The role and significance of Gdańsk’s cooperation with the Scandinavian countries and the building of a strategic partnership on the North-South axis based on cooperation between Polish and Scandinavian countries – these were the main topics of the Jagiellonian Club meeting, which took place on 4 July at Olivia Business Centre.

The meeting was chaired by Bogusław Wieczorek, a representative of the Jagiellonian Club in Gdańsk. It was opened by Dr. Krzysztof Mazur, President of the Jagiellonian Club.

Then Adam Balcer, author of the report of the Centre for Analysis of the Jagiellonian Club entitled: “To the North return! Opportunities and obstacles in cooperation with the Scandinavian countries”, He presented the basic theses of the above-mentioned publications, concerning the strategic analysis of the importance of Polish, Pomerania and Gdańsk in this context.

“Poland should establish a strategic partnership with the Nordic Council countries as natural allies ,” said Adam Balcer. – Choosing such a course results from the changes taking place in Europe and in the world: closer cooperation between the eurozone countries, the growing importance of Russia and the need for Poland to make a ‘modernisation leap’.

Balcer noted that Poland has recently intensified its cooperation with the Scandinavian countries, but compared to the cooperation with the Visegrad Group countries, this relationship is still in the shadows. Meanwhile, there are many reasons not to neglect the Scandinavian direction – for example, cooperation in the field of innovation, in the energy sector or in administration.

The next item on the agenda of the meeting was a discussion panel led by Marcin Kędzierski, PhD, Programme Director of the Centre for Analysis of the Jagiellonian Club. The conversation revolved around the question: What role should Gdańsk play in opening Polish to Scandinavia, as well as what challenges await Pomerania and Gdańsk in cooperation with Scandinavian countries in the near future.

The discussion was attended by: Andrzej Bojanowski – former Deputy Mayor of Gdansk (2009-2017), Maciej Grabski – investor of Olivia Business Center in Gdańsk, Magdalena Markiewicz, PhD – Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Gdańsk for development and cooperation with business, Michał Stąporek – Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Trójmiasto.pl. Representatives of local and regional authorities, academia and business were also invited to the discussion. The discussants paid particular attention to the need for closer relations at many levels with the representatives of the Baltic Sea Region countries. Particular attention was paid to the need for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the area of education and innovation in business and tourism.

The report “Turn North!” is available in its entirety here.

The Jagiellonian Club is a conservative and republican Polish socio-political think tank founded in 1989 in Krakow. The club’s goal is to maintain and spread the republican way of thinking about Poland and the world. The organization was established in 1989, just after the end of the Round Table talks, and gained legal personality in 1994. Currently, the Club is a nationwide organization conducting educational, expert, journalistic activities and implementing civic political initiatives.

In its activities, the Club refers to the heritage of the First Polish Republic and the Second Polish Republic, the “Solidarity” movement as well as Christian thought and philosophy. According to the Preamble to the Statute of the Association, the mission of the Jagiellonian Club is to act for the good and benefit of the Republic of Poland and to multiply the spiritual, intellectual and political heritage of Polish through care for the common good, justice, responsibility, entrepreneurship and respect for tradition and religion.

Expert activity within the Centre for Analysis of the Jagiellonian Club is carried out in the spirit of respect for four fundamental values: freedom, property, community and tradition.

I invite you to see the gallery from the event: