highest published rate lowest tax burdens and a high level of 12 months. makes for poor perceptions. monetary freedom. Hong Kong’s economy Forbes determined the Best Countries It is not just the rate that hinders the grew 5% last year and the unemployment for Business by grading 141 nations on U.S., but also the complexity of the tax code. rate is a scant 3.2%.

11 different factors: property rights, inThe typical small or medium-size business Singapore comes in at No. 4, ranknovation, taxes, technology, corruption, requires 175 hours a year to comply with ing in the top 20 in all but one of the 11 freedom (personal, trade and monetary), U.S. tax laws, according to the World Bank. metrics measured. The only thing keepred tape, investor protection and stock Overall the U.S. ranks 55th out of the 141 ing Singapore from the top spot is a low market performance. countries Forbes examined in terms of its score on personal freedom, as measured Forbes leaned on research and pubtax regime. The world’s biggest economy at by watchdog organization Freedom $15.1 trillion, it also scores poorNew Zealand ranks first on Forbes list of House. Singapore’s economy dely when it comes to trade freedom the Best Countries for Business, up from pends heavily on exports, particuand monetary freedom.

New Zealand ranks first on No. 2 last year, thanks to a transparent and larly in consumer electronics and IT products. Its trade surplus was 24% Forbes list of the Best Countries stable business climate that encourages of GDP in 2011. The $240 billion for Business, up from No. 2 last entrepreneurship economy grew 4.9% last year. year, thanks to a transparent and Canada slid from the top of the ranklished reports from the following organistable business climate that encouragings in 2011 to No. 5 this year, losing zations: the Central Intelligence Agency, es entrepreneurship. New Zealand is the ground on innovation and technology. The Freedom House, Heritage Foundation, smallest economy in the top 10 at $162 World Economic Forum’s annual Global Property Rights Alliance, Transparency billion, but it ranks first in four of the 11 Competitiveness Report says Canada is International, World Bank and World metrics Forbes examined, including perbeing weighed down by “a less favoraEconomic Forum. sonal freedom and investor protection, as ble assessment of the quality of its reRanking second on the list is Denmark, well as a lack of red tape and corruption. search institutions and the government’s on the strength of its technology, trade New Zealand’s economy is closely tied role in promoting innovation through profreedom and property rights. Its GDP per to Australia’s, and both held up better than curement practices.” However Canada recapita is one of the highest in the world at most during the global financial crisis. The mains among the best countries in the $59,684 last year, according to the World downside to the resilience of its economy world when it comes to trade freedom, inBank. Like the U.S., Denmark is struggling is that the New Zealand dollar has apprecivestor protection and the ease of starting to recover from the bursting of its real esated, making the country’s agricultural exa new business. ■ tate bubble. GDP rose 1.1% last year and ports more expensive. The higher prices

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

Reconciliation “This ruling is a slap in the face of international justice and the process of reconciliation in the region, and will not contribute to an overall normalization of relations between the states and the peoples in the region of the former Yugoslavia.”

— Rasim Ljajić, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Rank

Country

GDP Growth (%)

GDP / Capita ($) as % of GDP

Rank

Country

GDP Growth (%)

GDP / Capita ($) as % of GDP

1

New Zealand

1.4

39,300

51

Uruguay

5.7

13,866

2

Denmark

1.1

59,684

52

Turkey

8.5

10,498

3

Hong Kong

5.0

34,457

53

Rwanda

8.8

583

4

Singapore

4.9

46,241

54

Oman

5.5

25,221

5

Canada

2.5

50,345

55

Colombia

5.9

7,067

6

Ireland

0.7

48,423

56

Bahrain

1.8

21,700

7

Sweden

4.0

56,927

57

Panama

10.6

8,590

8

Norway

1.7

98,102

58

Mexico

4.0

10,064

9

Finland

2.9

49,391

59

Botswana

4.6

8,680

10

United Kingdom

0.7

38,818

60

Romania

2.5

8,405

11

Australia

2.0

60,642

61

Jordan

2.5

4,666

12

United States

1.7

48,442

62

Kuwait

8.2

62,664

13

Belgium

1.9

46,469

63

Costa Rica

4.2

8,676

14

Netherlands

1.3

50,087

64

Mongolia

7.3

3,056

15

Switzerland

1.9

80,391

65

Barbados

0.5

13,453

16

Taiwan

4.0

20,083

66

Trinidad and Tobago

-1.3

16,699

17

Chile

5.9

14,394

67

Thailand

0.1

4,972

18

Luxembourg

1.0

115,038

68

Greece

-6.9

26,427

19

Iceland

3.1

44,072

69

Tunisia

-0.8

4,297

20

France

1.7

42,377

70

Kazakhstan

7.5

11,245

21

Germany

3.1

43,689

71

Namibia

3.6

5,293

22

Estonia

7.6

16,556

72

Brazil

2.7

12,594

23

Slovenia

-0.2

24,142

73

Azerbaijan

0.1

6,916

24

Portugal

-1.5

22,330

74

Albania

2.0

4,030 3,054

25

Cyprus

0.5

30,670

75

Morocco

4.3

26

Austria

3.1

49,707

76

Indonesia

6.5

3,495

27

Israel

4.7

31,282

77

Armenia

4.4

3,305

28

Mauritius

4.1

8,797

78

Zambia

6.6

1,425

29

South Korea

3.6

22,424

79

Jamaica

1.5

5,562

30

Japan

-0.7

45,903

80

Cape Verde

5.0

3,798

31

Malaysia

5.1

9,656

81

Sri Lanka

8.2

2,835

32

Malta

2.1

21,209

82

Ghana

13.6

1,570

33

Spain

0.7

32,244

83

Lebanon

1.5

9,904

34

United Arab Emirates

4.9

45,653

84

Seychelles

4.9

11,711

35

Lithuania

5.9

13,339

85

Bosnia & Herzegovina

1.7

4,821

36

Italy

0.4

36,116

86

Guyana

4.2

3,343

37

Macedonia

3.0

4,925

87

Philippines

3.7

2,370

38

Poland

4.4

13,463

88

Madagascar

0.5

467

39

South Africa

3.1

8,070

89

Egypt

1.8

2,781

40

Latvia

5.5

12,726

90

Serbia

1.8

6,203

41

Czech Republic

1.7

20,407

91

Dominican Republic

4.5

5,530

42

Qatar

18.8

92,501

92

Moldova

6.4

1,967

43

Slovakia

3.3

17,646

93

Mozambique

7.1

535

44

Peru

6.9

6,009

94

Kenya

5.0

808

45

Montenegro

2.5

7,197

95

Paraguay

3.8

3,635

46

Hungary

1.7

14,044

96

China

9.2

5,445

47

Croatia

-

14,488

97

India

7.2

1,489

48

Saudi Arabia

6.8

20,540

98

El Salvador

1.4

3,702

49

Bulgaria

1.7

7,158

99

Guatemala

3.8

3,178

50

Georgia

7.0

3,203

100

Liberia

6.4

281

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 49

after work Luna Fashion Company

Luna Charity Fashion Show In late November, together with the ladies from the International Women’s Club (IWC), Luna Fashion Company organized a charity event called ‘Luna Charity Fashion Show”

The aim of this event was to give support to children creativity and help the “Modern Children Foundation”, which has been collaborating with the Infant, Children and Youth Centre for the past five years, through providing artistic education for orphaned children.

The Foundation’s founder is painter Jovana Tomanović who has, so far, put together numerous art colonies and exhibitions and organized various activities for the most talented children. The money collected at this charity event will be used towards helping art workshops at homes.

International fashion brand LUNA Fashion Company is also known as a sponsor and organizer of many cultural events and charity drives.

During the Luna Charity Fashion Show, Luna provided a shopping discount for the ladies who were present at the Show, while of the entire turnover generated during the Show will be donated to the Modern Children Foundation.

Piraeus bank

Working Brunch In mid-November, Piraeus bank organized a working brunch with media representatives during which the bank’s operational results and plans for next year were presented

The host of the brunch, Mr. Neoclis Neocleous, pointed out that Piraeus Bank Belgrade, in seven years of operations in Serbia, has grown in size and business volume.

The bank now has 42 branches, about EUR 600 million in loans, about EUR 272 million in deposits and more than 580 employees.

“In the coming two to three years, our business plan for Piraeus Bank Belgrade foresees growth both for loans and for deposits.

We are planning to introduce improved products and improved services which will better serve the needs of our clients. Quality of service and customer orientation is paramount to us.” said Mr. Neocleous.

Piraeus Bank Belgrade constantly searches for better ways to do everyday business, aiming to offer faster and better service with simpler procedures.

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

Siemens

"Siemens" Celebrates 125th years in Serbia “We employ 650 workers and is very proud of them,” Siemens Director Tihomir Rajlić told reporters at a ceremony marking the 125th anniversary of Siemens in Serbia

“Siemens is a Serbian company they work for Serbian citizens. I am proud of my staff, and this is their anniversary,” said Rajlić.

Mr. Rajlić referred to the historical facts and reminded the listening audience that in 1881 the first Siemens lighted lamps in Belgrade, while in 1923, thirty electric trams and tracks arrived in Belgrade, paid for by Siemens.

Energy Minister Zoran Mihajlovic thanked the representatives of Siemens for each new job created and the technologies that were brought to Serbia.”Foreign companies provide a very important support to the state, and I guarantee that the government will provide even more support in the future,” said Mihajlovic. German Ambassador to Serbia Heinz Wilhelm said that Siemens brings German quality with its name in the industry and that the company is a pioneer among German firms operating in Serbia.

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 51

faces & places 25/10/2012 Apology

In the November issue of CorD, there was an error in the caption below the picture with the DSW Oktoberfest celebration, organized by the German Serbian Business Association on October 25. The error is in caption below the image from the opening ceremony, wrongly stating that the event was opened by the “Austrian Ambassador HE Mr. Johannes Eigner”, instead of “German Ambassador HE. Mr. Heinz Georg Wilhelm.”

We apologize to both Mr. Wilhelm and Mr.Eigner and our readers.

29/10/2012 Turkey’s Republic Day

Germany Ambassador HE Mr. Heinz Georg Wilhelm (left) on opening ceremony and Michael Schmidt (right), Director of the German-Serbian Business Association

Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian President, Mr. Stevan Labudović and Mr. Abdelkader Mesdoua 01/11/2012

Algerian 58th National Holidays

Algerian Ambassador in Belgrade Abdelkader Mesdoua hosted a reception on the occasion of the 58th National holidays, anniversaries, attended

by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić.

On the 50th anniversary of the independence of Algeria, President of Algeria Abdelaziz Buteflika awarded an honorary degree to Serbian cameraman Stevan Labudovića with a commemorative medal for the contribution, for being a cameraman of the Algerian revolution during the Liberation War, which were awarded to him at the reception.

