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EU ACCESSION POLICY REMAINS A PRIORITY

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JADRANKA JOKSIMOVIĆ

Serbian Minister without portfolio Responsible for European integration

FRESH WIND FROM THE EAST

THE BASTILLE DAY CELEBRATED 14th July

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Civil Rights Must Be Respected In Practice RODOLJUB ŠABIĆ

Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection

LJUBINKA MILINČIĆ

Director of the Sputnik news agency

MUSIC IS LIKE FALLING IN LOVE PAGE 48

GÜRAY BAŞOL

Pianist

Ambitious Plans and its Implementation MILOŠ VUČEVIĆ

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Mayor of Novi Sad

MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES MUTUAL ADMIRATION FOR COOPERATION AND INTERESTS

H.E. NARINDER CHAUHAN

Ambassador of India

H.E. ISABEL CRISTINA DE AZEVEDO HEYVAER Ambassador of Brasil

EDITORI AL

Where Do We Go, Where Do We Go Now?

C O N T EN T S

Dear readers, The whole world has gone bonkers.

It is the most frequent status during July 2016, the year we will remember as one of the craziest in our lifetime, and not in a good way. The times remind me of 1989-1992, and not in a good way (we don’t even have The Stone Roses, grunge or Madchester nowadays). We woke up every morning with some terrible news. One day you wake up with dozens of dead in Nice, tommorrow there is a coup in Turkey, in the USA the shootings became everyday business, black lives mattered or they didn’t, omnipresent savagery became commonplace. The old frontlines carved by ideology became obsolete. Asia was wounded for many years because of the battle between Communism and capitalism, so was Africa and Latin America to a lesser extent. Now these regions are cool and calm, relatively prosperous. New frontlines are carved up by religion, race and immigration issues. Relationships between radical Sunni Islam and Christianity, Shia Islam and the secular Sunnis were perhaps never worse, and the black/white tensions in the USA remind us of the 50s and the 60s. Both of the American presidential candidates were booed at their own conventions. Yes, the world is completely bonkers. Funny enough, visiting Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and south Serbia this year, we noticed that the most turbulent regions 20+ years ago have become “a model of convivencia” for Christianity and Islam (applies to Caucasus, Russia, Israel..), while in other places, idyllic in the past, like the Middle East or the EU, it became a nightmare. Serbia is swimming among many clashing tides trying to stay afloat. As many others. Where do we go now (from here)? New “iron ladies”, like Mrs May or Mrs Merkel, colourful politicians like Mr Trump or Mr Johnson, or strongmen. Is that what people want in the middle of the storm?

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RODOLJUB ŠABIĆ

Ambassador of Israel

CIVIL RIGHTS MUST BE RESPECTED IN PRACTICE Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection

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ERDOGAN’S REVENGE The Failed Coup in Turkey

EU ACCESSION POLICY REMAINS A PRIORITY JADRANKA JOKSIMOVIĆ

Serbian Minister without portfolio Responsible for European integration

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MILOŠ VUČEVIĆ

Mayor of Novi Sad

Diplomacy&Commerce www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

JOVANA MARKOVIĆ

zikica.milosevic@color.rs

jovana.markovic@color.rs

TANJA BANKOVIĆ

NATAŠA NEŠIĆ

Editor in Chief

Advertising manager

Editorial manager

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ALEKSANDAR MLADENOVIĆ

DRAGANA RADOVIĆ

tanja.bankovic@color.rs Graphic designer

natasa.nesic@color.rs

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aleksandar.mladenovic @color.rs

dragana.radovic@color.rs

VANJA KOVAČEV

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MILICA PAJIĆ

milica.pajic@color.rs

RUŽA RISTANOVIĆ

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ruza.ristanovic@color.rs

GO EAST AND START A BUSINESS OLIVER HOUGHAM

Co-owner of Scotts Cider and owner of Beeraj

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MORE PREDICTABILITY AND LEGAL SECURITY

Photos

Dr MILAN PARIVODIĆ

robert.coban@color.rs GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ, MLADEN SEKULIĆ, GETTY IMAGES

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FRESH WIND FROM THE EAST LJUBINKA MILINČIĆ

Director of the Sputnik news agency

MUTUAL ADMIRATION AND INTERESTS H.E. ISABEL CRISTINA DE AZEVEDO HEYVAER

Ambassador of Brasil to Serbia

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ATHLETES THE TOP PRIORITY ĐORĐE VIŠACKI

Secretary General of the Olympic Committee of Serbia

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Director

ROBERT ČOBAN

YOSSEF LEVY

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AMBITIOUS PLANS AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION

ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor-in-Chief

BYE, BYE SERBIA

MUSIC IS LIKE FALLING IN LOVE GÜRAY BAŞOL

Pianist

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“IN JERUSALEM WE PRAY – IN TEL AVIV WE PLAY” Reportage

LL.M. (London), Attorney at Law, Parivodić Advokati / Lawyers

Translation and lecturer

MRP EDITORIAL

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Civil Rights Must Be Respected In Practice RODOLJUB ŠABIĆ

Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection

A real progress in implementation of the Chapter 23 will be when civil rights are respected in practice which is something that many government officials still find foreign. Their behaviour ranges from the routine aloofness to denying the public the right to find out how large public- and state-owned financial resources are used The latest criticism that Commissioner Rodoljub Šabić has received from the Prime Minister elect and his coalition partner is just a continuation of the disparagement he has been exposed to ever since the office of the Information Commissioner was established. The only thing that is different is a progressive growth of civil rights violations that come under his scope of work.

Do yout hink that the media, which have overstepped all ethical boundaries in reporting about the recently committed crimes, are the first or the last link in the chain of nonfunctional state institutions?

— Sometimes they are the first, sometimes the last. The way they report often constitutes not only a breach of professional and ethical standards in journalism and trampling on the dignity of victims, their families and the public but also a breach of law. The media often 'analyze' a criminal act in a way that suggests that they have had a direct access to official investigation documents which, in turn, causes suspicion that the Law on Personal Data Protection and other laws (like the Law on Public Information and Media, Criminal Code and Code on Criminal Procedure) have been breached with the blessing from the people working for the state institutions. All of this speaks volumes

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about the need for the line ministry, the prosecution and the police to react, in addition to the Commissioner.

Supervisory procedures conducted by the Commissioner in certain cases have confirmed that the state bodies have been 'leaking' information. However, in some cases, the media claiming that the information came from „relliable official sources“ is just a plain falsefood. Regardless of the situation – be it blindly trusting bad sources, or intentional spinning the news, or consciously „creating“ falsefoods for the purpose of boosting circulation – these prac-

rights? Are we talking about the rascals from the state administration or the usual systemic politically correct responses that we get from the government about respecting the rule of the law?

— Statistically speaking, ministries are institutions that have the biggest problems with respecting civil rights. In 2015, the Commissioner's office received 1,841 complaints against the state bodies which is a half of all the filed complaints.

Almost fifty percent of these complaints – 846 – relate to the bodies that make the core of the state ad-

OF ALL POLITICAL PARTIES, THE SERBIAN PROGRESSIVE PARTY (SPP) HAS FILED THE BIGGEST NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS TO THE COMMISSIONER WHEN IT WAS IN OPPOSITION AND THE COMMISSIONER HAS RULED IN THE PARTY'S FAVOUR MORE THAN IN ANY OTHER CASE. ONCE THEY CAME TO POWER, EVERYTHING CHANGED tices should be denounced and dealt with. This includes not only journalist associations but also state bodies and institutions which reputation and authority are being smeared in this way. Further from that, it is very indicative and worrying that the said institutions often don't even react to such things, let alone deny any wrongdoing on their part.

Considering your scope of work, which state institutions have failed the most in respecting civil

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ministration which is the ministries.

However, we should not focus on statistics or quantity alone. I have been warning for quite some time now that the root of the problem regarding violation of civil rights has moved to the segment of large financial or material resources. In that context, it is very worrisome to see just how untransparent is the work done by state-owned and public enterprises which is the reason why I have submitted a special report to the Parliament.

There are many individual and group characteristics of the responsible officials which are causing problems when it comes to the public exercising their rights.

They range from not fully comprehending the importance of human and public rights, a warped image of their own role, arrogance, and, in many cases, intentional activities on hiding their personal incompetence, lack of accomplished results, irrationality and even worse abuse of power, crime and corruption from the public.

Should we feel despicable for reading such contents and are we to blame for being humiliated?

— There is a well-known political quote by Karl Marx who says that „every country has the government it deserves“. This could be expanded to include the media and the public stage.

The situation in our media is incredibly worrisome, sad and desperate. What is even more alarming is the lack of committment on the society and the state's part to do something about it. And let's not even talk about the fact that the way our media work, and especially the tabloids, cannot be contributed to an unwanted or temporary incident but rather a concept or a method that is used in governing the public stage. This is not a coincidence but a result of the government's unwilligness to stop the wave of tabloidisation. People also doubt

the government's readiness to put a stop to this because it seems that the government uses the media to accomplish its goals when fighting their political opponents.

The current situation needs to be changed. Instead of focusing on worthless, stupid and demeaning topics, we should focus on culture, art or education. However, this requires a far bigger and stronger engagement of all relevant societal structures. As long as their interest in dealing with this issue is weak and sporadic or even completely absent, we are to blame for the humiliation that we have been suffering.

Considering all of the aforementioned, do you think that the implementation of the chapters 23 and 24 will make us more civil or at least make this country a more civilised one?

— I believe that the actual implementation, and not some formal opening or closing of the chapters, is at the core of our EU accession negotiations. I believe that we can and have to make Serbia a well-regulated country that abides by the rule of the law. However, I do not agree with those unrealistically optimistic politicians who claim that „between 80% and 90% of the work has already been done“. I think that this task should be approached in a much more objective and responsible manner. To illustrate this point, let me just remind you of the current situation in the personal data protection segment which, along with other, will be an inevitable topic of the Chapter 23.

It is really not acceptable for the state to dump most of the work on the personal data protection onto the Commissioner's office. Our activities are growing exponentially. For instance, in 2009, we had 83 cases and, in 2015, we had 2,430 cases which is a 30-fold-increase. We cannot compensate for the work that other authorities, primarily the ministries, the government and the Parliament, should be doing within the framework of one strategic approach.

Formally speaking, Serbia does have the Personal Data Protection Strategy. The government adopted this strategy in the summer of 2010 following my initiative. The Strategy stipulates that „an action plan for the Strategy's implementation with identified activities, expected results, executors of specific tasks and deadlines should be written within 90 days since the Strategy's publication“.

That was six years ago and the government still hasn't drafted this action plan which renders the Strat-

egy an empty proclamation.

The same thing happened to the adoption of the new Personal Data Protection Law. Following the initiative by the Commissioner's Office, the need to adopt this law was recognised back in 2012. An interdepartmental government task force was formed but no results have been accomplished as yet. The fact that the Commissioner drafted the format of the new law and made it available to the government two years ago amounted to nothing. In its Action Plan pertaining to the Chapter 23 of the EU accession negotiations the government did say that the new law would have been adopted by late 2015 with the Commissioner's draft

underestimated.

After all, I think that that is practically impossible. An event involving a group of masked people taking part in a night operation in downtown Belgrade who have committed criminal acts and violated several human rights is something that, simply put, should not have happened at all.

However, it did happen and, in this case, the reaction from our authorities should have been fast and strong. In this particular case, the event did happen but there was no reaction whatsoever. To ignore this, particularly in the light of the recently opened negotiations about the Chapter 23 which has human rights and judiciary at its core, should be

IT IS UNREALISTIC TO EXPECT PROGRESS IN THESE NEGOTIATIONS IF THE SAVAMALA CASE DOESN'T HAVE AN ADEQUATE CLOSURE serving as the basis. However, the law was not passed and the draft, presented by the Ministry of Justice, did not resemble the Commissioner's draft at all.

Do you think that the EU has been turning its head away from this issue and didn't you expect the EU to react more strongly to the events in Savamala which, according to the internal findings of the Ombudsman, took place because certain obligations towards a foreign investor had to be fulfilled?

— In politics, and especially in international politics, the reaction doesn't necessarily has to be loud in order to have an impact. On the surface, the EU represenatives were more concerned with other topics like the Belgrade-Priština relations but I can assure you that the Savamala case was not bypassed or

practically impossible. It is unrealistic to expect progress in these negotiations if the Savamala case doesn't have an adequate closure.

The Socialist Party, which is a close politicial ally of the Serbian Progressive Party, has criticised you pretty harshly recently, while the Prime Minister elect has also been quite critical of the work done by the indepedent bodies.

What do you base your belief about the unaffected integrity of independent institutions on?

— This „criticism“ coming from the Socialist Party is a politically motivated move based on very blatant falsefoods and imputations and I don't think it is even deserving of a comment. In terms of the statements made by the Prime Minister elect, he did express his dissatisfaction, even animosity towards the Commissioner. Still, I wouldn't

label it as criticism because critique implies serious assertions which the Prime Minister elect did now provide.

I would just like to say that similar „critiques“ are nothing new.

They have been around since the very establishment of the Commissioner's office. Different political establishments have labelled me as „a person who jeopardises the country's security“, „undermines its economic and financial system“ and is to be „blamed for everything“.

This criticism is actually the best illustration of a phenomenon that has pervaded our political stage.

When they are in opposition, our political parties are very sensitive to transparency and civil / human rights, as well as very supportive of the Commissioner's activities. Once they come to power, all of this radically changes. While we are on the subject of the Prime Minister elect, I would just like to remind you that, out of all political parties, his party - the Serbian Progressive Party (SPP) - has filed the biggest number of complaints to the Commissioner by far and that the Commissioner has ruled in the party's favour more than in any other case. As an opposition party, the SPP treated legal rights in a rational, legitimate, responsible and robust manner and was even promoting them. Once they came to power, everything changed.

Regardless of all the obstacles, problems and obstructions, the Commissioner's office has been growing stronger year-on-year. I belileve that other indepedent institutions that were formed after us will take have a similar trajectory.

A recent survey has shown that many citizens are completely politically clueless, and that quite a few of them have been repeated victims of populism and fans of authoritative leaders. When citizens approach the Commissioner's office are they even aware of their rights and the ways to protect them?

— What you have described doesn't happen only in Serbia but also in all transition countries to a higher or lesser degree. It is vitally important that we change this picture. Raising the awareness about civil rights and citizens' readiness to use and fight for these rights is the right measure of quality of the transition. That's why I think that the biggest success in implementing the Law on Free Access to the Information of Public Importance falsefoods in the fact that it is mostly the citizens who are exercising the rights guaranteed by this law.

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THE FAI LED COUP IN TURKEY

Erdogan’s Revenge Turkey’s president is destroying the democracy that Turks risked their lives to defend Much is unknown about the attempted military coup in Turkey on the night of July 15th. Why was it botched so badly? How far up the ranks did the conspiracy reach? Were the putschists old-style secularists, as their initial communiqué suggested; or were they followers of an exiled Islamist cleric, Fethullah Gulen, as the government claims?

But two things are clear. First, the people of Turkey showed great bravery in coming out onto the streets to confront the soldiers; hundreds died. Opposition parties, no matter how much they may despise President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, united to denounce the assault on democracy. Better the flawed, Islamist-tinged strongman than the return of the generals for the fifth time since the 1960s.

The second, more alarming conclusion is that Mr Erdogan is fast destroying the very democracy that the people defended with their lives. He has declared a state of emergency that will last at least three months. About 6,000 soldiers have been arrested; thousands more policemen, prosecutors and judges have been sacked or suspended. So have academics, teachers and civil servants, though there is little sign they had anything to do with the coup. Secularists, Kurds and other minorities feel intimidated by Mr Erdogan’s loyalists on the streets.

The purge is so deep and so wide—affecting at least 60,000 people—that some compare it to America’s disastrous de-Baathification of Iraq. It goes far beyond the need to preserve the security of the state. Mr Erdogan conflates dissent with treachery; he is staging his own coup against Turkish pluralism. Unrestrained, he will lead his country to more conflict and chaos.

And that, in turn, poses a serious danger to Turkey’s neighbours, to Europe and to the West.

ONE MORE EARTHQUAKE

The failed putsch may well become the third shock to Europe’s post-1989 order. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014 destroyed the idea that Europe’s borders were fixed and that the cold war was over. The Brexit referendum last month shattered the notion of ineluctable integration in the European Union. Now the coup attempt in Turkey, and the reaction to it, raise troubling questions about the reversibility of democracy within the Western world—which Turkey, though on its fringe, once seemed destined to join.

The turmoil is unsettling NATO, the military alliance that underpins Europe’s democracies.

Without evidence, Mr Erdogan’s ministers

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blame America for the coup; they have demanded that it extradite Mr Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, or risk Turkey turning its back on the West. Electricity to the military base at Incirlik, a hub of American-led air operations against Islamic State (IS), was cut off for a time.

Were Turkey an applicant today, it would struggle to qualify for NATO; yet the alliance has no means to expel a member that goes bad.

With the second-largest armed forces in NATO, Turkey has been the forward bastion of the West, first against Soviet totalitarianism and then against the chaos of the Middle East. In the early years of government under Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development (AK) party, the country became the model of a prospering, stable Muslim democracy. It sought peace with the Kurdish minority, and the economy grew healthily thanks to sensible reforms. The EU opened membership negotiations with Turkey in 2005.

MANY TOURISTS ARE NOW TOO FRIGHTENED TO VISIT, SO THE CURRENT-ACCOUNT DEFICIT WILL ONLY GAPE WIDER But since major protests in 2013 against plans to build over Gezi Park in Istanbul, and then a corruption scandal, Mr Erdogan has become ever more autocratic. His regime has jailed journalists, eviscerated the army and cowed the judiciary, all in the name of rooting out the “parallel state” Mr Erdogan claims the Gulenists have built. As a cheerleader for the overthrow of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, he turned a blind eye to the passage of jihadists through Turkey. Mr Erdogan wants a new constitution to allow himself to become an executive president, though he hardly lacks power. He has abandoned all caution to achieve it, not least by letting peace talks with the Kurds break down. Turkey now faces a double insurgency: by the Kurds and the jihadists.

AUTOCRATS R US

Handled more wisely, the failure of the coup might have been the dying kick of Turkey’s

militarists. Mr Erdogan could have become the magnanimous unifier of a divided nation, unmuzzling the press, restarting peace talks with Kurds and building lasting, independent institutions. Instead he is falling into paranoid intolerance: more like the Arab despots he claims to despise than the democratic statesman he might have become.

Granted, the AK party has won every election since 2002. But Mr Erdogan’s view of democracy is distinctly majoritarian: though only about half of Turks vote for him, he thinks he can do what he wants. It will be principally for Turks themselves to check their president, by peacefully resisting his power grabs and backing his opponents at the ballot box.

Turkey’s Western friends must urge Mr Erdogan to exercise restraint and respect the law. But what if he will not listen? Turkey is a vital ally in the war against IS. It controls the south-eastern approaches to Europe, and therefore the flow of everything from natural gas to Syrian refugees.

Europe cannot change geography, but it can make itself less vulnerable, starting with a proper system to control the EU’s external frontiers and handle asylum-seekers. And although Mr Erdogan holds many cards, he is not immune from pressure. Just before the coup he patched up relations with Israel and Russia.

Mr Erdogan’s greatest success—the economy—has become his weak point. Many tourists are now too frightened to visit, so the current-account deficit will only gape wider. To stay afloat the country needs foreign investment and loans, so it must reassure foreigners that it is stable. With Mr Erdogan acting like a vengeful sultan, that will be hard.

The repercussions of the putsch will be felt for a long time. The coup-makers killed many fellow Turks, discredited the army, weakened its ability to protect the frontier and fight terrorists, rattled NATO and removed the restraints on an autocratic president. A terrible toll for a night of power-lust.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

COMMENT

EU Accession Policy Remains a Priority There is no dilemma - the EU accession policy remains a priority after the formation of the new Government.

The accession process will remain an inseparable part of the reform policy

JADRANKA JOKSIMOVIĆ

Serbian Minister without portfolio Responsible for European integration

"We have done everything in our power and deserved the opening of the chapters", this was the sentence that we have often uttered in the days before the opening of Chapters 23 and 24. This sentence has not only reflected our position, but it also represents the essence of the process which consists of the acceptance and implementation of clearly defined standards.

