Stephen Wordsworth

Red Dragons in Smederevo

2009-10-26T08:51:22+00:00

The Welsh Rugby League team came to Smederevo to play against Serbia on 25 October, in the second round of the European Cup. I was born and grew up in Wales, and played rugby when I was young, so naturally I was keen to see the game. It was good to see the Welsh flag, with its red dragon, flying alongside the Serbian flag over the stadium. Smederevo Mayor Predrag Umićević also came to enjoy the game. Rugby League is still a growing sport in Serbia; the Welsh team are all full-time professionals, while most of the Serbian team are not, so it was no surprise that Wales won. But it was the enthusiasm of the Serbian team that stood out, together with the encouragement they are getting from other Rugby League nations and teams. One of the Serbian team members plays professionally for an English team, Whitehaven in Cumbria, in North West England, and so Whitehaven have loaned Serbia a trainer and a physiotherapist to help them prepare for the contest. A former international player from New Zealand is also working with the Serbian team; and there are players from England and Australia playing for Serbia because they have Serbian parents or grandparents.

The Rugby League authorities want more countries to play; they need 40 countries to play for the game to be fully recognised internationally. At the moment, Serbia is leading the way as the only country in the Balkans to play, so everyone wants to help the game grow here and spread in time to other countries in the region. The Serbian team goes to Wales in two weeks' time, to play against Italy. Whatever the result, the real benefit for the Serbian side is the international practice they are getting. If the game goes on growing, Serbia could be a real force in Rugby League in a few years' time.

Pale blues in Serbia

2009-10-24T14:12:42+01:00

On 22 October I hosted a reception to mark the 800th anniversary of Cambridge University. Serbia ‘s existing Cambridge University alumni group was the ‘core’ of the evening, but we also invited some of our other Chevening scholars and (in view of the work we are doing this year to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, also a ‘Cambridge man’), some representatives of the Faculty of Biology of Belgrade University.

To make it a bit more than ‘just another reception’, we began with a panel discussion on ‘British-Serbia Relations, Past, Present, Future’, with one of Serbia’s Cambridge graduates as Moderator. The questions from the audience afterwards focused on Serbia’s EU integration, and the possible links between that and NATO membership and the ‘Euro-Atlantic security area’ ideas floated by Russia’s President Medvedev during his visit to Belgrade earlier in the week. Several journalists asked for interviews afterwards, to go into some of the points in more detail.

Our star guest for the reception that followed was Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic, who studied physics at Queen’s College, Cambridge, and spoke warmly of his time there. We presented him with a Cambridge University sweatshirt as a souvenir of the evening. We were also delighted that Serbia's Education Minister, Zarko Obradovic, was able to attend.

This showed that, as in many countries, Cambridge still plays an important role here, not only for the academic training it provides to those fortunate enough to be able to study there, but also through its English language examination process and its textbooks. The language exams give many foreign students of English an essential qualification for their future working lives, and a representative of the exam system (Cambridge ESOL) was there, as was a representative of Cambridge University Press. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening, reminiscing a bit about their times as a student, but mostly debating recent events and, as people do on such occasions, putting the world to rights.

Respect for the past and great ideas for the future

2009-10-16T21:23:53+01:00

I visited Vranje on 14/15 October with my Swedish colleague, as part of our 'Outreach' programme - a series of visits by EU Ambassadors in Belgrade to other cities in Serbia. We usually meet local political leaders, media representatives and businesspeople, and visit schools. The purpose of the trips is to talk to local people about the issues that interest them, to listen to their views and to learn from them, and to give them an opportunity to ask us in return any questions they want about the EU, and about our governments' policies towards this region and towards Serbia in particular.

Mayor Stojicic was very generous with his time, and explained in detail the challenges he is facing, in a city where several of the main industries have closed down (an important exception is the British American Tobacco factory, the UK's biggest single investment in Serbia). He explained what he is doing to overcome the difficulties he is facing and to attract new investment, with a clear focus in particular on environmental issues. My Swedish colleague and I agreed on the importance of this. Cleaning up the environment is central to the task of encouraging new investment, particularly in the area of tourism where Serbia has so much to offer. It's also an important part of the EU integration process. As my Swedish colleague pointed out, some 40 per cent of the existing EU laws and regulations which new members are expected to adopt relate to the environment.

We also visited 'Bora Stankovic' school, and met a group of around 20 students and their teachers. The students had worked hard to prepare for the meeting, with each student making a short speech, in excellent English, about what most concerned them. Many of the presentations were about the environment, and the students clearly (and rightly) felt very strongly about the subject. Their pride in their country and its natural beauty came through clearly. On European issues, it was encouraging how many of them approached the subject on the basis of trying to set out what Serbia could offer the EU, rather than, as so often, the other way around. The answer, of course, is 'a lot' - well-educated people, a functioning administration, important cultural and scientific achievements, a central geographical location in the region and a lot of development potential. But it was also striking how several of them talked about 'Serbia' and 'Europe' as though these were two quite different places. As I said to them, Serbia is already part of 'Europe' - Serbia was Chairman of the Council of Europe in 2007, successfully hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, belongs to many European cultural, sporting, scientific and commercial organisations, and stands on the threshold of an agreement which will allow Serbian citizens to travel without visas throughout most of Europe. I understand that the EU integration process can seem frustratingly slow at times, but the important point I tried to get across to the students is that, whether the integration process takes Serbia five years or a bit longer, they will spend by far the greatest part of their lives as citizens of the EU. And from what I saw and heard, they will be a credit to their country, and to the Union.

While in Vranje, I also took the opportunity to lay a wreath at the monument to the doctors and nurses of the Scottish medical mission, who came to Vranje in 1915 to care for wounded Serbian soldiers during the typhus outbreak that year. Mission members also worked in Kragujevac, Mladenovac and in other locations around Serbia. Sadly, some of them lost their own lives to typhus. Their sacrifice is still remembered by local people, even after so many years. Every year I have been invited to commemorative ceremonies, including in Mladenovac last week, where I was honoured to be asked to open a new public hall which has been named after the leader of the medical team there at that time, Dr Elsie Inglis. In Vranje, many of the doctors, nurses and other staff of the local hospital turned out to pay their respects to their medical colleagues of 1915.