Bratislav Petković, Minister of Culture and Information of Serbia, H.E. Mr. Abdelkader Mesdoua Algerian Ambassador to Serbia, Sulejman Ugljanin, Minister in the government of Serbia and Mrs. Amina Mesdoua, wife of the ambassador

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

On the occasion of Turkey’s Republic Day national holiday, Turkish Ambassador H.E Mr. Ali Riza Colak hosted a reception, which was also a farewell.

The reception was attended by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, Minister without Portfolio Sulejman Ugljanin, representatives of political parties, diplomats, religious organizations, the military, public, cultural and business life.

In a short speech, Ambassador Colak said he is that leaving Serbia as the friend and will continue working on improving relations between the two countries.

Ambassador Colak and Minister Sulejman Ugljanin 05/11/2012

Japan Tobacco International

Serbian Minister of Finance and Economy Mladjan Dinkić visited the Japan Tobacco International (JTI) factory in Senta on the occasion of commissioning of new machines for drying tobacco, part of this year’s investment of US $ 40 million in Serbia. The commissioning of new machines was attended by Kazuaki Kameda, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Japan and Rudolf Cegledi, president of Senta municipality.

“The proof of our continued commitment to developing long-term business in Serbia is the US $40 million that we have invested this year,” said Christian Kring, vice president of JTI, Western Balkans.

Danilo Stojanović, Director of JTI Factory and Minister Dinkić

06/11/2012 Italian Armed Forces Day

On the occasion of Italian Armed Forces Day, Italian Ambassador HE Mr. Armando Varricchio and Mrs. Varricchio organized a reception at the Italian Embassy, attended by representatives of the Serbian government, political parties, diplomats, the military, public, cultural and business life.

President Tomislav Nikolić and H.E. Mr. Andrzej Jasionovski 07/11/2012 Polish Independence Day

Polish Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Mr. Andrzej Jasionovski hosted a reception to mark the Independence Day of Poland.

Speaking about relations with Serbia, the Polish ambassador said that the ties between the two countries are very good, but there is still room for improvement. The reception at the Embassy of Poland was attended by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and members of the diplomatic corps, military, religious organizations, social, public and cultural life.

Mrs. and Mr. Varricchio welcomes Mr. Toplica Spasojevic

Mrs. and Mr. Chepurin 07/11/2012 Russian Day of National Unity

Newly appointed Russian Ambassador to Serbia HE Mr. Alexander Chepurin prepared a celebration before the Day of National Unity , celebrated in Russia 4 November, in the Russian Embassy in Belgrade. The reception was attended by a large number of guests from the cultural, political and public life of Serbia.

Ambassador Davenport with award-winning students, representatives of the British International School in Belgrade and HE Aleksandar Karadjordjevic and his wife Catherine 08/11/2012 Duke of Edinburgh Award

British Ambassador to Serbia HE Mr. Michael Davenport, organised a ceremony at which students of British International School in Belgrade was awarded the Duke of Edinburgh Award. The event was held on November 8 at the White Palace in Belgrade.

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99 December 2012 | 53

faces & places

Ivica Dačić, Prime Minister (left), Aleksandar Vučić, Defence Minister and Nebojša Stefanović, President of the Serbian National Assembly 08/11/2012

Serbian Military Security Agency Day

In the presence of State and military leadership and a number of guests, the Military Security Agency celebrated its founding anniversary on November 12.

The reception at the Great Hall was attended by the President of the Serbian National Assembly Nebojsa Stefanovic, Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army Lt. Gen. Ljubisa Diković ministers in the Serbian government, the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Army, clergy, diplomats and foreign military attaches.

Miloš Djurković, president of the AmCham Serbia and US Ambassador to Serbia Michael D. Kirby 09/11/2012 American Chamber of Commerce

US Ambassador to Serbia HE Mr. Michael D. Kirby met with representatives of major domestic and foreign companies in Serbia, members of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) on the economic opportunities and challenges facing Serbia.

“I welcome the progress made by the government of Serbia in the first 100 days, but much more needs to be done to improve the business climate,’’ said Ambassador Kirby.

13/11/2012

Philip Morris

Philip Morris marked a significant increase in their production in its factory in Nis for export. The event was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, other representatives of state institutions and the City of Nis, and the business partners of the company.

“With the opening of new export markets, Philip Morris will increase the volume of production at our factory in Nis by 30 percent in 2012,” said Paul Reilly, General Manager, Philip Morris, Serbia.

12/11/2012 Hyatt Regency Belgrade

General Manager Hom Parviz and the management of the luxury hotel Hyatt Regency Belgrade marked the successful completion of the business year by organizing a cocktail for friends and associates in the Crystal Ballroom. The reception was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps and many wellknown personalities from public and cultural life.

Hom Parviz, General Manager

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

Paul Reilly and Aleksandar Vučić

HE.Mr. Alain Kundycki welcomes President Tomislav Nikolić 15/11/2012

National Day of the Kingdom of Belgium

On the occasion of the National Day of the Kingdom of Belgium, Ambassador of Belgium to Serbia HE.Mr. Alain Kundycki hosted a reception at the Belgian Embassy, which, in addition to Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, was attended by large number of guests from the political, cultural and diplomatic life of Serbia.

HE. Mr. Francois-Xavier Deniau (left), Neda Valčić Lazović, Mirjana Karanović and Goran Marković 19/11/2012 Orders of Arts and Literature

French Ambassador to Serbia HE. Mr. Francois-Xavier Deniau awarded the Order of Arts and Literature to three outstanding professionals of Serbian Culture: Mirjana Karanovic, theater and film actress and teacher at FDA, Neda Valčić Lazović, editor in culture programme of Serbian Radio and TV (RTS), literary translator and the author of the program literature and Goran Markovic, film and theatre director, writer and professor at FDA.

22/11/2012 National Day of Lebanon

On the occasion of National Day of Lebanon, Ambassador of Lebanon HE Mr. Ghassan Abdel Khalek hosted a reception at Belgrade’s Club “Jelena”, attended by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, and a large number of representatives of cultural, political and diplomatic life of Serbia.

On that occasion, folk groups from Lebanon played a few national dances.

President Tomislav Nikolić and HE Mr. Ghassan Abdel Khalek cordeditorial@cma.rs |

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culture calendar CONCERTS Viva Vox Sava Centar, December 1-2 @ 20.00 After last year’s spectacle for which the tickets were sold out weeks in advance, the Viva Vox Choir perform this year on the same dates in Sava Center. Viva Vox is unique for its innovative and bold approach to choral singing. Using voice without instrumental accompaniment, the singers evoke the sound of the whole band.

Experimenting with genres typical of this choir that performed the most famous songs of various international and domestic types of modern music, from pop to the production of industrial metals and break bits. This time, in addition to Rammstein and Prodigy, the program will perform music by Nirvana, RHCP’s, and much more.

extinguished in Serbia, a new, strong energy of eight brave people brought audiences back again to enjoy the atmosphere and lively music from the beginning of the 20th century.

Gabi i Matija – Journey Through Memories Kolarac, December 18 @ 20.00 Gabi Novak and Matija Dedić will hold a long-awaited concert in Kolarac on December 18.

Suzana Šuvaković Savić Sava Centar, December 21 @ 20.00 Suzana will present the most beautiful opera arias, as well as Spanish, Russian and Neapolitan songs and romances, accompanied by the Stanislav Binički orchestra.

Guests at the concert will be Giacomo Patti - tenor (Italy), Bora Dugić – Flute, Orchestra of the Ministry of Defence Stanislav Binički, Conductor Vesna Šouc, Nikola Kojo and Cultural Choir Svetozar Marković - Novi Sad. Program: La Traviata, La Boheme, O Sole Mio, Rigoletto, Santa Lucia, Torna a Surriento,Neapolitan, Spanish and Russian songs and romances.

The Cranberries Hala Sportova Novi Beograd, December 4 @ 20.00 Combining melodies of guitar indie pop with the sound texture of the late 80s and the addition of Celtic hues, the Cranberries became one of the most successful groups of the early 90s.

Led by vocalist Dolores O’Riordan, whose shrill, powerful voice is the main feature of a group, the group emerged on the music scene with its ballad “Linger” in 1993. Its debut album,”Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Cannot We?” continued the international success of the song “Linger” and “No Need to Argue” from 1994 broke record sales and was sold millions of copies.

Prljavo Kazaliste Kombank Arena, December 22 @ 20.00 After twenty-six years since their last concert in Belgrade, Prljavo Kazaliste will perform in Kombank Arena on December 22.

The Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra Sava Centar, December 15 @ 20.00 The Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra was founded in 2001. When everybody thought that this kind of wonderful jazz was forever

Massimo Sava Centar, December 26 @ 20.30 Massimo (Masimo Savić) will continue the tradition with his pre-New Year’s performance

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Chicago Terazije Theatre, December 5 @ 20.00 Some Like It Hot Terazije Theatre, December 7 @ 20.00 Zorba the Greek Terazije Theatre, December 8 @ 20.00 Dva Mirisa Ruze Terazije Theatre, December 11 @ 20.00 Glavo Luda Terazije Theatre, December 12 @ 20.00 Cigani Lete U Nebo Terazije Theatre, December 16 @ 20.00 Producenti Terazije Theatre, December 21 @ 20.00 Pod Sjajem Zvezda Terazije Theatre, December 23 @ 20.00 Café Cantante Madlenianum, December 4-5 @ 20.00 The Flamenco play “Café Cantante”, partly inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s poem, will have its premiere on December 4 and 5 on the stage of the Madlenianum. in the Sava Centre. This year the concert will be held on December 26, but this time Massimo prepared a special treat for Belgrade audiences - a concert titled “Unplugged in the clouds.”

New Year’s Concert “Ladies Sing Jazz” Kolarac, December 27 @ 20.00 The RTS Big Band together with Lena Kovačević, Aleksandra Radović, Mari Mari and Jelena Tomašević will make this a concert not to be missed.

Rade Šerbedzija – I have a song for you Madlenianum, December 27 @ 20.00 Famous actor and singer Rade Šerbedzija will hold a concert “I have a song for you” on December 27 in the Madlenianum.

Giselle – Svetlana Zaharova Sava Centar, December 8 @ 20.00 Belgrade audiences will experience the ballet festival -the greatest ballerina of today, the only prima ballerina assoluta in the World, Svetlana Zakharova, is coming to Belgrade.

Zakharova, with her unparalleled ballet skills, fascinating, virtuoso, graceful moves, enchants audiences of the Bolshoi Theatre, the Scala of Milan, Covent Garden, the New York City Ballet, the Tokyo Ballet and the Paris Ballet. On December 8 Zaharova will perform the title role in the popular romantic ballet Giselle at the Sava Centre. Zakharova and her partner, Bolshoi Theatre ballet champion and

Zona Zamfirova Terazije Theatre, December 4 @ 20.00

star of Russian ballet Ruslan Skvortsov, will perform together with ballet ensemble and the orchestra and the National Theatre, which will be conducted by Kliničev Pavel, one of the foremost conductors of the Bolshoi Theater.

