James Clark, age 44, is leaving for good and makes room for Britain's new Ambassador Peter Bateman, who is flying in from his ambassadorial post to Bolivia. But Mr Clark's time in the Grand Duchy will not be easily forgotten. In 2005, he was at the centre stage of both the Luxembourg and UK presidencies of the European Union and was also responsible for moving the Embassy's offices to its current location on Boulevard Joseph II. Now he's looking back at a country which has left a deep impression on him.

1. Mr Clark, you have been in Luxembourg since March 2004. When was the most difficult period you experienced?

2. “The most difficult period was in 2005, the year of both the Luxembourg and UK presidencies of the EU as well as the UK presidency of the G8. During the Luxembourg presidency, the Embassy staff had to put in a lot of extra work to receive floods of visitors from the UK. Among them were various Cabinet Ministers, the Lord Mayor of London, and Princess Anne. A crucial time was the end of the Luxembourg presidency, when the UK and Luxembourg disagreed over the future financing of the EU. It was also the beginning of the UK presidency, which then of course put a particular spotlight on the Ambassador. So arguably, the UK presidency involved even more personal challenges for me than the previous one held by Luxembourg.

3. During your stay, many of the Embassy's activities were transferred to Paris. Does this mean that the UK sees Luxembourg as a less important player than it used to?

4. “No. The Embassy has two roles here: one in relation to Luxembourg and one in relation to the British community. The former role has not changed at all. But it is true that transferring the passport and visa processing to Paris might have affected the British community here. However, the reasons for this are very complex. First, because of the new biometric passports, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are concentrating their issuance in fewer and bigger places like Paris. A huge problem was that we relied too much on the French postal system to send the pass-ports from Luxembourg to Paris and back. We thought we had a system which was pretty appropriate. Yet people who wanted them back within a short time were baffled because it would take two or three weeks each way even by certified mail. It also used to be that you could obtain a visa by post. Now, you have to present yourself in Paris, which requires a lot of pre-planning.

5. What is the Embassy's exact role as a mediator between Luxembourgish and UK businesses?

6. “The Embassy's primary function is to promote trade and investment. We work in partnership with the Embassy in Brussels in a sort of integrated team. Our commercial attaché here is part of a larger group based in Brussels, which covers all business issues in Luxembourg and Belgium. Regarding the trade promotion, we are trying to hook up traders and sellers on both sides. We also have a very strong relationship with the British Chamber of Commerce and the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, whom we do things in common with, as they also sponsor a lot of our activities. On the investment side there are two aspects: first, assisting people who come to us with enquiries and who are investing into Britain for the first time or expanding an existing investment. Secondly, we also support UK companies who want to establish investment links in Luxembourg.

7. Did you personally take part in Luxembourg/UK transactions?

8. “The main area, which I usually contribute to, is when there are big existing investments in the UK. Just getting to know them, checking whether they are happy with things. Certainly on the investment side, there have been times that I have been called on to play a mediator role where an investor here has had a question, an issue or a problem to which he doesn't feel he's getting the right answer back from the UK authorities.

9. How do you see the rivalry between Luxembourg and London as financial centres?

10. “I don't think there is a rivalry. I think it's more of a symbiotic and complementary relationship. Most of the institutions, which are represented in Luxembourg, are also in the City (of London's financial centre) and they just use their bases here and there to do different things. There are a lot of links not only with London but with Edinburgh too. It is often the same players exploiting the different strengths of different financial places.

11. With the new PM Gordon Brown in power, is there now a shift in foreign policy taking place?

12. “Gordon Brown said he was not sending out a signal of fundamental change in the foreign policy direction and reaffirmed Britain's strong relationship with the EU and the US. I am hesitating because it's a difficult time at the moment and also quite early days. A politician's personal style and experience in the job will inevitably influence the way policy is being conducted. It is too early for that to have happened. The only thing I can say at the moment is that it is not his intention to make a fundamental change in foreign policy and he has of course reaffirmed the importance of the EU and the US relationships.

13. But Mr Brown first went to Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy rather than to George W. Bush. Isn't he refocusing Britain's priorities?

14. “We don't see the relationships as competing. The EU is our biggest relationship within the EU and the US is our biggest relationship outside the EU. The fact that the PM visited the German Chancellor and the French President is indicative of how important the EU is in Britain's view. Equally, he is well-known as a friend of the US. He's been taking holidays in the US and he looks towards the US for inspiration. An important point for us too is that the EU is an indispensable relationship, especially in the globalising world. There are so many things that we the UK, or Luxembourg, or France and Germany would like to do in the world and actually we can't do individually. The EU is an essential partner for being able to deliver what we want to deliver.

15. Tony Blair was a strong defendant of the euro but had to give in to pressures from Gordon Brown's Treasury. Now, with the latter in power, is Britain ever going to join the euro?

16. “Before the Labour government came to power in 1997, of the two politicians, Gordon Brown had the reputation of being more pro-EU than Tony Blair. I think it is important to bear that in mind when we think of his record as Chancellor in relation to the EU. He is not coming at it with a eurosceptic perspective but from the perspective of the UK's Chancellor and being responsible for the state of finances. If we took a decision as fundamental as taking Britain to the euro, we would need to be very sure that we were taking the decision for the right reasons and that the result would be good for the economy. The political and economical strands of the argument are very strong, which is particularly essential when looking at a country like the UK where public opinion is divided on the issue of Europe. There are very strong feelings on both sides of the argument, not just about EU integration, but also about the EU currency in particular. But equally, I am not an economist, and I wouldn't like to make predictions as to if, or actually when, the UK will join the euro.

17. Is being Consul in Chicago a better post than being Ambassador in Luxembourg?

18. “It's a bigger post. I think it will be perfect in a different way because Luxembourg is perfect. One of the most commonly replayed conver-sations I have had with members from the British community is: ‘So how long have you been in Luxembourg?. – Well, I came for one year in 1975 and here I am some 30 years later.' This is a very common occurrence because Luxembourg is so beautiful, so welcoming, so central and the quality of life is so high. Also professionally, Luxembourg has been very interesting. EU policy is what I have done for most of my career, so being right at the geographic centre has been an advantage. Our main reason for having an Embassy here is actually because of EU policy and because Luxembourg, although small, is disproportionately influential. PM Juncker is evidently part of that, as well as Luxembourg's administration, which has such strong people and experience.

19. What will be different about Chicago?

20. “I am sure Chicago will be good if I have the right attitude to go there. One thing I was told recently is that Chicago is the biggest Luxembourgish city abroad. So there is an emotional continuity there. But in terms of the new job, I'll miss EU policy, but of course US domestic policy will be interesting. There will be a greater involvement in UK domestic policy through the “best practice agenda”. There will be more trade and investment because obviously there are some very big companies that want to invest in the UK. There are differences: here everything is concentrated, there it's much dispersed. The other interesting thing, as Oscar Wilde said: ‘The US and the UK are two countries divided by a common language.' This is what will be fascinating because I am quite sure that's the case.”

CLAIM TO FAME

On 30 March 2004, James Clark and his registered partner Anthony Stewart were the first officially recognised homosexual couple to receive an audience with Queen Elisabeth II. They are also the first gay couple to be sent abroad under the British Foreign Office's “partner scheme”. The reaction to his homosexuality in Luxembourg? “It was very welcoming, very open. There never seems to have been an issue. People just took it in their stride. It depends on how you approach it yourself. In a sense, you are in a position to create problems when you expect problems. Sometimes people then sense that worry. But if you are comfortable and approach people with the idea that there will be no problem, it's easier for everyone.”