Serbia has fulfilled clear criteria and the chapters have been opened.

Of course, there is still a lot of work ahead of us regarding the implementation of the standards, which is critical for the concrete progress which will be felt by every citizen of our country. The fact that we have already implemented nearly 80% of the planned commitments at this stage, despite the chapters not having been opened, clearly shows how much we are committed to this.

The essence of European integration is the creation of a regulated society and state, in which the citizens will receive adequate and efficient service for the services paid to the state, and where the rule of law will mean certainty and stability for the citizens, for business, and for investments. The opening of Chapters 23 and 24 will accelerate the reforms in the areas that are important for the citizens - from the fight against corruption, especially in areas where most citizens are faced with corruption (health, education, police, local government, etc.), to judicial reform towards more efficient and quality processes, fight against organized crime, rule of law, more secure legal environment for attracting new investments and jobs, minority rights,

situation in the media...

There is no dilemma - the EU accession policy remains a priority after the formation of the new Government. The accession process will remain an inseparable part of the reform policy, an integral part of internal development policy, which will be treated as an investment in healthy foundations for building a functional and efficient state and a higher standard of living for its citizens. Such approach proved to be the only one that can yield results.

We will not raise the expectations

about what will happen tomorrow, but also what will happen in ten, fifteen or twenty years. We are leading Serbia on its path of European integration as an important instrument for the recovery of our domestic economy and overall development, which will be felt as prosperity by each citizen of our country. Through responsible and disciplined policy, and primarily through economic policy, along with attracting new investments, Serbia is surely marching, primarily, towards sustainable economic recovery and progress.

SERBIA HAS GAINED IMPORTANT PARTNERS IN THE WORLD BY ITS RESPONSIBLE AND TRULY DEDICATED POLICY of citizens based on unrealistic grounds - instead, formal steps in the negotiations will be based on the results achieved. We haven't been giving unrealistic promises, we haven’t been saying that it can be easily accomplished, and we haven’t been saying that we will live better today already. Instead, we have shown that we are a state that thinks seriously about its development and that we have a clear strategic plan - not only

I am convinced that this is one of the reasons why the citizens still strongly support the reforms.

With their support, our people have demonstrated maturity and the desire for progress.

Of course, one part of our public exhibits eurosceptic views, which is to be expected since the support to European integrations in the Member States, as well as in the candidate countries, is not immune to

the overall context of international relations at the time when the candidate begins or is in the process of negotiations. Joining the EU is a process fraught with challenges, but also with significant and concrete benefits for the state and its citizens. It is important to present the concrete benefits from the process to the citizens. The fact is that, despite all the challenges with which the EU is facing, it remains the best place to live and work.

We strive to make the process transparent, and not be tied to the elite. The openness of the negotiation process is our imperative, because we are all owners of the process that will affect the lives of us all.

Serbia has gained important partners in the world by its responsible and truly dedicated policy. For Serbia as a candidate for EU membership, the message that is these days coming from the EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, and many others, that they support the enlargement policy based on fulfilled criteria and respect for fair rules for membership, is also important. It is a fact that all countries have gone through some kind of political conditioning. Some countries have become members owing to some more favourable international circumstances for them, even though they were not fully prepared. Many would expect us to protest and be angry because of this.

However, since we care to reform the society, we continue to work hard, not wasting our time looking at great global debates, which we are prone to, and trying not to miss real opportunities for progress. Only turning towards pragmatism and solving specific life issues on realistic grounds can lead to the goals we all strive to achieve.

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Ambitious Plans and its Implementation The City has been working hard on attracting potential investors and promoting entrepreneurship, which should contribute to the creation of new jobs.

Concurrently, projects are being implemented that should promote development of the economic and tourist potential, including Novi Sad's candidacy for the European Capital of Culture in 2021

MILOŠ VUČEVIĆ

Mayor of Novi Sad

The fact that the Serbian Progressive Party (SPP) occupies all four levels of government is a positive development that implies full agreement on the most important projects that will improve the lives of our citizens – says the incumbent and newly elected Mayor of Novi Sad, Miloš Vučević.

You are starting your second term as mayor of Novi Sad. Which development direction should the City take and which economic branches are the best for its future?

— We have been developing industrial zones in the close proximity of the E75 motorway, in addition to expanding the capacity of the Free Customs Zone and continuing to implement incentive programmes for the development of small enterprises, agriculture etc. We are creating an even better business climate and environment for future investors. Apart from industrial production, our construction sector has become the most appealing area to investors. The new data collated by the Ministry of Construction shows that construction activities are the highest in Novi Sad, i.e. higher than anywhere else in Serbia. Since 1st January, when we

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started issuing electronic building permits, the City’s Urban Planning Administration has received 1,330 building permit applications. Of all towns and cities in Serbia, Novi Sad has issued the most building permits, which makes it the best environment for investors.

Some say that Novi Sad has fewer investments than other areas in Serbia because foreign investors have to pay €100 more for an average salary in the city than in smaller towns?

— The fact remains that the econ-

NIS Gazpromneft – operate in Novi Sad. We have been working hard on attracting potential investors, while our most important goal is to create new jobs. However, the most pressing matter at the moment is to harmonise our education system with the needs of the labour market. I think that dual education would be sustainable here and I have heard that many companies are willing to support it. Our education system needs to be reformed and, in order to have a more successful economy, we need to provide worker profiles that

THE NEW DATA COLLATED BY THE MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION SHOWS THAT CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES ARE THE HIGHEST IN NOVI SAD, I.E. HIGHER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN SERBIA. OF ALL THE TOWNS AND CITIES IN SERBIA, NOVI SAD ISSUED THE MOST BUILDING PERMITS, WHICH MAKES IT THE BEST ENVIRONMENT FOR INVESTORS omy of Novi Sad is recovering.

After several decades, production facilities are being opened by two multinational companies – Lear and Delphi – which are going to employ 5,000 people. The biggest international insurance companies and banks, as well as one of the biggest global energy companies –

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the labour market actually needs.

As a local government, we have discussed the expansion of certain technical education majors so that pupils who graduate from these high schools would be able to find employment in existing and future factories in Novi Sad immediately after they finish school.

Very few people know that in the last ten years Novi Sad has been a hub of the IT industry, which currently employs over 5,000 people. How are the City authorities going to support this sector?

— The City authorities have been supporting the development of IT companies for years now, through the provision of assistance to startup programmes or first chance programmes, and by opening business incubators and cooperating with the local university. Novi Sad provides the biggest incentives in Serbia. This is where we are completely synchronised with the Serbian government's policy of providing the best incentives in Europe, especially to start-ups, with the view of encouraging people to start their own businesses. I visited the Employment Fair recently and there I saw both large companies, like Lear and Delphi, and small family businesses, standing shoulder to shoulder. This is proof that we are on the right path and that our incentives programmes for self-employment, start-up programmes and first chance programmes are yielding results. With regard to the further development of the IT sector, and considering the fact that Novi Sad is the IT hub of Serbia, there is still the problem of a lack of highly-educated staff.

According to certain data, Novi Sad needs at least 7,000 new IT professionals. Following the construction of the Science & Technology Park, I expect the Faculty of Technical Sciences to produce even more young IT experts. We need to provide a fast response to the market’s needs, especially when it comes to a sector that has been developing constantly.

The topic of revitalisation and reconstruction of Petrovaradin Fortress’s Suburbium has always been somehow pushed aside, while the 18th century Baroque quarter has been gradually deteriorating. Many medieval Central European towns have been earning millions of euros in tourist revenue from similar attractions.

Why hasn’t the reconstruction of the Suburbium started yet?

— The problem lies in legal property relations. We have inherited an extremely difficult situation in Gradić (the Suburbium part of the Fortress) and I have been trying to resolve it at the systemic level, although time is working against us. The Suburbium is an important cultural and historic location with great tourist potential and we owe it to this city, which I love very much, to take care of it, because it lies at the foot of a fortress that has for centuries been a symbol of the defence and liberation of Novi Sad. The only thing I can confirm is that in the past four years we have been trying to find the quickest and best solution for the people living in the Suburbium, so that we can finally start revitalising the buildings and utility infrastructure there.

The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) now occupies the leading positions at all four levels of government – the City of Novi Sad, the Province of Vojvodina, the Republic and the President of the Republic. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a situation from your perspective?

— We are going to have cooperation and coordination without bureaucratic and political conflicts, as well as being in full agreement about the most important goals. The citizens chose us to be united around the projects that will create a better life in Serbia. And I do hope that we are never going to hear how the state government in Belgrade is to blame for everything, which many have used as an excuse for idleness or incompetence.

You were recently appointed as an SNS Vice President. What

is the most important task that your party will have over the next year?

— We are not going to alienate ourselves from the people. You can be sure of that. And if anyone forgets about the needs of their neighbours who voted for them, because they are intoxicated by the power of their high positions or privileges, the party will make sure that they take their cockiness somewhere else and not demonstrate it under the party's umbrella. All officials are constantly being examined and none of them are untouchable

to “meddle” in the work done by the provincial public broadcasting company, with the intention of helping them secure the best possible working environment and, above all, to get their own building after their headquarters in Mišeluk were destroyed in the 1999 air raids.

As a local self-government, we are going to help with the construction of the new RTV building. I think that this is the most pressing issue for them at the moment. As far as the street protests go, my only concern is whether they have been properly registered with the police and if

IF ANY OFFICIAL BECOMES INTOXICATED BY THE POWER OF THEIR HIGH POSITION OR PRIVILEGES, THE PARTY WILL MAKE SURE THAT THEY TAKE THEIR COCKINESS SOMEWHERE ELSE AND NOT DEMONSTRATE IT UNDER THE PARTY'S UMBRELLA. SNS IS A PEOPLE’S PARTY, NOT AN ELITIST PARTY, AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE DESTROYED BY POLITICAL VANITY or eternal. SNS is a people’s party, not an elitist party. It is the party of the future. We are not going to let political vanity destroy us, because the people voted for us to take care of them and not of our personal interests. We have been given yet another major opportunity to work for Serbia and we are not going to squander that.

What is your view of the situation at Radio & Television Vojvodina (RTV), with editors being replaced and subsequent protests?

— I am sorry that RTV has been a tenant for 16 years and this is the politicians' fault, as well as the only instance when we are allowed

er to xenophobia and isolation in the last few years?

— I am proud of Serbia for showing that it is living the true European values. During the migrant crisis, we have shown solidarity and humanity towards all the people who were expelled from, or forced to leave, their homes. Not only that...

It is our duty to make different nationalities feel good, not to foster division and not to fight, but rather to build a better Serbia together.

The EXIT Festival has become Novi Sad's trademark event over the past 15 years. There are also many other events that bring in tourists. In which direction should the city's tourist offer develop?

— The projects that we want to implement will greatly affect the city's development, especially the development of its economic and tourist potential. I am referring to Novi Sad's candidacy for the European Capital of Culture 2021. I cannot wait for October, when the decision will be made in Brussels. I will be very proud if Novi Sad wins the candidacy as the first city from a country that is an EU candidate. This will be great encouragement and an incentive, both for the City and the Republic of Serbia. I want us to be optimistic, to fight, to believe and, of course, to win. We are also candidates for the European Youth Capital 2019. We are also preparing to build Youth Polis – a centre for young and creative industries. The projects that are going to be implemented here are all geared towards young people who can have fun in the centre, while learning and exchanging knowledge and experience, which, in turn, creates new development opportunities for Novi Sad.

they are disturbing public order or not, and preventing the normal functioning of the city.

Further from that, are you going to raise the issue of Čenej Airport again, which can be transformed into an airport for low-cost flights that could bring hundreds of thousands of tourists annually?

Vojvodina and Novi Sad are both multinational areas with a long tradition of tolerance between different nations and religions.

There is a Serbian Orthodox church, a Catholic church, several Protestant churches, a synagogue and a Greek-Catholic Ruthenian church on a single square kilometre here. During Exit, we saw a peaceful Hindu procession of the Indian Chariot Festival. What future do multinational areas in Europe have, considering that many countries have edged clos-

— I have had many meetings with people who love aviation and are willing to participate in a public-private partnership. We must first talk to the representatives of the Vojvodina Government, but I think we are on the right track to implementing this idea, which has been around for decades. The entire project requires a lot of money and there are certain property issues that need to be resolved. However, we don't want to give up on our plan to modernise Čenej Airport in order for it to become suitable for commercial and cargo flights.

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NATIONAL DAYS

ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

in August

CSILLA IHÁSZ

FRANCESCO FAELLA

the new CEO of UniCredit Bank Serbia

After the approval of the National Bank of Serbia, Csilla Ihász was appointed to the position of Chair of the Executive Board of UniCredit Bank Serbia on 19 July. She succeeded Claudio Cesario who led the Bank since May 2012, and who continued his career in Croatia as Deputy CEO of Zagrebačka banka, also a member of UniCredit Group.

Csilla Ihász joined UniCredit Group in 2007, after having occuping series of different posts in the field of business development, sales and marketing, which she performed in the leading international banks in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). As Director of Marketing and segments within the sector for the retail business in CEE, she was responsible for establishing a service model and a series of projects of strategic importance for UniCredit Group. In 2009 she was appointed to a higher executive assistant director of the Division for operations in the CEE region, while the following year she became a member of the Executive Board of UniCredit Bank Hungary responsible for Retail Banking. In the period from September 2014, she was the Director of Commercial Development at UniCredit Bank Austria AG, and in April 2015 took over the director Department of Retail Banking in CEE, which included 12 markets.Csilla Ihász holds a degree Westfield State University in the USA and an MBA from Brunel University in London.

new CEO of Tetra Pak for SEE

Tetra Pak, the world leader in food processing and packaging solutions, has recently appointed Mr Francesco Faella as the new CEO for Southeast Europe. Francesco will replace Maria Krasilowez, who has moved to the new position in the global organisation of Tetra Pak. With hi 20 years of experience in the food products packaging industry, Francesco took over this post bringing with him a wealth of experience in management and operational management.

Before taking up a new position in the region of SEE, Francesco hled numerous management positions in Tetra Pak, the last of which includes the city manager of the portfolio of clusters for Europe and Central Asia, as well as the manager of the products in the global organisation of the company. ”I am very excited and honoured to take on this new role and I am looking forward to take over the leading position of the future growth and development in SEE,” said Faella. Francesco Faella will be stationed in Belgrade, and will lead all business markets of fourteen companies in the region of Southeast Europe, of which the largest are Serbia, Greece, Croatia, and Romania.

1st August

SWITZERLAND

Alliance against the Holy Roman Empire in 1291 - Swiss National Day

20th August

ESTONIA

Independence Day

20th August 2nd August

HUNGARY

Foundation of Christian Hungary and Hungary's first Ilinden - National Day Christian King St. Stephen's Day

MACEDONIA

6th August

JAMAICA

Independence Day

24th August

UKRAINE

Independence Day

10th August

ECUADOR

Independence Day

25th August

URUGUAY

Independence Day

14th August

JAN LUNDIN

new Ambassador of Sweden

As from 28 July 2016, Mr Jan Lundin is the new ambassador of Sweden to Serbia and Montenegro. H.E. Mr Jan Lundin, Ambassador of Sweden presented the letters of credence, signed by the King of Sweden, His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf to the President of the Republic of Montenegro, Mr Filip Vujanović on 26 July and to the President of the Republic of Serbia Mr Tomislav Nikolić on 28 July 2016. Prior to his post as Ambassador of Sweden to Serbia and Montenegro, Jan Lundin was appointed Director General of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Permanent International Secretariat, Stockholm from 1 September 2010. Being a career diplomat at the Swedish Foreign Service, he came from the posting as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Sweden to Germany. Mr Lundin graduated from the University of Stockholm in 1996 with a Master of Law. He had previously studied at the University of Uppsala where he was awarded his Bachelor of Arts in Slavic Languages, East European Area Studies and Economics.

Alongside his native Swedish, he has knowledge of ten languages and fluency in four, including Serbian, English, German, and Russian. He is married and has two daughters.

Pretplata doo Pretplata doo Newspapers Newspapers Subscription Subscription Service Service Bulevar dr Bulevar Zorana Đinđića dr Zorana 57,Đinđića 57, lokal 19, 11070 lokal 19, Novi11070 Beograd Novi Beograd +381 11 313 +381 99 11 67 313 99 67 +381 11 314 +381 99 11 21 314 99 21 office@pretplata.rs office@pretplata.rs pretplatadoo@gmail.com pretplatadoo@gmail.com www.pretplata.rs www.pretplata.rs

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Diplomacy&Commerce

PAKISTAN

Youm-e-Azadi, Independence Day

15th August

INDIA

Independence Day

27th August

MOLDOVA

Independence Day

31th August

KYRGYZSTAN

Independence Day

17th August

INDONESIA

Declaration of Independence day (Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan R.I.)

31th August

MALAYSIA

Independence Day (Hari Merdeka)

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INTERVIEW Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Go East and Start a Business Oliver Hougham is a Scotsman who decided not to “go west” but to “go east” instead, in his persue of happiness and business opportunities. It is the tradition that the British entrepreneurs followed for centuries, but we don't have to go that far. Many of the German and Czech businessmen tried to make their happiness in the Balkans not so long ago. This is Oliver's story

OLIVER HOUGHAM

Co-owner of Scotts Cider and owner of Beeraj

You live in Aberdeen, yet all of a sudden you decide to become an entrepreneur in Serbia. Strange? Not for three Scotsmen who moved to Novi Sad, bought Salaš 190 in Čenej, launched the production of Scotts Cider, the first Serbian-made cider, and found their home there. We are talking to Oliver Hougham, one of the three pioneers, to ask him about their story and future plans, which, we should be aware, include some craft beers at a place called Beeraj!

So, the first question should naturally be – how did it all start? I mean, you were sitting somewhere in Aberdeen and all of a sudden you decided to come to an Eastern European country to start making cider, and everything that followed.

— Well, the whole idea was not actually from Aberdeen but from Ljubovija, on the Drina. My father was hosting refugees in Aberdeen.

They were from Sarajevo. And in 1998 he came to Ljubovija, where they relocated and opened a shop there. The reason was the huge unemployment in Ljubovija at the time. So I was actually sitting in Ljubovija and I started to think about Serbian production and what could be done with it. I noticed that you had all the raspberries here and nobody was doing anything with them. Then I started to think about how to com-

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mercialise Serbian produce. And then, from 2004 to 2006, I started hosting Exit festival guests, and by 2007 the number of Exit guests had risen exponentially and there were some 14,000 British people here in Novi Sad, so I decided that I had to offer them something of Serbian produce. Just these 14 thousand here represented a huge market, but there were also festivals popping up around the former Yugoslavia, with Croatia representing the biggest market.

Soon, in 2008, I decide to start a company and the whole initial concept was making cider for festivals. We named it Scotts Cider, because of our Scottish ancestry and because the three of us, all Scotsmen, started the story.

and Bohemia, like Zoffmann or Weifert. In Bosnia, after the Turks left, the Austrians founded the Sarajevo and Banjaluka Breweries. Is it natural to move from a richer country to a poorer one, albeit with a formula and a clear business model for the product lacking on the market?

— It is always easier for people from the outside to see the potential than it is for people from here. That applies to any country.

It is just that you don't see inwards from the inside. So I established myself here, but a few years later I decide to go a step further. We recognised the potential, but we were later bullied out of the major Croatian festival where

I NOTICED ALL OF THE RASPBERRIES HERE AND THAT NOBODY DID ANYTHING WITH THEM. THEN I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO COMMERCIALISE SERBIAN PRODUCE Your move appears to be quite similar to the entrepreneurial spirit of the British people who, say, went to Ceylon, Kenya or India and set up businesses. That is deeply rooted in the British mentality, right? And not only British! When the Austrian Empire conquered new territories, the Germans and Czechs brought their brewing traditions from Austria

we had strongholds by big cider companies. Simply, they offered sponsorships and the festival accepted it and we were out. But we had some exclusive rights for some festivals – the Dimension Festival in Pula, Outlook Festival, in some years from 2008 to 2012, and everything was good. We were doing great, selling some 14,000 litres in a couple of days. But we could not pay as much as the big brands, so we had to go. Then in

2012 we tried at the Exit Festival.

Bojan Bošković gave us a chance in his last year, 2012. And after 2012 we approached the domestic market and diversified our portfolio by adding apple juice.

So, with these two products we are trying to do our best, but as one of the few microbreweries in Serbia, which has a monopolised market, it is hard. We were one of the first, and unfortunately the Serbian market was not ready for cider anyway. So we did it for three years and after that we decided we should go back to contract work and exports. We have now been bullied out of the Serbian market.

The pressure on microbreweries it strong; the market has been monopolised in a way that many clubs have to buy exclusively from the big players. But now there is a growing number of freehouses, as we call them in the UK, which are pubs and restaurants that can buy freely from anyone as they are not contracted. There are some 30 freehouses here now, which sell craft beer and domestically produced beer or cider. Now this has opened up and there is an opportunity for profit, and lots of microbreweries are now operating. So the whole scene has changed, both for the consumers and the producers. There are associations being built and they are now active at all levels.

It is really impressive. But also I noticed a change in the behaviour of pubs. For exam-

ple, I was walking down the street and there was a place advertising music, food and, in huge letters, CRAFT BEER! It now seems to be very important to mention that you have craft beer. It is time for action, right?

— It is huge now, yes. There is a huge market out there. And the most interesting is the American market. Last year craft beer took a seven per cent market share and this seven per cent of consumption employed 50 per cent of all employees in the beer industry in the States.

And there is a question of uniqueness. Let's say, I go to a place where there are only major known brands. So I have tasted it. No challenge, but if I really want to drink beer I will buy it. However, if, for example, I am with my girlfriend who does not drink beer and you say that you have a few brands of craft beer, that is tempting. Now everybody wants to taste it, to feel something new. And there is a feeling that you are special, so every time someone opens the bottle or gets a pint, it feels like there were some people really making an effort to prepare it. It was not made by a robot or on a conveyer belt. The feeling that it was hand-made is great.

— Yes, but also microbreweries are not an easy business niche.

There has to be passion in it; there has to be love in it. In most cases these are the second jobs and the third jobs for these people operating microbreweries. So you have to be passionate about preparing it, and the people consuming it also must feel special about it. As you told me, in art, people don't want .pdf catalogues, they want paper ones. They hold them in their hands and they feel special because it is limited. It is identity that now matters. And that's why the growth of microbreweries in Serbia will be exponential.

But how many of them are really successful and how many of them are working from the heart? That is yet to be seen. But what the guys in Serbia are doing now is diversifying. It is not all California-styled, or not all Indian pale ales. Do you know that the hop is just a flavour preservative? Barley is important, but hops were only added to preserve the flavour during long journeys. So, the Brits

added hops just to preserve the beer during voyages to British India, where thousands of civil and military personnel lived and needed beer, so that is why this kind of ale is called Indian Pale Ale. So the scene is diversifying, everyone is trying to find a new style and a new niche, so what we started here at Beeraj, where we sell craft beers, is a concept I kind of wanted from the start for cider: “try before you buy”. It is concept that the beer and wine and cider industries will have to embrace.

When you walk into a pub and want to order a pint of beer, you know what the big brands taste

You started cider production nine years ago and now you are also in the craft beer business. Do you have any intention to start your own microbrewery for craft beer, which would be a logical step?

— Well, no. We started cider production and after seven years we got the chance to expand it, and now we are planning to expand it even further. Now the people know about different brands of cider from the UK, and the girls particularly like cider. There is a clear niche for it after all these years. Now what is especially popular at this time of the year is “zova” (elder) and the

cider from Serbia, and this is our main success. We tried to expand here, but it was not huge. Our main markets for export are Croatia and London.

London? Really? So you managed to “sell the ice to the Eskimos”, in a way? I was expecting Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary or the like.

— Sort of... Serbian cider was accepted well in London. Cider from Serbian apples was sold to a mature market.

What is your conclusion after all these years in the business?

— My conclusion is that, after almost ten years doing business in Serbia, we are finally on the right track. We are seeing microbreweries; we are seeing entrepreneurs and people who are not afraid to try.

And there are more and more people in every sector getting involved and this is really encouraging.

WE NOW HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BOTTLE SCOTTS CIDER AND WE ARE NOW EXPANDING TO DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MARKETS. WE ARE ALSO DIVERSIFYING INTO APPLE AND ELDER JUICE PRODUCTION

Now you cannot scare people, especially not young people. You can't tell them in America “Don't vote for Sanders, it will make America a socialist country”.

Young people cannot be fooled anymore. They will say, “So what? I've been to Canada and Germany and Sweden and I liked it.” They are well-travelled. They have internet and cable TV with hundreds of programmes.

Like 24Kitchen made a revolution in cooking, everyone tries to taste something new.

It seems that we are in the New Discovery Era and are trying to expand our minds.

— Definitely. And it is funny how I like, and if you have to order a new craft beer, which is far more expensive, you will be reluctant.

So the people are often scared by the price and so they choose a generic industrial beer (I call them “generic”), and they often don't know what craft beer tastes like.

Beeraj is about teaching people what these styles are, encouraging people to find their flavour, and trying to ensure them enjoy it.

And how many types of beers are you currently offering?

— We have eight types on draught, three types in bottles from two different breweries and in the next five days this will grow to four different breweries and a wide range of new flavours in bottles.

juice from elder is huge now. We have an opportunity to bottle Scotts Cider and we are now expanding to domestic and foreign markets.

It is pretty much like music. When someone tries to spread the message, it has to be the right moment. When you see the Coldplay discography, you see that the first five singles charted awfully and they had to wait for the world to accept them.

— Exactly, now is the time. Now everybody knows what cider is.

You have to take into consideration the maturity of your market.

And for an immature market like Serbia’s, we definitely came too early. We succeeded in exporting

missed curry when I came here. In every food, I missed known spices.

Thinking in retrospect, it is good to keep the food simple, but on the other hand, having the option to buy spices, to buy different flavours, to experiment with the 24Kitchen, they really pushed the boundaries, they now want to experiment and go further. Try different food, spices, wine, cider, beer. It could be childish in a way, or even ridiculous, but as long as there is an option, it is what we should be fighting for. The same is with cider and craft beer: as long as there is an option, that is really encouraging for the consumer. Who wants to can continue drinking whatever they want, the classical things and brands. But craft beers have done so well in such a short period of time. And that is great.

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COMMENT

More Predictability and Legal Security Dr MILAN PARIVODIĆ

LL.M. (London), Attorney at Law, Parivodić Advokati/Lawyers, former Minister of Serbian International Economic Relations

The Law sets Aims, which should be construed as legal commitments of the Republic of Serbia: improving the investment environment in the Republic of Serbia, encouraging direct investment, equalizing treatment of domestic and foreign investors, increasing efficiency of state service to investments, and creating a more attractive business environment for domestic and foreign investors. Therefore, all laws and subordinate legislation need to be interpreted towards realization of the said aims.

For realization and maintenance of investments the Law grants the privilige of an expedited procedure before all authorities processing administrative matters: duty of issuance of public documents to investors in shortest possible time if an investor has filed complete documentation. Monetary fines are imposed for violation of the the above duties against the responsible person in the authority.

The Investment Law divides investments into two categories to afford them appropriate treatment: 1) investments of local significance and 2) investments of special significance for the Republic of Serbia.

New bodies of state to support investors are 1) Government Council for Economic Development, 2) Development Agency of Serbia (RAS), 3) “Unit for local economic development” in municipalities, cities, and Autonomous Province.

An investor may use the Unit for Local economic development as one-stop shop for submitting to local bodies of state all documents and collecting all permits so as to avoid multiple contacts.

An investor may request formation of a Project Team for its invest-

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The new Serbian Investment Law, passed in November 2015, introduces significant novelties for investors. One novelty is that the Investment Law extends its scope to all investors, both domestic and foreign, responding to global trends and domestic demands

ment, composed of civil servants relevant to the project. I suggest that the project teams are composed of those respective heads of bodies who should sign the various permits for the investment. As need be, a Project team may be established by 1) municipality or city for investments of local significance, 2) by the Autonomous province for investments for which incentive funds are provided from the budget of the autonomous province, and 3) by the Development Agency of Serbia for investments

The Investment Program should be treated as the result of planning work done with the Project Team.

Its purpose is that an investor has it all on paper and signed by the state which should secure a transparent investment process, reduce corruption and increase state responsibility in dealing with investors. Upon investor’s request the Investment program is drafted and signed by 1) local self-government unit and/or 2) competent authority of the Autonomous province on the one side,

IN ANY CASE, ALL NOVELTIES IN THE NEW INVESTMENT LAW ARE PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS AIMED AT IMPROVING LEGAL SECURITY AND PREDICTABILITY OF ALL INVESTMENTS of special significance. The job of a Project team is to provide expert assistance, information and data and the efficient granting of permits for efficient and timely realization of investments. I suggest that if the Development Agency of Serbia establishes a Project team, it should encompass also officials from local and provincial level, to make the state team complete, coherent and their activities coordinated.

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and the investor on the other side.

In content, the Investment program should determine 1) all documents and dates at which an investor needs to submit them, as well 2) all permits and the dates in which all public bodies are obliged to issue them. I suggest that members of the Project Team, who are heads of bodies due to issue respective permits, each are to sign before laying of signature by the reperesentative of local or

provincial government. This would increase accountability between all actors and the benefits are obvious.

Supervision over the implementation of and Investment Program is carried out by Development Agency of Serbia. An Investor has a right, not an obligation to use these services of the state. The Development Agency of Serbia is not expressly authorized in the Law to sign Investment Programs, but It should do so in line with its elaborate statutory duties from Article 36 to help investors in various ways and in line with best practices to date of assisting major projects. If it refused to do so, it would actually violate its duties to investors under the Law. The new concepts in the new Investment Law (extension of scope to domestic investors, expedited administrative procedure, one-stop shop, project team, and investment program) are inspired by the Bill on Investments of 2006 and draft Law on Investment Law of 2015, both of which I inspired and drafted based on years of working with foreign investors as lawyer, consultant and minister of international economic relations. My drafts were quite more elaborate and stronger in affirming investors’ rights than this Investment Law, which reflects the current political balance of interests.

Yet, we continue work on securing investors’ rights both at statutory and at project-level basis. I In any case, all novelties in the new Investment Law are practical solutions aimed at improving legal security and predictability of all investments. Therefore, I commend the new Serbia’s Investment Law and look forward to its creative applying towards realizing its ambitious aims of a sustainable Serbian economy with a strong and dynamic domestic and FDI private sector.

COMMENT

Bye, Bye Serbia I promise that in each place I will be posted to I will continue to carry with me the memories of the great people I knew here and continue to cherish beautiful moments I had in this country, writes in his farewell passionate message Ambassador Yossi, who spent here five great years

YOSSEF LEVY

Ambassador of Israel

Those were for sure the best five years of my life. Belgrade is a city that you easily fall in love with. Many foreigners speak about the special magic of Belgrade which is perhaps not the most beautiful city in Europe but still succeeds to overwhelm you with its human dimension. As a diplomat I felt that I touched a certain ceiling.

After their departure from Belgrade, the Israeli Ambassadors before me have always complained that they cannot find anything that could compare to the Serbian capital. In a mysterious way I’ve started to understand what they meant. As a writer, I am sure that the endless moments I had here will be adapted and transformed in years to come into a new novel, my Belgrade love affair, a collage of cafes and friends, sweet secrets, great food as well as the everlasting political dilemmas.

Belgrade is always standing on a historical crossroads and each year seems to be more dramatic than ever before. Israel is the same. That’s why I feel here so much at home.

For five years I was afraid that Serbian magic will finally come to an end. And it does. It is time to pack and say bye, bye. I apologize for using this stage to express my personal thoughts, but I would like to thank this great country for being a second home for myself and my family.

I truly believe in the Serbian potentials and human values. Great individuals must, in the end of the day, create a great collective. There

The Serbian population is shrinking rapidly. In short – there is not enough babies. Someone told me that with each population census Serbia is losing a town in the size of Arandjelovac. Isn’t it a real disaster?

The remaining are getting older, while many young and educated are standing in queues in front of foreign embassies to get visa and leave. As a friend I can tell you that this is the most depressing human

AS A WRITER, I AM SURE THAT THE ENDLESS MOMENTS I HAD HERE WILL BE ADAPTED AND TRANSFORMED IN YEARS TO COME INTO A NEW NOVEL, MY BELGRADE LOVE AFFAIR is absolutely no reason that such powerful, immense and creative nation will not be able to create an impressive and sophisticated modern economy based on wisdom, innovation and human spirit.

People, my friends, are the biggest asset of Serbia. Not a burden, but a real treasure of this country.

The biggest challenge of our beloved Serbia is demography.

landscape and it makes me sad.

Rich countries are benefiting from the flow of amazing young Serbian women and men who are looking for a better tomorrow. I pray and hope that in the coming years we will see the opposite scenes: Serbian expats will come back and rebuild life here at home.

I leave Serbia with a great admiration for human generosity I found

Yair Arama Photograpy

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here. I promise that in each place I will be posted to I will continue to carry with me the memories of the great people I knew here and continue to cherish beautiful moments I had in this country.

If you push me to the wall and force me to mention not only the good things but also the bad phenomenon I saw here, well - hajde.

I don’t like the passive approach of some people, including some of my friends, towards the challenges of life, the Dorcolian mega philosophy of endless sitting in a café and complaining why and why and why, the unbearable clouds of cigarettes and smoke in public places and wild driving habits on the roads (drivers simply ignore passengers who try to cross the zebra line). In spite of those I do truly believe that Serbia is still a fantastic place to live and to visit. I promise myself to come back at first opportunity, this time as an ordinary visitor. I hope that some will still remember me, one strange Ambassador Yossi, who spent here five great years.

Dovidjenja Beograde!

YOSSI LEVY FAREWELL PARTY

7th July

Jewish Community of Belgrade, in cooperation with Color Press Group, Israeli Business Association, the magazine Diplomacy & Commerce organised a festive reception in the Synagogue “Sukat Shalom” in Belgrade to mark the departure of Israeli Ambassador H.E. Yossef Levy after a five-year term. “What would Schwarzenegger say – I’ll be back, but I do not know how. I love you so much,” said Levy, adding that wherever he goes he will be “an ambassador of Serbia”. Jewish Community thanked Levy and granted him the medal and the thankgsiving charter. On behalf of the Government of Serbia Vladimir Božović thanked Levy.

H.E. Yossef Levy, H.E, Jean-Daniel Ruch, the outgoing Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia and Miloš Milovanović, N1 TV

H.E. Yossef Levy, Vera Jovanovska Tipko, Ambassador of Macedonia to Serbia and Zoran Stojković, the Executive Director of Belgrade Airport

Dragan Šutanovac, Member of the Board of the Democratic Party

Prince Aleksandar and Princess Katarina Karađorđević

Ambassador of Turkey, Mehmet Kemal Bozay (middle) and Maja Nikolić with her husband Aleksandar Nikolić, State Secretary in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (left)

Ambassador addressing guests in front of the Synagogue

Lucas Levy, H.E. Yossef Levy and Maja Gojković, President of the Serbian Parliament

Ivan Tasovac, Minister of Culture and Information and Kyle Randolph Scott, US Ambassador and his wife

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PEOPLE & EV ENTS

INDEPENDENCE DAY OF BELARUS

6th July

H.E. Ambassador of Belarus to Serbia Vladimir Chushev organised a reception on the occasion of marking the Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus. The guests was addressed at Dedinje’s Villa “Jelena” by the Ambassador, who said: Today the main result of our independence is peace, inter-ethnic harmony and decent living conditions for our citizens”. The reception was attended by Aleksandar Vučić, Serbian Prime Minister, Maja Gojković, Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly, Ivica Dačić, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps and numerous figures from cultural, economic and civic community.

Patriarch of Serbia Irinej and PM Vučić in conversation with the Belarusian diplomats

H.E. Vladimir Chushev addressing the guests

Belarusian folk songs and costumes were presented

Dignitaries at the reception included the very top of the government, military and the church of Serbia

SERBIAN PM BREATHES NEW LIFE TO NORWEGIAN PROJECT

6th July

H.E. Arne Bjornstad, Norwegian ambassador in Belgrade and Serbian PM designate Aleksandar Vucic

An impromptu football match between Mr Arne Bjornstad, the Norwegian ambassador in Belgrade, and Serbian PM designate Aleksandar Vucic marked the opening of the reconstructed Sports and Culture centre in Serbia and set a new milestone in Serbia-Norway friendship. The result of the SerbiaNorway match was 0:0 but some 1,600 people in the audience were still happy with the result and waving Norwegian and Serbian flags in the reconstructed Sports and Culture Centre in Obrenovac, Serbia on July 6.

Two years ago, on June 25, the Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende visited the same Obrenovac’s centre after disastrous floods hit the country and especially Obrenovac. In a bid to restore the facilities and services of the SKC and improve their functionality, Norway decided to donate 1.5 million euro for the interior reconstruction. The works started in November 2015 and were implemented by UNOPS.

H.E. Arne Bjornstad, Norwegian ambassador in Belgrade

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AMCHAM HOSTS ANNUAL MEDIA BRUNCH

8th July

Members of the AmCham Board of Governors and Executive Office held a traditional meeting with leading Serbian journalist in Klub Književnika. The gathering was an excellent opportunity for Vera Nikolić Dimić, AmCham Executive Director, to recognize the guests’ cooperation and reporting on AmCham issues and to present the AmCham Board members and results achieved by the organization in last year. The audience was also addressed by Zoran Perović, AmCham President, who emphasized the importance of further regulatory changes AmCham will be focused on. After the business was concluded, the event continued in an informal and friendly atmosphere in the garden of the restaurant.

OPENING OF A MULTIMEDIA CENTRE

12th July

The multimedia centre opened on 12th of July at the archaeological site Gamzigrad Romuliana near Zaječar. Director of National museum in Zaječar, Bora Dimitrijević hosted opening ceremony of this important Serbian cultural property under the protection of UNESCO. The event was attended by the Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport, Ambassador of Austria dr Johannes Eigner, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić and director of the Tourist Organization of Serbia Marija Labović. Felix Romuliana imperial palace, one of the most important archaeological sites in Serbia is now home to the newly opened Multimedia Centre, one of the first of its kind in Serbia. This is one of the outcomes of the EU HERA Project “Sustainable tourism management of Adriatic HERitage” funded through IPA Adriatic cross-border cooperation programme.

Felix Romuliana UNESCO heritage site was opened by a ceremony attended by important guests

Photo: Đorđe Grujičić

Minister Ljajić and the delagtion arriving in Felix Romuliana

With "Roman soldiers"

Felix Romuliana ruins

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PEOPLE & EV ENTS

THE MONTENEGRIN HOUSE OPENED IN BELGRADE

13th July

On the occasion of 13th July, the Statehood Day, and the Montenegrin Hous in Belgrade was officially opened by presidents of Serbia and Montenegro, Tomislav Nikolić and Filip Vujanović. This is of special significance and value to both countries as a proof of close and friendly relationships between the two countries, said Vujanović. The official opening was visited by many politicians, members of the diplomatic corps and other numerous personalities from the political, economic and cultural of life.

Montenegrin House

Outgoing Israeli Ambassador, Yossef Levy

Miloš Vučević, Novi Sad Mayor

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The presidents Nikolić and Vujanović solemnly unveil the table with the inscription

Tomislav Nikolić, the President of Serbia, Filip Vujanović, the President of Montenegro and the Montenegrin Ambassador to Serbia, Branislav Mićunović

Ružica Đinđić and Goran Vesić, Belgrade City Manager

President Nikolić and Duško Knežević, founder and president of Atlas Grupa

Tomislav Nikolić, Dragan Džajić, the Red Star legend and Vuk Drašković, President of SPO

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THE BASTILLE DAY CELEBRATED

14th July

The French ambassador in Belgrade H E Christine Moro hosted a reception at her residence on the occasion of the 14th of July, the national holiday of this country, which marks the Fall of Bastille. The reception was attended, among others, by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and President of the National Assembly of Serbia Maja Gojković.

Ambassador Moro, in her address to the guests in Serbian language, announced that France supports Serbia in its European integration.