The EU grew out of the recognition of leading Western European countries after the Second World War that a new framework was needed, to prevent Europe from being destroyed again. It has, of course, since become much more than that - a whole new way for European countries to support each other, work together, and build a better future. In Vranje - as, I am sure, in many other places across Serbia - the local people seem to have managed to keep alive a sense of respect for the past, while combining this with some very positive ideas about their future in Europe.

Completing the circle

2009-10-12T15:34:13+01:00

Today we are hosting an entry written by Nick Groves, Head of the Embassy Commercial Section.

As with the UK, Serbia spends a lot of time and effort in trying to attract foreign businesses to set up their operations here. It has often been pointed out to me that British investors in Serbia are notable by their small number. In these tough economic times, it was a fair bet that the situation wouldn't change. So it was a happy task for me last week to travel down to Ljubovija on the Bosnian border to attend the opening ceremony of the Veliki Majdan mine.

Veliki Majdan is a formerly state-owned lead and zinc mine nestled in the hills above the beautiful Drina river, which separates Serbia from Bosnia. In recent times, it had fallen on hard times and had been put into liquidation, meaning that the mine had not functioned for the past several years. Three years ago, the UK-based company Mineco Ltd, bought the majority share of the mine and set about restoring it to a workable state. The first year alone was spent pumping water from the many flooded levels. The company then had to repair collapsed tunnels and replace damaged or missing equipment. Finally, after investing over €3 million, the mine is back in production.

All this is good news for Ljubovija. With over 200 employees, Veliki Majdan is the largest employer in the area. Although only in the initial stages, the mine produces 4500 tonnes of ore each month, which already matches its former level of production. And with the product being exported for use in the automotive industry, the re-opening of the mine is also good news for the wider Serbian economy.

Interestingly, the new ownership of Mineco Ltd brings the mine full circle. It was the British who first exploited Veliki Majdan at the end of the nineteenth century. The cobbled road they built from the river to the mine is still in use. I wish the new owners and the workers of Veliki Majdan every success in the future.

Good news for Serbia’s EU integration process

2009-10-05T09:00:26+01:00

On Friday 2 October I signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the British and Serbian Governments, under which Britain's Department of International Development (DFID) will fund a programme of assistance to help strengthen the coordination capacity of the Serbian Government's General Secretariat (the cost of the programme is around 700,000 euros). Ms Tamara Stojcevic, General Secretary, signed for Serbia. Prime Minister Cvetkovic and a Director of DFID from London were also there; both made short speeches, welcoming the agreement and looking forward to the implementation of the programme.

It all sounds a bit dull, but the ability to coordinate the Government's work effectively is absolutely essential for EU integration, as much of the preparation work for EU membership is very complex and covers all the different areas of Government activity.

Then on 3 October we got the good news that the voters of Ireland had voted in favour of the Lisbon Treaty in their referendum, which removes one important obstacle and brings the day closer when that treaty will come into effect. This is good news for countries like Serbia, as a further rejection would inevitably have caused a lot of confusion in the EU.

Now we need to find a way to help Serbia move forward with its own integration process. I have said before that we feel that Serbia has shown real determination to resolve the issue of cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, and that the EU should recognise this by moving forward now with the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement that was signed last year.

Sad and Strange

2009-09-21T08:41:12+01:00

Like other EU Embassies here in Belgrade, the British Embassy had publicly supported the holding of this year’s Gay Pride parade. In the words of the Swedish EU Presidency, which we put on our website too, “Any discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity must be condemned and rejected as being incompatible with the basic principles and values on which the EU is founded: equal opportunities and human rights. Every individual is entitled to the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without distinction of any kind. It is the very essence of European values.”

So, like many others, I was disappointed to hear that the Parade had been cancelled. Those people who had wanted to demonstrate peacefully had lost. Those who were prepared to use all means to stop them had won. In the words of my Swedish colleague, it was a sad and strange day.

But I can’t say that I was surprised. In the days before the planned parade, there had been widespread talk of violence. Graffiti on the walls called for ‘death to pederasts’. The extreme right re-circulated the old lie that homosexuals are a threat to children (in reality, most serious sex crimes involving children are by adult males against girls). In the days before the Parade, some senior politicians publicly said that they would prefer it not to take place. The Acting Head of the Orthodox Church spoke of „the parade of shame, parade of Sodoma and Gomorra”, a parade of those “who chose the path of obliviousness and death instead of path of life”. And in conversations with a number of people, I had come across a common view that the parade should not happen, that holding it would be ’undemocratic’, as the majority did not want it – as though democracy gave the majority the right simply to suppress the views of the minority.

Across western Europe, all our societies have been through the difficult process of facing up to, and trying to overcome, long-established prejudices. Homosexuality seems to many people to be a fundamental challenge to our image of a ’conventional’ family – so somehow it is ’abnormal’, even ’wrong’. But research into human sexuality has shown that, while we still do not understand everything, our basic sexual orientation – whether we are heterosexual or homosexual – is not a matter of choice, but something we are born with. So the only real choice, for the gay person, is whether they live their lives openly and honestly, and hope to find happiness with a loving partner; or whether they try to deny their real feelings, and struggle to live a lie. For such people a Pride Parade is a way of standing up in front of others, and saying, ’This is what I am, accept me’. It may make other people feel uncomfortable, but that is only a measure of the prejudice that we feel, that we all still have in our societies. The choice for those who are not gay is whether they are willing, in turn, to accept gay people as equal citizens, or will go on trying to force them to deny their real personalities and live their lives in the shadows. This time, clearly, Belgrade wasn’t ready. Maybe next time, it will be.

Working tempo picking up

2009-09-17T15:15:12+01:00

The work tempo is starting to pick up again after the summer break, with people now back at their desks.

