Michael Metz Mørch, Danish ambassador to Poland, talks to Małgorzata Kaczorowska.

here did you serve before coming to Poland?
My first job as ambassador was in Riga, Latvia, which in terms of development was quite a while ago-from 1995 until 1999. Then I was in New York from 1999-2004 and in October 2004 I arrived in Warsaw.

From New York I had a chance to influence my post subsequent to that in New York. I said, "Don't worry about me, just send me to Warsaw," and I was very happy when Copenhagen decided to do just that. So I am in Warsaw because I wanted to be here and because Warsaw and Poland have a fantastic dynamism. There is continuous development, which makes Warsaw fascinating, probably even more interesting than New York during my five years there. The sun was shining when I arrived, which is a good sign for my future in Poland.

Maybe it is not expected for a person to request Warsaw after being in New York, because it is very different and smaller in comparison.

This reminds me of a story. Both New York and Warsaw are extremely exciting. In NY they have reached a stable level of economic development, so everybody is "chasing after the brass ring." Poland is different. Here everybody is running-not necessarily around but forward. In the modernization and development process, this forward movement is much more interesting.

How would you characterize Polish-Danish relations?
This is a very difficult question. From the Danish side and in relation to the political reform process in Poland, we see Poland as an extremely and important strategic partner. We have been fighting for Polish interests in NATO, in terms of Polish membership and later to help Poland become a member of the EU. It is so important for a small nation like Denmark-for any nation for that matter-to have a well-functioning and nice neighborhood. The nicer Poland is, the better for us. The better neighbors we have, the better we feel.

Poland has been an EU member for six months. Do you think that your posting in Poland can help Polish and Danish businesses understand each other within the EU?
The fact that Poland is in the EU has already led to increased business interest in the country from all European countries. There are also new possibilities open to Poland in terms of access to the European market. Poland has a highly qualified workforce, good natural resources, a huge base market and opportunities for hosting and developing industries and services. So we see a lot of additional potential for Danish companies to do business with Polish partners. Poland is an ideal testing ground for activity throughout Europe.

Many Danish companies are already here and we see many more coming. I think that many medium-sized companies would like to find business partners in this country. This is part of the globalization process. I also see a good future for the Polish capital market. This is now beginning to be a real capital market.

One of the sour points of Polish membership in the EU is the sale of land to foreigners. What is Denmark's experience in this matter?
There are no restrictions on the sale of land to foreigners in Denmark as long as the land is used for economic purposes. In terms of freedoms related to capital movement and investment in productive activities, we have special restrictions on non-productive ownership of land, for example summer houses, vacation homes, and so on. During our negotiations to the common market in the late 1960s and early '70s, a majority of Danes were afraid of being bought up by German tourists due to our small size. That was a very difficult political issue, and important for us in Denmark. Fortunately our EU partners decided that if the problem was so big in Denmark, we could retain our regulations. That was necessary to obtain a "yes" vote in the Danish referendum on EU membership.

What are your goals as ambassador to Poland?
Politically, it is extremely important that new European architecture is developed in an intelligent way. Poland is a large, powerful new member of the EU. Clearly, Denmark has an interest in continuing close cooperation with Poland within the EU. In security policy, we have the same approach as Poland. We both are members of NATO. We think in the same way-no matter what president sits in the White House. We want to have a powerful trans-Atlantic club. Denmark and Poland belong to the same trans-Atlantic club. We do also wish to develop European cooperation but we always have to maintain a balance. So these are two areas where I want to act and maintain our present course.

In terms of business and economics, I want to be helpful in activating Danish business to invest more in Poland. We advise businesses how to behave on the local market.

With respect to culture, I hope to do more in this area. Culture is always a good vehicle for better understanding. Not everything should be left to business and politics, which are only the icing on the cake in terms of relations between countries. Culture gives me the chance to promote understanding between people.

What plans does the embassy have for next year?
The embassy has just finished a report about our plans for next year. It will be a very interesting year. Warsaw has a Polish-Danish Business Club, which we want to use as a platform to maintain contact between Danish companies throughout Poland. We will conduct a number of seminars to exchange our experiences in business. We also want to provide advice for our Polish partners and share experiences on environmental and social issues.

Next year in April we will celebrate Hans Christian Andersen's birthday. I am now trying to find a couple of distinguished Andersen ambassadors on the Polish cultural scene. This will be part of a global promotion campaign for the benefit of children and a fight illiteracy. I will also try to do something for the Danish design. It is very interesting and lifts the spirit. This part of cultural activity can bring Scandinavian art to light.


Michael Metz Mørch-New Danish Ambassador to Poland
Michael Metz Morch has been the Danish ambassador to Poland since October 2004. He has replaced Laurids Mikaelsen, who held the post for many years. The new ambassador has many years of experience in both diplomacy and business. He came to Warsaw from New York, where he was Danish consul general. Now his task will be to strengthen the links between Poland and Denmark.