This is our last newsletter for 2014. It is a double bill as the redaction was professionally mainly occupied abroad and/or involved in organizing events and seminars and few information was delivered after the summer season. You are compensated with a few pages more and we hope that you will enjoy them. Thanks to the support of our members and the Belgian diplomatic mission in Belgrade, the Belgian Serbian Business Association has constantly grown during the last four years. Created as a business club for representatives of Belgian companies and their Serbian partners, today the BSBA is proud to be a successful interactive networking platform in Serbia, now already with >440 members in the BSBA LinkedIn discussion group. Business facilitation is our core mission. Through organizing monthly events and/or seminars, inviting guest speakers and sharing information, the BSBA continues to develop and promote a favorable business climate and in this way caters to the ongoing needs of its members. We work in close cooperation with the Belgian Embassy and the Office of the Belgian Trade Commissioner. With their support, the BSBA organized two successful seminars during the second half of 2014 and was actively involved in two cultural events. Whereas end 2014 saw seminars on legal matters 2015 will focus at start on the use of EU Funds by SMEs in Serbia in de EU budget period 2014-2020. The BSBA wishes you, your families and friends a smooth ride into 2015.

From the chairman

Special points of interest:

Flood victimes assistance

New members

Our members in-form

Upcoming events

BSBA/BSPA December 2014 2014 issue 3-4

BSBA/BSPA

It’s not over yet.

The City of Vienna has through Volkshilfe Solidaritaet signed an agreement with ICTTI to implement a relief action in the poorest villages of the flooded area of Sabac. Mrs van Veghel Kondić negotiated 100 KEuro from the city of Vienna, 10KEuro from Volkshilfe and a contribution of 30 KEuro from the city of Sabac for ICTTI to organise and monitor the delivery of support to 250 households in sanitation works and supply of furniture and household appliances. Other BSBA members like Delhaize, Carmeuse, Metech, among many, were already heavily involved in support to flooding victimes from the first minute. Your support to flooding victimes is still very welcome... Send your SMS to1003 today. www.ictti.org

ESCO (Energy Saving Contracts)

On 13 October 2014 the ESCO letter has been handed over to Minister Aleksandar Antic by Dutch Ambassador Laurent Stokvis, on behalf of all 24 partners including the Belgian Embassy and the BSBA. The Minister acknowledged our joint initiative and promised to prioritize the adoption of all subsidiary laws of the Law of Energy Efficiency, especially the ESCO model contracts. The ESCO letter can be downloaded from the news bloc on the BSBA web site. http://bsbiz.eu/?p=1875

Please note: information concerning trade relations between Serbia and Belgium and/or the EU upcoming investment projects, opening of new factories, EU support to flooded areas, IMF negotiations and more, please subscribe to the Newsletter Serbia and Montenegro of the Office of the Belgian Trade Commission, e-mail belgrade@brusselsinvestexport.com

Welcome to C.A.M Partners

C.A.M. Partners is corporate finance advisory boutique providing tailor made services to its clients throughout Serbian and the CEFTA region. Our core competences are special understanding of all aspects of corporate finance, including mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and reorganization, raising equity and bank finance, management outsourcing and business development deals. www.campartners.rs

A series of articles on Belgium (p.94-101)including interviews with HE Leo D’aes, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the Republic of Serbia (p. 98) and Hugo van Veghel, Chairman of the Belgian Serbian Business Association. (p..100) PDF: Synergy 4 EU on the horizon.pdf. The publication in pdf can be downloaded from the news bloc on the BSBA web site. http://bsbiz.eu/?p=1900

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SYNERGY—NALED

IWC Charity bazaar 2014

The Belgian booth raised this year more than 2.000 euro at the Charity Bazaar of the International Women’s Club on the 7th of December at Belgrade's Sajam. The integral amount will be donated to several projects which aim to relieve the victims of t h e r e c e n t

floods. This year’s edition of the Belgian booth went by in an excellent atmosphere, with no less than 14 volunteers offering typical Belgian products, such as chocolate and freshly baked waffles. Hereby, the Belgium Embassy wishes to thank everyone for their efforts and directs a special thanks to Delhaize Serbia for its generous contribution to the Belgian booth of the Christmas Bazaar.

Welcome to Ewoud Roes

Ewoud Roes took up the position of First Secretary at the Belgian Embassy in Belgrade on 15 September, replacing Steven De Wilde, who moved on to the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU. Ewoud joined the Belgian Foreign Ministry in 2009, after a short career in the EU NGO sector, and was previously posted at the Belgian Permanent Representation to NATO. His wife Marina will join him in Belgrade towards the end of the year.

September 23, 2014 - BSBA Seminar with BSBA member Jankovic, Popovic, Mitic Law Office ‘Key novelties of the recent amendments to the Labor Law and how to implement them in practice’.

Recently adopted amendments to the Labor Law were the cause of controversies between trade and employers unions and government representatives in Serbia. How will these amendments change relations between employer and employee in the field of training, salaries, collective agreements, redundancy, suspension and termination of labor contracts? What are the risks of violation of the new provisions and how to avoid them? What are the new

provisions for severance payments, minimum hourly rates, employees share in the profit? These are just a few of the questions which the JPM Layers Office highlighted during a joint BSBA-JPM Seminar held in the residence of the Belgian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Leo D’aes. The seminar attended by 30 heads of legal departments, HR managers and decisions makers of Belgian and Dutch companies, enjoyed an informative and concrete presentations by

2014 issue 3-4 Page 3

by expert labor lawyers. Interactive exchanges continued during a pleasant atmosphere during cocktails graciously offered by the Belgian Ambassador. BSBA members reacted favorably to this event and suggested to repeat the seminar-round table. This is just one of the many testimonials: ‘I would like to thank you for a very useful conference/event. The lawyers were very professional, precise and they manage to highlight the most important facts of the changes in the Law. Always looking forward to this kind of events’.

October 23, 2014 - BSBA Seminar : ‘City of Belgrade Development, Strategic Goals and Guidelines’ Guest speakers: Professor Borislav Stojkov and Ing. arch. Jelena Stojkov

SAXPERIENCE, the First International Saxophone Festival in Belgrade and the ANEMOS Saxophone Quartet

From October 16th to 19th October, SAXPERIENCE commemorated the 200th birth anniversary of the Belgian Antoine-Joseph (Adolphe) Sax, inventor of the saxophone. Born in Dinant, Belgium on November 6th 1814 Adophe Sax started making his own instruments at an early age. He studied at the Royal School of Singing in Brussels and will patent various new instruments, known as the saxophones between 1844 and 1846. He wanted to create an instrument combining the voice of strings with more strength and intensity. Although initially the new instruments were used in military bands, the saxophone gained glory in the musical world of jazz. The French composer Hector Berlioz composes the first work for the saxophone in 1842, the Singing sacred for Wind Sextet. With this composition the young Belgian musicians of the Anemos Saxophone Quartet opened their recital in the Festive Hall of the Belgrade Municipality on October 18. Anemos is laureate of both the Youth’n Classic competition organized by radio Klara and the Sony Angel CD Label and best interpretation Price at the Adolphe Sax Competition in Dinant Belgium. Their repertoire is diverse and surprising, including compositions ranging from variations on classical music to contemporary authors. Carpetland, a longstanding BSBA member, was a proud sponsor of this cultural event.

Original saxophones invented by Adophe Sax can discovered at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Brussels, located in a stunning art deco ancient ware house in Brussels. Another address is the house of Mr. Sax located in the Dinant house where this composer and inventor was born.