At the beginning of this month I hosted our annual reception for all the people from Serbia who have studied in the UK under our 'Chevening' scholarship scheme. It was a chance to see some old friends, and to send on their way the latest group of young scholars who are just about to begin their studies in the UK - at prestigious institutions such as the London School of Economics, Oxford University and others. This year we have been able - despite the global economic crisis - to increase the number of scholarships we are offering - fourteen in all. We are just starting the search for good candidates for next year, with plans to present our programme at various universities around Serbia.

We have a wide range of other activities planned for the autumn. My Defence Attaché will blog separately on the successful visit here by one of our Defence Ministers (and two Hawk training aircraft) for the 14 September Air Show in Belgrade. We look forward to Serbia playing a bigger role in international military cooperation, including in the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace. Serbia has a strong military tradition, and lots to offer. But clearly it’s up to the Serbian government to decide on the pace and extent of its international engagement.

On 16 September, I spoke at the annual Summer School for Democracy, on the theme of regional cooperation and EU integration. Afterwards a journalist asked me if I thought it was right for Serbia to submit its formal application for EU candidate status by the end of this year, whether or not the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) had come into force by then. Several Serbian Ministers have recently said that Serbia will do so. I had to say that we didn't think that would work. While we fully support Serbia's goal of EU membership, and can understand Serbia's frustration at the delay, if the SAA is still blocked in December any candidate membership application would just be blocked too. We really can't see any alternative to going step by step. In the meantime, Serbia needs to go on doing all it can to get the best possible report from the International Criminal Tribunal (ICTY) when the Chief Prosecutor visits Belgrade again in November. That's the way to unblock things. This comment got into most of the press - naturally, because it's an important issue. So there's lots to do here this autumn.

Serbian-speaking readers might want to know that the Embassy is now also blogging on B92 - we hope you will join us there. We are getting a lot of comments already, which is opening up some good discussions.

Help us to make our blogs better

2009-09-01T19:34:23+01:00

A request from the FCO blogs team: tell us what you think about our blogs so that we can improve them.

We want to know what you like and dislike about our blogs, what you’d like to see our bloggers writing about, and how you feel about the style of our articles.

To get your feedback we’ve created a short survey. It should only take a few minutes to complete and it will really help us to understand your thoughts and feelings.

Please help us to make this blog better and take the survey.

FCO blogs team

The Battle of Cer - 95th Anniversary

2009-08-24T13:27:08+01:00

Today we are hosting an entry written by Bill Longhurst, Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Belgrade.

I represented the UK on 23rd August to lay a wreath at the 95th Anniversary of the Battle of Cer – one of the first major battles of the First World War and the first significant victory for Allied forces as Serbia defeated the invading Austro-Hungarian forces. The participating nations were invited, Serbia and present-day Austria, Hungary, Czech and Slovak Republics, as were Serbia’s WW1 allies.

Although Serbia is rightly proud of this key achievement, the ceremony paid due respect to the 36,000 troops from both sides who perished. It brought to my mind the death last month of Harry Patch, the last British army veteran of World War I. As the events of World War I pass from living memory, it will be left to the history books, and events such as these, to ensure we never forget the terrible loss and sacrifice that war entails, nor to take peace and freedom for granted.

Rugby League in Serbia

2009-08-24T13:19:57+01:00

Today we are hosting an entry written by Bill Longhurst, Deputy Head of Missionin the British Embassy in Belgrade.

The European Rugby league championships were held last week in Belgrade and I was invited to attend the matches and present the winners with their trophies: England, France and Wales contested the Championship itself, and Serbia, Scotland and a mixed team called European Celts (made up of Irish, Czechs, Russians and some others) fought over the European shield for emerging Rugby League countries.

All the matches were held in scorching weather conditions (by UK standards) at the small sports stadium on “Ada Ciganlija”, an island in the Sava river which is covered in lakes, cycle tracks, sports fields and clubs/ restaurants. Anyone expecting a leisurely kick-around by school youngsters would have been quite surprised. The average size of the players looked pretty intimidating to me, as did the ferocity and sheer physicality of the tackling.

The speed, skill and energy levels, especially with the temperature in the high 30s, were very impressive – not surprising considering that several of the players from the top three countries have already been signed up by professional clubs at home.

England (with the current England senior team coach and former international Tony Smith in charge) met France in the final on Saturday after both teams had defeated the Welsh in hard-fought matches earlier in the week.

What looked like it was heading for a comfortable victory for England mid way through the second half, suddenly turned more tense as the French hit back with a converted try. Finally, though, the English kicked a penalty goal to restore a two-score lead of 8 points and held on to clinch the match 22-14.

In the European shield final match between Scotland and Serbia, it was a similar story with Scotland, complete with piper accompaniment from the touchline throughout the match, controlling the game but then having to survive a late fight-back by the Serbs. In the end, Scotland held on to win 26-16 and took the Shield.

All in all, a good week for British teams in Serbia, but just as good a week for the development of Rugby League outside its current heartlands. Serbia, Russia and Czech Republic are all target countries for this and judging by the Serbian crowd’s enthusiastic reaction, they are on to a winner. Credit goes to the Serbian Rugby League’s tireless organiser, Jovan Vujosevic for making the tournament happen.

Trumpets in Guča, and Beer in Belgrade

2009-08-15T08:02:35+01:00

Today we are hosting an entry written by Bill Longhurst, Charges d'Affaires in the British Embassy in Belgrade.

Life is rarely dull in Serbia. Even in August when the capital seems to calm down, the streets are much clearer of traffic and the newspapers are obviously struggling to find interesting headlines, there are major events going on.

Successive weekends saw me visit two very different festivals, proving that there are still plenty of people around who have not fled to a beach or other getaway.

“Guča” is shorthand for the SABOR TRUBAČA GUČA - translation Guča Festival of Trumpeters. For four days, a small town slap bang in the centre of Serbia (a beautiful but testing 3 hour drive from Belgrade) is overrun with visitors and fans of this very Serbian musical tradition.

