Mercantile relations

The day after the Day of the Dead, which is celebrated in Slovenia and other Catholic countries on November 1, Ljubljana gets a Yugoslav embassy. For this occasion, the premises on the third floor of the JAT building in Slomškova street no. 1 in Ljubljana, furniture arrived from the Eurosalon is arranged, and in the modest office of the ambassador hangs the national coat of arms, worth 1.000 German marks. That's what makes an embassy, ​​from the inside. Other, external signs - the state flag, board and other insignia are waiting to be squeezed between the travel agency companies and TV sales on the front of the facade, during the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Goran Svilanović, on November 2.

KOSOVO TRIANGLE: The meeting between Minister Svilanović and his colleague Rupel, the head of Slovenian diplomacy, will be the fourth in a year, which, according to Yugoslav Ambassador Ivo Visković, best speaks of the good relations between the two countries. However, the festive event, right before the opening of the embassy, ​​was somewhat overshadowed by the dispute between JAT and Adria Airways and the media dust that arose again in Slovenia on that occasion. The heating up of that dispute showed the bad sides of placing the embassy in a building (not exactly in an elite part of Ljubljana - a minute from the bus and train stations), which for a whole decade in Ljubljana symbolized not only the former JAT but also the former state (and all the bad associations that they go), along with private individuals who on the ground floor sold tickets to various clientele for bus charters to Belgrade, Niš, Vrnjačka Banja...

What is it about? The Slovenian air carrier Adria Airways has been flying to Pristina for almost two years and the least it wants is to give up a profitable route, and would like to fly to Podgorica and Belgrade in the future. JAT (which is supported by Yugoslav diplomacy) insists that in the upcoming arrangement, Adria cannot give up only half of one line and keep two and a half destinations on the Slovenia-Yugoslavia route. In Slovenia, the case gained importance because it raises the question of Yugoslavia's sovereignty; Adria claims that she received permission to fly to Pristina in a valid manner from the UNMIK administration in Kosovo and that Belgrade has nothing to ask for there, and the Yugoslav side points out that according to Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council, Kosovo is still part of the territory of the FRY. and that the competences of the Yugoslav authorities are clear. The see-saw around the recognition of jurisdiction could have continued indefinitely (with the orchestration of the media on both sides) if Minister Rupel had not recognized the fact that "two countries cannot be held hostage by two companies", which was followed by the initialing of the agreement on civil air traffic between Slovenia and of Yugoslavia on October 12 in Belgrade.

Adria was left to decide whether to fly to Pristina or Belgrade. "I was involved in the negotiations, I conveyed our position to the Slovenian authorities several times, and I am convinced that Adria is wrong. No country would allow what Adria demands. We helped them and offered that Adria would still fly to Pristina, but with the permission of the authorities of the FRY - which she did not have until now. JAT requests that Adria also pay royalties, based on the right to fly on domestic routes, which it leaves to a foreign carrier; now there is a dispute over the amount of compensation. The sum of ten million dollars mentioned is quite arbitrary. The fact is that JAT is asking for one while Adria offered another amount, and the difference is big, ten to one. JAT believes that the international regulation is completely on its side, that it can win the dispute in any arbitration, and that is why it is seeking compensation from the start of Adria's flights to Pristina, which Adria wants to avoid. For us, it is an important issue of national sovereignty. Adria, as a serious airline, knows for sure that they got the permission to fly in a very dubious and illegal way. We made it clear to them that neither JAT, as an air carrier, nor we, as Yugoslavia, will relent in our positions," Ambassador Visković commented on the relations between JAT and Adria.