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2 Cellos Sava Centar, December 28 @ 20.00 Young, talented, fun and unique duo 2CELLOS, Luka Sulić and Stjepan Hauser, after numerous appearances around the world, will hold a concert in Belgrade.

Attractive in appearance and excellent in skills, the Croatian duo reached meteoric success and great popularity after “You Tube” set

Café Cantante revives ancient and modern expressions of the flamenco at the same time, leading viewers to a time when flamenco was performed in specialized venues called cafés cantantes.

Authors and dancers: Pedro Fernández and La Sali and music: Pepe Carrizo and José Sisón Rebecca Madlenianum, 9 December @ 19.30 The musical hit “Rebecca”, from renowned film and theatre composer Sylvester Levay, will be premiered on December 9 at Madlenianum.

The music and orchestration was written by Sylvester Levay, liberto and lyrics by Michael Kunze. The musical is inspired by Dafne di Moria’s famous novel, “Rebecca.”

The artistic team, led by director Nebojša Bradić and conductor Đorđe Stanković, will bring us the story of a rich Englishman to Max de Winter, his young wife and Mrs. Danvers.

The cast is impressive with Ivan Bosiljčić, Zafir Hadžimanov, Katarina Gojković, Nataša Marković, Dejan Lutkić and many others. the song’s presentation of “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson.

Smak Kombank Arena, December 29 @ 20.30 Smak, one of the most important bands in the history of the local rock music, will hold a concert at the Arena Kombank on December 29.

Smak will perform in their legendary line-up from the seventies: Radomir Mihajlović Točak (guitar), Boris Aranđelović (vocals), Zoran

Milanović (bass) and Slobodan Stojanović Kepa (drums) and will play songs like “Ulazak u Harem”, “Crna Dama” and other songs that made Smak pioneers in local rock music. The organizers promise that this will be the concert of the year.

CLASSICAL MUSIC Russian Soul – Yury Revich, Kolarac, December 4 @ 20.00 Jurij Levič, one of the most eminent young violinists of today, will return to Kolarac to

culture news perform after many requests from Belgrade audiences. Valentina Babor from Germany on piano will accompany Yuriy. They will perform Prokofiev, Piazzolla, Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Sarasate Choir and Symphonic Orchestra of RTS

Kolarac, December 6 @ 20.00 Conductor: Mladen Jagušt Soloists: Jasmina Trumbetaš Petrović, soprano; Nataša Jović Trivić, alto; Dejan Maksimović, tenor; Miodrag Mika Jovanović, bass.

Program: L.V.Beethoven Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Kolarac, December 7 @ 20.00 Conductor: Alexander Rahbari Program: Shoenberg, Dvorak Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Kolarac, December 14 @ 20.00 Conductor: Emil Tabakov Soloist: Sergei Krylov, violin Program: Shostakovich, Prokofiev Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Kolarac, December 21 @ 20.00 Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will perform on December 21 in Kolarac as a part of the Time Machine – Baroque cycle.

Conductor: George Petrou Soloist: to be announced Program: to be announced New Years Promenade Concert of Chamber Music Kolarac, December 14 @ 20.00 As a part of the Kolarac Chamber of Music, the students of Faculty of Music Arts will hold a concert “New Years Promenade Concert of Chamber Music”.

Choir and Symphonic Orchestra of RTS Kolarac, December 26 @ 20.00 Choir and Symphonic Orchestra of RTS will hold another concert this month at Kolarac.

Conductor: Bojan Suđić Program: J.Bošnjak and Tchaikovsky

New Year – Gregorian Calendar Kolarac, December 27 @ 20.00 Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a concert “New Year According to Gregorian Calendar” at Kolarac on December 27.

Conductor: Alan Bjelinsnski Choir Obilić Academic Cultural Center Krsmanović Program: The Beatles, Abba New Year’s Concert St. George Strings Kolarac, December 29 @ 20.00 On December 29 in Kolarac, St.George Strings will be accompanies by famous violinist Stefan Milenković.

Concert of Children’s Choir of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade Kolarac, December 29 @ 20.00 As a part of the Kolarac program of chamber music, the Children’s Choir of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade will hold their concert on December 29 at Kolarac. Admission is free.

OPERA Adriana Lekuvrer National Theatre, December 1 @ 19.00

LIMIT Live Art Festival Dom Omladine, November 22-25

After the huge success of the first LIMIT Live Art Festival last year, Dom Omladine was the host of the Festival again this year. This year’s program included performances that explored even more radically the borders of performing arts. The performances offered only one approach for interpreting artistic innovations and reminded us of some crucial changes made in this artistic discipline.

Tuxedomoon Dom Omladine, November 3 Even after 14 albums and 33 years, Tuxedomoon never ceases to experiment, to explore new ways of creating and presenting their music. Tuxedomoon is the movement, the inspiration, for musicians of different genres, always unique and different. Belgrade audiences had a rare opportunity to enjoy the music of Blaine L. Reininger and other band members at a wonderful concert in Dom Omladine.

ART Exhibition Black and White, Gallery of old Beograd store Knez Mihailova 5 December 1-20 The exhibition, “Black and White,” is a multimedia project that includes the artworks of Robert Cod Cabeto, Alesia Maximilian Schroder and Predrag Popara. All the works displayed are large format and using only white and black. Čarolija Kombank Arena, December 25 @ 19.00 Čarolija, a traditional event for kids, this year is preparing a big surprise – big Čarolija Super Finals and New Year’s musical. Gifts are awaiting each child!

Organizers of Čarolija are inviting kids and their parents to be part of the spectacular New Year’s celebration. Čarolijanci, Leontina, Ivana Peters, Tijana Dapčević and Minja Subota with cartoon characters Vinks villas, Ben 10 and Power Rangers will make this event a day to remember!

Exhibition Cuban National Theatre Instituto Cervantes, November 6-25 An exhibition of the “Cuban National Theatre”, organized as a tribute to Alicia Alonso’s artwork and the Cuban National Ballet, was organized by Instituto Cervantes and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Cuba in Belgrade, Mrs. Mercedes Martinez Valdes and Ljiljana Sedlar Bogoeva, professor at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University of Belgrade.

At the exhibition, the documentary “Waking up from a dream” was shown, directed by Luis Ernesto Donjasa, made as a remake

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

The biggest star of this year’s festival was playwright Raimund Hoghe, close associate of the famous Pina Bausch during her most creative years. Hoghe presented to Belgrade audience his play L’ AprèsMidi, a new interpretation of Nijinsky’s Afternoon of a Faun.

LIMIT this year hosted The Orchard Ballads project by Ingri Fiksdal, one of the most famous Nordic choreographers; Who is Next? by the always provocative Janez Jansa; and the Zagreb project, Dogs, by Belgrade director Bojan Djordjev based on Erve Ziber’s story.

of “Sleeping Beauty” and performed by the Cuban National Ballet and directed by Alicia Alonso.

Mediteraneo Festival Metropol Palace, November 24-25 The third Mediteraneo festival of wine, gastronomy and wine tourism was held at the Metropol Palace Hotel on November 24 and 25.

The offer of this year’s festival was enriched with a large number of lectures by eminent and certified experts in these fields.

Visitors had the opportunity to taste a range of quality wines, as well as different types of cheeses, truffles, olives and specialties prepared by representatives of the Culinary Federation of Serbia. Besides the lectures and tasting, visitors participated in practical workshops and cultural and musical intermezzo.

Duško Gojković & Big Band RTS Dom Omladine, November 26

Duško Gojković & the RTS Big Band, Featuring.Martin Gjakonovski, held a concert called “Quo Vadis Samba” in Dom Omladine on November 26. The concert is named after one of the most famous of Gojković’s compositions. The audience enjoyed the colourful repertoire inspired by the music of Brazil and South America in a clear framework of the jazz tradition, Gojković’s arrangements for the RTS Big Band. Part of the program was written especially for this occasion, and the premiere of new songs and arrangements make this performance unique.

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interview Zvonko Bogdan, singer, composer, ethnomusicologist

The PANNONIAN VOICE ■ By Zorica Todorović Mirković

Zvonko Bogdan, the doyen of the Vojvodinian tamburitza music, an accomplished interpreter of urban traditional folk and romance songs, an ethnomusicologist, and a lover of black horses and carrier pigeons….

certainly live on long after he’s gone and forever be a part of the abundant musical heritage of Vojvodina. He is the keeper of the tradition of the lowland chanson, and of the life on granges. He is an authentic and recognizable character with polite and gentlemanly manners, known for his lifestyle.

Once a year, he gives a concert in Belgrade, a place which has been close to this king of tamburitza music’s heart for many years. Belgrade is where he started his career and became famous. Back in the 1970s, the capital city was a metropolis which gave him a friendly and warm welcome. e is a gentleman who knows how to wear a He sang at the Union Hotel for a full decade, and the peohat, enjoys what he does, doesn’t take tips and ple came especially to listen to his songs, sung in a smooth doesn’t pick up flowers that are thrown at him. voice, songs that somehow alHe is an artist.

He gave new life to I was inspired by my childhood, life on ways took on a different diVojvodinian music, made it a grange, the people and the period of mension. The times have changed. The legendary singpopular again, breathed a which I had the fondest memories er has been performing at new kind of beauty, content the Sava Centre for years. The audiences are the same, onand sound into it with his repertoire, the way he interpreted ly younger. Zvonko’s songs are still about the lowlands, the it and through composing, particularly when it comes to the past, the granges, the Bohemian life, the Danube, and love. traditional Bunjevac songs. He is the writer of songs that will

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He says that he does not come often to Belgrade since a man has to be balanced about everything, concerts included.

That is what the former leading man of the Sombor Theatre, Bora Stojanović, told him. He was the one that introduced Zvonko to the world of art. He said to him once: “Zvonko, listen carefully. It is very important to stay balanced, both in art and in life.”

Zvonko Bogdan speaks for CorD about his career, music, winery, future museum, the recent concert in Belgrade and family in a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere of his grange near the Palić Lake.

■ For a whole decade, you sang at the Union Hotel which was frequented by such Belgrade elite as Duško Radović and Momo Kapor. You often say that that was the most brilliant part of your career.

do know that I am always communicating to music lovers who have great taste and who understand me. I have been writing songs for my own soul and from my own soul, and that’s what audiences have recognized. My songs are based on the great poetry of Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, Đura Jakšić, and Ivan Kozarac.

■ Although at the beginning of your career you sang the then popular Belgrade-type songs, you did listen to the advice of Branko Belobrk, the second violin in the famous Carevac Orchestra, and turned to composing and interpreting music from your area and the music close to the people you grew up with. How did you start composing?

