The Fehmarn link could do more than shorten the journey between Denmark and Germany. It could also give Lolland-Falster a new position within a business region between two of Northern Europe’s strongest growth areas.
That is the view of Andreas Wenzel, CEO of the German-Danish Chamber of Commerce, who took part in a debate at Folkemøde Møn on who will actually benefit from the future link.
But new railway tracks and a tunnel will not be enough.
- Growth will not come automatically with the Fehmarn link. A railway and better infrastructure improve accessibility, but they do not create growth in themselves. That depends first and foremost on local skills, business policy and whether the right connections and opportunities are created around the infrastructure, says Andreas Wenzel.
According to Wenzel, one of the key tasks will therefore be to decide which areas Lolland-Falster and South Zealand should seek to become particularly strong in. He warns against municipalities trying to focus on too many industries and sectors at the same time.
Instead, business policy should be based on the resources, skills and infrastructure the area already has and should aim to build entire value chains around them.
- We need a realistic strategy based on specific strengths. It is also about creating high-quality permanent jobs. The focus should be on entire value chains rather than simply trying to attract individual companies, because otherwise some of the potential synergies can be lost. The aim should be to create a strong business ecosystem in which companies can benefit from one another and create synergies, he says.
For around a decade, the municipalities and business community of Lolland-Falster have worked systematically to turn the Fehmarn investments into lasting business development. This includes the tunnel element factory and port at Rødbyhavn, the planned industrial park, and the development of business areas in Maribo and on Falster.
Sees opportunities in green energy
Wenzel points in particular to energy and the green transition as areas where the Danish side of the Fehmarn link could have a strong position. He highlights Power-to-X, the circular economy and data centres, as well as the potential to connect local strengths with expertise on the German side.
As an example of this kind of targeted business development, he points to Aabenraa, where the municipality is working through Aabenraa Circular to develop a green and circular industrial cluster linking areas such as energy, Power-to-X, utilities and production more closely together.
Fehmarn could also change the way German companies and investors view the area, he believes.
- In some respects, the area is behind today, but I am convinced that the situation is already very different from what it has been for many years. Geopolitical developments mean, among other things, that there is much greater interest in Scandinavia in Germany, not least within the defence industry.
Between Copenhagen and Hamburg
Looking at the longer-term perspective, Andreas Wenzel believes that stronger economic links could emerge along the entire corridor from Copenhagen to Hamburg than exist today.
He points, for example, to the life sciences cluster in Lübeck and expertise in green energy on the Danish side as strengths that could be connected more closely.
- We are already seeing considerable interest on both sides in greater cooperation, including within security and defence. So there is definitely potential to develop a common business region.
One of the biggest challenges, according to Wenzel, is that although companies will become geographically closer, they will still have to operate across two different systems. Differences in tax rules, education systems, social security arrangements and regulatory requirements can make it both more expensive and more complicated to establish a business, hire employees or trade across the border.
These are precisely the kinds of barriers that the German-Danish Chamber of Commerce sees repeatedly among companies operating across Denmark and Germany. If the Fehmarn link is to realise its full growth potential, some of these practical and administrative obstacles will therefore also have to be reduced.