The French ambassador, H E Christine Moro and Nataša Kovačević, Serbian basketball player with her father, Vukašin Kovačević

Ambassador Moro with her husband, The Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić and Maja Gojković, Speaker of Parliament

Ambassador of India, H E Narinder Chauhan and Michael Davenport, Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia

Jasna Jovanov, Director of The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection, Beatris Grozdanić, Special Advisor of Minister Vulin in the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, Snežana Bogosavljević, Minister of Agriculture, Ambassador of Brazil, H E Isabel Cristina de Azevedo Heyvaert, Robert Čoban, President of Color Press Group, Dr Nevena Sečen and Dr Svetozar Sečen

Aja Jung, ballerina and director of the Belgrade Dance Festival and Ivan Tasovac, Minister of Culture and Information in the Government of Serbia

British ambassador, Denis Keefe with his wife

Nebojsa Bradić in an interview with the Patriarch of Serbia, Irinej

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PEOPLE & EV ENTS

KPOP WORLD FESTIVAL & AMBASSADOR’S KPOP PARTY

26th July

Around 350 fans of Kpop (Korean pop music) gathered from all over Serbia to attend the event "Kpop World Festival Serbia 2016" which took place on26 July in the Americana Hall of the Belgrade Youth Centre. This competition brought together a large number of fans of Kpop music, who have competed in singing and dancing to the songs of their favourite bands from Korea. The winner of this competition, group A-TIA, got a golden check worth 1000 EUR. The awards were presented by the Ambassador of Korea to Serbia Dohoon Lee, who said: "It was great to dance and sing with youth from Serbia to the Korean music. We hope that this event will be held in the years to come."

KPop is impressively popular in Serbia

The magnificent atmosphere of the KPop party

Ambassador's speech

The purely Korean jury

BELGIUM CELEBRATED NATIONAL DAY WITH A PARTY

27th July

In the Residence of the Embassy of Belgium, the Ambassador H E Leo D’Aes with his spouse was a host of the party which celebrated the National Day of Belgium.

The celebration was rather informal and was opened by Ambassador’s speech and the national anthems of Serbia, Belgium and EU, which was particularly emphasised by the Ambassador. The guests included many diplomats, politicians like Maja Gojković, the President of the Parliament of Serbia, and personalities from economic, political and culture life of both countries and many other guests. Belgium presented its famous wide range of beers, food and drinks.

Ambassador of India H E Narinder Chahuan (right)

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Ambassador D'Aes accompanied by his wife opens the party with Maja Gojković, the President of the Parliament of Serbia

Michael Davenport, Head of The EU Delegation and Kori Udovički, Vice-President of the Government of Serbia and Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government

Maja Gojković and Leo D'Aes in conversation

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“THE CHURCHILL FACTOR” IN BELGRADE 28th July

The book "The Churchill Factor" written by the new head of British diplomacy, Boris Johnson, was presented at the Assembly of the City of Belgrade and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić spoke at the promotion. Johnson's book, which became a bestseller, introduced the political portrait of one of the greatest statesmen of the modern world, analysed Churchill's political path and some key decisions in his long career. “Churchill had something like a semi ideology, I would say that it was the most important ideology.

Everything about him changed from hatred to love for America. How cleverly he courted the support of America! Even today, many condemning Churchill because he forced Americans to enter into what was considered a European war”, Vučić said.

Boris Johnson is a great admirer of legendary Sir Winston

Serbian PM Aleksandar Vučić spoke at the promotion

The promotion was attended by many important persons

Larry Grossman, Aleksandar Vučić and Zoran Dragišić were amongst speakers at the promotion

THE CROWN DAY OF MOROCCO

30th July

Embassy of Morocco marked the national day, 30th July, the "Day of the Crown" with an official reception at the Hyatt Hotel in Belgrade. Moroccan Ambassador to Serbia H E Abdellah Zagour, embassy officials, citizens of Morocco and many guests celebrated the date when the current King Mohammed VI came to the throne 17 years ago. In his welcome speech, the ambassador said that his country had not recognised Kosovo's independence and praised the good mutual long-lasting cooperation.

H. E. Abdellah Zagour, the Ambassador of Kingdom of Morocco

Ambassador's speech

Ambassador cutting cake with the Deputy PM of Serbia Ivica Dačić and other guests

H.E. Abdellah Zagour with his spouse in conversation with H.E. Isabel Cristina de Azevedo Heyvaert, the Ambassador of Federal Republic of Brazil

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JEAN-DANIEL RUCH FAREWELL PARTY

1st August

The Reception party on the occasion of the Celebration of the 725th Swiss National Day was held at the Swiss Residence, followed by an After National Day Party with a DJ, after the official celebration. The party was organised by H E Jean-Daniel Ruch, Swiss Ambassador to Serbia. Since Ambassador Ruch with his family and Mrs. Isabel Perich, Country Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office, will be soon leaving the county upon the completion of their respective missions, they organised magnificent party with Swiss food, sweets, sausages and raclette melted cheese.

The party was visited by a great number of dignitaries and personalities from all branches of public life in Serbia.

H.E. Jean-Daniel Ruch

Rolf-Juergen Seyerle, Managing Director, Star Import and H.E. JeanDaniel Ruch

H.E. Jean-Daniel Ruch with the President of Serbian Parliament Maja Gojković

Cocktail party outdoors was not spoilt even by rain

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Ambassador-Designate of Switzerland to Serbia, H.E. Philippe Guex and current Ambassador of Switzerland, H.E. Jean-Daniel Ruch

H E Axel Dittmann and Liselott Martynenko Agerlid, Deputy Head of Mission

H.E. Isabel Cristina de Azevedo Heyvaert, Ambassador of Brazil to Serbia and H E Jean-Daniel Ruch

One of the highlights was traditional Alpine Swiss music with long horns (Alphorns)

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B UTTONWOOD

Secret Agents

A new book argues that the finance industry needs reform What is the purpose of the finance industry? Everyone knows that it provides a very good living for many of its employees and that it is prone to occasional crises that can disrupt the global economy. But what good does it do the rest of humanity?

A new book* by Stephen Davis, Jon Lukomnik and David Pitt-Watson lists four main roles for the industry: providing safe custody for assets, a payments system, intermediation between savers and borrowers, and risk reduction (insurance). Its performance should be judged by its success or failure in providing those services.

The financial crisis in 2007-08, when many banks had to be rescued by governments, shows that finance does not always do a bang-up job of providing safe custody. Banks were allowed to gear up their balance-sheets in pursuit of shortterm profits—not a good deal from society’s point of view. There has also been an explosion in the volume of securities trading in recent decades. But it is not clear how that helps the economy: liquid markets are a virtue, but do deals really need to be executed in milliseconds?

Another important issue is how efficiently the finance industry provides those services.

The authors refer to a recent paper** by Thomas Philippon of New York University which tried to measure the unit cost of financial services over time. This is a tricky business given the complexity of the industry; Mr Philippon divides the income of the sector by the quantity of the assets it intermediates. On that reckoning, the costs of intermediation have stayed roughly constant at between 1.5-2% (see chart). In other words, finance is no more efficient than it was at the end of the 19th century.

Financial titans might splutter into their champagne at Mr Philippon’s finding, and point to the reduction in trading spreads or even the

rise of firms like Vanguard. But it is the cost to the end-user that is the key. Mr Philippon’s data suggest that money saved in one area has been offset by new charges elsewhere.

In particular, Messrs Davis, Lukomnik and Pitt-Watson point to the multiple layers of intermediaries that take a chunk out of a saver’s money. Invest your pension in a mutual fund

IN OTHER WORDS, FINANCE IS NO MORE EFFICIENT THAN IT WAS AT THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY and you may pay a record-keeper to check your savings are going to the right place; the mutual-fund manager; the third-party research firms that fund managers pay to help them select stocks; the platform on which the mutual fund is listed; the broker who handles the fund’s orders to buy and sell when it trades shares and bonds; a custodian to look after those securities; and an

THE RIP-OFF OF THE CENTURY Annual cost of financial intermediation United States, % of assets 3.0

Raw measure

2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0

Asdjusted for credit quality 0.5 0 1886 1900

20

40

60

80

2000 14

Source: Thomas Philippon, Stern School of Business Economist.com

agent to price them for reporting purposes.

Those charges add up, and make an enormous difference. If a 25-year-old saves for 40 years for a pension, paying fees of 1% a year, the accumulated charges will reduce his or her retirement pot by a quarter (based on the average dollar being in the pension for 25 years). Annual charges of 1.5% will result in a 38% cut. In a world where many people have defined-contribution pensions, and there is no pledge from the employer to provide a decent income in retirement, such charges are very important. But employees may not be fully aware of the “price” they are paying for the management of their savings.

Why hasn’t regulation eliminated these problems? The authors think regulators have pursued a policy of “whack-a-mole”: identifying specific problems after they surface and then producing elaborate rules in response.

The result is too much detail: new American credit cards come with 31 pages of legalese.

Instead regulators should adopt a more systemic approach, focusing on the “fiduciary duty” intermediaries owe to their clients and making sure that clients are aware of all the costs that are loaded onto them.

In the authors’ ideal world, banks should hold more capital to ensure the safety of deposits; stock exchanges should be prevented from giving high-frequency traders faster access to market prices; and executives should be paid bonuses linked to the long-term growth of the business rather than the share price. Above all, they argue, the interests of the underlying clients of the finance industry—the depositors, the workers and the pensioners—should come first. Everyone is a capitalist these days. That means keeping a much closer eye on those who manage that capital.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

* “What They do With Your Money: How the Financial System Fails Us and How to Fix It”, Yale University Press ** “Has the US Finance Industry Become Less Efficient? On the Theory and Measurement of Financial Intermediation” http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~tphilipp/papers/Finance_Efficiency.pdf

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INTERVIEW Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Fresh Wind from the East Sputnik has been launched, and has succeeded!

LJUBINKA MILINČIĆ

Director of the Sputnik news agency

Ljubinka Milinčić is the director of the new Sputnik news agency in Serbia. This agency, named after the world's first satellite, has quickly become one of the most influential and most quoted news sources. Here we discuss this agency's story and how to be a newcomer that succeeds so quickly.

Sputnik is a relatively new agency that quickly gained a respectable position, both in Serbia and elsewhere in the world. Is that because people are eager to hear a “second opinion”, to use medical jargon?

— It would probably be much better for me to say that this is not the case and it is rather because we are so good, but in fact I agree with you. Here that “second opinion” was really missing for a long time.

What we do was simply like a seed fallen on fertile ground. People simply wanted this fresh opinion.

The prevalence of Western media is obvious everywhere. You buy newspapers or watch TV and you realise that all the news is virtually the same. I recently read the interviews of Mr Davenport and the U.S. Ambassador and realised that these interviews were almost the same, although these were two different people, two writers, two magazines!

It was time to hear something else.

CNN once expanded its activities to regional branches, with CNN en español continuing. In an effort to catch up with the BBC World Service and CNN and their news, first appeared the Qatari Al-Jazeera, then RT, Sputnik, the Chinese agency etc. In a multipolar world,

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what is the role of multipolar information?

— The reaction to the existence of Russia Today and Sputnik, as another branch of the same thing, is significant. Russia Today broke the monopoly of Western Media and the media darkness, and now they don’t know what to do with us. In many countries the burning question is how to shut Russia Today up. And these are so-called “democratic countries”, promoting free speech! It is a kind of “pluralism, but it has to be how I said”.

This is a great change and there is no longer a monopoly on justice and truth. I don’t think the world will change all of a sudden, but it obviously changes. Look at the elections in the U.S., where there is suddenly hatred towards the establishment. Trump could be good or bad, Sanders too, but they are different and show loathing towards the old establishment.

Imagine the left winning in America? Unthinkable! Sanders was

distribution of the press.

Today, however, Sputnik can reach any reader on the planet and offer a fresh angle. How has the internet revolutionised the work of info-agencies?

— During the time of the Cold War, both sides tried so hard to supress rival propaganda, with even more effort exerted to supress rivals than to spread their own info. Now the internet is here you cannot stop it so easily. If they “kill” RT, which is impossible, fresh information will still be heard. The internet revolutionised everything. There are many dangers on the Web, in terms of terrorism or such, but you can now mobilise 100,000 people over the Web, just as this killer from Germany supposedly called people for a party in the shopping mall, like “free food” for everyone. The internet is powerful.

And democratic countries have not found a way to be democrat-

WE HAVE BECOME ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MEDIA SOURCES IN SERBIA. THERE IS NO MEDIA, STATE OR PRIVATE, WHICH DOESN’T QUOTE US, AND THAT IS A MEASURE OF OUR SUCCESS prevented from winning; his own party tripped him up. Look what the famous American democracy looks like. Lobbies are at the core of it, while many people finance both parties just in case. That has been the case in Serbia too.

Sometimes it is not easy to censor unwanted information by not allowing the broadcasting of TV programmes and stopping the

ic. There are third generation immigrants who are not included in society and systemic violence is expected, and this grows from dissatisfaction. And the West is bragging about their democracy, while they should ask themselves about the state of their nations.

I am not sure that any security agency can help now. The world is networked and terrorists are connected, while the security agencies are not. We conducted re-

search entitled “Can NATO defend us from terrorism?”. Of course it can’t. Intelligence should be connected, but that does not exist.

When we follow someone as a dangerous person, and they cross the border, someone should continue following. Russia suggested such an intelligence network for the surveillance of terrorists, but the West declined, saying “We have NATO to defend us”. Ramzan Kadyrov warned Turkey about the terrorist who later attacked Istanbul Airport, but Turkey did not listen, calling the warning “politically motivated”. London gave asylum to many Chechen terrorists. Vanessa Redgrave is the leading defender of the Chechen butchers living in London. If you dislike Putin, don’t defend terrorists; attack Putin with words, not with a rifle or a bomb.

Often Western agencies and TV companies, including N1 or Free Europe, are interpreted as a “fresh voice” and “objective new media” that are not regime orientated, while Western propaganda regularly labels all Russian international media as “Russian propaganda” or “the soft power of the Kremlin”. How fair is that?

— Whenever they mention Sputnik they say “Russian agency Sputnik”…. When they mention N1, they don’t mention who it belongs to. They don’t call Blic “Swiss newspaper Blic” or whatever. What is the difference between Blic and us? They are not someone’s “soft power”, while we are “soft power of Moscow”? In Serbia 98% of the media has been sold to Western foreigners. These media are slinging mud at us. We don’t hide and are not ashamed that

R ES EA R C H we are a Russian state agency, but why does that always have to be negative? One of the media companies belongs to Petraeus, who is ex-CIA. Who mentions that?

We don’t have Serbian media. The media are sometimes pro-regime, as we say, nobody likes them, but they cannot be independent.

They always do things according the payer’s interests. No media in such a small market can be profitable and unbiased. That dictates the policy. If I give you money, I don’t want you to talk against me.

Exactly. The authorities always want to cut down unwanted propaganda. In Ukraine, the Russian media face restrictions, while the situation regarding RT Vojvodina shows the complexity of the work of the state media. Did

harder if someone had tripped us up. We were given interviews from all the desired persons and we have found a building. Unfortunately, we still haven’t got our radio, so we rented time on radio stations like Novosti. We asked for the price, they gave us the offer; everything went smoothly smooth here. Propaganda is visible, because the lies always get fatter and fatter. Just let someone speak and they will eventually show you who they are.

How do you evaluate the past work of Sputnik worldwide and in Serbia?

— Always look at the people who dislike you. If every now and then the European Commission mentions Sputnik as its greatest threat, that means we did a good job. If they have no greater threat in

WE DON’T HIDE AND ARE NOT ASHAMED THAT WE ARE A RUSSIAN STATE AGENCY, BUT WHY DOES THAT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE NEGATIVE? Sputnik encounter problems in the world and, if so, where?

— Sputnik has problems everywhere in the world. The only place with no problems is Serbia.

In other countries Sputnik has such problems that the banks refused to open accounts! In some places we have been banned from renting buildings. Somewhere the frequency was cancelled, like in Turkey before the recent détante.

We have many problems. If it were really propaganda, then just let us say so, and the people are not stupid; nobody will buy it. I was asked by some of my colleagues “How have you become so popular, the most-read media, in a year?” And I answered “Ask yourself what you did in the last 20 years when we did it so easily in just one year!” This means quality.

We did what we wanted here. Lots of it can be attributed to our qualities, but it would have been much

the EU than Sputnik, that means we mean something. I sincerely didn’t expect us to achieve such quick success. We have become one of the most influential media sources in Serbia. There is no media, state or private, which doesn’t quote us, and that is a measure of our success.

You mentioned radio. What are the future plans of Sputnik in Russia, Serbia and the world? Can we expect a TV channel, for instance?

— We are planning to open our own radio channel. So far we appear on Studio B. We have no plans for a TV channel, but a radio will soon be there! TV would be a logical step forward, and it could happen one day, maybe in form of internet TV, but there is definitely a need for that, for a new fresh voice. We already have news. We need some cameras and that is it. We certainly hope it would happen.

UNICEF IN SERBIA SURVEY ON CSR FOCUSED ON CHILDREN Businesses do care about children At the end of 2015 UNICEF in Serbia conducted a survey, in cooperation with Serbian companies, in order to assess whether the business sector in Serbia is implementing responsible business principles focused on children and in what way they impact children and families, as well as their commitment and contribution to protecting and supporting children’s rights. The survey also mapped good corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices focused on children.

The research, which encompassed 35 large Serbian companies with developed and recognised CSR practices, represents a part of UNICEF’s efforts to support the implementation of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles in Serbia. The main research indicators confirm that there is a developed awareness and dedication to CSR, children’s rights, as well as their valuation in previous and future responsible activities:

education (60%) and living conditions in the community (51%), while support to refugee and migrant children (37%) is a new aspect compared to previous research; •T elenor, Nordeus, Wiener Staedtische insurance company, Metalac, IKEA and Electric Power Industry of Serbia represent examples of good practice. These companies have, in addition to conducting individual projects for the support and improvement of children’s rights, strategically systematised the compliance with the Children’s Rights and Business Principles.

“The future of every country depends on the abilities and talent of its citizens. Investing in children and young people is crucial for every community and economy, especially for Serbia which only has 17.6% of children under 18. That’s why every child is precious and it is of the utmost importance to invest in them from their birth.” said Michel Saint-Lot, UNICEF in Serbia Representative.

THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH SHOW THAT THE BUSINESS SECTOR HIGHLY VALUES ACTIVITIES FOCUSED ON CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY AS CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE OF THE SOCIETY AND THAT SUPPORTING THEM BEST PROMOTES VALUES ADVOCATED BY INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES • 89% of the respondents stress the value of CSR focused on children; almost half of them believe it is a priority; • companies have intensified CSR activities focused on children in recent times (63%), due to a significant rise in the visibility of needs and problems children are faced with; • conducted activities and programmes are predominantly concerned with the improvement of children’s health and healthy lifestyles (63%), formal/informal

Despite the encouraging research results, there is room for further improvement in the field of systematic regulation of children’s rights through strategic documents and business policies, since less than half of examined companies lack an adopted CSR strategy.

UNICEF will develop various modes of support for enhancing capacities of civil society organisations aimed at promoting and improving children’s rights in Serbia, with the purpose of raising their influence on CSR in Serbia.

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#RoadToRio

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01 GOLDEN MILICA 02 KING MOMO Taekwondo jin Milica Mandić won Serbia's first ever gold medal in Olympic history as an independent nation in London in 2012.

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The Carnival starts on the Friday, when the mayor hands over the keys to the city to a man crowned as King Momo, a mythical jester who acts as the head of the festivities.

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WILL CARIOCAS 03 MAKE A RECORD! 04 IVANA TAKE THE FLAG 05 Serbia usually wins 2 to 4 medals in the Summer Olympics, but this time plans a record and the basketball team has good chances.

Ivana Anđušić Maksimović will be the flagbearer at the opening ceremony.

The citizens of Rio are called The Cariocas, named upon River Carioca which now runs under the city.

IS NAMED FOR A RIVER 06 RIO THAT DOESN’T EXIST Europeans first encountered Guanabara Bay on 1 January 1502, hence Rio de Janeiro, "January River". Of course, it was not the river, just a river-like bay.

