Agnieszka Zielińska
Managing Director
Scandinavian-Polish Chamber of Commerce
Poland
azielinska@spcc.pl
Sylwia Wojtaszczyk-Ciąćka
Head of Insight
Scandinavian-Polish Chamber of Commerce
Poland
swojtaszczyk@spcc.pl
In recent years, a series of developments has drawn Poland and the Nordic countries closer, once again proving the yet undiscovered layers of potential in the Baltic Sea Region. The most significant were: the launch of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline in 2022; joint ventures of Danish and Norwegian companies with Polish entities in offshore wind investments; the agreement on a strategic partnership between Poland and Sweden signed in November 2024. And, of course, Finland and Sweden joining NATO, which further strengthened defence cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. Shift of Poland towards the North was recently noted in an article in The Economist, which claimed that Poland is becoming less Central European and more Baltic.
In the economic dimension, we see that successful Polish-Nordic cooperation can make a significant contribution to the competitiveness of the European economy on the global stage - a major challenge the European community is facing. Within the Baltic Sea region, Poland plays a special role, linking the Nordics and the Baltics to Western Europe by land and facilitating North–South and East–West trade flows. Planned infrastructure projects such as Rail Baltica, Via Carpathia, the Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor and the expansion of Polish seaports can even enhance cooperation within the region.
In difficult times, European countries respond to challenges by strengthening regional alliances. In the case of Polish-Nordic relations, there is already much to build on.
Last year marked the 20th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the European Union. For SPCC, it was a good occasion to take a closer look at the development of economic ties between Poland and the Nordic countries. Two decades after Poland joined the EU, the Nordic countries have become the third-largest foreign investors in Poland. The total value of capital invested has reached €15 billion, while Nordic companies present in Poland directly account for around 1.3% of Poland's GDP. More importantly, Nordic companies see their presence in Poland as long term. The reinvestment rate of profits by Scandinavian investors is 70% - ten percentage points higher than the average for all foreign investors. For Swedish investors, the reinvestment rate is even higher, reaching 92%.
Bilateral trade relations have also developed rapidly. The Nordic countries are currently Poland’s second-largest trading partner, with total trade turnover in goods and services reaching €56.4 billion in 2023. A growing segment of the Polish economy is engaged in developing supply chains connected to Nordic businesses and exports to the Nordics. The total value of production in Poland for Scandinavian recipients - whether by direct exporters or their suppliers - amounts to approximately PLN 75 billion, or 2.5% of Poland’s GDP. About 350,000 employees are involved in the entire supply chain. This is more than twice the value generated directly in Poland by Scandinavian companies, which themselves employ around 200,000 people, making them the fourth-largest group of foreign employers in the country.
Over the past 20 years, trade turnover between Poland and the Nordics has increased more than sixfold. More important, however, is the transformation in the structure of this trade. In the early 2000s, Poland’s main exports to the Nordic countries were raw materials, clothing, and repaired ships. Since then, exports of electronic devices, pharmaceutical products, furniture, and vehicles have grown significantly. Today, Nordic-Polish business relations are marked by increasing technological sophistication.
Such change would not have been possible without the transfer of knowledge and know-how that takes place through business and economic cooperation: employee training, the creation of new technologies, knowledge-sharing among partners and clients, and the introduction of new solutions to the market. The transfer goes both ways. Nordic businesses value Poland’s economic transformation towards digital technologies, which has resulted in strong technological preparedness, openness, and solid online competencies among local companies that are eager to invest in innovation.
Looking more closely, each Nordic country is, of course, unique in terms of its economic relations with Poland. But when we turn to the future one thing remains constant: there are many areas where Poland and the Nordic countries can successfully cooperate. Partnerships for the green transition and energy security, defence, digitalization and logistics are just a few examples that link economies and societies across the Baltic Sea.