- I had already been a known singer when I came to the realization that popularity was fleeting and that I had to leave - The famous Union Hotel was a something more permanent belaunching pad for many singers. hind me. I was inspired by my This was the place where we were childhood, life on a grange, the gaining our reputation. It wasn’t people and the period of which easy to fill up the hotel hall every I had the fondest memories. It single evening, since this was a hall was then that I wrote my first at the Yugoslav level. There were no wild parties, tips, fights and There were no wild parties, tips, fights song “Hej salaši na severu Bačke.” A legendary composdrunken nights in this hotel. At the Union, from 10 pm to mid- and drunken nights in this hotel. At the er and former conductor of Union, my orchestra and I performed Radio Novi Sad’s Tamburitza night, my orchestra and I performed what was called back “an animated musical programme,” Orchestra, Sava Vukosavljev, helped me and wrote the then “an animated musical with only one cigarette break first music composition, programme,” which is somewhich I subsequently recorded. I will never forget the thing that you will be hard-pressed to find today, with only one expression on Janika Balázs’s face when I put the song’s cigarette break. Exactly at midnight, I departed from the hotel, notes in front of him. He wondered where I got the componobody was pulling me by my sleeve, and nobody wanted an sition from since he had never heard of it. Only when I had encore. And that’s how I worked for ten years. to put my name to it, I admitted that it was actually mine.

I will never forget when I saw Duško Radović and Momo Back then, I couldn’t even imagine that that song, writKapor sitting at a table at the Union, engaged in a serious conten in the winter of 1971, would become a cult song. After versation. That took me by surprise. I asked them what they that, I frequently used my piano to write down notes and were doing in the hall of this modest hotel and Duško replied: lyrics. That’s how the dearest song to my heart ‘Govori se “We are waiting for you to start singing.” That was the biggest da me varaš,” came about, as well as the best song I have compliment I have ever received. written so far “Već odavno spremam svog mrkova,” but also many others.

■ You gained your reputation as a singer of urban tra-

ditional folk music (“Starogradska” music) in the 1970s when you were seducing listeners with that music, as well as with the Hungarian and Russian romantic songs.

How do you see your songs?

- The repertoire I choose has always been popular with the audiences. Real values are permanent, and they always find their way to the listeners. I care very much about the people who listen to what I am singing. I don’t know what to tell you about my interpretation or how to classify it, but I

■ You have collaborated with the famous Janika Balázs,

concert master Lucijan Petrović, recorded songs with the first violin of Hungary Sandor Lakatos, performed with Gheorghe Zamfir, as well as the best cymbalist of all times Toni Jordaki, cooperated with the Radio Belgrade’s Orchestra conducted by Ljubiša Pavković, the Branko Belobrk Orchestra and had the biggest number of recordings with the Radio and Television of Vojvocordeditorial@cma.rs |

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dina’s Tamburitza Orchestra. Whose advice do you remember most vividly?

- The famous pianist Ladislav Balog wanted to make an excellent performer out of me. He used to tell me: “Son, when you become old you will still be able to play the piano, but how are you going to sing?” Well, he spoke in vain. It was my destiny to become a singer. I did it my way and remained true to myself.

■ Where does this need in singers to “paint” the song with their voice come from?

- I have always thought that the audience needs to “see” what I am singing about, otherwise everything is futile. I

and prim, instead of the saxophone and drums.

- Yes, I have been compared mostly to the great Sinatra.

Professional musicians know that Frank Sinatra felt at home whenever he was on stage. It is important for everything to be programmed in advance so nothing gets in the way of performance. That’s what we have in common.

One of my role models is an exceptional performer called Nat King Cole. I learned from him that every word and every syllable has to be in its place. A handful of people from this part of the world have taught me things that you cannot learn at school, at an academy or in the theatre. One of them is my first teacher and associate, the Franz Liszt of my life – Maestro Ladislav Balog – who is also a keyboardist and a master of the church organ.

■ Bars and drinking go hand in hand.

However, that does not apply to you.

- I don’t drink. That’s another misconception that people have about me. I can be in good mood without drinking first.

The truth is that I have spent almost five decades in bars without drinking a drop of alcohol, and that has saved me from many unpleasant situations.

■ A winery named after you has been opened in Palić. The wines that this winery produces have already conquered the palates of the people who tasted it, and also won world medals.

Do you enjoy drinking wine? have been trying, and I think I have succeeded, to ‘paint’ the song with my voice. In my opinion, that third dimension is very important.

■ For decades, you have been collecting and storing old romantic songs created in the Pannonian lowland. Are you interested in ethnomusicology?

- I am afraid that tamburitza music will die out in this part of the world, and that would be an incalculable loss. That’s why, apart from writing songs, I am also doing remakes of the urban and rural traditional romantic folk songs in order to stop them from falling into oblivion. Some of my work is based on the abundant heritage of the one-of-akind tamburitza virtuoso Pere Tumbas Hajo. His work is deserving of serious ethnomusical research. I am only an occasional tracker.

■ You are often compared to the famous singer Frank

Sinatra. You have been also called the Pannonian Miles Davis: a jazz musician accompanied by the tambourine 60 |

- Ever since I started to get interested in the production of this heavenly drink and ever since the winery opened, I make sure that I try every single wine that we are going to offer people. I take a sip or two.

That is enough for me to taste and feel the aroma. There are people in the winery who are much more competent that I am. We have the winery’s chief oenologist Thomas Seeger, owner of the noted Seeger Winery in Germany, whohas been considered for years as one of the best winemakers there is. I am his student. We use a technology that meets all European standards and validated by many gold and silver medals that our wines have won at prestigious wine contests in Austria and Japan. I am an advocate of doing everything the best you can.

I am afraid that tamburitza music will die out in this part of the world, and that would be an incalculable loss

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■ The Zvonko Bogdan Musem will be opened at the winery’s premises soon. What will you exhibit at it?

- I wasn’t too keen on that idea, but my closest friends thought that everything I created on the stage carries a certain weight and that it would be a shame if it were forgotten. The idea was

for this grange to be a small central European centre that will have two halls where the best performers would perform. So, apart from the production facility, wine cellars and the tasting chamber, the winery will also have a museum and a restaurant.

In one room there will be a museum with the things I have been given during the last fifty years of my career – acknowledgments, the piano, the tamburitzas given to me

by Janika Balázs. The museum should nurture the memory of the wonderful time of barouches, ladies and gentlemanly enjoyment of taverns. The museum will also showcase photographs, video clips, newspaper articles, books, note sheets, instruments, hats and everything that is synonymous with my career.

thousand people, when you always loved singing for a handful of them?

- It wasn’t easy. But the times have changed. Small venues are the things of the past, at least for me. I think that there is no audience that frequents only small venues any longer. These people are now coming to the big concert at the Sava Centre once a year. When you are close to your audience, the size of the venue doesn’t matter. There is only the music, the wonderful audience and me.

■ You have promoted your new album at the concert

called “Ova pesma refren nema” (‘This Song has no Cho-

■ Music, horses and pigeons are your

passions. Are you still involved in horse racing, where you have accomplished great results?

- Everything is different now. Horses are my love, and they provide me with a counterbalance to the stage. When I get tired of performing, and the hustle and bustle that surrounds me, I spend time with animals – carrier pigeons and horses. For years, I have been breeding race horses, trained my friends’ horses and competed. Now, I keep horses because of my grandson, for him to have something fun to see when he comes to visit his grandpa at the grange.

■ Apart from a successful career, you have managed to have a harmonious family life.

How often do you see your grandchildren?

Horses are my love, and they provide me with a counterbalance to the stage.

When I get tired of performing, and the hustle and bustle that surrounds me, I spend time with animals

- I have been married to my wife Mirjana, a Subotica native who I met in Belgrade, for over four decades. She has always been the voice of reason in our family, and whenever my head was in the clouds, she has always managed to find a wise way to bring me back to Earth. Our children – my son Sigmund (37) and daughter Evelin (35) - have left Serbia a long time ago. He lives in Brazil and she lives in Ohio (US). We see each other twice a year, but, thanks to this hi-tech age, we “see” each other even when we speak on the phone. We have three grandchildren – Nina (11), Aleksandar (6) and the youngest – Sofija (4). They are Mira’s and my biggest joy, happiness and a source of pride. They are our most beautiful music.

■ Belgrade’s audience has the privilege of going to your traditional November concert at the Sava Centre. How did you get used to giving concerts in front of several

rus’). You have written both the music and the lyrics.

Could you tell us how these songs came about and what is their mission?

- With this album I have tried to keep certain kind of music from falling into oblivion. I have assembled the best ever tamburitza players from northern Bačka and my tamburitza players from Novi Sad. I have put together a big orchestra with whom I recorded an original combination of the Bunjevac dances. The songs are intended for music connoisseurs, but also for the people involved in this kind of music, and this kind of instrument. The sounds on the new album are the heritage of the best tamburitza players from Vojvodina.

■ Do you plan on writing new songs?

- I never talk about that, although I always have an ace up my sleeve. I write a song once a year on average. Everything I have written so far was about a certain period, people, events.

This is an inexhaustible source from which, occasionally, I get a melody and make it immortal with notes. ■ cordeditorial@cma.rs |

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sport ATP Tour 2013

Serving for €100 million

Precision analysts have joined forces with experienced statisticians, tennis connoisseurs, and journalists, and, with a help of a computer and a rich archive, made projections about the rankings in the biggest tennis competitions in the world in 2013 according to which Đoković would take first place.

Needless to say, the precision with which BWIN predicts results has always ext year, Novak Đoković on title at Davis Cup, which he managed been exceptionally high so we should will win Australian Open to do back in 2010. believe them this time too. On the other by beating Andy Murray This prediction of the future does hand, it is obvious that other betting in the finals. He will repeat not come from the streets of Belgrade shops, which are self-proclaimed authe same success at Wimor the fans of the best tennis player in bledon where he will again thorities on modern sports, beat the Scotsman (or Roger are sticking to the tried and Novak Đoković will kick off the Federer) for the title. The tested quartet for next year – season at the Hopman Cup, play at Đoković, Murray, Federer and French Open will go to Rafael Nadal who will recover from Australian Open, and then there is Nadal – although not neceshis knee injury and go after sarily in that order. The odds Davis Cup in Belgium the new Roland Garros trophy posted next to Novak’s name with full force. The end of the season will the world, but from the HQ of one of the are conceivably the best. be reserved for the Serb again – he will most powerful and the most influential There are bookmakers who think take the US Open. On top of that, Nole is betting companies in the world “Bet and differently, including the Bleacher Realso supposed to win the World ChampiWin” (BWIN). port tennis website. The website’s ex-

In the upcoming season, the global caravan of tennis will provide suspense, excitement, and upheavals such as we have not seen for a long time. The prize money will be the largest in the history of tennis – EUR 100 million divided over 66 tournaments

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

not play in front of the home audience, perts say the following: Murray will win since the Swiss organizers are no longer Australian Open and Wimbledon, Novak able to pay a lot of money for his particiwill be triumphant at Roland Garros, while Juan Martin del Potro will conquer pation (he asked one million euros just to New York. play at the tournament, prize money not In a traditional pre-New Year’s surincluded). He will also not play at Masvey, most of the readers of the Swiss ters in Miami since he wants to conserve magazine Blick are confident that their his strength. favourite – Federer – will muster enough Novak’s tournament schedule for the strength and motivation to regain the no. first part of the season is also known – 1 spot after a triumph at Wimbledon and he will kick off the season at the Hopman the US Open.