IN T ERV I EW

Mutual admiration

AND INTERESTS

H.E. Isabel Cristina De Azevedo Heyvaer Ambassador of Brasil to Serbia

Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be a new opportunity for Brazilian and Serbian citizens to learn more of each other either in the sport arenas or before their TV sets. But as good bilateral relations and strong cultural affinities show, ties between our two countries already have strong fundamentals

Brazil’s candidature. By the way, Brazil truly incorporates the Olympic ideals in terms of being a strong example of cultural and people diversity, in a highly praised atmosphere of peace, tolerance and mutual respect. Rio, also known as the “Wonderful City”, is an iconic city in this regard. The warmth and hospitality of its people, its natural beauties and lifestyle are legendary. I am convinced that athletes, visitors and fans, local and foreigners, will be delighted to be there to take part in the most important global sportive event.

How Olympic Games changed Rio de Janeiro, in terms of city development, tourism and expectations of sport fans?

B

rasil and Serbia continue to have excellent bilateral relations, as a result of the work of many dedicated diplomats in the past. The only minus in the present common agenda is in the economic field, says Isabel Cristina De Azevedo Heyvaer new Brazilian ambassador to Serbia. Before going into details of these issues in this interview, we asked the ambassador whether she is going to be in Rio de Janerio during the first Olympic Games, taking place in Latin America and Brasil.

Although the answer is no, as she is on duty in Belgrade, we devoted the first part of our conversation to this magnificent upcoming event which importance goes far beyond a sports event.

What does organisation of Summer Olympic Games means from Brasil and what do you expect from this spectacle of sport?

— Hosting the Olympic Games has long been viewed by Brazilian society as an objective to achieve. We are a sporting nation, famous not only for our impressive performance in football and other team modalities, such as volleyball, but also for remarkable performances in athletics and swimming, for example.

Sports are an integral part of our lives and culture, shaping even our language

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and way of expressing ourselves. Regarding Rio2016, the city of Rio de Janeiro, particularly, has a solid expertise in hosting mega-events, be it music shows, be it the New Year’s Eve or the visit of Pope Francis, in 2013, that, alone, gathered more than 1,5 million people. In the sport field, Rio hosted the Pan-American Games (2007) and, more recently, the FIFA World Cup (2014). In a very competitive scenario for the 2016 Olympic Games, the Brazilian Government sup-

— The Olympic Games, as you know, can act as a catalyst for the modernization of host-cities and implementation of highly effective public policies, as it was the case, in 1992, with Barcelona, that is very inspiring.

These are the basic guidelines, regarding Rio2016 preparatory works. So our parallel goal, besides providing comfort, accessibility and security, for the more than 500.000 visitors, is to improve Rio’s overall facilities and infrastructure, rising at the same time the standard and quality of living of “cariocas”, as are named those from Rio de Janeiro. These measures include renovation of pre-existing sport venues and the construction of new ones. Infra-

I am convinced that athletes, visitors and fans, local and foreigners, will be delighted to be in Rio de Janeiro to take part in the first modern Olympic Games in South America. I`m sure that Serbians will be very proud of their athletes there too! port to Rio`s bid, was decisive to its choice as host city by the International Olympic Committee in 2009. I would like to remark an additional value of Rio’s choice that is the fact that it will be the first time, in the history of the modern Olympic Games, that they will take place in South America. So, it is not only an honor for Brazil, but also for the whole Region, that has also strongly supported

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structure development and improvement of transportation system have been prioritized by Rio’s authorities, in order to answer, even ahead of the Olympics, the needs of the city in those fields. In terms of figures, US$ 3,6 billion, mostly funded by the private sector, have been directed to the improvement or construction of the Olympic facilities, such as the ones in Barra da Tijuca and

in the Deodoro Olympic Parks; the Rio Olympic Velodrome and the Olympic Village. Besides that, 1,79 million of direct and indirect jobs were created in the context of Rio 2016 preparations.

Also in partnership with private enterprises, the local Government have been working on large-scale urban infrastructure projects, which include the revitalization of the port (“Porto Maravilha”), the urban regeneration of areas near the Olympic clusters and low revenue communities, the construction of a new subway line (Line 4) and of a light rail train, from downtown to the Port Zone, the deployment of new lines of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the environmental restoration of the Jacarepaguá area, just to mention a few examples. The total investments in these infrastructure projects amount to US$ 7, 5 billion, assembled under different PPP modalities.

Although our countries are far from each other, over the years warm bilateral relations were developed.

What were your first impressions of Serbia since you came to Belgrade?

— In my opinion, in a global world, there aren’t countries that are “far away” any longer. And that applies perfectly to our two countries. It’s extremely impressive that many Serbs I’ve had the pleasure to meet express a great knowledge about Brazil’s politics, economy, science and, last but not least, culture. Concerning this last point, it’s really remarkable the number of cultural activities that have Brazil or Brazilian art production as the main target. Laguna, to mention an example, has published most of the books of Paulo Koeljo; the Brazilian martial art (“Capoeira”), coupled with Portuguese lessons, has been followed by a great number of Serbs, of all ages, in the courses promoted by Prof. Marcelo Pulmao, a respected Brazilian master in this area.

It’s really amazing to testify the high potential of these kind of activities to create bonds, among people, considering that the referred courses are also followed by Brazilians nationals. Even Brazilian Carnival is being promoted here, in Serbia. And Novi Sad, next August, with the support of the Embassy of Brazil, will organize the 8th. Edition of Dani Brazila, for a whole weekend. Needless to say, how much honored we feel to be in the

core of this annual celebration.

Besides that, the Brazilian Embassy offers Portuguese courses as well, that count with an impressive number of regular and dedicated students. The Radio Laguna, in its turn, is transmitting, since last June, one hour of Brazilian music, every Saturday afternoon.

Belgrade is a very nice city, endowed with a very hospitable people. Besides that, is particularly special for me, in the sense that it raises in me a lot of good memories of my hometown, Belo Horizonte, in the State of Minas Gerais: the human dimension and the scale of the city, as well as the tramways are the same of my childhood! In a nutshell: all those elements create a very positive environment, that really makes me feel comfortable and welcomed in Belgrade, since the very first moment I arrived here last December.

structural changes in the framework of international relations, so that a more prosperous, equitable and just world order may emerge. Our political cooperation on the bilateral and multilateral level continues to be excellent; the dialogue is very fluid. It means, I’m building up on a very good basis erected by my

Although Serbia’s economic relations with Latin America are not advanced, Serbia has relatively vivid trade activity with Brasil. How we can further develop our mutual trade relations?

— Brazil is indeed the main economic partner of Serbia in Latin America. According to the Brazilian statistics, Brazil

Are you going to Rio to cheer Brasil sportsmen? As well, did you have a chance to see some of the Serbian Olympic players and who among them made the strongest impression on you?

In which areas cooperation between Brasil and Serbia advanced the most?

— The diplomatic relations between Brazil and Serbia, which date back to the time of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The first Brazil’s representation, at the level of Legation, existed from 1939 to 1941, when it evolved to the level of Embassy. Since then, we have been continuously in the country. Our relations have always been distinguished by cordiality and a high degree of mutual respect and understanding between both governments and societies. The non-Aligned Movement has been a remarkable platform of political cooperation between our two countries. We continue to share many fundamental principles and to converge on most of the core issues of the international agenda. Both countries are fully committed to peace and international law and have long been supporting

through the involvement of both Governments trade and commercial authorities, of the Chambers of Commerce, Universities and of our Parliaments, via the representatives of both Brazil and Serbia, that integrate the respective Group of Friends, or have the mission to follow international issues. I have to say that there is a growing and common interest in change the actual scenario.

Belgrade is a very nice city, endowed with a very hospitable people. Besides that, is particularly special for me, in the sense that it raises in me a lot of good memories of my hometown, Belo Horizonte, in the State of Minas Gerais predecessors. The only minus in our present common agenda, is in the economic field, that needs improvement. It is also important to note the mutual admiration and interest between the Brazilian and the Serbian peoples. We both share a strong passion for sports and music for example, and are very similar in the way we enjoy life.

absorbs more than half of the Serbian exports to Latin America and is in the origin of more than half of the Latin American exports to Serbia. On our side, we export to Serbia mainly coffee, orange juice and tobacco. I would say both sides are far to tap their mutual potentiality. For this, we have to promote mutual knowledge and rise the interaction,

— “Nažalost”, I`m not going to Rio for the Olympic Games (laughing). My work is here! Anyway, answering your question about meeting some Serbian Olympic players, yes, I had the chance to meet some of them, on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Serbian Olympic Committee and of the launch of the countdown to Rio2016, last April. At this point in time, I really do not think that I could indicate one or another athlete without being unfair. I might say, though, that those I`ve met, men and women, as well as the organizers, overall, transmitted me a really good and positive impression. An impression of good organization, commitment and joy for the opportunity to go to Brazil to take part in this one of a kind event. One last thing, that I wish to add, is that I had also the opportunity to see the launch of the uniforms of the Serbian athletes to the Olympic Games. I really have to say that the Serbian Olympic Committee and the designer have done a very stylish and beautiful work. Everyone looked and will look great in the Opening Parade in Rio 2016! I`m sure that Serbians will be very proud of their athletes on that occasion!

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IN T ERV I EW

Athletes the

TOP PRIORITY

Perhaps the biggest change is the complete redirection towards athletes and the placing of athletes as the top priority in all plans that are made

Đorđe Višacki

Secretary General of the Olympic Committee of Serbia and what we have the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports for, is the Development Programme that aims to recognise the young athletes with the greatest potential, monitoring their performance and development, as well as financial support. Best testifying to this programme is the fact that some young athletes who participated in this programme over the past two or three years, such as Viktor Nemeš, Jovana Crnogorac and Andrija Šljuić, are today members of the Serbian Olympic Team for Rio.

How much do the State and companies help our athletes in their preparations?

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hen it comes to preparations for Rio, they practically started two months after the end of the Games in London, with organised preparations in Rio de Janeiro, when at that time some of our best athletes had the opportunity to get to know the terrain where they will now fight for the highest placement, says Đorđe Višacki, Secretary General of the OCS.

Serbian athletes won 15 medals at the European Games in Baku and took 12th place in the overall standings.

What is planned for Rio; what is our aim when it comes to the medal count?

— The result we achieved at the European Games in Baku is another indication that on the road to Rio de Janeiro we are far ahead of where we were prior to the Games in London. Apart from at the European Games, the medals we also won at the World and European championships in Olympic sports in the last two years clearly show that we can hope and have reason to believe in better results than that which we achieved in London. We will not speculate on the number of medals, but it is certain that all conditions exist for the result to be better than at the previous Games.

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Athletes from Serbia previously dominated in team sports and, to an extent, in shooting. Now we have become a superpower in athletics and tennis. Is that a reflection of changes in the spirit of the nation from the collective to the individual?

— There is definitely a major improvement in individual sports, but what is interesting is that we are still recording

— This kind of support, from both of the sources that you mentioned, is something that is essential not only when it comes to preparing for the Olympics, but for the development of sport in general. The programmes of the Olympic Committee of Serbia are to a great extent always supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the MOS is certainly our biggest partner in a programming sense. On the other side, member companies of or sponsor pool, led by company Delhaize Serbia, as the general sponsor of our Olympic Team, primarily represent the assuredness of all of our programmes.

We thank them for everything they have done in the previous four years,

What we insist on all these years, and what we have the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports for, is the Development Programme excellent results in team sports, although in the meantime we have become a country with a significantly smaller population than we had in the past. It is certain that the system of financing established in 2009 is a prerequisite for athletes who have the highest potential for results to implement their programmes unhindered.

because it is this triangle, with our parent institution of the International Olympic Committee, which always accompanies us, forming a team that provides our athletes with everything they need when it comes to their preparations for the Olympic Games.

What measures is the OCS taking with regard to far-reaching preparations of athletes for the Olympics and can there be further progress?

How much has the work of the OCS changed since the current set of people have been at the top, yourself included? In your opinion, who has contributed the most to change among the current leadership?

— What we insist on all these years,

— What I can say with certainty is that

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in 2009 we took over a stable and well established organisational institution.

At the same time I think we have introduced some new energy and new ideas, which created new value on the good that the OCS already had. What is perhaps the biggest change is the complete redirection towards the athletes and placing athletes in the first place with all plans that are made. This is something that is primarily felt and seen through the system of financing, where we brought clear criteria and where every penny set aside by the ministry of youth and sport for the OCS arrived directly in a predefined programme of each athlete.

When you compare Beijing, London and Rio, what are the specificities of the hosts of these three Olympics, in your opinion?

— The mere fact that the Games are being held in South America for the first time is a challenge for all of us. The host country and the people carry with them their own specificities and that always impacts on a lot of things. As has always been the case to date, these Games will also be special, but the only thing that is of essential importance for us is that the athletes will lack nothing for achieving their best results when they themselves are ready for this.

To what extent does the country utilise athletes in promoting a positive image after several decades of a poor media image in the world?

— I think that when we talk about the values that athletes bring when they represent our country at the international level the mere fact that they are performing at major events, carrying the name of Serbia and performing under the flag of Serbia, that in itself has a massive positive effect for the whole country. This is something we talk about very often when we say that athletes are the best ambassadors of our country.

Novak Đoković is someone who has absolutely, so to speak, disrupted the global sports scene, not only through his results but also through his behaviour and generally in public relations. This is certainly the best possible way to construct an even more positive and beautiful image of our country.

RIO 201 6

South America’s

FIRST OLYMPIAD We are getting close! The Olympic Games are about to be held in South America for the first time, and only the third time in the Southern Hemisphere, after, of course, two Australian megacities: Melbourne and Sydney

F

Text: Žikica Milošević

or many decades, South America was hampered by obstacles of a bad economy, security issues and the like, but Brazil was the first to rise from the gloom and become one of the world’s most vibrant economies and a founding member of BRICS. It was logical, and about time.

And that time is right now! Bem-vindos!

The 2016 Summer Olympics (Portuguese: Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, and commonly known as Rio 2016, will be held from 5th to 21st August 2016, with a record number of countries participating in a record number of sports. More than 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), are scheduled to take part.

The host city of Rio de Janeiro was announced at the 121st IOC Session held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 2nd October 2009, after beating off bids from Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo. These will be the first games to be held in a Portuguese-speaking country, the first to be held entirely during the host country's winter season.

It will, however, not be the first Olympics to be held in Latin America, since the 1968

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Games were held in Mexico City.

With 306 sets of medals, the games will feature 28 Olympic sports — including rugby sevens and golf, which were added by the International Olympic Committee in 2009. Unfortunately, the rugby lover will not be able to enjoy “classical rugby”, but the “small version” of the game. Nevertheless, this is a giant step forward for this sport. And golfers will finally get their satisfaction, with the “gentlemen's sport” having gained full recognition.

More than 10,000 athletes will compete in the first edition of the Olympic Games in South America. More than 100,000 people will be directly involved in the Games, including 70,000 volunteers. The first mascot of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be a cute creature called Vinicius, an animal that represents a combination of a cat, a monkey and a bird, and it (he, to be more precise) was named after legendary musician Vinicius de Moraes, but there is another one too, equally “simpatico”. The official story goes that the mascots were born out of sheer joy when the Brazilians discovered that they had won the right to organise the Olympics. Brand director

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Beth Lula stated that the mascots are intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil's culture and people, which is in fact a mixture of Native Brazilian (Indigenous Brazilians), Afro-Brazilians and European Brazilians, and it reflects the fact that Brazil is one of the most racially mixed countries in the world, and therefore even the mascot animals are like that.

Sporting events will take place at 33 venues in the host city and at five venues in the cities of São Paulo (Brazil's largest city), Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília (Brazil's capital), and Manaus. Thus, the Games will not be localised at all.

The official emblem for the 2016 Summer Olympics was designed by Brazilian agency Tatíl Design and unveiled on 31st December 2010. The logo is said to represent three figures, in the yellow, green and blue of the Brazilian flag, joined at the arms and in a triple embrace, with the overall shape reflecting that of Sugarloaf Mountain. They say that the logo was based on four concepts: contagious energy, harmonious diversity, exuberant nature, and the Olympic spirit, but we can also see the harmonious blend of the three races that have made and shaped

Brazil for a century, making it the country with perhaps the least racism in the world, which is something we should all be striving towards. The logo itself is quite obviously an homage to a classical painting: Henri Matisse's painting “Dance". Olympic Broadcasting Services serves as the host broadcaster for these Games. Interestingly, thanks to their expertise in broadcasting these sports, NBC and Sky New Zealand staff will handle the production of the golf and rugby sevens events.

The Olympics are approaching, and approaching quickly. Neither mosquitos, nor economic problems, nor any politics, should ever mess with the Games. The Games have been, from their very beginning, a time and place where all hostilities should stop and all lunacy must be paused. We are living in a crazy world that is much crazier now than it was in 2012 or 2008, but we are praying for peace, health and joy for all participants and all people around the world. And if anyone can bring you joy, the Brazilians can.

Anyone can be a Brazilian, and everyone can feel happy and welcome in Brazil. Therefore these could be the happiest Games in the history of the world, apart from being the largest and most tropical.

OUR OLYM P I ANS

Searching for a Record

MEDAL HAUL

Text: Žikica Milošević

Serbia will compete at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro for the fourth time as an independent nation, after making its first appearance in 1912 and two consecutive appearances in 2008 and 2012

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erbia will send 104 athletes, 58 men and 46 women, to compete in 14 different sports. Surprisingly, many of them arose from a sport in which Serbia hasn't had success for years: athletics.

However, now we have a tremendous opportunity to win medals in this sport, especially considering the magnificent results of Ivana Španović. Is that feasible? Well, it just well might be! According to a specialised website for predicting the results of the upcoming Olympics, olympicmedalspredictions.com, which makes its predictions based on evaluations of athletes and their results in the Olympic year, Serbia should come away with a haul of three gold medals, two silvers and six bronzes, which is amazing, but mathematically quite logical. That would be by far the most successful performance of Serbian athletes since the breakup of Yugoslavia – with Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, always underperforming from 1992 onwards, with just two to four medals, this will be a smash success indeed.

Serbia as an independent state has continued the tradition of the Federal

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Republic of Yugoslavia and the shortlived State Union of Serbia & Montenegro, in that on the eve of the Olympics its expectations in terms of medals always far exceeds what is eventually shown at the end on the final medal table. Since 2000, when the volleyball team won gold under the name of Yugoslavia, Serbia has won only one gold medal – that came four years ago, when women’s taekwondo fighter Milica Mandić sang the national anthem with sheer joy. In addition to often unrealistic examinations of the possibilities of our athletes, overwhelming and unrealistic optimism have often contributed to experts and sporting predictors assessing that many of our athletes will shine when they start competing under the Olympic banner of the five circles.

The Olympics, however, are not specific, because in many sports, especially individual disciplines that offer the most medals, they are by far the most important moments in the careers of athletes, and the vast majority of competitors pace their form just for those two weeks, showing what they are really capable of in the months preceding the

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event. Unfortunately, these are often the participants who fail to be our aces.

It is only on the eve of the Olympics that all possible predictions say Serbia will shine. And these are not only our predictions. In fact, if all goes according to “law and order” and according to the logic that Serbia should win three gold medals, two silvers and six bronzes. It should not be difficult to guess who the three predicted gold medals will go to, according to experts and sports wizards. They are: Novak Đoković, No. 1 on the ATP list for the last few years and the winner of the most grand slams and tournaments; the water polo national team; and air pistol sharpshooter Zoran Arunović.

One silver is predicted for women basketball players - following the logic that the best in Europe must be at least second in the world, and one silver in the canoe (K2-500). Canoeists should also bring us two bronze medals on the basis of these predictions, along with wrestler Davor Štefanek. Serbia’s most famous athlete, Ivana Španovic, is expected to be a bronze medallist, due to the competition outside of Europe (since she is our continent’s best). Rowers should bring at least one bronze medal and the aforementioned Milica Mandić is expected to be on the podium once again, though this time with a bronze medal (interestingly enough, since Russians athletes are banned in athletics, according to these forecasts the U.S. will win a

maximum of 39 gold, followed by China and the United Kingdom, with 27 and 22 gold medals respectively).