Down there last Saturday, I saw technically brilliant trumpet bands perform astonishingly high-paced, high-volume music while smaller groups of players wander around the streets and restaurants busking their own similar brand of music.

All this is accompanied by exceptionally large amounts of beer being served alongside spit-roasts of lamb and suckling pig on every corner.

Despite the heavy drinking and merry-making, the only danger I witnessed was to the poor statue of the Guča trumpeter in the centre of town up which had climbed what looked like two dozen young men armed with kegs of beer, happily setting off flares.

Although it is unquestionably a very Serbian experience, it also somehow manages to have an international feel. Visiting bands from a number of countries were taking part, including FYR Macedonia, Slovenia and even a marine band from the USA, although not yet from Britain. We have our own very rich tradition of brass bands and the Mayor of Guča, rightly proud of another successful event with over 600,000 visitors, promised to invite a British participant next time around. 2010 will be the 50th anniversary of the festival and they are setting their sights high on VIP attendance: Presidents Obama and Medvedev.

Back to Belgrade this week, to the Belgrade Beer Fest on the “Ušće” an enormous park in the centre of town at the confluence of the Sava and the Danube. Some parallels with Guča – mainly the volume of beer being consumed - but very different music.

A campaign theme of this year’s event, supported by the British Embassy, is environmental protection, specifically the “I choose to recycle” campaign. Raising awareness of both the environmental, but also economic, benefits of recycling is not what you would immediately associate with a drinking event, but the sight of several participants carrying bags with empty beer cans (recycle 15 and you get a free beer!) suggested it was making progress.

Guca recycling

Beer Fest recycling

This is just the first in a series of environmentally themed activities we are planning this Autumn. Keep an eye on this blog for further promotion of our green agenda through music, sports (London 2012) and "fashion" (Eko-Diplomatija).

Welsh Scouts on the Danube

2009-08-05T09:15:26+01:00

Today we are hosting an entry written by Bill Longhurst, Deputy Head of Mission.

For the past few years there have been regular visits to Serbia by some Welsh Scout troops for camping with their Serbian counterparts. The latest visit started last Friday when scouts from two troops (Caerphilly and West Wales) took a 19 hour journey from Wales via Sofia (better served by low-cost airlines than Belgrade…) to the most easterly region of Serbia on the Danube.

Having met many of the same friends before when they camped with local scout troops near Sremska Mitrovica last year, this seemed the perfect opportunity to put into action a vague plan I have had since arriving here two years ago to visit this less-explored part of Serbia. So after packing my family into our car on Saturday morning, we set off along the Danube for the three hour drive from Belgrade to Kladovo, passing Golubac castle mid-route.

Archeology students could spend many happy hours digging in this region. Remains of stone-age, Roman, Hungarian and Turkish settlements and fortifications can be found here. We were particularly impressed, unexpectedly, by the remains of the Roman fort, “Diana”. The site has no real entrance and can be found off a rough track off the main road just east of the main Djerdap hydro-electric dam outside Kladovo with no obvious signpost. This fact, and the few grainy photos of the ruins I’d seen in some tourist literature, had led me to expect a few shapeless stones overgrown with weeds. But the reality is an impressive array of walls, arches, tiled areas, and even raised floors revealing the underfloor heating ducts, all against the spectacular backdrop of the Danube and the imposing dam. Equally as important historically are the remaining pillars of a now ruined Roman bridge built by the emperor Trajan across the Danube further east from Kladovo, which is said to have been the longest bridge in the world for more than a thousand years.

South from Kladovo the road follows the Danube as it winds its way along, forming the border between Serbia and Romania and, further down, with Bulgaria. Just 20km from Kladovo is the small town of Brza Palanka where the scouts were making camp right on the riverbank with their counterparts from Nis. The ties between Welsh and Serbian scouts have been growing steadily over the past few years and have inspired contacts in other fields such as that between fire brigades in Wales and Sremska Mitrovica.

It is not hard to see why the Welsh scouts return regularly to Serbia: great camping weather, strong friendships between the troops and a host of outdoor activities on offer. For this trip they had planned hikes, camping by caves, by monasteries and cruising through the Iron Gates gorge on the Danube as well as water sports by the camp. I was told that the water quality of the Danube between the two Djerdap dams is in fact very good and is perfect for swimming with none of the strong currents you would normally expect in a river that size. The Nis scout leader presented me with a ceremonial Roman coin from the region – a reminder that no fewer than three Roman emperors were born in modern-day Nis.

My only regret is that I had just a weekend there rather than the much longer time needed to visit other local towns like Negotin or sample some of the local wine in the vineyards of the region. But I will be back there at some point, and it is very likely the Welsh scouts will be back in Fruska Gora in 2011 to help the Serbian Scout movement celebrate its centenary.

EXIT 09

2009-07-16T14:36:17+01:00

On 9 July I went back to Novi Sad for the opening of the EXIT Festival. We gathered on the terrace of the Petrovaradin Fortress, enjoying the fantastic view across the Danube to Novi Sad, as the Mayor, Igor Pavličić, and EXIT general manager, Bojan Bošković, both made short speeches of welcome. Then we walked around the venue together, sampling the range of different musical styles of offer. The fortress is in many ways a fantastic venue, with thick walls providing good sound insulation, so the different stages can be quite close together and work at the same time, without creating musical confusion. The crowds were peaceful, with lots of young people clearly set on having the first of several great musical nights. We visited the main stage for a while, and watched a British rapper, Roots Manuva, and his band. To be honest it's not what I would normally listen to, but he got a great reception from the crowd. Meanwhile our Embassy consular team had set up their stand at the Festival camp site, and were starting to provide a range of assistance to the roughly 4,500 Brits who were camping there - providing information, and helping resolve various problems including some suspected cases of swine flu and other medical issues.

Then in the early hours of 11 July we got the tragic news that a young British visitor to the Festival had been killed in an accidental fall. The consular team in London were in touch with the family, and our team at the camp site worked with the local authorities and with the friends of the young man to establish what had happened and how. Naturally the friends decided not to stay at the Festival, and our consular team and the organisers worked hard to help them return to the UK that afternoon. For the young man's friends, it was a very distressing end to something that had started so well, and it left our team deeply saddened too; but they did their jobs professionally and saw the group to the airport and onto their planes.