When it seemed that that chapter in the relations between Ljubljana and Belgrade was closed (and that JAT will be the only carrier between the capitals and Adria will be the connection with Pristina), Adria Airways announced that they were "surprised" by the information about the "finished deal", since "only they are trying to establish contacts with the new director of JAT". According to Adria, there is no agreement between the two companies because "JAT makes the agreement conditional on the inclusion of its planes on the Ljubljana-Priština route". That is why Adria sent a special letter to the Slovenian MFA, with the expectation that the Slovenian authorities will protect her during the "negotiations on the air traffic agreement ". It seems that Adria still does not consider the battle lost and the negotiations over, even though Svilanović arrives in Ljubljana not only for the opening of the embassy but also for the signing of the aforementioned agreement. Thus, the unresolved issues between the two companies took on an emphatically political dimension, in which the issues of principle are only the tip of the iceberg in a decade and for the poisoned relations in the Ljubljana-Priština-Belgrade triangle.

COMPANY KRSTIC: This is where it becomes clear how wise the decision of the Slovenian diplomacy was not to link the location (and indirectly the name and reputation) of the newly opened Slovenian embassy in Belgrade to any former or current representative office of a Slovenian company in the capital of the former joint state. The establishment of the Yugoslav embassy in Slovenia was not accompanied by concern for the new image of the state of Yugoslavia, but by financial constraints. The result? Symbiosis of the embassy and JAT. Thus, after more than a decade, the JAT counter will operate again on the ground floor of the building, while private car transport companies, such as Jatras (once one of the few bus connections with Serbia) will remain via Hungary, whose name ironically reminded of better times when traveling by plane)... On the third floor is the embassy, ​​and in between are the offices of the JAT and the consulate.

The whole work around the embassy was accompanied by a few problems - first, one of the officials was killed in Ljubljana this summer, followed by personnel battles and the replacement of more experienced attachés with those whose work experience in the area they cover is equal to zero, until the latest fights about the division of the skyways. Allegedly, these are accompanying forms of any similar, slightly more exotic service, which is accompanied by a foreign currency salary and some privileges. In reciprocity, something similar is happening with the Slovenian embassy in Belgrade, which is probably the only one in the world, as the Slovenian media ironically reported, will soon "get an attaché for agriculture, on the Belgrade asphalt".

Despite this, Ambassador Ivo Visković is convinced that the ceremonial opening of the embassy cannot confuse anything: "Someone may or may not like a company in Yugoslavia, but the FRY embassy does not represent a company, but a state." We do not build the country's image on the reputation of any company, although the reputation of Yugoslav companies, on the other hand, contributes to the country's reputation. Now the most important thing is to continue the successful domestic and foreign policy that has achieved great success on the international level. We see our role in representing the new policy of Yugoslavia and in representing all, including Yugoslav economic entities in Slovenia. And if JAT soon starts flying to Slovenia, then that in itself will affect the improvement of relations."

Until then, the embassy and the consular department have to clear up numerous problems that have accumulated during the completely severed relations between the two countries in the past decade. Which is quite a mouthful for the embassy's staff of 11 employees, of which about half are administrative.

TICKET OFFICE, CONFESSIONARY: That the opening of the embassy (and the consulate, which has already been opened, without any fanfare) also has an economic logic, is shown by the fact that only one consular officer receives from 100 to 160 citizens per day. Well, when multiplied by the price of a visa... Inflow is certain. To some extent, this leads Slovenian citizens of Serbian roots to despair, since the much-awaited embassy now comes to them as something like a ticket service, closer than the Trieste branch, to buy a ticket to enter the country of their ancestors. The abolition of the visa regime for those citizens who have a blood relationship with the FRY and live in other republics of the former SFRY is, according to Visković, "unacceptable for a number of reasons", and Yugoslavia tried to ease the situation by passing a new law on citizenship that enables dual citizenship for those who want it. The problem, however, is on the other side. Slovenia, for example, does not tolerate the institute of dual citizenship for the territory of the former SFRY. This means that Slovenia forces potential new citizens to renounce their previous citizenship during the naturalization process...

The problems with which Yugoslav or Slovenian citizens come to the embassy are not unknown, even less new. These are problems related to citizenships, military pensions, apartments, documents and the like. There are stateless people, there are those who are left without all their documents, some do not tell the full truth due to a difficult personal situation, and all expect help and all are desperate enough to, having already knocked on many doors, try at the new embassy. Situations are particularly painful when people of Serbian nationality with Bosnian or Croatian passports ask for help and when Ambassador Visković has to explain to them that "their problems do not fall under his scope of work". Some destinies are "such that you simply wonder if someone with a literary imagination could invent such a story. From a man who really has a lot of savings in the bank, but he can't get the money because he has no documents because he was in prison at the time of the country's collapse, to various other, almost unbelievable confessions," the Yugoslav ambassador was amazed at the situation.

