Dear visitors of our web page, dear friends,

Shortly after my arrival in Copenhagen, I would like to introduce myself and make you familiar with my view of further development of mutual relations between the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Denmark.

The relations between both countries are very vivid and unproblematic. They are constantly strengthened and developed by top political leaders, senators, mayors and businessmen as well as cultural, educational, research and many other institutions. The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Copenhagen does its best in helping to create and effectively maintain all these contacts.

For the Czechs, Denmark is not an unknown country - and vice versa. The first " expatriate" was Markéta, the daughter of Přemysl I Otakar, married to Valdemar the Victorious. In Denmark, she is generally known as Queen Dagmar. The legends of her good heart are being told throughout the country till today. She is burried in Ringsted and in the nearest future, the 800th anniversary of her death will be commemorated. On the other hand, the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe should be mentioned for his stay in Prague in the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. The recent history is mostly connected with the Danish support of the entry of the Czech Republic into NATO and the EU. The membership in the above mentioned institutions is the backbone of present Czech-Danish contacts.

The integration of the Czech Republic into Euro-Atlantic structures opened great possibilities of bilateral contacts, especially in economics. The raise of Czech-Danish turnover which grew up to almost EUR 1,5 billion, might be seen as a result of more and more intensified connections between both our economics. The Danish investments in the Czech Republic do not only create new jobs and strenghten the competitiveness of Danish enterprises but help increasing the Czech export, too. In Denmark, the orinigal Czech goods as f. ex. the Škoda Cars or the Czech Breweries 'products are being more and more popular. The gradual opening of the Danish labour market can lead to better statistics from the Czech point of view because according to them the number of Danes working in the Czech Republic is much higher than the number of Czechs working in Denmark, until now. It is obvious that Europe is more and more permeable and connected.

In the time horizon of the nearest days and months, the most important priority of the Czech Republic is the preparation of our EU Council presidency in the first half of 2009. From the point of view of the Czech-Danish relations the identification of our common interests and enforcing them within the EU will be the relevant topic. CZ PRES with the motto "Europe Without Barriers" will also give framework for the development of bilateral contacts, f. ex. in the field of promotion and cultural exchange. Two exhibitions are prepared for the CZ PRES opening - "Czech UNESCO Sites" and "Czech Press Photo". At the Glassmuseum in Ebeltoft we will participate in a prestigious exhibition called " Crossing Borders - Painting and Sculptural Glass by Czech Artists" . On the occasion of the Day of Europe and in connection with the 5th anniversary of the Czech Republic 's joining the EU and the 50th anniversary of the death of Bohuslav Martinů we think about a concert of a significant Czech music ensemble connected with a vernissage of the exhibition "The Fall of the Iron Curtain". In the course of CZ PRES we would like to set up a seminar on the perspectives of further EU enlargement.

The recent entry of the Czech Republic into the Schengen Area will surely help tourist promotion leading to an increasing number of Danish tourists in our country. We will closely cooperate with the newly opened CzechTourism Office for Scandinavia in Stockholm because I am convinced that there is strong and not always fully used potential in further development of the incoming and congress tourism in the Czech Republic.

There is another large deficit caused by insufficient development of contacts with the Danish autonomous areas Greenland and the Faeroe Islands. In this respect, we already prepare "Czech Days in Greenland" at the beginning of September - a number od business meetings as well as cultural and promotional activities aimed at "mapping out" and learning more about both countries. There will be round table negotiations at the Greenlandic Council of Commerce and lots of individual business meetings with Greenlandic firms. Czech UNESCO sites will be presented as well as three Czech films and Martin Velíšek 's illustrations of the Czech translation of the "Greenlandic Myths and Legends" by Knud Rasmussen. These commercial, economic, cultural and promotion activities should lead into better understanding of both parties and more intensive exchange of politicians and experts.

In conclusion, let me thank you for your visit of our web site. I believe that you have find everything you had expected. Our goal is to give advice and information to all people who are going to travel to our country, to invest os make business there. On the other hand, we are able to intermediate a basic information on travelling to Denmark or conditions at the Danish labour market.

I would like to assure you that the Embassy staff is ready and willing to help and provide you with adequate contacts. In case you are intersted to tell us your remarks, suggestions or recommendations, please contact us at copenhagen@embassy.mzv.cz.

Wishing you all the best,

Zdeněk Lyčka, 24 June 2008