The rest of the Festival passed without serious incident, and most Festival goers seem to have had a great time. The Festival itself ended early on Monday 13 July, but the camp site stayed open until Wednesday 15 July, allowing people to disperse slowly. As always, a small number of people were detained for possession of drugs, having ignored all the advice that we and others had been giving out. They ended up in court, and were fined. And for the past few days we have been processing cases of missing passports, in some cases re-uniting people who thought they had lost them with their passports that had been found and turned in by others, in other cases issuing emergency passports to get people back to the UK.

So that's it for another year. But for many of us the abiding memory of this EXIT will be of a young man's tragic death. Our thoughts are with his family.

Counting down to EXIT 09...

2009-07-08T08:30:26+01:00

I went to Novi Sad on 7 July, to hand over a patrol vehicle to the head of the local police. We are just coming up to the annual EXIT rock festival in Novi Sad, and this year, as for the last two years, we are expecting about 9000 Brits to turn up. They arrive in various ways, some by air via Belgrade or Budapest, others by bus, train or car: many will spend four or more nights camping at a special festival camp site. Altogether, some 100,000 people will attend over the whole period of the festival, but visitors from the UK make up the largest single foreign contingent. Many of the guest bands are British too.

Naturally, this great influx of visitors imposes a considerable burden on the local administration, the police in particular, and over the last few years we have worked very closely with them in the run-up to each year's festival. This year, we arranged for two Novi Sad police officers to visit the Glastonbury festival, so they could see how the Somerset police manage things, and when we asked what else they needed, they said some support with vehicles. Which is why I handed over the keys to a new Skoda (the same make as their existing cars) this morning. It will help them patrol the event better, and when that's over they will assign it permanently to the 'foreign visitors' section of the police car pool, so it will go on helping them to support the growing number of tourists who come to Novi Sad.

After that I went with the Mayor and police chief to look at the camp site, where many Brits have already arrived. The site is new this year: last year one visitor from Macedonia was killed when a branch fell from a tree at the well-wooded site, and so they had to find somewhere new, and safe. The first idea was to place the camp by the river, but the Danube is very high this year and that site flooded. So the plans changed again, and another site was found, at an old army barracks within the Petrovaradin fortress itself (the festival site). Everything had to be got ready at top speed, but they managed it, and the first arrivals seemed very happy with what they found.

EXIT opens on Thursday; we will have an Embassy team on hand, to help with any consular problems. Let's hope there aren't any serious issues to deal with, and they can just enjoy the music too!

Universiade spirit... or not

2009-07-02T07:44:05+01:00

The World University Games, or Universiade, opened in Belgrade this week, bringing thousands of athletes and officials from 145 countries to Serbia. On Monday 29 June we organised a garden party to welcome the British team and officials, and some team members from other countries too. We also hosted many Serbian guests, of course, including a group of school pupils from the Rade Drainac school who are supporting the UK team during their stay here. With entertainment from the 'Orthodox Celts' - a local band that plays Irish music - it was a very international occasion. All the weather forecasts had said it would rain, but they were wrong as usual, and everybody seemed to have a good time. I was enormously impressed by the enthusiasm of the young UK visitors, none of whom (as far as I could find out) had been to Serbia before, who were all looking forward to their competitions. They all seemed very happy with their accommodation, and with the welcome they had received.

On 1 July I went to the opening ceremony at the Belgrade Arena. The flags were paraded in one by one to loud cheers and everything seemed to be going well until the flag of the USA appeared. Then, unfortunately, a large section of the crowd to my left began booing loudly, and there were further boos, though less loudly, when the Croatian flag appeared a few minutes later. This must have been very hurtful to the young US and Croatian athletes present, who had worked so hard to get to the competition. It also left all the references to 'sportsmanship' and 'fair play' in the pre-scripted speeches that followed sounding very hollow. After the speeches there was an entertainment programme. The young people must have rehearsed hard, but I no longer felt like celebrating and left before the end.

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

Were we cycling the joint European future of the region?

2009-06-29T14:51:30+01:00

Today we are hosting an entry written by Vladan Avramovic, member of our Projects team, and a 'Danube by Bike' tour participant.

A team of staff from the British Embassies in Budapest, Zagreb and Belgrade joined in the 'Danube by Bike' Tour. Altogether, four hundred people cycled the length of the Danube river in Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania last week. It was an opportunity to bring together people from all over Europe - EU member states, Western Balkan countries and Turkey - to encourage integration and dialogue, whilst raising awareness of the rich cultural heritage of Southeast Europe.

The British Embassy Team cycled from Budapest in Hungary, through Osijek and Vukovar in Croatia and on to Novi Sad and Belgrade in Serbia. The tour left the participants with a sense of pride, and a number of new friends. We were only cycling – but we feel we contributed a little to the European future of the region.

Serbia leg of the tour

The Serbia leg of the tour started on Saturday 27 June in Novi Sad and took the group to Sremski Karlovci where it boarded the tourist train, “Nostalgia”. Several keen cycling enthusiasts carried on to Slankamen where they were rewarded with what is claimed to be the best fish soup on Danube. The British Embassy Cycling Team agrees!

The day ended with an astonishing group ride through Belgrade which brought together more that 500 cyclists. It was a celebration of the European diversity and environmental consciousness, and for local, sometimes not very cyclist-friendly, car drivers, a unique opportunity to get the feeling of being an oppressed minority. It might help a few of them to respect cyclists' rights better in the future!

We posted news, views, photos and videos on the following Tumblr site throughout the tour, from its start in Budapest on Tuesday 23 June to the grand finale in Belgrade on the evening of Saturday 27 June: http://danubebybike.tumblr.com/. There is more about the tour on: http://danubebybike.eu/home.html and on the Embassy FlickR pages.

