I Enjoy Flying by Jat

– JAT is one of the very few airlines in the world where you still travel, where you are not simply transported. (His Excellency, Mr. Krister Bringéus, Swedish Ambassador in Belgrade)

By Jovo Simišić
Photo by Milan Melka

You Excellency, You have been the Swedish ambassador to Serbia for slightly over one year now. You live in Belgrade, but you often travel to Sweden - to our great satisfaction - with Jat. Are you satisfied with the service provided by our company – first and foremost the onboard service?

– Yes I travel a lot to Sweden, almost once a month. I always fly in to Copenhagen, since I have my house just on the other side of the bridge that connects Denmark to Sweden. In our part of Europe, the notion of borders effectively has lost its meaning. Sweden and Denmark used to be arch enemies, fighting ugly wars. Now the area around Copenhagen and Malmö is one integrated region. People live on one side of the water - Öresund - and work on the other.

– I truly enjoy flying JAT there. JAT is one of the very few airlines in the world where you still travel, where you are not simply transported.

– JAT is a small but very fine company with a human touch. As a passenger you always get the feeling that you mean something to the people working on board and on the ground. Of course I have travelled so much that now I have started to know many in the crews and behind the check-in counters. I have been invited to private JAT-parties. That tells you something.

A large Serbian diaspora lives and works in Sweden. You once pointed out that this, too, was one of the bridges of cooperation between the countries. How do you perceive Jat’s role in enhancing these relations?

– Indeed there are some 100,000 people in Sweden who, at least with a generous definition, can call themselves both Serbs and Swedes. Who stand with one leg solidly in the Serbian culture and the other in Swedish. My favourite story is when I went to see King Carl-Gustaf of Sweden to pay my respects before leaving for Belgrade (flying JAT of course). I was greeted in Serbian by the palace guard, a young very sweet girl. Isn’t that great? The King of Sweden guarded by someone who is Swedish and Serbian at the same time?

– The diaspora has two roots; labour immigration in the 1960s and refugees from the wars in the 1990s, all of whom have integrated very well in Swedish society.

– I only wish that the Serbian diaspora were sometimes more forthcoming, showed more of itself. I would like to organise a huge Serbian cultural festival in Stockholm next year!

– And JAT is the key for the diaspora to keep its two cultural identities, travelling regularly back and forth between their two countries. It’s not for nothing that JAT has direct flights many times a week to three Scandinavian cities: Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen.

– Want to hear another story? I once met a very beautiful young lady on board. Hearing her speak Serbian, I addressed her in English. (My Serbian was not so good at the time.) She replied with a deep southern Swedish drawl, the typical Skĺne-accent I have myself. She was a photo-model and had spent some time with relatives in Kragujevac and was going back home to Malmö.

When you said that, as ambassador to Serbia, your priority lay in what is usually termed ‘interface’ between the two countries, what concretely were you referring to?

– The interface between Serbia and Sweden is, in fact, huge. It’s reflected in how the Swedish Embassy works in Belgrade. We have one trade office, one military section, a migration department, one section for foreign aid, two Nordic police officers who work closely with the Serbian police. And the next time I will fly JAT is in early December, to Stockholm, to recruit a cultural counsellor, a new position at the Embassy.

– Yes, the greatest fun is culture. I was very proud to be able to assist the Narodnoe Posorisjte (National Theatre) when it travelled to Stockholm (JAT sponsored by the way) with Vida Ognenovic’s magnificent King Oedipus for a great performance at our prestigious Dramatic Theatre on June 6, our national day.

– My next big project is taking the well-known Swedish exhibition The Children’s Train - in Serbian we call it I MI SMO TU - to Belgrade. It’s an exhibition on assistive technology for handicapped children. The exhibition just left the Paralympics in China. It’s been all over the world, including nine European countries, and will be at the Sava Center from December 13-17. It will be opened by HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. We want to show that it’s not a stigma or shame to be handicapped. With the right technical appliances, you can create quality of life. We will show some 100 items and simultaneously organise seven seminars with the objective of changing attitudes.

– By the way, guess what airline is sponsoring this project, flying in the big exhibition-staff?

You have personally been very active since arriving here as ambassador. At the time when Sweden is reducing the number of partners to whom it extends aid, Serbia has remained on the list. The local media have cited your statement that this choice was of a strategic nature because Sweden wanted to support Serbia on its road toward the European Union. How would you assess the chances for us to succeed in this endeavour?

– It’s correct that Sweden has decided to cut the number of countries with which we cooperate in terms of foreign aid, from some 70 to 30 plus. And it’s correct that we have decided to continue our cooperation with Serbia that is worth roughly 15 million Euros a year. We are the third biggest donor, in fact. It’s a strategic choice. The overall purpose is to support Serbia’s integration into the EU. We hope to consolidate that perspective during our time as Presidency of the European Union, in the second half of 2009.

– But let me say two things about Serbia’s EU perspective. Number one. This is a choice for the Serbian people to make. Sweden clearly supports it - we truly want to see Serbia as a proud and influential member of the Union - but at the end of the day it is for Serbia itself to choose it’s own destiny.

– Secondly, it is, in fact, not membership as such that bring all the good things. It is the way to the Union that is so important, because that way is about the modernisation of Serbia, bringing Serbia up to European standards, whether this be rule of law or the environment... The membership perspective galvanises this modernisation-process, which is a must in any case.

– Having said this, no one doubts the strong commitment of the Serbian people and its present government to the EU. When will it happen? Well, every time I try to predict, I get criticised, either for being too optimistic or for being too pessimistic. Let me say this time only that I’m convinced Serbia will be a member of the EU within the foreseeable future. It will take some years though. But these years are important. During these years, Serbia will undertake necessary reforms, thus creating a better future for itself. In short, I give Serbia a very good EU-prognosis.

You have announced the arrival of H&M and IKEA to Serbia. What are the chances at present for these companies to come to Serbia, considering the world economic crisis?

– Almost all important Swedish companies are represented in Serbia, Ericsson, Volvo, Gambro etc. And they stayed, unlike many others, during the period of wars and sanctions. That is to say, they had a strong belief in the long-term perspective of Serbia.

– IKEA and HM are not here. Yet, I should add. Any one following Serbian media will draw the conclusion that IKEA is seriously considering establishing itself here. If and when the conditions are right.

– IKEA’s concept is to build shopping centers where other big international firms can set up their businesses. So when IKEA comes, I’m quite sure HM will follow.

– I’m an optimist. We will see the big blue & yellow IKEA logo in Serbia as well!