Cup, play at Australian Open, and then If you read the Spanish press, you there is Davis Cup in Belgium. In late Febmight be under the impression that ruary he will play in Dubai, after which the 2013 season would be the season he will depart for Indian Wells. After that of Rafael Nadal’s great return and that come Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome he, come May, will take Đoković off his and Roland Garros. He might play at Ser‘throne’ by beating him on clay. bian Open if the tournament is actually Different opinions are a guarantee held, since there is a real possibility of that next season will be brimming with the tournament’s not happening due to interesting and nail-biting duels, as well financial crisis in Serbia, lack of sponsors as being one of the most uncertain and and family problems that the tournament unpredictable organizer – the seasons ever. Đoković family Different opinions are a “The most im- guarantee that next season – has been havportant facing. While the will be brimming with players are octor here is the health of the top interesting and nail-biting cupied with tacplayers. If Noduels, as well as being one tics and are devak manages to vising plans of of the most uncertain and realizing their avoid injuries, as he has man- unpredictable seasons ever sporting ambiaged so far, i.e. if tions, a regular Nadal overcomes his problems with the tennis fan is baffled with the prize money knee tendon, and Federer and Murray given in only one season. manage to balance between their tournaIt is the staggering sum of EUR 100 million that is distributed over 66 ATP ment schedules and have enough rest in tournaments throughout the year, inbetween them, there will be no clear favourites,” says Àlex Corretja, the coach of cluding the four Grand Slams organthe Spanish Davis Cup team which made ized by the International Tennis Fedit to the finals this year. eration (ITF).

The Swiss player already released The top five tennis players – Đoković, his schedule for 2013 – he will play at Federer, Murray, Nadal and Ferrer - have Australian Open, followed by Rotterdam, earned one third of that money, while Del Dubai, Indian Wells, Mutua Madrid Open Potro, Berdych, Tsonga, Tipsarević and and Masters in Rome, after which he will Gasquet pocketed millions of euros. play at Roland Garros. He will start his Despite this, the prize money keeps season on grass courts in Halle, followed on getting bigger and bigger year-onby Wimbledon, The Rogers Cup in Monyear. So, for instance, the organizers of the Melbourne Grand Slam will provide treal, Canada, Cincinnati, and US Open.

31.1 million Australian dollars in prize Come the end of the year, he will play in money, four million more than in 2012.

Shanghai and Paris, as well as London if ATP President Brad Drewett is trying he manages to qualify for Masters. This hard to secure bigger prize money in means that Roger will skip Basel and will

GRAND SLAMS OVERVIEW

AUSTRALIAN OPEN Dates: 14 – 27 January 2013 Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Australia Website: www.australianopen.com Men’s Singles Winner 2012: Novak Djokovic Women’s Singles Winner 2012: Victoria Azarenka Names of main courts: Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, Margaret Court Arena FRENCH OPEN Dates: 26 May to 9 June 2013 Venue: Roland Garros, Paris, France Website: www.rolandgarros.com Men’s Singles Winner 2012: Rafael Nadal (with the win Nadal achieved a record 7 Roland Garros titles) Women’s Singles Winner 2012: Maria Sharapova (with the win Sharapova achieved her career grand slam) Names of Main Courts: Court Philippe Chatrier, Court Suzanne Lenglen WIMBLEDON Dates: 24 June to 7 July 2013 Venue: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London, UK Website: www.wimbledon.org Gentlemen’s Singles Winner 2012: Roger Federer Ladies’ Singles Winner 2012: Serena Williams Names of Main Courts: Centre Court, No 1 Court, No 2 Court US OPEN Dates: 26 August to 8 September 2013 Venue: Flushing Meadow, New York, USA Website: www.usopen.org Men’s Singles Winner 2012: Andy Murray Women’s Singles Winner 2012: Serena Williams Names of Main Courts: Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium

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99 December 2012 | 63

Paris, London and New York too, with not only the champions but also the lower ranked players benefitting from that since they usually end the tournaments in their first rounds. The amount of money they will get for their tournament results will certainly increase.

By doing this, the top ranks of the Association of Tennis Professionals want to stimulate the players not to resort to actions in 2013 like what happened last year. At the beginning of the last season in Australia, tennis players threatened to boycott the tournament and go on strike if they didn’t get more prize money from the total money that the tournament organizers make.

Apart from Grand Slams, the Masters tournaments are the most lucrative tournaments around – there are a total of nine of them and participation is mandatory (if a tennis player skips one, he will get penalty points or zero points for that particular tournament). The Masters BEST OVERALL IN 2012 1.

Novak Đoković 2.

Roger Federer 3.

Tomas Berdych 4.

Juan Martin del Potro 5.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

75:12 76:15 71:12 65:17 60:22

6 7 6 4 2

BEST ON HARD COURTS 1.

Novak Đoković 2.

Roger Federer 3.

Tomas Berdych 4.

Juan Martin del Potro 5.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

50-5 41-7 40-14 40-12 36-16

6 4 2 3 2

ON CLAY COURTS 1.

Nicolas Almagro 2.

David Ferrer 3.

Juan Monaco 4.

Rafael Nadal 5.

Janko Tipsarevic

35-9 32-5 24-7 23-1 27-1

2 3 3 4 1

ON GRASS COURTS 1.

Roger Federer 2.

Andy Murray 3.

David Ferrer 4.

Marin Cilic 5.

Novak Đoković

15-2 12-2 11-2 9-2 9-3

1 1 1 1 0

ATP LIST 1.

Novak Đoković (Serbia) 2.

Roger Federer (Switzerland) 3.

Andy Murray (UK) 4.

Rafael Nadal (Spain) 5.

David Ferrer (Spain) 6. Tomas Berdych (The Czech Republic) 7.

Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) 8.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 9.

Janko Tipsarević (Serbia) 10.

Richard Gasquet (France)

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12,920 10,265 8,000 6,795 6,505 4,680 4,480 3,490 2,990 2,515

ATP World Tour Finals Gala in London 2012

was actually increased. On top of that, in tournaments are Indian Wells, Miami, November, they had a week of rest beMonte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris, with the tween the Masters in Paris and London biggest money being given away at the taken away from them. Tired and exUS tournaments, around four million hausted, they had to leave for Britain imdollars. The Monte Carlo tournament mediately after playing in Paris. The top provides EUR 2.5 million, which is not eight players usually play in Paris only enough to safeguard the tournament because they “have to”. from being on the verge of losing its It is interesting to note that the Masmasters classification and dropping to ters in Madrid will change the colour of the lower organizational rank. its courts from blue to red. The court One of the changes that will hapcolour and the quality of clay will be repen in 2013, compared to 2012, is the placed with the traditional red one. Altournament calendar. There will be no though, the director of the tournament Olympic Games next season, so the tourin Spain, Ion Tiriack claimed that having a blue clay court was the right thing to do nament schedule will change slightly, since it broadcasts only to revert to better, as well as earlier schedules.

The Masters The players again tournaments are Indian bringing something fresh to ATP tourwon’t have enough Wells, Miami, Monte naments, the playtime to rest between the individCarlo, Madrid, Rome, ers thought otherual tournaments.

Montreal, Cincinnati, wise (Nadal and The top players Đoković declined Shanghai and Paris will use the seven to participate at days reserved for the Spanish tourthe Olympics in resting, recharging their nament in 2013). The head of ATP Brad batteries and getting ready for the CanDrewett sided with them and ordered for the blue clay to be removed and for ada Masters. Disregarding the fact that the tournament to revert to the standard most of the 2013 tournaments start a quality and colour. day earlier or a day later than in 2012, no So, the colours are set, rackets are other changes will be made to the schedtuned, players are financially and othule which doesn’t bode well with tennis players. Back in 2010, they were very voerwise settled and the show can begin.

Who now will predict the outcome? cal about wanting certain tournaments to be abolished and ending the season earlier so that they would have more NUMBERS time to rest and prepare for the next • I n 2013, John Isner and Miloš Raonić season. Not only were their requests not will try to have even better scores in fulfilled, but the number of tournaments terms of shots – the American had

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

1,005 and the Canadian 1,102 in 2012 which are the two best scores at ATP tournaments.

• Nadal has the best return. He wins 38% of his points in that way, followed by Đoković with 35%.

• Raonić has the best percentage when it comes to winning service games – his success rate is an unbelievable 93%, ahead of John Isner’s 92% and Roger Federer’s 91%. These three are the most difficult to break.

• In 2012, Đoković had 75 victories, one fewer than the Spaniard David Ferrer who, thanks to winning twice in the Davis Cup finals, reached the number of 76.

The only other player that had more than 70 victories was Roger Federer (71).

• In 2012, Novak Đoković won the biggest amount of money US $10,453,737. Roger Federer is the second with US $7,424,842. This is, of course, prize money, not counting the endorsement deals.

• I n 2013, it will be very difficult to break the record set by Novak and Nadal at the Australian Open – the final match lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes exactly, the longest match ever played. They also broke the record when it comes to the number of games in one match – 55. The shortest finals were in Metz, when Tsonga beat Seppi 6:1 and 6:2 in only 50 minutes of court time.

STARTING Dec. 31.

Jan 7.

Jan 21.

Jan 28.

Feb 4.

Feb 11.

Feb 18.

Feb 25.

Mar 4.

Mar 18.

Apr 01.

Apr 08.

Apr 15.

Apr 22.

Apr 29.

May 06.

May 13.

May 20.

May 27.

Jun 10.

Jun 17.

Jun 24.

Jul 8.

Jul 15.

Jul 22.

Jul 29.

RULE CHANGES Several tennis rules will be changed come next season. One would be cancelling the service let, i.e. repeating the serve if the ball touches the top of the net. In the future, if that happens, the game will not stop but resume immediately. This rule will be applied at Challenger tournaments in the first three months of 2013 and, if the rule is accepted by the players and the spectators alike, it will be applied in ATP tournaments as well.

The second change pertains to time violation, which comes in effect as of 1st January. The move changes a penalty fault for the second and all subsequent violations of the 25-second rule by a server. Currently, the penalty for multiple violations is a point for the server and receiver. ■

Aug 5.

Aug 12.

Aug 19.

Aug 26.

Sep 9.

Sep 16.

Sep 23.

Sep 30.

Oct 7.

Oct 14.

Oct 21.

Oct 28.

Nov 4.