The Armed Forces Day in Belgrade

2009-06-27T08:33:15+01:00

Today we are hosting a blog by Colonel Nigel Fenn, the Defence Attache of the British Embassy in Belgrade, written on the occasion of the first UK Armed Forces Day.

The British Embassy in Belgrade marked the first United Kingdom's Armed Forces Day by raising a commemorative flag outside the Embassy on Thursday, 25 June. Britain's Armed Forces day will take place on Saturday 27th June and will be marked by events all over the UK. The commemorative flag will fly at councils, businesses and homes as well as UK Armed Forces bases all over the world. In recognition of this event the British Embassy in Belgrade is proud to support the event.

Armed Forces Day was created as part of the British Government's initiative to recognise better the contribution made to society by all those who serve and have served in the British Armed Forces. It is part of a wider campaign to raise public awareness, understanding and support for the Armed Forces.

The title “Armed Forces Day” has been chosen to reflect the wider Armed Forces Family of serving personnel (both regular and reserve), veterans and the cadet forces. This sense of inclusiveness is reflected in the strap line for the Day: “Honouring Britain’s Armed Forces, past, present and future”. However, this does not mean that we do not also honour those allies that have fought alongside British Forces in the past; Serbia and the UK have a long tradition for cooperation through two world wars and I hope that we can continue to cooperate for many years to come.

This Armed Forces Day allows us to remember and honour not only those in past but the present and equally the future. We must all work together towards a more secure and peaceful future.

EXIT Festival 09 - stay safe and enjoy!

2009-06-26T18:33:18+01:00

Today we are hosting an entry written by Ian Craig, member of our Consular team that will be in Novi Sad during the EXIT Festival, 9-12 July, to assist British visitors in case of emergency.

Although there has been an Embassy presence at EXIT for many years in 2008 the British Embassy set up an help and information stand at the EXIT campsite. This year we will doing the same and myself and other colleagues will be there from 10 until 5 everyday of the festival, we also be on call 24 hours a day on special designated numbers which you can find on our Embassy site and on this blog. The site and blog will also tell you what we can and cannot do for you.

EXIT is one of the best and most enjoyable festivals in the world and even people of my age can have a flashback to long gone days of jumping around to Eton Rifles (Paul Weller 2008) and this year getting those too tight Fred Perry T-shirts out for some Nutty Boy mayem from Madness. EXIT is also a great showcase for Serbia and the majority of people leave with nothing but good impressions of the country, as is shown by the many who return year after year.

Enjoy EXIT, keep safe, drink lots of water, slap on the suncream as it will be hot and sunny and hopefully we won't see you for anything more than a chat.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

2009-06-17T18:10:52+01:00

We celebrated the Queen's official birthday in Belgrade on 16 June, with our traditional garden party. Having spent the previous week worrying about possible rain, in the end the afternoon was the hottest on record so far this year, and our concern was more that some people might wilt in the heat. We had almost 900 guests, from every area of Serbia's public life - Government Ministers, mayors, other officials, business people, the local leaders of the main religious groups, journalists, cultural figures, NGO representatives, other diplomats - all the people we work with during the year. In our 40 minutes on the receiving line, my wife and I shook (or so I am told) some 700 hands, before we passed on the hand-shaking task to my Deputy and his wife, and got free to circulate. The press were out in force, and I explained to them, as I do every year, why our Queen has an official birthday - it goes back to King Edward VII, whose real birthday was in November but who liked parades, so an 'official' birthday in June was the obvious only answer.

I also explained that we see this annual event as our chance to say a big thank you to all our friends in Serbia - we are building ever closer cooperation in many areas, not just on big issues such as Serbia's EU integration process, but also many smaller but important things that most people don't know about (though if you read this blog regularly, you will know about many of them by now). As the sun went down, it got a little cooler, and as the waiters bustled around with their trays, people relaxed. We ended with both national anthems, and everyone seemed to drift off happily. Job done, until next year!

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

Valleys, caves and monasteries

2009-06-15T15:51:46+01:00

On 13 June, Culture Minister Bradic organised a tour for members of the diplomatic corps to eastern Serbia - Senjski Rudnik, the Resavska Cave and the Ravanica and Manasija monasteries. The main business was to announce, in Senjski Rudnik, the launch of a project to assist in the transformation of this small coal-mining village into an 'eco-museum' and regional cultural centre. The coal is all but exhausted, and there is no other industry in the area, but the region has a long and fascinating history, going back to the beginning of Serbia's industrialisation. The museum project, which is expected to get support from the European Commission and the Council of Europe, will help open up this past to future visitors, and provide future generations in the village with a secure livelihood.

The two monasteries we saw nearby are well-known in Serbia, but almost unknown outside - I, at least, had never seen a photograph of either of them, or realised how beautiful they are. Manasija in particular, with its strong walls still standing, is a very interesting place to visit. And Resavska cave nearby must be one of the most impressive cave systems in Europe, but again seems to be largely unknown outside Serbia's borders. All these sights are set in beautiful wooded valleys, which were looking at their best at this time of year.

Travelling around the area, I was struck by the many similarities between eastern Serbia and my home region of South Wales. There too we have beautiful scenery; an old mining village converted into a modern tourist attraction, at "Big Pit" a beautiful network of underground caves, at Dan-yr-Ogof; and monasteries, at Neath and Margam (though in our case they are ruins, thanks to King Henry VIII). And just as, if you go a little further in eastern Serbia, you can get to the medieval castle of Golubac, or the Roman remains at Felix Romuliana, South Wales has castles such as Raglan, or Roman remains at Caerleon. The two areas have a lot in common, but in Wales tourism is much more developed, and has created a lot of jobs. Maybe I need to think how we can get some Serbian officials responsible for tourism development to go across to South Wales, to see what ideas they can pick up there.

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

(Cricket) History making

2009-06-10T13:56:35+01:00

Today I will host a blog entry written by Alex Ingram, Third Secretary of the British Embassy in Belgrade.

