Stephen Wordsworth

Respect for the past and great ideas for the future

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. 

Posted at 22:23 16 October 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

Good news for Serbia’s EU integration process

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.

Posted at 10:00 05 October 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[2]

Sad and Strange

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.

Posted at 09:41 21 September 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[8]

Working tempo picking up

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.

Posted at 16:15 17 September 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

Were we cycling the joint European future of the region?

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.

Posted at 15:51 29 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[3]

Valleys, caves and monasteries

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?

Posted at 16:51 15 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

Nice to see you again!

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?

Posted at 10:44 10 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]

Down Sandzhak Way..

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.

Posted at 10:18 02 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[3]

Young Lions

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.

Posted at 09:24 01 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]

Learning English

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.

Posted at 08:38 26 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[2]

BETA Anniversary

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.

Posted at 08:31 26 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]

Free Media in Tough Times

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.

Posted at 16:48 19 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

London Calling

Posted at 17:00 12 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

Remember the Past, Look to the Future

On 9 May I and many other Ambassadors joined Serbia's Defence Minister in an act of commemoration of Victory Day, at the Mount Avala memorial.  It was a beautiful day, but a solemn occasion, as we laid wreathes in honour of those who gave the lives for the defence of their country. 

It was sad also to reflect that, for many countries of Central and Eastern Europe, victory did not bring freedom, but another occupation, with eight years of Stalinism and, in all, some forty five years of repression and impoverishment before the wave of democratisation led to the break-up of the old Communist structures and a new era of freedom.  So it was fitting to move straight on from Avala to celebrate that change later that day, with the 'Day of Europe' events in Belgrade's Knez Mihailova street, which was unofficially re-named 'Europe Street' for the day.  Most EU countries, including most of the new members who achieved their democratic freedom in the early 1990s, had a stall in the street with information material, and many also organised events. 

We had visits to our stand from Serbs who play our national sports, cricket, rowing and rugby, and other celebrities; we also organised quizzes, and showcased some of our latest music with one of our own staff as DJ. Our efforts were ably supported by RTV B92 sport journalists and by DJ Marko Gangbengers, who brought an audience of all ages to our stand. Their knowledge of British sports and music was very impressive.  We got a great response from the passers-by, the sun shone, and I hope many people went away with the sense that 'Europe' - in other words, the EU - is a little more real for them, and a little closer.

Posted at 15:10 11 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[5]

A Bridge in Belgrade

I went to Belgrade City Hall yesterday afternoon to open an exhibition dedicated to the planned 'Kalemegdan Bridge Collaboration' - a project worked up by a Welsh sculptor, Richard Deacon, and a Serbian sculptor, Mrdjan Bajic, for a pedestrian walkway to link Belgrade's Kalamegdan fortress with the Danube riverbank, right down the side of the hill and across a busy road and a railway line. It's an exciting design, which would send a terrific signal about Belgrade's view of itself as a modern, dynamic city, building for the future. 

The Mayor of Belgrade, Mr Djilas, joined us briefly to confirm his support for the project, and the President of the City Assembly, Mr Antic, also spoke.  Clearly, it's not easy to find money just now, but with the political commitment that the project enjoys, and the support of the Belgrade public, I hope it will get the go-ahead very soon.

Posted at 14:54 17 April 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]