TBD Grand Slams

CITY Doha Chennai Brisbane Sydney Auckland Melbourne Monpellier Zagreb Santiago Costa do Sauipe Rotterdam San Jose Marseille Memphis Buenos Aires Acapulco Dubai Delray Beach Indian wells Miami Houston Casablanca Monte-Carlo Barcelona Bucharest Estoril Belgrade Munich Madrid Rome Nice Paris Dusseldorf Halle Queen’s 's-Hertogenbosch Eastbourne London Newport Bastad Stuttgart Atlanta Hamburg Los Angeles Umag Gstaad Washington DC Kitzbuhel Montreal Cincinnati Winston Salem New York Metz St. Petersburg Kuala Lumpur Bangkok Beijing Tokyo Shanghai Stockholm Moscow Vienna Basel Valencia Paris London ATP World Tour Masters 1000

TOURNAMENT NAME Qatar ExxonMobil Open Aircel Chennai Open Brisbane International Medibank Int. Sydney Heineken Open Australian open Davis Cup first round Open Sud de France PBZ Zagreb indoors Movistar Open Brasil Open ABN AMRO World SAP Open Open 13 Regions Morgan Keegan Copa Claro Abierto Mexicano Telcel Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships DB International Tennis Championships BNP Paribas open Sony Ericsson Open Davis Cup quarter US Men's Clay Court Championships Grand Prix Hassan II Barcelona Open BancSabadell Barcelona Open BancSabadell BCR Open Romania Estoril Open Serbia Open BMW Open Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open Internationali BNL d'Italia Open de Nice Cote d’Azur Roland Garros Dusseldorf World Team Cup Gerry Weber Open AEGON Championships UNICEF Open AEGON International Wimbledon Campbell’s Hall of Fame SkiStard Swedish Open Mercedes Cup Atlanta Tennis Championships German Open Tennis Championships Farmers Classic Studena Croatia Open Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad Legg Mason Tennis Classic TBD Rogers Cup Western&Southern Financial Winston-Salem Open US US Open Davis Cup Semi-finals Open de Moselle St. Petersburg Open Malaysian Open PTT Thailand Open China Open Rakuten Japan Open Shanghai Rolex Masters If Stockholm Open Kremlin Cup Bank Austria TennisTrophy Swiss Indoors Basel Valencia Open 500 BNP Paribas Masters Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Davis Cup Final ATP World Tour 500

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

ATP World Tour 250

SURFACE hard hard hard hard hard hard indoor hard indoor hard clay clay indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard clay clay hard hard hard hard finals clay clay clay clay clay clay clay clay clay clay clay clay clay grass grass grass grass grass grass clay clay hard clay hard clay clay clay clay hard hard hard hard indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard hard hard hard indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard indoor hard Davis Cup

99 December 2012 | 65

interview

Conquering Romania and Turkey We are trying to ‘open’ new markets and especially solidify our position on the Russian market while trying to get even closer to the Romanian and Turkish markets. The results we accomplished last winter season were excellent and we want to repeat them this time around too Nikola Avram, Director General of MK Mountain Resort

T

he full accommodation capacity of the four-star Hotel Grand has been completely renovated in line with the highest hotel standards. The hotel reception desk and restaurants have also been renovated, and work has been carried out on the wellness and spa centre. A new outdoor swimming pool with jacuzzi has been built, which now has a warm water link to the indoor swimming pool in the hotel. This is just a small part of what visitors to the MK Mountain Resort Hotel on the Kopaonik Mountain can expect this year. Director General of MK Mountain Resort Nikola Avram talks about the hotel in more detail in an interview for CorD magazine.

■ Winter season is almost here.

Are hotels that you manage ready to take the fans of winter tourism?

What are you going to offer this year and what makes the stay at your facilities special?

- The total value is EUR 20 million. The four-star Angella hotel has a children’s club with animators and provides professional childcare, as well as a complete baby programme throughout the winter season. On top of that, there are the services offered by the wellness and spa centre. All of these services are included in the regular price of accommodation. The fourstar Konaci Deluxe apartments have been completely renovated this year and have

66 |

attracted great interest. New for the next season are our “animation cards” which can save you up to 50% on additional services of MK Resort. In the period between December 6 and 9, and in collaboration with Skijališta Srbije, we are hosting the SKI OPENING KOPAONIK event for the third consecutive year. The results we accomplished last season were excellent and now we want to repeat them. Any progress made from the last season will be a great success for us.

■ A lot has been said about hotel accommodation in Serbia being expensive and hotels not being full. At the same time, we don’t have enough of such facilities. Could you tell us what is the problem?

- I think that what we have here is a myth from the past when the hotels were isolated and, because of that, there was more room to charge higher accommodation rates. The market was smaller. Today, al-

No Slovenian ski resort has the capacities and technology that Kopaonik does most all hotels have slashed their rates by at least 30%. On the other hand, there are hotels in exclusive locations which charge for EUR 14 for half-board accommodation. Now we have moderate rates, and I think that the issue of rates will become even clearer once new hotels are opened and more investments made in hotel services. I would like to cite our hotel Grand as a fitting example. Back in 2008, the hotel had not been renovated and its rates were 30% higher than today. The hotel services back then were

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

worse, while hotel facilities were poorer.

■ You have talked, on several occasions, about the underutilized capacities of Kopaonik. What did you mean exactly and how would you compare Kopaonik to ski resorts in France or Slovenia, for instance, since these are usually used as reference points?

- Also, we are talking about the summer season and the unutilized potentials that the Kopaonik has in terms of developing summer tourism. Although, the number of guests keeps on growing each year, that is still not enough and far from our goal for this tourist destination to regain its old splendour and use its capacities to the fullest. The first bike park in Serbia was opened last year. Also, the mountain trails were fixed. Next year, the fitness trail is going to be spruced up, so there are more and more things to do on the Kopaonik Mountain during the summer. If we compare Kopaonik to Slovenian ski centres, we can say that we are the absolute leaders since no Slovenian ski resort has the capacities and technology that Kopaonik does. Also, as far as our best hotel accommodation goes, we can compete with the Slovenian ones on any given day.

■ What are your plans for next year?

Our investment cycle will be completed this year. We plan to complete the renovations for a value of a half a million euros. Together with Skijališta Srbije and the Kopaonik National Park, we plan to make huge investments in the summer tourist season. Our intention is to present Kopaonik in a different light while closely following the latest trends and changing the notion that people have of mountain vacationing in Serbia. ■

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99 December 2012 | 67

corporate Terme Krka, Slovenia

Taking care of

health D

At Terme Krka, one of the leading tourism companies in Slovenia, they take care of health in the broadest sense of the word. With their diverse offer of medical, wellness and sports programmes they help each individual on their way towards a fuller and more creative life

ue to the fast pace of modern everyday life it is that much more important to take some time for ourselves so we can do something good for our health and wellbeing and the preservation of our body and soul.

Terme Krka Spas are one of the most renowned

Living healthily is a motto of Terme Krka.

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

and visited spas in Slovenia. The company is comprised of two health and spa centres, Terme Dolenjske Toplice and Terme Šmarješke Toplice, the Otočec Hotels with the famous Otočec Castle and golf course, the business Krka Hotel in Novo mesto and the seaside centre Talaso Strunjan.

Quality of life Terme Krka’s main activity is medical rehabilitation. Its health resorts are specialized in rehabilitation of locomotor system post-injury and illnesses conditions as well as in rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases and respiratory system diseases.

They were also the first ones in Slovenia to offer

medical wellness programmes - medico wellness -, which help people to overcome lifestyle diseases and other problems that hinder the life of a modern man: stress, obesity, premature ageing, and dissatisfaction with the appearance. They also offer relaxation programmes, intended only for pampering and enjoying, at the wellness centres.

According to the Lonely Planet Hotel Balnea is one of the best hotels in Slovenia

Terme Dolenjske Toplice

Rich tradition and new dimensions of pampering Terme Dolenjske Toplice Spa can boast with its rich tradition for it is one of the oldest spas in Europe. Its first written records date back to 13th century. Thermal water spring has a temperature of a human body (36°C) and it has numerous healing effects. It is particularly suitable for treating rheumatic disorders of the locomotor system. Thermal water is not the only reason for successful disease treatments at the Centre for medical rehabilitation. Due to the skilled medical staff and modern medical equipment they are able to show incredible results.

The pleasant environment of the picturesque Krka River valley, which is full of vineyards, has one more precious gem to offer: the modern wellness Hotel Balnea with wellness centre, a true kingdom of pampering with refreshing baths, invigorating massages, revitalizing saunas and all kinds of body and facial treatments.

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99 December 2012 | 69

Terme Šmarješke Toplice Active, healty, creativ

Terme Šmarješke Toplice

Preventive diagnostic examinations are particularly popular with managers

One of the most modern Slovenian thermal spas, Terme Šmarješke Toplice, is famous for its state-of-theart medical tourism and as one of the best wellness centres. Besides preventive diagnostic examinations, which are particularly popular with managers, they also take care of rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases. Lately, they have been paying special attention to modern medico wellness programmes, taking place at the Vitarium Spa&Clinique centre. These are programmes for healthy weight loss SlimFit, detoxification programmes VitaDetox and programmes for preservation of youth and vitality.

The programmes, which are very popular in western European countries, are distinguished for their integral and individual approach that ensures a successful, efficient and permanent result.

There are five indoor and outdoor thermal pools suitable for relaxation and recreation. Guests can also pamper themselves in the saunas and baths or simply let the skilful fingers of masseuses and masseurs take care of their pampering.

Improve your body's energy balance through detoxification programme VitaDetox

Talaso Strunjan Sunny bay of health

Talaso Strunjan is located on the most beautiful part of the Slovenian coast. Due to its 2.300 hours of sun per year, its extraordinary location by the sea near the millennium old salt pans, surrounded by a pine forest, it is a true centre of thalasso therapy. Here, the beneficent effects of the sea – the healing Mediterranean climate, seawater, salt pans mud or fango and sea salt – are used for medical and beauty purposes (in cosmetics, weight loss programmes and massages).

The wonderful surrounding offers numerous opportunities for sports and recreation. The guests can enjoy the amazing bays along the Strunjan coast and beautiful sunsets viewed at from the Half Moon bay. In the vicinity is also a bioenergetic centre.

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Talaso Strunjan is located on the most beautiful part of the Slovenian coast.

Otočec

Castle

Unique and one of the most attractive hotels in Slovenia

Between the past and the present, in a haven of peace where the spirit of yesteryear blends marvellously with the rhythm of modern life, the tastefully refurbished Otočec Castle offers an atmosphere that has skilfully retained the character and authenticity of the setting

Otočec is most famous for its pearl of the Middle Age castle architecture, the Otočec Castle, situated on an island in the middle of a river. The only river castle in Slovenia, with its first written records dating back to 13th century, is now organized into a hotel of the highest standards. It is perfect for culinary gourmets, businessmen, weddings and romantic holidays, or any other joyful gatherings.