On Friday, June 5, 2009 , three of our Embassy staff members - who have supported the local Belgrade Cricket Association since its start - took part in possibly the first ever cricket match in Serbia (does anyone out there know better?), in the village of Karlovcic, 30 kilometers west of Belgrade. The Belgrade side fielded a mainly Serbian team, with support from British, Indian and Pakistani players. They faced a touring side from North Wales, 'Carmel & District Cricket Club'. The Welsh club had played, or were due to play, sides in Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Macedonia during their tour of South East Europe.

The locals had done a good job with the pitch, and the visiting team were given a fantastic welcome - even down to the enthusiastic autograph-hunters! Also, the weather had taken a turn for the better, and instead of the torrential rain of the previous week, we were lucky enough to have a perfect day for cricket.

The UK team batted first, and managed to score 172 runs. This left an attainable target for the Belgrade side to aim for. After lunch they went into bat, and managed to put together a respectable 107 all out. This 65-run loss was by no means a failure, and it was testament to the work the Belgrade team had put in before the game that they had put up such a good fight against the more experienced team.

As well as being an important day for the Belgrade Cricket Association, it was also a very enjoyable day out. There were opportunities to enjoy some Serbian hospitality (rakija included!), and hopefully a few people were inspired to pick up a bat themselves. The Belgrade Cricket Association have made great progress so far, and have big plans for the future. Have a look at their website for more information on the BCA, and the game of cricket itself, and for contact details. The BCC are happy to answer any questions, and always keen to welcome new players to the weekly training sessions. It's informal and fun, and as demonstrated here, there is clearly potential for those who wish to take it further.

How long before a Serbian national side takes to the field?

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

Nice to see you again!

2009-06-10T09:44:29+01:00

On Friday, 5 June, the Embassy opened its gates to a group of secondary school students from across Serbia who had made it to the finals of 'Hello Europe' Quiz, organised by RTS and the EC Delegation in Serbia.

Some of you probably wonder why a 18-year old would be interested in Embassy work in the first place. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of young people from the region, the only obvious link to diplomatic work is visa queuing.

Our aim this time was to give a brief and realistic impression of a wide range of the activities (political, development, commercial, project, culture etc.) undertaken by our Embassy in Serbia, and to try to explain not only what we do, but also why. Our guests were also introduced to the history of the Embassy building and some artifacts that testify to the diverse and lasting ties that have existed between the UK and Serbia for 172 years of diplomatic relations.

The Open Day invitation was also extended to three journalism students who attended an internship programme in the BBC last year, and to the winning 'Hello Europe' Quiz team from the time of the UK Presidency. Some members of this informal 'alumni' group admitted that they were pleasantly shocked with the invitation. For us, it was fantastic to get in touch again and see that just a couple of years on some of them are in position to do useful and exciting things, or are - for example - doing their studies in Warwick!

Not to make things too serious on a sunny Friday afternoon, we also arranged an informal social programme in the Embassy garden. All my colleagues who had the opportunity to participate in discussions with our guests were very impressed with quality of their spoken English, their general knowledge, and their keen interest in issues that go way beyond their local community. This leads me to conclude once again that Serbia - similar to other countries in the region - has a tremendous potential in its younger generation.

We are looking forward to similar occasions in the future, and to seeing where our quiz heroes move on to.

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

Down Sandzhak Way..

2009-06-02T09:18:05+01:00

On 27 May I had a series of meetings in Novi Pazar and Prijepolje, in the Sandzhak region of south-west Serbia. I saw the Mayors of both towns, other officials, and representatives of NGOs and the media. The scenery is beautiful, but the region has a lot of problems. Novi Pazar in particular was managed disastrously badly in the past, which has left the town in a desperate situation; and in both towns there is high unemployment and little if any recent investment. The region has also long had a serious problem with organised crime, lying as it does on the edge of Serbia, with borders to Kosovo, Bosnia and Montenegro.

The good news is that the two main communities in the region, Christian Serb and Moslem Bosniak, seem to get along quite well, but in recent days there have been tensions within the Islamic community, which is now divided between two rival religious leaders. The UK runs a number of projects in the region, working with the OSCE and other partners, aimed at improving local administration, strengthening the justice sector, and helping young people. But as I said to everyone there, outsiders can only do so much. Ultimately, the region's future depends on its leaders; and the most important thing now is for any disagreements to be resolved by calm dialogue, not stirred up further with heated rhetoric. That would only frighten outside investors away completely, and condemn the region to further years of hardship.

Young Lions

2009-06-01T08:24:34+01:00

On 26 May I was invited to the Pasuljanske Livade training ground, where officer cadets of the Military Academy performed a military exercise, called “Diplomac 2009” - a sort of demonstration of all they had learned. There were two parts to the exercise, the first a display of more traditional 'war-fighting' activity, with planes, helicopters and tanks blasting away at distant targets, the second a demonstration of 'peace-keeping' skills, with the cadets wearing blue helmets and UN flags flying.

I found the second part more fun to watch, as the soldiers showed how they would search cars at a check point (we were asked to note how, at a UN checkpoint, the soldiers actually in close contact with civilians are always unarmed), and then checked individual civilians passing through on foot. During the latter search, the soldiers 'discovered' that one man they were checking was carrying a concealed pistol, so he was led away for questioning, while his girlfriend followed behind, protesting vociferously (and in English) 'Let him go, he is my brother'! Let him go!', etc. He was detained, but she was let go, and (predictably enough) she returned soon afterwards with 'angry villagers' who began attacking the checkpoint, pelting the soldiers with oranges (safer than rocks, for exercise purposes) and starting a small fire. The soldiers remained calm, eventually some 'tear gas' (yellow smoke) was deployed, and the 'villagers' retreated. At which point an even angrier 'villager' turned up and began firing at the checkpoint with a Kalashnikov, to which the soldiers - now allowed by their rules of engagement to use lethal force, in self-defence - responded.

In all, it was a good show. At the end President Tadic announced that Serbia plans to deploy a further group of soldiers to a UN mission in Chad, so the training should come in useful. I wish them every success.