We should not forget our basketball players, who are still second in the world and who stand a good chance of avoiding the U.S. Dream Team until the final match, or another handful of athletes like Mihail Dudaš in the decathlon, Asmir Kolašinac in shot put, and Milan Ristić in the 110m hurdles. Amela Terzić and Olivera Jevtić are almost “classical” members of our team, but take note of Tamara Salaški too, who will compete in the 400m race. Dragana Tomašević will be there for the discus throw and the Moldovan sisters are already famous in canoeing. Our shooters have always brought us medals when no one else could, so Damir Mikec, Stevan Pletikosić, flagbearer Ivana and others represent our hopes for new medals, as well as Emirati-Serbian swimmer Velimir Stjepanović and our “local” Čaba Silađi.

Our tennis players are a special story, including Đoković, Troicki, Zimonjić, Ana Ivanović, Jelena Janković and Aleksandra Krunić. Serbia has been a tennis superpower for more than a decade, so we have high hopes in what is incidentally or best sport! Serbia has great chances now, due to good work carried out during the Olympic cycle and the efforts of the Olympic Committee of Serbia, and we simply cannot wait! Let the Games begin! Let the best people win!

OLYMPIC E V E NT S

NOT ONLY RIO

E

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3 17:00 First event Women’s football first round match between Sweden and South Africa FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 23:15 Opening ceremony begins and lasts until around 3am SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 12:30 First gold medal of the Games will be won in the women’s 10m air rifle 14:00 First beach volleyball games played on Copacabana Beach 02:00 Swimming: Finals include women’s 400m IM, men’s 400m IM - likely to feature Hannah Miley and Ryan Lochte (USA) SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 02:00 Swimming: Finals include men's 100m breaststroke, women's 400m freestyle MONDAY, AUGUST 8 20:00 Gymnastics: Men’s artistic team final - likely to feature Great Britain’s men 21:30 Women’s rugby: Sevens final 02:00 Swimming: Finals include women’s 100m backstroke, men’s 200m freestyle TUESDAY, AUGUST 9 14:00 Equestrian: Team eventing final 17:30 Canoeing: Men’s canoe single 20:00 Gymnastics: Women's team final 02:00 Swimming: Finals include men’s 200m butterfly,

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vents will take place at eighteen existing venues (eight of which require some redevelopment), nine new venues constructed for the Summer Games, and seven temporary venues which will be removed following the games. Each event will be held in one of four geographically segregated Olympic clusters: Barra, Copacabana, Deodoro, and Maracanã. The same was done for the 2007 Pan American Games. Several of the venues will be located at the Barra Cluster Olympic Park. The largest venue at the games in terms of seating capacity is the Estádio do Maracanã, officially

known as Jornalista Mário Filho Stadium, which can hold 74,738 spectators and will serve as the official Olympic Stadium, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies as well as football finals.

In addition, five venues outside Rio de Janeiro will host football events, in the cities of Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Manaus, Salvador and São Paulo.

For the first time since the 1900 Summer Olympics, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Summer Olympics aren't being held in the same place as athletics events, and all gymnastics events will take place in the same arena .

men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, women’s 200m IM

Women’s singles final

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10 12:30 Rowing: First gold medal races including men’s quadruple sculls 20:00 Gymnastics: Men's all-round individual 02:00 Swimming: Finals include men’s 100m freestyle, women's 4x200m freestyle

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 11:00 Golf: Men’s final round 16:00 Tennis: Men’s singles final 18:00 Gymnastics: Men’s pommel horse and women's vault 20:00 Cycling track: Men’s sprint 00:55 Athletics: Women’s triple jump final 02:00 Athletics: Men’s 400m final 02:25 Athletics: 100m final

02:30 Athletics: Women’s 200m final 02:55 Athletics: Women’s 100m hurdles

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11 11:30 Golf: First round of men’s competition 12:30 Rowing: Finals include men’s pair, men’s lightweight four 20:00 Gymnastics: Women's all-round final 20:00 Cycling, track: Finals include men’s team sprint 00:30 Table tennis: Men’s singles finals 02:00 Swimming: Finals include men’s 200m IM, women’s 100m freestyle FRIDAY, AUGUST 12 12:30 Rowing: Finals 13:35 Athletics: Women’s heptathlon begins 16:00 Tennis: Men’s doubles final 20:00 Cycling track: Finals include men’s team pursuit final 02:00 Swimming: Finals include men’s 100m butterfly and women’s 800m SATURDAY, AUGUST 13 12:50 Rowing: Finals include men’s eights and women’s eights 16:00 Tennis:

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00:50 Athletics

MONDAY, AUGUST 15 13:00 Swimming: Women’s open water 18:00 Gymnastics: Women's balance beam 20:00 Cycling track: Men’s omnium final 02:25 Athletics: Men’s 800m 02:45 Athletics: Women’s 400m final TUESDAY, AUGUST 16 18:00 Gymnastics: Women's floor final 22:00 Diving: Men’s 3m springboard 00:30 Athletics: Men’s high jump final WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17 14:00 Equestrian: Team jumping final 17:00 Sailing: Women’s and men’s 470 01:15 Athletics: Women’s long jump final

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18 02:15 Beach volleyball: Men's final 02:30 Athletics: Men's 200m final FRIDAY, AUGUST 19 16:00 Synchronised swimming: Free routine 21:00 Hockey: Women's gold medal match 21:30 Football: Women's gold medal match 02:15 Athletics: Women's 4x100m relay 02:35 Athletics: Men's 4x100m relay SATURDAY, AUGUST 20 11:00 Golf: Women's final round 15:00 Triathlon: Women's race 16:30 Cycling, mountain bike: Women's final 21:30 Football: Men's gold medal match 01:15 Athletics: Women's 800m 01:30 Athletics: Men's 5,000m 02:00 Women's 4x400m relay 02:35 Men's 4x400m relay SUNDAY, AUGUST 21 13:30 Athletics: Men's marathon 19:45 Basketball: Men's gold medal match 23:15 Closing ceremony

OLYMPIANS GET NEW EQUPIMENT THANKS TO MAXI SUPERMARKETS DELHAIZE

As a general sponsor of the Serbian Olympic team, Maxi, its customers and suppliers have joined forces to buy new equipment for Serbian athletes. Ivana Anđušić Maksimović, who will be the Serbian flag bearer at the opening of the upcoming Olympic Games, got an air rifle. The celebrated coxless pair Miloš Vasić and Radoje Đerić were given a new rowing boat in order to better prepare for this ultimate sports competition. Zorana Arunović got an electronic target while our famous swimmer Ivan Lenđer will now be

able to rest and rejuvinate after exhausting training sessions in a cryotherapy bath. Aleksandar Maksimović was given wrestling training props. Apart from acquiring new equipment, Maxi also made sure that our athletes had adequate scholarships in order to exclusively focus on training and preparation and thus achieve the best possible results at competitions. „We are proud to be able to help these athletes who represent Serbia in the best possible way. As much as their hard work is important, they also need healthy food which is the trademark of the Maxi supermarkets“, said John Kyritsis, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Group Serbia.

VOJVOĐANSKA BANKA

ALWAYS WITH OLYMPIANS Vojvođanska banka is for the fourth Olympic cycle official bank of the Olympic Committee of Serbia, with the aim to support sport culture and the Olympic values.

After Athens, Beijing and London, Vojvođanska banka will be with our athletes this year on the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Therefore, the Bank has additionally supported preparation of our five Olympians which will present Serbia on this prestigious World’s competition, in order to achieve the best results. we are talking about Andrea Arsovic representative in Shooting, Marko Novaković and Nebojša Grujić kayak, Anja Crevar our representative in swimming and Slobodan NIkić water polo player.

“I am very proud that Vojvođanska banka for 16 consecutive years supports Olympic Committee of Serbia, team of our best athletes who represent Serbia on the best possible way. These people are best ambassadors of Olympic values and sport spirit. We are honored to be true partner of

the Olympic Committee, our cooperation is much more than providing financial support, we are there to assist our athletes in every possible way. Finally, we are there to cheer for them in Rio and hope for the best results" said Marinos Vathis, president of the Executive board of Vojvođanska banka.

Considering that sport is important part of development of every personality, Vojvođanska banka, for ages behind organizes sport-entertainment manifestations around Serbia, which are primarily intended to the youngest.

Vojvođanska banka has created a special product – affinity VISA Olympic credit card, which beside providing numerous discounts in sport equipment stores, sport and recreation centers, centers for beauty and health, cinemas, theatres and museum in Serbia, enable to all sport funs to give their support. With each paying by VISA Olympic credit card part of transaction amount is donated to Olympic Committee of Serbia, without additional expenses for the client.

UNIQA

SUPPORT THAT ENSURES MEDALS

UNIQA has become an official insurance company of our Olympic team which is just a continuation of the company's investments in sport. Not only are the Serbian athletes insured and ready to go to Rio, UNIQA and its employees are also ready for the Olympic Games. The company's HQ and 35 of its branches have been branded with the Olympic insignia while special uniforms have been provided for the employees. UNIQA thought of its clients too and has created an Olympic travel insurance card for them. With a view of making its clients feel like a part of the Olympic team,

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UNIQA has also prepared Olympic gifts.

Those clients who buy a life insurance policy in the period between 15th July and 15th August will be given an original gift from the Olympic collection. The members of the national water polo team, the coach of the Serbian basketball team Aleksandar Saša Đorđević, kayaker Marko Tomićević and swimmer Velimir Stjepanović will be UNIQA’s promoters in Rio. UNIQA Insurance is a company that recognizes sport as the right place for investments. We are wholeheartedly supporting our Olympic team and wishing them many medals and victories.

MILŠPED

WINNING TOGETHER

The Milšped Company is an official logistics partner to the Serbian Olympic Committee. The company is promoting winning spirit and supports our Olympians on their way to winning medals.

The Milšped Group is the leader in freight forwarding and logistics while erasing borders and bringing together the best from the world of sports and business just like the Olympics, one of the most prestigious sports events.

WHO ARE WE? The regional leader in freight

UNIQA

forwarding and logistics, the Milšped Group has been successfully operating for 23 years and has over 1,800 employees. On the solid foundation of achieved success and immaculate business operations, Milšped is expanding its network by conquering new markets and offering groundbreaking services to its clients.

Milšped is a company that is globally recognized for its top quality logistic solutions and services.

The company meets the clients’ needs by offering tailor-made logistic solutions and having an

innovative approach to the logistic chain that links the entire world.

We are constantly finding new and improved solutions for our clients with whom we have been building long-term partnership relations.

Our company’s growth is based on providing the best possible services and new market expansion with a goal of implementing the latest business trends which constantly require adaptation and expert action. Furthermore, we have substantial experience, know our business thoroughly and are exceptionally professional.

REGIONAL OPERATIONS

Albania; Milšped AML Belgrade, Serbia; Milšped Mercurio Belgrade, Serbia; Milšped BH d.o.o. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Milšped Moscow, Russia, and Milšped GmbH Munich, Germany.

Our regional companies render services that are in accordance with the highest international standards and provide an adequate answer to complex requirements coming from our clients regarding integrated services on the regional level. Our regional operations cover the following industry segments – auto-logistics, FMCG, fashion, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics, production and electronics.

All our companies in the region provide customs brokerage services and freight forwarding both in the international and domestic transport, as well as distribution services.

They also have their own warehouses and provide storage services.

There are 10 companies operating in our system: Milšped Belgrade, Serbia; Milšped Montenegro Podgorica, Montenegro; Milšped Zagreb, Croatia; Milšped Tržin, Slovenia; Milšped Albania, Tirana,

In addition to the aforementioned, our extensive groupage transport network will find an adequate solution for those clients who need to have smaller quantities of goods transported. In order to fully meet the clients’ needs, Milšped offers groupage transport services while adhering to the following imperative – optimal transport time at minimal costs.

Olympics. “We have huge expectations and everyone wants us to win gold because that is the only medal we are missing in our collection. I do hope that we are going to manage to win it”, says Sava Ranđelović, a member of the Serbian water polo team. He adds that the team is very grateful for the support from one of the biggest insurance companies in Serbia – UNIQA. His teammate Nikola Jakšić, who is competing at the Olympics for the very first time, says: “These are my first Olympic games and I do hope that everything will go as it should.

I am aware that we are the favourite for winning a medal but let’s see how things progress”.

Kayaker Marko Tomićević is also

going to defend the colours of the Serbian flag at the Olympics: “We are getting ready both mentally and physically. We are leaving for the Olympics in the best possible shape and I am sure that we are going to win one of the medals”.

UNIQA Insurance has been repeatedly investing in the Serbian sports and has been a sponsor of many sporting events. The company is also a sponsor of the Serbian Water Polo Federation, has been supporting the Belgrade Marathon and cooperates with the Nataša Kovačević Foundation. Our celebrated athlete and now the head coach of the Serbian basketball team Saša Đorđević is the main promoter of UNIQA Insurance.

GROUPAGE TRANSPORT

OUR OLYMPIANS HAVE SAID...

Our athletes are excited, ready, and, most importantly, insured because UNIQA is the official insurance company of the Serbian Olympic team.

The Serbian basketball team, with Saša Đorđević as the head coach and UNIQA ambassador, were among the last to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio. „The expectations from our participation in the Olympic Games are great because basketball is one of the favourite sports in Serbia. We want to represent our country to

the best of our abilities. We have big ambitions and we are ready to fight for a medal. UNIQA has chosen us as promoters in this endeavour, not only in basketball but in other sports too. Further from having UNIQA as a partner, it is absolutely crucial for us to accomplish our dreams and achieve the best possible results and, in order to do this, there has to be a cooperation between top companies and sports teams“.

Serbian water polo team is also eager about participating in the

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ZLATIBORAC

COMMITMENT TO PRODUCT TOP QUALITY Supporting sports is important for Zlatiborac and, since April 2014, the company has been an official food supplier to the Serbian Olympic team.

HISTORY The Zlatiborac Company was built on the foundation of centuries-old tradition of drying and curing meat which started in 1885 in a rather unusual setting of the Mačkat village on Zlatibor. Thanks to its commitment and product quality which has been consistent since the company's inception, Zlatiborac became the leading company in Serbia in the cured meat product market segment. In addition to exporting its products to regional markets – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia – Zlatiborac has very successfully positioned itself on the Russian, Byelorussian, Kazakh, Turkmen, Azerbaijani and Iraqi markets. The recently commenced export to the EU just verifies the fact that our products are top quality.

Since its beginnings, the Zlatiborac Company has been continously investing in optimisation and standardisation of its production process.

As a result, we are now certified with the most important quality and production safety certificates like HACCP, GOST-R and HALAL.

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Furthermore, we have received countless awards on the account of our product quality. The German Agricultural Society, which is one of the most renowned institutions for evaluation of taste and quality of food products, has awarded the Zlatiborac Company for its quality at the annual Ham and Sausage Quality

Zlatiborac is the market leader in its product category is also recognised by consumers. For six consecutive years, the consumers awarded us with the My Choice gold medal as top products in the Meat and Meat Products category in Serbia. There are very few companies that can boast about the good price to quality ratio. We can! To corroborate this, let

Competition for the past six consecutive years. Over 30,000 products from all over the world are submitted at the competition every year. The products that bear the Zlatiborac seal have won over 40 medals for their superior quality. The fact that

us just mention that we have been given the Best Buy 2015/2016 consumer award recently for the best price to quality ratio in the salami segment. On top of this, we have received over 100 gold medals for o ur product quality by the Novi Sad Fair

AWARDS

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including the Grand Prix Business Partner for 2010, 2013 and 2016, and Corporate Superbrands 2012-2013 and 2015-2016, as well as the gold medal for product quality from the World Food Ukraine in 2013.

CSR AND SPORT ACTIVITIES It is important to mention that the Zlatiborac Company cares about its local community while nurturing and promoting corporate social responsibility.We have contributed to our society through many donations, sponsorships and charity events. In 2015 alone, we gave over 100 donations and provided various assistance to different sporting, cultural and educational events. Supporting and investing in sports is one of the aspects of our mission to nurture the real values and promote healthy living. So far, Zlatiborac has supported several mountain climbing exhibitions, both group and individual, as well as the Basketball Club “Zlatibor”, Karate Club“Užice”, Rhythmic Gymnastics Club“Gracija”,Women's Handball Club“Podgorica 2013” from Podgorica,race driver Milovan Vesnić, and, asof recently, a young Serbian racedriving hopeful Nikola Miljković.Supporting sports is important forZlatiborac and, since April 2014, thecompany has been an official foodsupplier to the Serbian Olympicteam.

I N SEARCH O F THE DIGITAL WORLD

BUILDING FOUNDATION FOR MUTUAL TRUST 2016 The Year of Entrepreneurship is a comprehensive set of different programmes devised by the state authorities with the goal of promoting entrepreneurial strengths, helping first time entrepreneurs and those who have already developed their businesses and providing both financial and non-financial support to long-term development of entrepreneurial spirit

WE ASKED THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESSWOMEN OF SERBIA (ABS) THE FOLLOWING:

01 What plans does the ABS have in the year of entrepreneurship and what advantages does the membership bring? Which ABS’ activities would you like to highlight?

02 What can the government practically do to create prerequisites for development of entrepreneurship?

SANJA POPOVIĆ PANTIĆ President of the Association of Businesswomen of Serbia

The Association of Businesswomen of Serbia is the biggest national organisation of women entrepreneurs which plays the key role in bringing businesswomen together, under one roof. We are partners with nine other businesswomen associations and, together, we have around 900 members. We give our members assistance in the shape of training, networking opportunities, promotion, better public, mentorship and giving advice relating to any business segment.

We have been closely cooperating with the Serbian National Assembly, i.e. their Economy, Regional Development, Commerce, Tourism and Energy Committee, and they have been wholeheartedly supporting our initiatives. Women entrepreneurs are also involved in institutional work and they are cooperating through the Women’s Parliamentary Network. Last year,

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we signed a cooperation protocol with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Coordinating Body for Gender Equality stipulating collaboration in implementation of the Women in Private Sector Programme, which goal is to provide help and support to companies which plan to include more women in their operations thus contributing to gender equality in the workplace.

Female entrepreneurship has a great potential that cannot be fully utilised without financial backing.

In order to facilitate better access to funding for SMEs, we need to expedite the process of legally regulating microfinancing and adopting of the Law on Microfinancing, as the key instrument in increasing the number of start-ups, micro- and small companies, as well as achieving sustainability during the initial 42 months of operations. This is important not only for female-run companies which are almost, by default, all micro-enterprises, but also for youth entrepreneurship.

Diplomacy&Commerce

VESNA PUCAR GRUBOR Director and Co-Owner of VIVEX Company

First and foremost, I would like to mention the support that we give each other to keep on doing what we are doing and to be stronger and better, and exchanging experiences is of immeasurable value. Irrespective of individual industries that we do business in, we keep encountering the same problems and it is absolutely invaluable to hear from other women entrepreneurs how did they solve a similar problem or where did they go wrong. Women are selfless when it comes to exchanging experiences, both business and private. Our Association has many successful women entrepreneurs from various industries so it often happens that we do business with each other. If I weren’t a member of this Association, I would struggle with finding straightforward

information or managing to talk to institutional representatives.

We should talk about entrepreneurship only in a positive manner while highlighting its advantages, good examples and work on changing common believes about entrepreneurs. We should inspire young people and teach them that entrepreneurs are free, innovative, curious and responsible both for themselves and their employees. Throughout their education, which starts at the nursery level, we should be developing their entrepreneurial spirit, a sense of innovation and curiosity. Schooling and education are very important for development of entrepreneurial spirit, as are the environment and media. SMEs are the driving force behind the economic activity in this country so promoting and supporting them is exceptionally important for boosting employment and economic growth.

AFRODITA BAJIĆ Deputy Director General and Co-Owner of AMCAfrodite Mode Collection Company

The Association provides different types of training, networking opportunities, company promotion and lobbying, and, above all, there is a huge support from other members. The Serbian government should adapt the benefits to suit individual companies (taking into consideration their years of operation, taxes paid, number of employees, CSR). It is necessary to create a better business environment and the first step towards that is probably seriously tackling the grey economy. Education should

be reformed in a way to promote applicable skills and know-how while being mindful of labour market’s needs and planning / projecting future jobs as much and as closely as possible.