Castle Otočec is also a member of Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, the oldest association for the art of cooking, culture of wine drinking and socialising

Relais&Chateaux

A mosaic of unforgettable experiences

Otočec Castle has for more than two years been a member of Relais&Châteaux, a prestigious international association of mansions and hotels. Due to its golden coat-of-arms the island castle has thus attracted many new guests from the United States of America, France, Spain and Italy in the last year.

Castle and its surroundings, which is also home of more than hundred swans, offer its guests various possibilities for spending free time and relaxation.

Besides walking along the castle park, playing golf at the nearby golf course, guests are also offered to relax in relaxing centres at the nearby Terme Krka spas.

The Otočec Golf Course was proclaimed two times the best Slovenian golf course. An 18-hole course spreads out on more than 70 ha

Otočec is also ideal for magical weddings, business meetings, including protocols and events

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techno talk

The Hottest & Best

Gadgets 2012 Technology just keeps changing. No matter how often you buy the newest phone or computer, there’s always something bigger, better and faster that you hear about just after you’ve purchased your favorite new toy. But the constant development in electronics is also what makes all of the gear so exciting. Innovation and improvement are the cornerstones of each upgraded model, and often times those extra pixels in a high-resolution screen, the extra speed in microchip or the additional memory in a hard drive can make a big difference

Master Lock dialSpeed Price: €20.oo

Pure Sensia 200D Connect Price: €3,150.oo Pure announced the Sensia 200D Connect wireless music system with a large high-resolution, high-capacity colour touchscreen and an advanced user-interface. As the followup to their original Sensia, the 200D delivers upgraded performance, room-filling audio and one-touch and timed USB recording, as well as cloud-based music streaming.

Typical padlocks have 64,000 possible combinations; the electronic dialSpeed has 22 million, the most of any portable lock. Four directional buttons correspond to numbers or letters. A combo of up to 12 presses signals a motor to release the catch.

Self-Balancing Single Wheel Price: €3,500.oo This unique ride takes the form of a single-wheeled, self-balancing electric scooter, and goes by the name of RYNO, or “Ride Your New Opportunity”. The RYNO can reach 32 km p/h on its single 25" tire and has turning radius of under 70cm. The battery takes about an hour and a half for a full charge, letting riders travel for approximately 35 kilometres, and the 60 kg bike is small enough to be brought onto buses, trains, and inside buildings. The RYNO can also handle riders up to 140 kilograms so it’s not just for smaller people. The RYNO is expected to go into production in 2013.

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

Polaroid Smart Camera Price: €235.oo Polaroid has unveiled its new SC1630 Smart Camera, equipping a smartphone with a dedicated camera.

The device features a 16-megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor, 3x optical zoom (5x digital) and 6.5 - 19.5 mm lens to offer a 35 - 108 mm equivalent in lens range. At the back there's a 3.2-inch touchscreen that shows the images and allows the user to access applications and the Android Market. Although you won't be able to make regular phone calls since the device does not include microphone or speaker, there's still an option to make VOIP calls. The device weighs 142 g.

Virtual Laser lane Price: €32.oo Cyclists are among the most vulnerable road users. In contrast to pedestrians, they move mainly on public roads. On the road, any cyclist can be hit harder and faster than a car especially at night. For safety, the bike has to be clearly and accurately marked and visible day and night. One reasonable solution was proposed Korean company. A miniature device, fixed under the seat, delivers signals about the bike by means of an array red LEDs and a pair of laser projectors.

Robot Cleaner Price: €560.oo Robot Cleaner HOM-BOT (LrV5900) makes vacuuming effortless. With its “memorize” mode, this smartvac can remember when it was last stopped and then start vacuuming from that spot (whether you stopped it manually or it shut off itself.) Its 51 sensors sense objects as thin as 1 cm. The robot vacuum has already debuted in Asia.

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen Price: €120.oo-155.oo This groundbreaking computer-withina-pen captures handwriting while simultaneously recording audio and synchronizing it to your notes, creating a truly innovative link between penand-paper and the digital domain for those who still depend on written notes. An infrared camera at the tip of the pen captures 72 pictures per second to digitally track numbers, words and drawings.

1/3

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99 December 2012 | 73

techno talk

Powertrekk Fuel Cell Charges Price: €234.oo The Powertrekk Fuel Cell Charges is an innovative eco-friendly instant charging device that uses water to make electricity enabling you to charge your smartphones and all other mobile devices anywhere. This device is easy to use and safe and convenient to carry. And, moreover, it seems to me better than solar charger.

The Powertrekk Fuel Cell Charger will be released this year for retail sales.

BlackBerry Porsche Price: €1,400.oo

Binatone iDect Eclipse Price: €80.oo If you like your home phones to be futuristic looking, the all-in-one handset with base built-in has a 13 hour battery, storage for 220 contacts, and can be worn around your neck. Make and receive phone calls while moving around your home or the office with this iDECT Eclipse cordless telephone. Complete with a 50m indoor range, it also has a built-in answer machine to ensure that you never miss a message again.

Research in Motion (RIM) launched its newest product, the BlackBerry Porsche P’9981 Smartphone. A cell phone that relies on stylish elements, thanks to its cooperation with Porsche, the famous car manufacturer, for its smartphone product design. The BlackBerry offers a full touch screen for the user, with fluid animation and high resolution liquid Graph 2.8 with a wide keyboard .With a 1.2 GHz processor and 8 GB of onboard memory, this product offers the experience for surfing the internet quickly. Plus, with a 720 pixel HD recording on it, this smartphone also gives a better multimedia features.

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recommended by

Nike+ Fuel Band Price: €150.oo The Nike+ Fuel band is loaded with a host of features.

This device helps you measure activities using a metric value called ‘Nike Fuel’. This wrist band has an ergonomic design and can be worn throughout the day. It provides you a calculated result of your activities through movement of your wrists. It has an LED dot matrix display which displays Calories, Step, time and Nike Fuel.

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

BOXX electric bike Price: €3,100.oo The design is a compact two wheeler, which measures approximately 90cm long, weighing only 55 kgs. The emissions free all-electric vehicle has a maximum speed of 75 km/h and includes standard features such as all-wheel drive, traction control, ABS systems and over-sized all LED dot lighting. It is built for one occupant and has capacity to carry up to 140 kgs. Onboard storage includes two cargo bays, with room for two secured bags.

Solar Kindle Price: €63.oo Imagine reading your favourite books on Kindle for three months without having to recharge! SolarKindle does just that. The case allows the user to read Kindle for months.

It also allows the reading lamp to stay lit for over 50 hours per charge. As you might have guessed from the name of the device, the case features a built-in solar panel that harnesses solar energy to power both the case and the Kindle. What’s more you can charge the device during cloudy days with the help of a USB port. The device will be released by January 15.

Apple iPhone 5 Price: €155.oo Apple iPhone 5 released in September has a new Apple A6 processor. Apple claims that it is twice as fast as the A5 processor on the iPhone 4S. It is is also more powerefficient, providing up to 8 hours of browsing/talk-time on cellular network and 10 hours of video playback. Although not officially confirmed, the iPhone 5 is expected to have 1GB RAM — up from the 512MB RAM on the iPhone 4S. Storage stays the same at 16/32/64GB with no memory expansion possible. Wireless connectivity now includes 4G/LTE in addition to 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

Twenty-8-Eight Skeleton Tourbillon Price: €235,000.oo The new Dewitt Twenty-8-Eight Skeleton Tourbillon comes in either 18-karat white gold or rose gold 43 mm case. The white gold, “Haute Joaillerie”, version has its bezel lit-up with 36 baguette-cut diamonds, with eight brilliant-cut diamonds marking the hours. The whole movement is comprised of 185 pieces. It features a variable inertia balance and an escapement made of 18 karat yellow gold, with an Art-Deco style bridge. The winding barrel at 12 o’clock, also made of 18 karat yellow gold, is inspired by a vintage steering wheel. The barrel is also skeletonised, allowing a even greater view of the movement.

3/3

best choice

recommended by

cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 75

chill out

Elephant Coffee Beans

the adventurous drinker $1,100 per kilogram or about $50 per cup.

Of course, the notion of roasting pooped-out beans isn’t a new one. In 2010, word spread about what was then thought to be the most expensive coffee in the world: kopi luwak, a Southeast Asian brew made from coffee berries passed through the digestive tract of an Asian palm civet.

At the time, kopi luwak went for $100-600 a pound -- cheap compared to Black Ivory Coffee.

Research indicates that during digestion, the enzymes of the elephant break down coffee protein. Since protei.n is one of the main factors responsible for bitterness in coffee, less protein means almost no bitterness.

Only about 50 kilograms of the stuff are available for purchase, and each one will cost

Mudfest For nine days of dirty fun, a quaint South Korean coastal city paints the town a dull shade of mud. Boryeong says its mud has special powers to refresh the skin and soothe the soul. The start of its 11th annual Mud Festival attracts about 2 million people to the city of a little more than 100,000 located about 190 km southwest of Seoul.

One part of the festival gives visitors the chance to play in 200 tonnes of the greyish goo at mud wrestling pits, mud slides and mud baths. Somewhere along the line, ample supplies of alcohol add to the high spirits. The other part of the festival is pitching beauty and skincare products made with mud from the nearby mudflats.

The mud festival ritual is pretty much the same for all visitors. Step one: arrive in clean clothes. Step two: get muddy, often while enjoying a tasty beverage.

The Most Expensive iPad The Natural Sapphire Company has come up with a sparkling option which will certainly help the discerning iPad Mini owners to stand-out and make a real statement of individuality. As the designers who earlier introduced the $100,000 most expensive iPhone 5 case, has now released the finest iPad Mini Case encrusted in dazzling sapphires and diamonds.

Described to be the bigger and better version of its iPhone 5 case, this iPad Mini case features an 18K high polished white gold body set with glistening 3,328 natural Ceylon blue sapphires weighing 599 carats, and an Apple logo embellished with 50 round brilliant diamonds weighing 5 carats in total.

This stunning statement of distinction however comes with a hefty price of $700,000.

Celebrity Baby Names Being the child of a celebrity comes with its advantages, perks and rewards. You get to go to the best schools, you always have money and you’re famous from the day you are born. The world can only assume that it’s for this reason that celebrities name their children weird names like ‘Dweezil.

Here are some of the most ridiculous names that celebrities named their kids.

Gwyneth Paltrow and hubby Chris Martin’s first born baby was named after biblica name Moses.

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

Nicholas Cage’s choice for his son’s name Kalel aster Superman’s real name Clark Kent, when he still lived with his family on Krypton.

You could almost imagine why Poppy Honey was Jamie Oliver’s choice for his child. But Daisy Boo? Think of the attendance list at their first school.