Human rights and grievances aside, one of the most important missions of the new diplomatic mission is to strengthen economic cooperation. While everything in Belgrade is full of jumbo posters of Slovenian companies and their big one including-Reverse to the Yugoslav market, in Slovenia (except jafa biscuits) there are almost no Yugoslav products. "Slovenia today is not the same one that we parted with ten years ago. The market in Slovenia is looking for high quality and low prices, and this is a problem for many Yugoslav companies. Although, there are exceptions. For example, I heard very favorable reviews from the director of the Slovenian Mercator about the quality of the products and the way of doing business of Pionir from Subotica, which managed to squeeze out several well-known companies in the competition. And that is not easy. I'm not a business person, but I accept the logic that there are no small jobs, only profitable or unprofitable ones. The essence of cooperation with Slovenia is in higher forms of cooperation, and not only in many small businesses", is the business credo of Ambassador Visković.

MALA, ALI MONTENEGRO: Finally, we should mention another interesting area around which the new Yugoslav embassy needs to find a common language. It is about the office of Montenegro for cooperation with the government of Slovenia, which was opened two years ago in the center of Ljubljana. (The Yugoslav embassy is in the neighborhood, a street away.) Then the office under the leadership of (the current head of Montenegrin diplomacy) Branko Lukovac was presented as the first Montenegrin embassy, ​​Podgorica's independent window to the world; Today, the representative office is headed by the former leader of Montenegrin diplomats, Perović, and the diplomatic markings are most visible on the limousine. The balance between the embassy of the FRY and the representative office of Montenegro in Ljubljana has for now remained at the level of polite statements.

"Yugoslavia, in Article 7 of the Constitution, allows the opening of such representative offices. Montenegro has 11 of them in the world. Slovenia allowed the opening of that representative office at a time when there were no relations with Yugoslavia, and probably when it was consciously doing something against the Yugoslav regime. Regardless, the establishment of a representative office is not illegal from the point of view of Yugoslav regulations. At the same time, of course, the Yugoslav constitution emphasizes unity, as well as the fact that no similar representation may work against another member of the federation, that is, against the country's foreign policy," commented Ambassador Visković. Despite agreements in principle that "they will not work to the detriment of the other", sparks are inevitable. Especially since there are indications that the current representative office could win full diplomatic status from Slovenian protocol and diplomacy, to support the already acquired diplomatic markings on vehicles.

Regardless of the Montenegrin episode, Ambassador Visković is satisfied with the reception in Slovenia. Every beginning is difficult, but that is not his case. So far, he has had, more or less, only "great experiences": "People in personal contacts, when they felt based on the pronunciation where I was from, they spontaneously switched to Serbian and had a cordial conversation with me, mostly older people even regretting the past The graffiti "Serbs on the willows", which seem to be becoming a part of common folklore on Slovenian facades (which is why communal services generally do not wash them), has not been noticed in the past four months...

Finally, folklore was not absent during the preparations for the opening ceremony of the embassy. Part of the guest lists was drawn up outside the embassy, ​​with the kind of skill that is always found "to help", hoping for a later benefit. That is why the selection of guests, e.g. from cultural life, exuded private interests, so they did not see the embassy from the inside nor did they hear the thanks of its officials for their negligence, some of the champions of the local civil society, who during the past years really tried to keep mutual ties from dying. However, perhaps the presence of established Slovenian media editors at the cocktail party will help the local seventh force to tackle a new challenge - after ten years of evoking memories of everything Yugoslav that left or was driven from Slovenian soil (the last time on October 26, a reminder of the withdrawal JNA from the port of Kopar in 1991), now it should be reported that something, Yugoslav, is here again.