The government should provide various additional incentives for entrepreneurs like those enjoyed by foreign investors or those in regional countries. For instance, Albania has already abolished taxes for small businesses and I think that would be great for the SME sector in Serbia too. A stronger dialogue between small business owners and the government would be mutually beneficial.

LJILJANA KARAKLAJIĆ Director General and Owner of D Express Company

Being a member of the ABS can have many advantages, mainly opportunities to meet and network with a lot of other companies and many successful women in leading positions. A number of successful ideas and collaborations can emerge in such environment while the mentorship programmes are very beneficial to new women entrepreneurs. Women entrepre-

GORDANA ĐURĐEVIĆ Director and Co-Owner of SLOVO d.o.o. Company

I have been an active member of the ABS for 9 years now. The Association’s activities are geared towards providing top-notch support to development of female entrepreneurship and promoting women entrepreneurs. In order to provide a more efficient platform for the voices of female entrepreneurs, we have formed the Public Advocacy Committee. The Committee launches initiatives that are important for development of female entrepreneurship and sometimes their suggestions are valuable in terms of improving business envi-

neurs can jointly appear in front of any government body or institution, and demand changes and amendments to the existing laws while fighting for better business conditions. Together our voice is stronger!

Many initiatives have been launched this year but their implementation is debatable. It seems there is a breakdown of communication in the chain of hierarchy so whenever top officials advertise something in the media as a fantastic solution, when it comes to implementation everything turns into a vortex of different and incomplete information. Civil servants need to have a shift in their consciousness. When each and every one of them realizes that they

VESNA JOVANOVIĆ Director of Eurologsystem d.o.o.

Participating in international conferences, meeting with successful companies from the region, workshops, consultations, seminars and visiting successful women entrepreneurs are always conducive to new ideas, cooperation and successful operations.

Systemic and well-organized support to entrepreneurship implies the government having to implement a completely new approach in all areas – from education to finances – and in all of its segments. There has been a lot of talk about dual education and its advantages. Successful private companies and entrepreneurs could contribute greatly to that and their opinions, as well as needs, should be considered. The government should implement the elements of econom-

ics and law in elementary education in a fitting manner, as well as in high schools through practice and training during schooling.

Financial support should be based on tax incentives for every new worker employed over a certain period and it should be more flexible than the current model according to which only the unemployed persons from the National Employment Service’s registry are eligible for certain incentives.

Tax incentives or subsidies should be applicable to all investments and investors especially to those companies which fund their expansion from own resources. Every municipality should have free legal aid and a financial & investment advisor. The cooperation between public and private companies should be tighter and regulated by other laws too; not only those that cover public procurements.

ronment and beneficial to a wider entrepreneurial population.

Bearing in mind that foreign investors have been enjoying regular support and have been receiving concrete subsidies for new jobs, I think that, apart from the primary motives, foreign multi-national companies can be important for development of our export, first and foremost by making Serbian SMEs their suppliers in the country and, subsequently, the suppliers of their companies abroad. This is not going to happen spontaneously despite the existing potential. Our government needs to be actively involved in making this happen.

serve companies and not vice versa, that they are here to facilitate inevitable business that we have with them, and when they understand who is paying whom here, only then the situation will improve. The first step should be changing the educational system, primarily changing the way the young people think and are raised while hoping that, in a few years’ time, we are going to have people who are educated enough to fulfill the needs of the labour market. A huge amount of time is required to implement the said changes so let’s start doing something good at the roots – namely, changing family attitude towards school, education and work habits, and changing the educational system.

TATJANA JEVĐOVIĆ Owner and Director of Beauty Imagini d.o.o.

I would like to highlight the three of the Association’s activities – informing the members of changes in regulation and state-launched competitions, an opportunity to participate in giving suggestions to state institutions that are directly related to our business and women’s position in the society, and participation in many workshops and conferences with an emphasis on important regional networking which opens new doors for doing business. Financial foundation is crucial for entrepreneurship. Many of government programmes facilitate acquisition of equipment but when it comes to investments

there are still huge obstacles in the shape of limited resources and investors having to provide most of the investment money themselves. If we had credit lines with no downpayment available to us and if we were allowed mortgage the real estate that we own, I think that our country would finally transform into what essentially is – an entrepreneurial state.

By doing so, both black and grey economy, which are currently dominating our market, would subside as would unfair competition which pushes the SME sector to the brink of survival. It is of essential importance to raise the level awareness through the media which can educate a wider population and help build a good human value system.

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B USINESS NEWS Coca-Cola

NEW BOTTLES, DESIGNED BY LOCAL ARTISTS

Raiffeisen Bank

"EUROMONEY" GRANTED AWARDED THE "BEST BANK IN SERBIA"

For the first time in the domestic Serbian market, the Coca-Cola Company has established cooperation with local artists, who have created a completely unique styles of six bottles, providing the fans of Coca-Cola a brand new experience. Braća Burazeri, Artez, Linnch, Nikola Mihajlović Kori, Vuk Ćuk and Bratislav Milenković were all inspired by the senses involved in the consumption of Coca-Cola, as well as by their personal experience with the world's most famous brand. This unique, limited edition of Coca-Cola bottles was presented to the public at a large party in Dorćol Platz in front of many artists, designers, celebrities, partners and friends of the company. The collection is presented through authentic audio-visual materials that showed the process of creating bottles and the work of artists who were inspired by sensations that occur when drinking the famous beverage.

Naled

AWARDS FOR THE TOP 10

Kruševac, Valjevo, Vršac, Sombor and Smederevo are the most successful cities, while Bečej, Svilajnac, Veliko Gradište, Ruma and Apatin are the most successful municipalities in issuing electronic construction permits in the first six months of implementing the new system. Awards for Excellence were granted by Zorana Mihajlović and President of the Managing Board of NALED Ana Brnabić. At the opening event in the Club of Mps, 120 computers for more than 40 local governments and institutions delivered, bought by the World Bank loan, as implemented by the Ministry of Construction and NALED. Minister Zorana Mihajlović said that in the first four months of 2016 thanks to the electronic system there were 40% more licenses issued, and the value of construction works raised by 70% compared to the same period in 2014 and that the following steps would be the reform of the cadastre and thanked NALED, APR, USAID, the World bank and other partners who helped introducing e-permits. Ana Brnabić said that the average time for obtaining building permits was reduced from 269 to just 8 days, and that NALED was proud of municipalities that have managed to implement a new syste.

Raiffeisen Bank was this year's winner of the ”Best Bank in Serbia”, awarded by the financial magazine ”Euromoney” as part of its annual selection of ”Awards for Excellence”. ”This is the third award of a renowned financial magazine for the excellent results that Raiffeisen Bank made in 2015. We regard it as confirmation of our leading position in the market, especially bearing in mind that this important award for received for a third consecutive year, in a challenging economic environment” said Zoran Petrović, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank in Belgrade. ”Euromoney” is one of the leading monthly magazines that deals with banking, finance and capital markets. ”Awards for Excellence”, having been awarded for more than 20 years, reward the financial institutions that achieve the best business results in their markets as well as the leading banks in more than 100 countries.

Schneider Electric

DONATION FOR MUSEUM "NIKOLA TESLA"

NIŠ GOES GREEN Niš was visited by the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Dr Stana Božović, the EU Delegation in Serbia, Richard Masa, as well as representatives of the Office for European Integration to present the feasibility study for the project of waste collection and treatment of waste water in this city through the programme of development assistance to pre-accession funds of the EU, IPA 2017. ”Ot is the largest infrastructure project in the field of environmental protection and the value of the plant for waste water, from the construction and reconstruction of sewerage network, far exceeds what we have so far financed, and the funds will be provided to the Government of the Republic of Serbia from EU pre-accession funds” said Mrs. Božović, and congratulated the new Mayor of Niš, Mr. Bulatović, for his efforts. The project includes construction of a new collector, restoration of existing one, building the city plant for waste water treatment, and additional treatment of sludge. It started on 25 July and is worth almost 3 million EUR.

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Diplomacy&Commerce

Schneider Electric granted the donation to the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, on the occasion of 160 years since the birth of this great scientist. The donation includes a model of the power system created in a three-dimensional mapping technology and also incorporated the latest Schneider Electric equipment for air conditioning and maintenance of humidity, which will allow the 160,000 documents and Tesla's personal effects to be kept in optimal conditions in the Museum archive storage at a temperature of 20°C and the humidity of 50%. The project was implemented with companies Elektrovat and Enel PS. W " e learnt that there was a historical connection between the company and the Tesla company which gave the today's Schneider Electric. In the archive of the Museum there were letters from 1892, when Schneider signed a contract with Tesla's Company, protecting his patents in the field of production, transmission and use of alternating current in France." said Dejan Marković, CEO of Schneider Electric Serbia and Montenegro.

Zvonko Marković - fashion show

Direct Media

Days of Serbian fashion, within the framework of the project ”Serbia – the country of lilac” were held on 11th July at the residence under auspices of Serbian ambassador in Paris, H E Rajko Ristić. The organiser was Vesna De Vinča who brought together many members of world diplomacy and aristocracy. The show was opened by collections of Zvonko Marković, the only Serbian designer who has exhibited in the most prestigious fashion event Haute Couture Week in Paris. Collection is specifically made for this project. It is inspired by the great love between Helen of Anjou, Serbian princess from the French court who won the heart of Tsar Uroš. This love was crowned by planting an entire lilac valley, whose flowers and the smells are still reminiscent of the repercussions of this legendary love.

Within the innovated exhibition at the Museum of Nikola Tesla, visitors will meet, inside the virtual reality, the first VR in the world dedicated to Tesla, the great scientist personally. Nikola Tesla ”revived” in four stages of his life, from youth to old age, on the 8th of July in a unique exhibition ”Experience Tesla”, which was donated to the Museum

by Direct Media on the occasion of Tesla’s jubilee and the fifteen years of successful business of Direct Media. ”'Exhibition in virtual reality, as well as the latest elements of new showroom in the Museum of Nikola Tesla, both keep pace with world trends in museology. A new exhibition has the spirit of the times in which Nikola Tesla lived and worked, and its virtual segment would like to offer to the visitors a modern and extremely direct interaction with Tesla's legacy and doctrine, and at the same time to make it more accessible to his admirers around the world”, said Branimir Jovanović, director of the Museum of Nikola Tesla.

"SERBIA – THE COUNTRY OF LILAC"

“EXPERIENCE TESLA”!

Elopak

NEW ADDRESS

Naled

VOUCHERS FOR SEASONAL WORKERS

Serbia could exceed Croatian model by introducing electronic vouchers for seasonal workers in agriculture.

It could be applied to some 100,000 seasonal workers, which is the estimated number in this sector. The voucher system in Croatia has been functioning successfully for four years, as showed by a study visit to Croatian institutions organised

by NALED. “Regulations in Serbia do not take into account the specificity of seasonal jobs, so that employers are expected to go through the registration process for hundreds of workers usually to periods of one month, although due to unforeseen circumstances it is not known if and how much these workers will work. For these reasons, 60% of employees in agriculture are working illegally. The voucher system would drastically simplify the procedure - it is enough that the employee obtains the booklet in which the employer at the beginning of each working day glues voucher bought from the state and this way employer pre-pays all the contributions. At the end of the season booklet is carried to the pension fund” - says Branislav Nedimović, Vice President of NALED Managing Board and the Mayor of Sremska Mitrovica.

The company Elopak Ltd., which has been operating successfully in Serbia for more than a decade, since June this year is on the new location in GTC Square office building in New Belgrade. Elopak DOO is part of the Norwegian company Elopak AS - the international leader in the supply of disposable paper packaging for liquid products, which is wholly owned by one of the largest investment groups in the Norwegian private property – Ferd. The new residence address Elopak doo is Milutina Milankovića 11a, 11070 Novi Beograd, PAK 191602, Republic of Serbia. More information about the companies Elopak and Ferd Group can be found at www.elopak.com and www.ferd.no.

Ahold Delhaize

SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED MERGER

Following a successfully completed merger, Ahold Delhaize will soon start to trade on the Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels stock exchanges. Ahold Delhaize is one of the biggest retailers in the world and the leader in the supermarket, e-commerce and sustainable development segments. „This is a new and very important chapter for us which gives us a unique opportunity to offer even more to our clients, the society, our employees and shareholders. We are going to continue sustaining our leadership position, especially on the U.S. east coast and in Europe. Our successful online shops and 22 principal local sales formats stock only the best foodstuffs and, through them, we are able to innovate, offer new values and contribute to local communities” – says Dick Boer, the CEO of Ahold Delhaize. Ahold Delhaize was created following the merger between Ahold and Delhaize Group which was officially completed on 24th July, 2016. The new company has a combined tradition of almost 150 years, more than 375,000 employees, 22 principal local brands and has been operating in 11 countries where it sells to over 50 million people weekly.

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B USINESS NEWS UNIQA Life Insurance

1 MILLION EUROS OF INCOME

After a successful business in 2015 in which it recorded a total premium growth in the amount of 9.88%, UNIQA Insurance won the fourth position in both companies - the life and non-life insurance this year. The growth in the field of life insurance was 21.82%, and UNIQA achieved a profit of 122,779,675.96 dinars, which equals to 1,009,484.61 euros as of 31st December 2015 after taxation and impairment of deferred tax assets. The clients are notified in writing, by sending notification letters about the amount of imputed profit.

U " NIQA insurance is there to provide a long time providing security, respecting above all the trust of its clients," said Gordana Bukumirić, CEO of UNIQA. Total premiums in the first quarter of 2016 were 4.3% higher compared to the same period last year. Non-life insurance increased by 0.12%, while life insurance amounted to 14.54% and the highest growth was recorded in the private health insurance 36.83%, general liability insurance 73.55% and the insurance of goods in transport, 31.92%.

Telekom Serbia

TESLA'S TIME MACHINE IN MONTENEGRO

SERBIA DAY IN PARIS Serbia will present its economic and investment potential in France during the ”Serbia Day” which will be held on 15 September in Paris. The programme includes a conference that will be opened by the highest Serbian and French officials, but there will also many B2B meetings between Serbian and French companies. Conference is organised by the French State Agency for Development and Investment ”Business France” in cooperation with the Franco-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia and the Development Agency of Serbia. The conference themed ”Serbia - a strategic crossroads between Western and Eastern Europe,” a special attention will be devoted to agriculture, automotive and ICT industries, energy and environmental protection, and entrepreneurs will be able to participate in round tables organised separately for each of these industries. Trade between the two countries from 2009 to date has doubled, and in 2015 it exceeded 750 million euros. In the Western Balkans, Serbia is a major French partner that attracts over 50% of total French investments in the region.

The Family Day event

"FIND YOUR OWN BALANCE"

The Family Day event took place at Ada Ciganlija as a part of a four-year national project called ”Find Your Own Balance”. The event was geared towards families and children who were entertained by actor Srđan Ivanović. They took part in the family workout programme, fitness for mums, dads and babies, and group fitness activities for parents and children while being reminded of mums and dads' favourite childhood plays. ”Family Day” is the last event of the ”Find Your Own Balance” national campaign which has been successfully implemented by the medical students from the International Federation of Medical Students Association - Serbia (IFMSA) and members of the Association of Dieticians and Nutritionists of Serbia with the support of the Republic of Serbia's Ministry of Health.

Philanthropy for Green Ideas

ANOTHER VICTORY FOR „GREEN IDEAS“ FROM SERBIA

In honour of the 160th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla, companies Telekom Serbia and m:tel Montenegro took many citizens and visitors of Budva to an exciting journey with Tesla's Time Machine. „This is a unique multimedia project about the biggest scientist from this part of the world. In a new and contemporary way, this film depicts who Nikola Tesla really was. Considering that it was made in 4D, the film is a fascinating event which leaves you under the impression that Nikola Tesla is talking directly to you“, says Vladimir Lučić, Executive Director of m:tel. As a daughter company of Telekom Serbia, m:tel Montenegro showcased the project in the Old Town in Budva three times a day. This digital performance shows Tesla’s upbringing, the importance of his discoveries and his peacemaking and philanthropic contemplations and attitude. This project introduces a brand new trend to implementation of modern technology and it is a gift from Telekom Serbia and m:tel to all citizens and visitors of Budva who want to honour the famous innovator.

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Diplomacy&Commerce

The fifth regional forum „Philanthropy for Green Ideas“ ended recently with the winner ceremony. The three best ideas were awarded with $10,000 each, to be spent on project implementation. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund organised the Forum in partnership with five local foundations from the region – The Trag Foundation from Serbia, Partners Albania from Albania, the ARNO Social Innovation Association from Macedonia, the Civil Initiative Forum from Kosovo and the Fund for Active Citizenship from Montenegro. Dragojlo Božić from Užice won the first place with his idea – production of briquettes for heating and grill using biological waste generated by removing the shoots of raspberry plantations. The programme was launched with the goal of supporting and providing funds for individuals, associations and small enterprises to develop innovative entrepreneurial projects based on the sustainable development principles.

For more information go the website of the Trag Foundation – www.tragfondacija.org.

SPORTS

Great Scot

In another era, Andy Murray would have been recognised as a tennis great Only one statistic matters in tennis: major singles titles. After claiming her sixth Wimbledon championship last year, Serena Williams broke into the cheerful smile of somebody accustomed to such success. But upon sealing a seventh victory at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 9th, Ms Williams collapsed to the turf, such was her joy at equalling Steffi Graf’s haul of 22 victories at grand-slam tournaments. Her win on Saturday means that she now shares the record for the most major singles titles in the “Open era”, which began in 1968 when professionals were first permitted to enter tennis’s four main events. Just one obstacle stands between her and general recognition as the greatest female player of all time: Margaret Court’s tally of 24 slams, which the Australian accumulated between 1960 and 1973.

Andy Murray, who triumphed in the men’s singles the following day, has a more modest trophy collection. Britain’s top-ranked player beat Miloš Raonić, a young Canadian with a howitzer of a serve, in straight sets on Sunday to claim his third major championship. Mr Murray has now won Wimbledon twice. This feat will immortalise him in the annals of British tennis, which had failed to produce a male grand-slam champion for 76 years before the feisty Scot won the US Open in 2012.

But in the context of tennis history, Mr Murray’s trio of titles is nothing special. Roger Federer, the Swiss maestro who narrowly missed out on the chance to play in this year’s final, has lifted a major trophy 17 times. Mr Murray’s current total puts him level with, say, Gustavo Kuerten or Jan Kodes—stars in their time, but rarely mentioned in the same breath as Bjorn Borg or John McEnroe.

Barring a glut of titles in the next couple of years, the reigning Wimbledon champion is likely to go down in tennis history as a very good player, not a great one. But this might be a reflection of Mr Murray’s era, rather than his talent. Britain’s best player has had the misfortune to compete at the same time as three of the most talented men to ever pick up a racket:

Mr Federer, Novak Đoković and Rafael Nadal have each won a dozen slams or more, a feat matched only by Pete Sampras.

This formidable group of rivals has consistently blocked Mr Murray’s path to major titles.

Coming into this tournament, he had played in ten

BRITAIN’S BEST PLAYER HAS HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO COMPETE AT THE SAME TIME AS THREE OF THE MOST TALENTED MEN TO EVER PICK UP A RACKET: MR FEDERER, NOVAK ĐOKOVIĆ AND RAFAEL NADAL HAVE EACH WON A DOZEN SLAMS OR MORE, A FEAT MATCHED ONLY BY PETE SAMPRAS finals, which is as many as Boris Becker. Yet Mr Becker, who won six majors, got to play championship matches against Kevin Curren, Michael Stich and Michael Chang. There are no easy finals, but those opponents were hardly on the level of Mr Federer or Mr Đoković, against whom Mr Murray played each of his first ten title deciders.

CROSS-COURT WINNERS Average numbers of matches won per grand slam Selected players in the Open era, in tournaments starting before their 30th birthday 0

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Bjorn Borg Novak Djokovic Jimmy Connors Roger Federer Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal John McEnroe Andy Murray Pete Sampras Andre Agassi Mats Wilander Boris Becker Stefan Edberg Source: ATP World Tour

Economist.com

Mr Murray is now joint ninth in the table of Open-era finalists, tied with Mr McEnroe, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander. And his overall record at grand slams suggests that he belongs in such illustrious company. At the age of 29, Mr Murray has entered 42 major tournaments, winning an average of 4.1 matches at each (see chart). By comparison, Mr Sampras won 3.96 matches per grand slam before his 30th birthday. Andre Agassi’s win rate was 3.69, while Mr McEnroe performed a shade better, with 4.12 victories per tournament.

