Jakub Dürr is a diplomat, political scientist and expert in Polish studies. He has worked in academia, as Deputy Minister of Education and Foreign Affairs and as Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the European Union. He has also completed internships abroad, including the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Since 2021, he has served as Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Poland.
Czech-Polish relations are experiencing a renaissance. What is the level of mutual trade relations today?
Poland is one of the Czech Republic‘s most important trading partners. The value of trade in 2021 was a record EUR 27.6 billion. In 2019, before the pandemic, it was EUR 23.1 billion; in 2020, due to the pandemic, it was slightly lower at EUR 22.3 billion. On the export side, it is third after Germany and Slovakia; on the import side and in total trade volume, it is also third, in both cases, after Germany and China. Trade with Poland is growing faster than the whole trade of the Czech Republic. The importance of Poland for Czech exporters is thus gradually increasing.
Similarly, the Czech Republic’s position among Polish exporters as an importer of their goods and services is also strengthening. In 2021, imports from Poland to the Czech Republic reached CZK 375.270 billion. Exports from the Czech Republic to Poland were worth EUR 331.678 billion. Poland has maintained a positive trade balance with the Czech Republic for the last few years and is thus the only EU country, apart from Malta, with which the Czech Republic has a negative balance. In 2021, the Czech Republic’s balance reached CZK 43.6 billion.
What are the opportunities for Czech companies to invest in Poland?
The Polish economy has shown stable growth for a long time, which is very attractive for Czech entrepreneurs. The advantage is the geographical proximity and the absence of communication barriers. The Polish market is developing dynamically.
An example is the impact of COVID-19 constraints, where the need to shorten logistics chains has led to exceptional growth in industrial and commercial real estate. In addition, internet trading has expanded significantly, requiring extensive warehousing space. The Czech business group Accolade, among others, has taken advantage of the situation to expand in the Polish market.
There are many similar examples where changes in the economic environment have led to the entry of new firms. Thanks to new technologies, things like e-commerce, carsharing, e-health, cloud services and video gaming, among others, are thriving. Services related to individual tourism are becoming increasingly popular. Renewable energy industries are particularly promising. Labour mobility opens up a large space for the residential real estate market, its construction and operation. New opportunities continue to arise in many areas.
The two nations need to get to know each other more, and culture can be a mediator. How is Czech culture perceived in Poland?
The positive perception of the Czechs is directly related to the attractiveness of Czech culture in all its forms. Poles often admire the architecture of ancient Czech cities, Czech literature, partly also cinematography (in the older generation, preferably the Czechoslovak era), sports, cuisine, beer and wine, not to mention Czech pragmatism, which in Poland is considered to be inherent to the Czechs (although in some connotations, it may take on a negative tinge). Speaking of Czech cuisine, cycling around Czech breweries and Moravian vineyards is becoming increasingly popular.
Thank you for the interview.