From the nineteenth century until today, Belgrade has often been the object of urban development plans. However, the Serbian urban context can no longer be isolated from the national or international context. The challenge Belgrade faces today is: how will the capital of Serbia develop during the next years to fulfil its role as a functional South Eastern European metropolis. What are the goals, the guidelines and the challenges to this new strategic priority? What are the opportunities and pitfalls of land use and construction in Belgrade? Our first guest speaker Professor Dr. Borislav Stojkov, architect and city planner, has a long engagement in past and present Spatial Plans for the City of Belgrade. He has published a number of books and articles on the subject of urban development and is an active member of professional teams working on spatial planning in Serbia and abroad. Jelena Stojkov, the second guest speaker is also an architect and urbanist and held the post of Director of Marketing and Information at the Belgrade Land

Development Enterprise. Both experts explained long and midterm spatial development projects, expanding on problems connected to power supply, water management, environmental and communal infrastructure. Relevant data on the level of creativity, availability of new technologies and e-governance in Belgrade and cities like Budapest and Bucharest, reveal the urgent need for urban revival of the city. BSBA members, whether active in the construction sector, retail, environment or legal services received useful information concerning the problems which Belgrade has to face, e.g. large regional disparity and autarchy of the local communities. At a time when there are many international organizations competing in urban development projects of Serbia’s capital city, it is important to remember priorities such as better social cohesion, ecological sustainability and increased competitiveness, thus Professor Stojkov. Future spatial development of Belgrade, its functional integration in the region through larger interconnectivity and inter-modal transport solutions, will enhance the over- all economic development of the country.

To enhance peaceful cooperation and mutual understanding which will benefit both the whole region and Europe, the Belgian Ghent University UGent has established the Alumni Network in the Western Balkans. Under the leadership its dean, UGent academics visited Skopje and Belgrade during three days and enjoyed networking at the residence of the Belgian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Leo D’aes on October 14th. In fact, UGent has been active with European projects in the Western Balkans since 1990, with Tempus and other pilot projects, focusing on training of young academics and higher quality of research. Since 2008 however, the presence in the Western Balkan was intensified with Erasmus Mundus 2 and Basileus projects. With 10 European partner universities and 10 partner universities in the Western Balkans 1.500 students received stipends of which 486 were allotted to Serbia. Presently more than 160 Serbian students are presently living and studying at Ghent University. UGent aims at building a larger alumni network thus enhancing student mobility up to 25%. This means that one out of every four students would have enjoyed an international experience upon terminating his or her studies. UGent has presently 41.000 students, 11 faculties and 120 departments and hold the highest Shanghai ranging among Belgian universities. The BSBA was happy to lend its support to this initiative by facilitating B2B meetings between Serbian and Belgian academics. UGent will continue to cooperate with Serbian higher education institutions through projects such as Erasmus Plus and Horizon 2020. The Western Balkan Alumni Network is open to all Serbian alumni of the Western Balkan and Belgian alumni living in this region. The initiative will lead not only to mutual understanding, tolerance and friendship between Belgium and Serbia, but will reinforce knowledge since most of the Serbian award winning academics return home and contribute to the future development of their country.

On November 18th, Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic attended the opening of a modern Delhaize Serbia distribution center in Stara Pazova spanning 70,000 square meters, an investment worth €50 million. Expressing satisfaction that the impressive facility has been opened, the Prime Minister urged the Delhaize Group to boost the share of Serbian products marketed in its outlets

UGent establishes an Alumni Network in the Western Balkans

Delhaize Serbia – visit of Serbia’s Prime Minister

Page 4 BSBA/BSPA

41.000 students, 11

faculties and 120

departments and

holds the highest

Shanghai ranging

among Belgian

universities

from the current 70% to 75-80%. The Prime Minister said that he is also pleased that Delhaize Group, which currently has an 11,000-strong workforce, will invest even more in Serbia in the coming years and hire 400 more people by the end of this year, and a total of 750 by 2020. The Delhaize distribution center is the most modern and largest distribution center in the country. The highest technological standards were implemented during its construction, with Serbian companies performing most of the works. Delhaize Serbia is a member of the Belgium-based international retail chain Delhaize Group, which operates in Europe, America and Asia. ‘This day is important not only for Delhaize, but for Serbia as well‘ Vučić said, thanking the company for paying its liabilities to the state regularly. Thanking everyone for their engagement in the project, Vučić said that he is confident that hard work and respect of rules can produce the best results.

