H.E. Pernille Dahler Kardel, ambassador of Denmark to Serbia

Serbia and Denmark maintain strong economic and political ties, while there are plans to strengthen them during Denmark’s EU presidency in second half of 2025

From 1st January 2025, Denmark will hold a seat in the UN Security Council as an elected member for two years. In these days when we are witnessing so many armed conflicts around the world, Denmark will continue to work towards peace and security within national contexts and globally, explains Danish Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Pernille Dahler Kardel.

“We are very honoured to serve on the Council and our membership is a continuation of our strong and longstanding commitment to the UN and multilateralism. As a member, Denmark will strive towards the Council playing its role regarding the challenges to international peace and security. Across the range of issues on the Council’s agenda, we will stand up for international law, including international humanitarian law and accountability. We will also address the impacts of climate change on peace and security, and adapt conflict responses and prevention to new realities, just as we will ensure that women’s voices are heard and included.”

As we know, women’s rights and gender equality are often at risk in such conflict situations, but also in everyday life. How does Denmark approach these issues, and which experiences do you think could be valuable for Serbia?

— In conflict situations, we know that women and girls are often at very serious risk. Yet their voices are most often unheard in efforts to resolve conflicts. It has been almost 25 years since the Security Council recognised women’s rights as integral and essential to achieving lasting peace. Even so, much remains to be done.

As a member of the Security Council, Denmark will work to close the persistent gap between rhetoric and reality. We will be working with other member states, with the women affected by conflicts and other stakeholders. We are looking forward to getting Serbia’s perspective on how to best turn the principles of Resolution 1325, regarding Women, Peace and Security, into practice.

Sustainability, energy transition and the preservation of nature are common themes in the collaboration between the Nordic countries and Serbia. What would you highlight as the most notable expertise that Denmark would like to share in supporting our approach to the green agenda?

— Climate change is an existential threat for many countries, while for others it is a risk multiplier. As a member of the Security Council, Denmark will push to advance a comprehensive evidence-based understanding of the links between climate, peace and security.

Denmark’s own green transition started in the 1970s, with the first steps towards establishing wind energy as a viable and competitive energy source. In 2020, Denmark legislated our ambitious target of reducing CO2 by 70% by 2030. The government’s desire is to advance the climate neutrality goal to 2045. We are achieving ambitious reductions through a unique partnership between the private sector, researchers and the government.

The path to achieving our goal has been developed in 14 sector-specific climate partnerships. We are leading the world in the decarbonisation of the shipping sector, where Danish company MAERSK is taking the lead. Through companies like Orsted, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and European Energy, we are leading the world in building offshore wind capacities, just as these companies play an important role in developing new sources of energy. Vestas is a world leader when it comes to wind turbines, while Danish electricity net administrator Energinet is leading the world in finding solutions to grid issues as we increase the green energy proportion of our electricity consumption towards 100%.

We look forward to gaining Serbia’s perspective on how we can best turn the principles of Resolution 1325, regarding Women, Peace and Security, into practice

Likewise, in the field of energy efficiency and district heating, we have several companies that deliver solutions to the global market, such as Danfoss, Velux, Rockwool and many more. The Danish water industry holds a global leadership position in the development and export of efficiency and sustainability-focused water technology, with globally acclaimed companies like Grundfos and AVK. We look forward to further developing cooperation with Serbia in all these fields.

Swimming in Copenhagen harbour became possible in the 1990s, after the city authorities decided to invest in expanding wastewater treatment plants and sewage infrastructure. What lessons can we learn from your approach to reclaiming bodies of water for public use?

— The transformation of Copenhagen’s harbour into a clean, swimmable public space stands as a testament to Denmark’s commitment to environmental stewardship and urban liveability. That required political will and long-term planning. A strong commitment to clean water and public health was the driving force.

Many cities in Serbia are situated along the banks of rivers like the Danube, Sava or Morava. All these places have massive potential to improve water quality in such a way that citizens could want to dive into the rivers. However, this is by no means an easy feat and will require extensive long-term planning.

Apart from the green agenda, what would you identify as major areas of assistance in which Denmark is supporting Serbia’s EU accession process?

— In our view, Serbia is an obvious potential EU member state – just like the other Western Balkan countries. We very much support the EU’s renewed focus on enlargement, including with a newly appointed Commissioner whose sole responsibility is enlargement. We recognise that the process of reaching the Copenhagen Criteria is challenging, but it is nonetheless essential, as membership will continue to be merit-based. Over the past few years, three Danish foreign ministers have visited Belgrade to discuss this issue with their Serbian counterparts. And our newly appointed Minister for European Affairs and Danish MPs will soon be here to dive deeper into this discussion. The ties between Serbia and Denmark are strong, economically as well as politically, and we look forward to building on that when Denmark holds the EU presidency in the second half of 2025.