Better by Design

2009-05-26T07:54:47+01:00

I spoke last evening at the official opening of Belgrade Design Week (BDW). This is the fourth such annual event, and this year the UK (through the British Council) has supported it by helping to bring to Belgrade a large group of top UK designers and design journalists. So I ended up making a speech, together with the BDW organiser, Jovan Jelovac, and Culture Minister Bradic.

As I said in my speech, 'design' might sound like an indulgence in a time of global economic crisis, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth. In the UK the creative industries contribute about €25 billion a year to the UK economy and employ some half a million people - one in five of all new jobs.

Serbia is well placed to be a regional leader in this area. BDW is already not just a regional, but a global, event. And good design is not just about making things look better, it's about making things work better, to create a better world for everybody. We are pleased, for example, that this year's BDW 'DesignPark' will include an exhibition of the work that the British Council has been doing under their 'Access for All' programme, with the Belgrade Faculty of Architecture, to promote the design of better facilities for disabled people, to make it possible for them to play a fuller role in society. So we are proud to be BDW's partner this year - and we wish them every success.

Learning English

2009-05-26T07:38:45+01:00

I gave an opening speech, on 22 May, to the annual English Language Teachers Association Conference, meeting this year, for a change, in Novi Sad. This was the third time I have done this, and each year the event gets bigger and better. Worldwide demand for English language skills is growing all the time, as English becomes ever more firmly established as the global business language, and the dominant language on the Internet.

The UK, through the British Council, is doing a lot here, and around the world, to help improve teaching methods and curricula, and provide other support to teachers of English. The teachers attending the Conference were all very much aware that the future of the children they teach will be profoundly affected by how well they do their job, not just in teaching, but in encouraging their students to develop a real passion for learning and using the language.

As I have said many times, I am constantly impressed by the level of English language skills among young people here in Serbia, particularly bearing in mind that few of them have had the opportunity to visit an English-speaking country. This will be a very important factor in Serbia's economic growth in years to come.

BETA Anniversary

2009-05-26T07:31:44+01:00

21 May - This evening I went along to the 15th anniversary party of the independent news agency BETA. Nowadays, BETA is pretty well part of the media scenery, but when it was founded Serbia was a very different place. It's hard now - particularly for an outsider - to realise just how much courage it took for people in BETA and other independent outlets, such as B92, to challenge the monopoly of the state information machine.

There was a good turn-out there of Government Ministers, senior politicians, and other guests. Today, the independent media face a different challenge, from the global economic crisis and the dramatic drop in advertising revenues. We can only hope that the same courage and imagination that saw them through the 1990s will help them pull through now.

Free Media in Tough Times

2009-05-19T15:48:13+01:00

I went on 18 May to help open the third Annual Meeting between the BBC and their partner radio stations here in Serbia. There's been some good progress here in recent years - a stronger network of partner stations, better audibility, a growing audience. But, as with all media companies, the global economic crisis is at the top of their agenda. The print media and radio, in particular, have seen their advertising revenues hit hard, and many organisations are facing tough decisions.

We in the UK see independent media as absolutely essential to the development of free democracies. So we think it's really important, right across the world, that the independent media stay independent - that they are not forced by the crisis into over-heavy reliance on business or political interests, that then seek to influence their editorial policy. We understand that it's hard, if the choice is between staff cut-backs or editorial compromise. But, ultimately, it's all about staying true to one's original vision. Of course, most people in the independent media in Serbia understand this very well, having faced much tougher challenges before. We are proud to have them as our partners.

London Calling

2009-05-12T16:00:00+01:00

We had a visit to Belgrade on 6/7 May from Tim Hitchens, the new Foreign Office Director for this region (and most other parts of Europe that aren't yet in the EU). In 24 hours, we had meetings with a wide range of Government representatives, journalists, academics, parliamentary party leaders and businesspeople. Tim's message was simple. Serbia will be a member of the EU; and we in the UK, as people who believe strongly in the EU enlargement process, will do everything we can to help Serbia towards that goal. We can't predict now exactly when membership will come but, in a way, the precise timing doesn't matter too much. The process of integration, and the reforms that go with that, are important in themselves, and we will continue to support that process, both directly and through the work of the European Commission (16% of whose budget comes from UK taxpayers).

In the meantime, there are other issues on which the UK wants to work with Serbia, for example on the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina. We both want to see Bosnia-Herzegovina succeed, within its internationally-recognised borders; and we both recognise that, while respect for the Dayton framework remains vitally important, there will need to be some changes, nor least when the old Dayton 'High Representative', with his 'Bonn Powers', gives way to a new form of international engagement through an EU Special Representative. Over time, there will need to be other changes too. The Dayton Constitution was a framework for stopping a conflict, not for creating a successful state. But any changes will need careful consideration, and a lot of work to persuade all the people involved to buy in to the process. This can't be rushed; but, equally, change has to take place, if Bosnia-Herzegovina is to be successful in joining the other countries of the region, one day, in the EU. We recognise that Serbia has a direct interest in all this, as a neighbour and through its role as a Dayton guarantor. So we see this as a good area for future dialogue and cooperation. We also, of course, discussed the situation in Kosovo. While we and Serbia are far apart on the issue of status, we can agree that we want to see the situation stabilise, and that there can be no excuse for violence, from any side. Tim was on his first visit to the region, and left from here for his first visit to Kosovo; he took with him a clear sense of Serbian concerns to explore with his interlocutors down there.

Classical Mood - with feeling!

2009-05-11T14:13:13+01:00

On 10 May I went to a concert at the Sava Centre by the London Symphony Orchestra, under their Russian principal conductor, Valerij Gergijev. The programme was entirely of Russian music, Rachmaninov and Prokoviev - dramatic pieces, played with tremendous confidence and vigour.

The orchestra's visit to Belgrade was the first night of a 'five day, five city' tour, taking in also Zagreb, Budapest, Vilnius and Tallinn. The audience responded with great enthusiasm. It was wonderful to see an orchestra of this top world quality in Belgrade - a sign that, in yet another way, Serbia is now firmly 'back on the map'.