In Serbia, Orthodox Christian families celebrate an important holiday in honour of the patron saint, Slava, who is believed to be their protector and provider of welfare. The celebration consists of the ritual offering of a bloodless sacrifice and a feast held for relatives, neighbours and friends. A specially designed candle is lit in the family home, then wine is poured over a Slava cake, prepared and decorated by the host’s wife, which is then cut crosswise, rotated and broken into four parts and lifted up. During the ritual, thanks are given to the saint and prayers are said for prosperity. The cutting is performed by the host and the oldest or most important guest and other family members. The feast then begins with the ceremonial drinking of wine, eating and a toast expressing wishes for health, fertility and well-being of the family and guests. Knowledge related to the Slava is passed down in families, with women playing an important role in transmitting knowledge concerning the performance of rituals, their meaning and purpose. The Slava feast reinforces social relations and plays an important role in establishing and maintaining dialogue in multi-ethnic and multi-confessional areas. (Wikipedia: The Slava (lit. "celebration"; Serbian Cyrillic: Слава), also called Krsna Slava (Крсна Слава, "christened Slava") and Krsno ime (Крсно име, "christened name"), is a Serbian Orthodox Church tradition of the ritual glorification of one's family's patron saint among Serbs and Montenegrins, and also Serbs in Macedonia. The family celebrates the Slava annually on the saint's feast day. Unlike other major Orthodox Christian nations, i.e. Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Bulgarians, Georgians etc., Serbs do not celebrate individual name days, as when a person named after a saint would celebrate that saint's feast day, but instead they do it collectively as the name day of a certain family and/or clan. Serbs usually regard the Slava as their most significant and most solemn feast day. The tradition of the Slava is also very well preserved among the Serbian diaspora on all 5 continents.)

Serbian “Slava”, celebration of family saint patron’s day Inscribed in 2014 (9.COM) on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

December 9th, 2014, JPM Law Office present jointly with the BSBA and the Serbian Arbitration Association, the Belgrade Arbitration Center . ‘A more efficient way towards dispute resolutions in Serbia’

Litigation is often the worst case scenario when trying to solve disputes, involving costly, lengthy and often inefficient legal procedures. With the establishment of the first non-state arbitration center in Serbia, the Belgrade Arbitration Center or BAC aims to provide a superior dispute environment for settlement in both domestic and cross border litigation. With techniques such as telephone or video conferencing, procedures can be speeded up. Furthermore, a resulting decision of the arbitral tribunal is not only fully equal to the final judgment of a Serbian court, but is also easier to enforce worldwide than a court decision. Prof. Dr Vladimir Pavić , University of Belgrade Faculty of Law and

BAC Board Vice-president, Djordje Novcic, Partner at JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic Law Office and Milan Lazic, Partner at Karanovic Nikolic Law Office will explain how the BAC arbitration offers a more efficient solution for cooperation between companies and their out-of-house lawyer. The seminar was open to all BSBA members as well as members of the Nordic Business Alliance, the Slovenian Business Club, the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Camera di Commercio Italo-Serba and the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie France Serbie.

2014 issue 3-4

‘A more efficient way

towards dispute

resolutions in Serbia’

Caption describing picture or graphic.

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Business Address

Beogradska 4

11000 Belgrade

Serbia

Chairman

h.vanveghel@bsbiz.eu

Business Relations Manager

g.delva@bsbiz.eu

BSBA/BSPA

Quarterly distributed electronically Redaction Gilberte Delva

Hugo van Veghel

Responsible editor Hugo van Veghel

PLANNED UPCOMING EVENTS

January General Assembly and New Years drink February Presentation: EBRD and the SME initiative March Presentation: Serbia and the EU integration April Presentation: EU funds and the private sector We are open for company visits with our members... Show us your business ! Download your business registration form for the directory from our web site http://bsbiz.eu/?p=1851 For more information on these upcoming events, please contact Gilberte

Delva, Business Relations Manager of the BSBA at g.delva@bsbiz.eu

The BSBA LinkedIn discussion and information open group is counting already 446 followers and not only from Serbia and Belgium. We are looking forward to meet you also there... http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=4439388&trk=anet_ug_hm