This statistic has limitations. First, it discriminates against players who had slow starts to their careers: Mr Federer needed 17 attempts to reach a semi-final before his decade of dominance, by which point Mr Borg had won six slams. Second, it says nothing about the strength of competition in a given era—though FiveThirtyEight’s Elo scores, which do account for this, suggests that Mr Murray was better at his peak than Mr Sampras and Mr Agassi were.

Third, it may overvalue players who consistently reach the business end of major tournaments but lack composure in big games. Mr Murray has certainly been accused of choking, and his failure to convert in important matches was one of the reasons he hired Ivan Lendl as his coach, who lost his first four finals before winning eight titles.

Yet the 2016 Wimbledon tournament offered a rare glimpse of the career that Britain’s best tennis player might have had without three superstars in his path: Mr Nadal was ruled out by injury, while Mr Đoković and Mr Federer were knocked out before the final day. Mr Murray cruised through the event, losing just two sets—an achievement that only Mr Federer has bettered at Wimbledon since 2000. Would the Scot have been recognised as a great in another era? On the evidence of the last fortnight, almost certainly. The history books are unlikely to be so generous.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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INTERVIEW

MUSIC IS LIKE FALLING IN LOVE

Starting to play such a demanding instrument as the piano at the late age of 15, yet still becoming a top pianist? That is almost unbelievable and unachievable, yet Güray Başol somehow achieved it. He explains that playing the piano and progressing quickly was just like falling in love: inevitable

GÜRAY BAŞOL

Pianist

Famous Turkish pianist Güray Başol visited Belgrade recently and performed in the city, where he received praise and met with enthusiasm both from the audience and critics alike. We talked to him about his beginnings, life, plans and impressions of Serbia.

There is a commonly held belief that one cannot become a highclass musician, especially if you are not in pop-rock music, unless you start very early. However, you only began playing at the age of 15! How can you explain your swift perfecting of the piano?

— When I was a child my father played the guitar and sang pop music. It was a great pleasure to listen to him at home, but I never thought I’d be a professional musician able to earn a living through music. I started playing the piano at the age of 15, at the Istanbul Fine Arts High School.

Being a concert pianist was too difficult, because it was too late for me, so I then played the guitar. However, the piano was always attractive to me at that time, as it is nowadays. I worked really hard during my studies at high school. My teacher thought I was seeking the impossible, but now I think that I made a good choice for my life. It is really difficult to explain my progress on the piano; it is like falling in love, one cannot explain how or why it happens.

Turkey, like Serbia, is a country with a strong folk tradition and a fairly modest market for artistic music. Yet you decided to deal with a very serious style of music. How did you sway towards that field?

— We cannot consider classical music is being more serious than

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folk music. If you look at the origins of classical music, you will find German or French folk themes in Beethoven’s or Mozart’s music.

Thus we can claim that folk music forms the basis of classical music.

When I choose to play the piano as an instrument, the repertoire that I can perform mostly includes pieces by classical music composers. That is why I perform this repertoire. The piano is a polyphonic instrument and we cannot find monophonic traditional music written for this instrument. You can play some transcription of popular melodies

for you during that period?

— When I arrived in Paris I was really shocked by the high level of the pianists. It meant that I needed to work more than I had previously imagined. I also tried to learn about music as much as I could – not only about the piano, also about music theory. For me, being a pianist is not only about playing the notes. If you have no idea what you are playing, if you don’t research how this music must sound and why it must sound like that, you cannot become a pianist; you could only become a piano player, and we have lots of those

IT IS REALLY DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN MY PROGRESS ON THE PIANO; IT IS LIKE FALLING IN LOVE, ONE CANNOT EXPLAIN HOW OR WHY IT HAPPENS on the piano, but I am not sure if that sounds original or appropriate.

After your training in Turkey you moved to France to continue your studies in Chamber Music with Nina Patarcec and Music Analysis with Jean-Dominique Pasquier. Following your time at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, you continued your studies at the National Rueil-Malmaison Conservatory for three years with Chantal Riou. How was it

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nowadays. The master’s degree on musicology that I did at Sorbonne University was aimed at having an idea about how the research is done and about researching the style of the composers, which helped me a lot with my interpretations.

Who were and are your idols, both ‘classical’ and other musicians and composers?

— I admire Idil Biret. Her repertoire is just amazing. I do not need to talk about her virtuosity, while she

is so kind and has a very positive character. I also love Martha Argerich’s style. Her interpretation is unbelievable, with such colour and so much energy! When you read the biographies of classical composers you discover that they had really difficult lives and after all those difficulties they left behind excellent compositions for humanity. It is such a pity that they didn’t have the lives they deserved.

What music do you sincerely like to perform the best and do you enjoy the most; and what is your favourite previous performance?

— I love performing Chopin. It is really difficult to perform his music, but there is something really deep inside it. I think it is impossible to perform his music in a satisfying way, but you can try to interpret it in your own way. I think a real performer does not have a favourite performance; you can be happy to introduce your work to the public correctly, but for me it is impossible to perform as you desire.

There is always something you can add to the work, which never ends.

That is the beauty of the music and also the frightening thing about it, because you have no limits.

What are your future plans?

— I hope to visit Serbia again. It was really a great pleasure to perform in Belgrade. The audience was really warm, listened very attentively and I felt that. I will try to keep performing concerts as much as I can.

I would like to communicate my music to larger audiences. In my opinion, music has no passport and no borders, so it is accessible for everybody. And art is the only weapon against terrorism, so we need to use it all the time.

WI NE

THE BEST GRAPES DESERVES ONLY THE BEST

Only with combination of knowledge, experience transmitted through generations, modern technology and lots of love and passion the best and tastiest wine can be createed, wine which arouses passion for life

Sitting between the clear sunlight and endless vineyard there lays the best kept secret of wine making in the Tikveš region…The Stobi winery.

This is the place where Mediterranean climate from the south collides with the Continental climate form the north cerate the most remarkable grape growing and wine area on the entire Balkan Peninsula.

This unique wine region has its own local, traditional varieties that are well known like Vranec, R`kaciteli, Žilavka, and manz others.

This region has also proved to be an excellent breeding ground for internationa grape varietes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Muscat, Riesling, Traminec and many others.

Our aim is sole and not modest at all - we are committed to creating wines of superb and impeccable quality. Wines that are unique

enough to satisfy the most selective tastes, and so simple for anyone to desire them. Therefore, we provide the best conditions for achieving that goal.

Because the process of winemaking is a complex and a sensitive one that does not tolerate even the slightest mistake, we work according to most contemporary standards prescribed by the European Union. Starting from the cultivation and maintenance of the vineyards, through the distribution of grapes to the winery, until the final process of manufacturing and filling, we apply the latest technological advancements in the overall process and all the steps of production.

In order to maintain and preserve the quality of the grapes, we nurture it with the most modern methods in agriculture and we strictly control the fertility and the yield. We cut out every vine correctly and accurately to match the growth and maturation. During

the maturation of the vines, we monitor the growth of all bunches, because we know that every grain of grape is important for the uniqueness and the splendour of the taste of the Stobi wines. Then, only the best grapes from the plantations, through a process of perfectly controlled system, in the peak of its maturity, arrives in the most modern winery in the country and beyond. This contributes for Stobi winery to produce wines that are clean and non-contaminated concerning pesticides, heavy metals, residues and contaminants.

The use of SO2 is 30 to 50% lower compared to the average. Therefore, the pleasure in these wines does not cause any headaches, but just pleasant bliss.

The result of all this attention, knowledge and expertise are 4.5 million litres of high quality Macedonian wine per year, allocated among four categories – Premium, Elite, Classic and Traditional.

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REPORTAGE Text: VANJA KOVAČEV

“IN JERUSALEM WE PRAY – IN TEL AVIV WE PLAY” The journey to Israel will certainly be one of those that you will remember for the rest of your life.

This region has since time immemorial been one of the most delicate areas in the world – both politically and geo-strategically.

This piece of land, often dubbed “the navel of the world”, is simultaneously among the most attractive tourist destinations, whilst also being The Place claimed by different nations as the cradle of their national history, hence the long track record of conflict that remains present even today.

The sense that this is the land of creation, already from the first moment you step onto the Israeli ground, “hits” you unexpectedly, with a one-of-a-kind fascinating blend of ancient and ultra-modern, easy-going and rigidly strict and uncompromising, the gentle touch of the Mediterranean breeze, the cruel rays of the sun in the Judean desert; the dolce vita lifestyle in Tel Aviv and the strong, religious pathos in Jerusalem; the blend of enthusiastic future optimism and bitter memories of the past, filled with treats and mutual hatred, a sense of strong national unity and comradeship, as well as the need for individualism.

While you inhale the first breaths of the hot and dry desert air, your brain is overwhelmed with a mélange of strong emotions, caused by the layers upon layers of ancient history carved into every stone you see; evidence of swift turnarounds in history, from glory times to downfalls; almost rigid perfectionism and determination by this country’s people to a create and

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maintain a perfectly governed state with impressive infrastructure, an impressive network of tourist sightseeing locations on the map of this country that may be small in area, but is still extremely interesting.

If you leave Belgrade with prejudices and your hands full of newspapers covering the Middle East issue and reports about everlasting conflicts for a piece of land in the desert that is valued highly by three monotheistic religions:

a Tuesday morning flight back to Belgrade, being “out of the office” just three working days, but having enough time to experience Israel’s most important tourist attractions.

The biggest surprise of all will most probably be Tel Aviv – the 3 in 1 city – Hi Tech, Beach & Surfing and Nightlife. Compared to Jerusalem, Haifa, Akko and Cesarea, Tel Aviv is a “youngster” – only about 100 years old, the city was born out of the socialist dream of Jews living

THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL WILL MOST PROBABLY BE TEL AVIV – THE 3 IN 1 CITY – HI TECH, BEACH & SURFING AND NIGHTLIFE Judaism, Christianity and Islam, not knowing much about Israel as a truly mesmerising tourist attraction – you may as well go back home immediately, because preconceptions blur the sight of sightseers and globetrotters.

You can start your journey to Israel with a Thursday morning flight to Tel Aviv, lasting approximately three hours, and finish the trip with

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in Eastern Europe, a vibrant and beautiful town resting under the shifting Sun on the stunning shifting shores of the Mediterranean.

The town’s founding father is Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), one of the fathers of the modern political movement of Zionism. He was an Austro-Hungarian journalist, playwright, political activist and writer. His father's family were

originally from Serbia’s Zimony, today’s Zemun. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organisation and promoted Jewish migration to Palestine in an effort to form a Jewish state (Israel). The name “Tel Aviv” was the title given to the Hebrew translation of one of Herzl’s books “Altneuland”. This name comes from Ezekiel 3:15 and means tel – an ancient mound/hill formed when a town is built on its own debris over thousands of years – and

aviv – spring. The name was later applied to the new town built outside Jaffa that grew up to become Tel Aviv-Yafo the second-largest city in Israel and Israel’s commercial, cultural and financial hub, where the price of a flat with four rooms in a central residential area reaches the astronomically high price of approximately $800,000, and which has commercial areas with high-rise skyscrapers like the Azrieli Centre Circular, one of three buildings that comprise the Azrieli Centre, with the highest being the recently finished Azrieli

Sarona, which is 255 meters tall and has 73 floors.

If high-rise buildings are not your fascination, in Tel Aviv it is easy just to turn your back on the modern and go to the nearby beach, which stretches along the entire length of the city, giving Tel Aviv a beautiful holiday charm.

One Tel Aviv must is surfing at the Galim Surf School, which will be great fun and will give you a supreme “fun in the sun” beach experience, a nice sun tan, as well as

shaping the town; then the Station – the renovated train station district, with great restaurants and shops in a true oasis of beauty; pay a visit to the Carmel open-air market and enjoy a lovely and vibrant piazza atmosphere, with smiling people selling fruits, vegetables and clothing; go to the Nahalat Binyamin Pedestrian Mall, with the Arts and Crafts Bazaar, the Levinsky spice market – SHENKIN. Close by is the famous Rothschild Boulevard – with its unique Bauhaus architecture and cafés that are vibrant during the day, but also very popular during the evenings.

D&C spoke to Tel Aviv local Dror Shemesh, a nightlife guide, who explained more about this town that is known worldwide as The hipster town: D&C: How is the nightlife in Tel Aviv?

Dror Shemesh: “For me, the thing that is most special about the nightlife of TLV is the fact that it never stops reinventing itself and surprising you. Here, even in mid-week you can find great bars, clubs, live concerts and exhibitions all around town. Also, people from all over the country are coming to party in TLV,

Aviv is a great city break destination. There are several options for accommodation: the first one is the more expensive option – hotels.

There are several great hotels on the beach front of TLV – Shalom Atlas, for example. The second option is Airbnb – subletting an apartment. It can be cheaper than hotel or more expensive, depending on the location and the apartment. The third option, which I think is better, is renting a room (private or dormitory) – this is cheaper than a hotel and better than an apartment, because it gives you the opportunity to meet new people. The hostels usually offer special activities and attractions for their guests. My recommendation is to choose a hostel for more affordable accommodation: for example, Hayarkon48 hostel, Beachfront hostel or Gordon inn – all three have very high standards and also their location is very good – very close to the beach and also very close to the city centre. TLV has a lot to offer. I think the best thing to do is to join a pub crawl. There is a good pub crawl every Thursday and Saturday. In that way you can see the best nightlife in TLV. During

TOURISTS CAN ALSO USE THE TEL-O-FUN: THE CITY'S BIKE SHARING RENTAL SYSTEM, WITH 200 STATIONS AND 130 KM OF RIDING LANES Kabbalat Shabbat at the Port of Tel Aviv

a few bruises & scratches that will make you realise that you should definitely exercise more. The beaches of Tel Aviv have the most refined sand on the Mediterranean, because that sand comes on the wind from Egypt and only the smallest particles, those lightest ones, reach the seashores of Tel Aviv, hence the refined touch of this sand, which is unique in the area.

After chilling on the beach or making a popular Segway tour, visit Neve Tzedek, the old but recently renovated neighbourhood where the first Tel Aviv builders started

so basically it’s a place where people allow themselves to “go wild” and be something else for a night. The official motto of the city is “the city that never sleeps” – it’s so true. You can find something to do here 24/7.

D&C: Tel Aviv is so easy to reach from Belgrade, with good Air Serbia flight connections. What would be your recommendation for a couple who would like to come to your city for a long weekend: where to stay, what to see, where to go out in the evening, and what to do from Thursday to Sunday?

Dror Shemesh: “I think that Tel

the pub crawl, one can visit different very popular places in TLV, each with a different vibe and music – so one can really explore the diversity of the nightlife of TLV. For more info visit www.tlvnights.com. During the day one has a few free activities to choose from: a free tour of the old city of Jaffa, chilling on the beach or checking out the street area in the Florentine neighbourhood, the Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv Port or shopping in Dizingof Street, Bugrashov Street, visiting the Flee market in Jaffa or Carmel Market.

D&C: What are the prices of soft

drinks and alcohol in the clubs, cigarettes, taxi rides etc.

Dror Shemesh: Tel Aviv might be a bit expensive sometimes, with prices like in Paris for example, so a beer is usually from 5-8 euros, a taxi is around 7-12 euros, depending where and what time of day, and cigarettes are about 7-8 euros. For 100 euros one will get approximately 423 New Israel Shekels (NIS). TLV is not a big city – everything is quite close by. Tourists can also use the Tel-O-Fun: the city's bike sharing rental system, with 200 stations and 130 km of riding lanes.

D&C: When does the nightlife start in Tel Aviv and what is your favourite club?

Dror Shemesh: So the nightlife starts around 9pm, when the bars start filling up, and it goes on until 6-7 in the morning on some days, when some places only start getting “in the mood” at midnight or after.

Some of my favourite places in TLV include Radio e.p.g.b, Otto bar, Billie jean, Jimmy who, Moon Shine, Kuli Alma and Lima lima.

D&C: What are your three “mustdos” in TLV? Dror Shemesh: Have a drink at sunset, eat Hummus in a Hummus place – Abu Hassan, for example, and explore the nightlife of TLV by joining a pub crawl.

The morning after a Tel Aviv pub crawl is an ideal time to visit nearby Old Jaffa – the ancient seaport famous for the export of great Jaffa oranges and the ancient story related to the Biblical narrative of Jonah and the whale. In Jaffa the oriental feeling and atmosphere is all around you.

Stroll the streets of this picturesque oriental old city, eat hummus and falafel, great baklava or kadaif in the oldest bakery in Jaffa, Bakery Said Abuelafia & Sons, or visit Jaffa flea Market.

Similar to Belgrade’s Beton Hala riverbank, with restaurants and cafés, is Jaffa Fishermen’s port and Artists’ quarter. While walking around the old Jaffa fortress you can see the breath-taking panoramic view of nearby Tel Aviv, which looks like Miami when viewed from this spot.

And when the sky is streaked with the fading Friday sunlight, candles are lit in Jewish homes around the world, b’rakhot is recited and Shabbat is welcomed. And in synagogues the Friday ma’ariv service begins with a series of hymns, Psalms, and blessings collectively known as Kabbalat Shabbat. You, for example, can join the collective Kabbalat Shabbat/ Welcoming the Sabbath in Tel Aviv New Port.

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CALENDAR & NEWS The 25th Belgrade Summer Festival (BELEF) was closed on 30 July with the spectacular performance by the State Academic Choreographic Ensemble “Beryozka” from Moscow at the Big Hall of Sava Centar. Over the period of six weeks the festival entertained approximately 20000 citizens of Belgrade and foreign visitors of our capital city. It featured performances of artists from Serbia, Netherlands, France, Russia and nearby countries, presenting 30 programs ranging from art, jazz, folk and pop music concerts to theatre plays, exhibitions, charity fashion show and programs for children.

THE 25 BELGRADE SUMMER FESTIVAL th

BELGRADE BEER FEST

World, local and regional music stars at 14th Belgrade Beer Fest

This year Belgrade Beer Fest will open its gates on Wednesday, August 17th at Ušće and completed music program of the most massive festival in this part of Europe confirmes that everything is ready. Entreance is free.

During five days of the festival, audience will see the performances of more than 40 artists and bands, as well as the performance of the world-famous band Rudimental and the most popular musicians from Serbia and region such as: Bajaga&Instruktori, Dubioza Kolektiv, S.A.R.S, Vlatko Stefanovski, Massimo Savić, Psihomodo Pop, YU Grupa, Zvonko Bogdan, Mostar Sevdah Reunion, Orthodox Celts, Viva Vox, Elemental and many others.

This year, visitors who want total comfort while enjoy the festival, will have the opportunity to see concerts from the Crown VIP stands, with their tickets, whose number is limited. Tickets can be purchased at all Eventim selling spots, and each visitor will receive five free beers of choice and festival souvenir. Price per ticket is 3,600 dinars per evening.

COMICS OF MARKO SOMBORAC IN KNEZ MIHAILOVA

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Diplomacy&Commerce

Music festival “Gitarijada”

URIAH HEEP- SPECIAL GUEST BAND

The famous Zaječar music festival “Gitarijada” will be held from August 11-13th in Zaječar, Timok region of Serbia.

Held since 1966, Gitarijada is one of the longest lasting festivals in Serbia and in South Eastern Europe and the largest festival of young and unaffirmed bands in South Eastern Europe. Apart from the competition of unaffirmed bands from the region of former Yugoslavia, the festival program includes performances of established acts- this year the famous English rock band Uriah Heep who will perfom on August 13th.

Belgraders and visitors of Belgrade can visit the exhibition of comics by the Serbian famous comic book writer, Marko Somborac until September 26th in famous Belgrade pedestrian zone, Knez Mihailova Street, in front of “Ruski car”.

There are more than 160 of Marko Somborac's best works exhibited and this exhibition is only one part of Marko's comics that describe Serbian reality in a special way.

Somborac's comics have been published in Blic magazine for the the past decade.

Somborac is famous for drawing comics with local politicians or tycoons in focus. For his work, Marko Somborac received many awards and he is known as one of the most powerful people in Serbian media.

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