Shannyn Sossoman picked a really weird name like Audio Science and stuck it to her child’s forehead.

We all know Woody Allen is strange, but in 1997 when he married his adopted daughter, Soon Yi Previn, he named his first daughter Satchel. Like the bag. So the Allen Family consists of Woody, Soon and Satchel.

Watching Horror Films Burning Calories Viewers who put themselves through 90 minutes of adrenaline-pumping terror can use up as much as 113 calories, close to the amount burned during a half-hour walk and the equivalent to a chocolate bar.

The University of Westminster study measured the total energy expenditure of ten differ-

ent people as they watched a selection of frightening movies.

Scientists recorded their heart rate, oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output - and discovered the number of calories used increased by on average a third during the films.

The research also revealed films featuring moments designed to make viewers jump in terror are the best calorie-burners, as they cause heart rates to soar.

The Link Child Locator A child wandering off and going missing, even for a few minutes, is a terrible ordeal for parents. If the baby has just learned to walk, he would definitely want to explore the world without the parent yelling out all the time. With Link’s child locator, you can be sure that your child is close by.

A bracelet like transmitter can be attached to the child and the parental receiver can alert you if the child moves out of a selected comfort distance. The receiver also provides directions to the child’s location and functions as a regular watch when everything is normal.

World's Most Expensive Sheepdog Computer churns through more than 20,000 trillion calculations each second.

The final bid at Skipton, North Yorkshire, broke the earlier record of 6,000 guineas or €7,800 Euro.

Midge, who comes from a family of outstanding champions, was sold to Suffolk shepherd Eddie Thornalley. She is already famed for her speed and agility as well as her calm temperament.

Champion breeder Shaun Richards from Burnley, Lancashire, said he was “gobsmacked” by the final price. He added: “She exceeded all expectations.When the money kept going go up and up I was speechless. I get top prices all over the country and I think that’s because I don’t trial them, I just train them.”

Titan Supercomputer The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory has launched a new era of scientific supercomputing with Titan, a system capable of churning through more than 20,000 trillion calculations each second -- or 20 petaflops -- by employing a family of processors called graphic processing units first created for computer gaming. Titan will be 10 times more powerful than ORNL’s last world-

leading system, Jaguar, while overcoming power and space limitations inherent in the previous generation of high-performance computers.

Titan will provide unprecedented computing power for research in energy, climate change, efficient engines, materials and other disciplines and pave the way for a wide range of achievements in science and technology.

The Cray XK7 system contains 18,688 nodes, with each holding a 16-core AMD Opteron 6274 processor and an NVIDIA Tesla K20 graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerator. Titan also has more than 700 terabytes of memory. The combination of central processing units, the traditional foundation of high-performance computers, and more recent GPUs will allow Titan to occupy the same space as its Jaguar predecessor while using only marginally more electricity. cordeditorial@cma.rs |

99 December 2012 | 77

fashion

New Year's & Christmas Gifts

Suede Shoes Add instant elegance to polished city looks with Salvatore Ferragamo’s suede Vara pump. With a petite heel, neat bow and signature name plate, this ladylike pair are perfect for workto-weekend dressing.

Christmas and New Year are approaching, which means that everyone is thinking at least once a day about looking for the best idea for a gift to surprise him or her. In this issue, we are offering a few ideas that may be useful regardless of whether you buy gifts at one of the world capitals or in one of local shopping malls. For both men and women there are so many beautiful gifts, so our ideas are just a prompt to awaken your imagination.

For her

price:

€320

Phillip Lim Spring 2012 Handbags

MuLevel Jewelry Box

Add instant elegance to polished city looks with Salvatore Ferragamo’s suede Vara pump. With a petite heel, neat bow and signature name plate, this ladylike pair are perfect for workto-weekend dressing.

When it comes to the perfect arm candy, the new Phillip Lim handbags seem to be the perfect choice price:

price:

€224

€860

Cultured pearls 10- year guarantee

20% discount for the CorD readers when purchasing gifts Mediator International Marketing 11070 Novi Beograd Milentija Popovića 20a tel/fax: 381 11 3122 469 mob: 065/3050 770 office@bizuterijamim.rs

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

price:

€29,50

Accordo Viola perfum Feelings, dreams, thoughts, emotions... even ready to be revealed in this loving and passionate fragrance.

MADE WITH SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS

20% discount for the CorD readers when purchasing gifts Mim Plus 11070 Novi Beograd Milentija Popovića 20a tel/fax: 381 11 3122 469 mob: 065/3050 770 office@bizuterijamim.rs

www.crystalp.com

Chloe Nate Leather Ankle Boots Refied and understated with a kick of edge, these Nate ankle boots perfectly showcase the Chloe aesthetic.

Crafted form butter-soft leather, they feature a contrast strap and pin detail to the ankle. price:

€920

Retail Stores List on: www.multipharm.rs

Gucci Women's Gold-Plated Watch

price:

€660

This women watches have an exclusive handwound calibre complete with small seconds with moiré satin straps and revamped dials.

Godiva Large Box For the gift of all gifts, Godiva’s luxury Royal gift box is sure to impress. This elegant and premium velvet brown box is the perfect keepsake for a friend, colleague or to bring to the family get-togethers.

Hand made & Hand paint

price:

€1,890

since 1856

price:

€100

24 carat gold Brand shop „Galerija porcelana“ Braće Ribnikar 63, Novi Sad 021/540-507; 063/535-982 www.galerijaporcelana.com cordeditorial@cma.rs |

price:

€140

price:

€680

99 December 2012 | 79

For him

Watch-part Cuff Links

Time is of the essence, and now it’s also an essential feature of his wardrobe.

These unique watch-part cuff links are handmade from genuine antique watch works. iintricate cogs and gears are set in sterling silver and fitted with lever backs (watch parts are non functional). Each handmade cuff link is unique.

price:

€ 80

price:

€115

Keep all your handheld electronics and accessories at the ready with our handsome organizer drawers.

price:

€133

price:

€78

JanSport Odyssey Pack The Jansport; Odyssey backpack is a highly-organized internal frame technical pack with a reservoir-ready sleeve. It’s set-up with AirLift-; shoulder straps with a removable sternum strap and a padded, tuck-away hip belt for added stability.

Decanter Decanting a wine allows any sediment to settle and also lets it breathe, smoothing out any rough edges and bringing forth the wine’s deeper characteristics.

A beautiful decanter is always a lovely addition to a well-dressed table! Our selection of stylish and affordable decanters are an especially elegant way to serve wine when you’re entertaining.

Desktop Charging Station

Canali's 24 Carats Golde

price:

€223

Canali’s 24 Carats Gold tie is created by the expert hands of the Italian label’s craftsmen with gold thread. Cut from elegant silk satin this original piece is the epitome of classic refinement.

price:

€56

Cashmere Scarf Classic men’s scarf. Great with a suit for work or over a jumper for weekend walks

Suede Belt Stylish McGregor suede belt.

Finished with fine stitching all around. Closure with a shiny metal buckle with an engraved McGregor logo on the side.

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99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

price:

€50

7 60

Z Zegna Short Bomber Jacket

price:

Leather Beer Holster

€22

Crafted in butter-soft lambskin leather, this smart black bomber jacket from Z Zegna is a timeless wardrobe staple. Perfect for adding edge to any look, dress it up with a white shirt and tailored trousers.

Perfect for backyard BBQs, parties or tailgating, this handy holster keeps a bottle of beer right where it belongs—by their side.

price:

€1.750 price:

Cashmere Socks Over-the-Calf length cashmere socks for men, featuring a classic rib-knit design for comfort and insulation

€50

price:

€ 35

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BBQ Apron BBQ Apron Tool Set is the perfect accessory for barbecue fans. The high-quality (washable) apron protects your clothes from burns and stains and the tools are made from stainless steel, so they are long-lasting and won’t rust.

profile

There are

No Wrong Moves I am happy to have been given an opportunity to work with great people who are not my subordinates but my associates. We motivate, inspire and support each other. There are no wrong moves, since all ideas are carefully considered. We appreciate each other’s opinions and, in the end, we make decisions that are best both for the company and its clients

T

Aleksandra Nedeljković, Marketing Manager for Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia & Albania at Opel Southeast Europe LLC veloped very carefully, for a long period of time, globally throughout the world.

The considerable number of clients, satisfied Opel drivers and industry acknowledgments like European Car of the Year 2012 for Amperawhich was, by far, the most important recognition that we have received this year can be regarded as evidence for the quality and success of our company.

As a Marketing Manager, I have to keep and maintain a keen interest in the desires, preferences of my clients.

In addition, I need to follow market trends and try to find a way to be a step ahead of them. Being able to anticipate what your clients/ buyers like and offer that to them before they even ask for it is also another part in the scope of duties of a Marketing Manager. This in fact is the key to gaining advantage, and while communicating an offer has to be direct, sincere and open. A Manager needs to establish a close relationship with the clients based primarily on trust and reliability. In order to achieve the best results possible, what a Marketing Manager needs is a good team. I highlyvalue the proactive, dynamic, creative and responsibleattitude of my associates. I am happy to have been given an opportunity to work with great people who are not my subordinates but my associates. We motivate, inspire and support each other. We make decisions after careful consideration, scrutinyand analysis. There are no wrong

o be a woman in the car industry is above all significant and strong challenge. Additionally, great responsibility comes naturally with being Marketing Manager for four Southeast European countries. I have this responsibility not only towards my bosses in the company, but also towards the remaining staff members in our company as well as company’s clients.

In general, marketing relies on the cultural and historical heritageof a country in which the company operates, and therefore, when creating a marketing strategy, we need to consider all idiosyncrasies of a given market and make our best efforts to explore and obtain an in-depth insight into the area in which the company is operating.

By working for different companies in diTo envision what will my buyers like and offer verse markets, I have learned that there is no universal recipe for success, but still there are it to them before they even ask for it is the key two important ingredients of success: quality to gaining advantage, while communicating and innovation. an offer has to be direct, sincere and open As a manager, I try to develop a team spirit among employees, to create a motivating working environment and to be just and impartial boss. A good moves, since all ideas are analyzed in detail. We appreciate each other’s opinions before we make the final decision manager has to possess social skills and the ability to resolve efficiently any conflict or dispute that may arise. that we find best or most favorable for both the company and its clients. The working environment is vibrant and The fact that the company I work for has been operating on the global market for the past 150 years I personally healthy which is not unimportant because only such an environment yields the best ideas and results. view as a huge success knowing that it struggles hard when Continuing professional development and training, the times are tough, while, at the same time, investing, innovating and creating new concepts, some of which are relearning about and following trends and observing the tenally utterly revolutionary like the Opel Ampera electric car. dencies are important both professionally and privately.

I am glad to have been given the chance to sustain and When your job becomes a pleasure and a part of your private life, the best results are inevitable. ■ advance, retain and upgrade an image that has been de82 |

99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com

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