District of Märkisch-Oderland supports the Border Information Point of the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion in Frankfurt (Oder)

On December 3, 2025, an agreement was signed between Mittlere Oder e.V., the German supporting association of the Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA, and the district of Märkisch-Oderland, signed the agreement on cooperation in the establishment of an information and advisory network for the implementation of the Border Information Point of the Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA in Frankfurt (Oder) in the Frankfurt premises by the alderman of the district of Märkisch-Oderland, Rainer Schinkel, and the managing director of the Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA, Toralf Schiwietz.

With the agreement, both parties recognize the importance of cross-border cooperation in advising and informing citizens seeking advice as well as institutions, public bodies and authorities, but also non-governmental organizations from Germany and Poland on cross-border issues and agreed to work closely together in the implementation and operation of the Border Information Point. In this way, the district of Märkisch-Oderland offers active support for specialist questions in its thematic area of responsibility in an appropriate and targeted manner, strengthening the expansion and establishment of the network of institutions that provide the information required by people seeking specific advice. This step also creates synergies for the institutions and stakeholders active in the network and makes a tangible contribution to the success of the Border Information Point.
 

"The district of Märkisch-Oderland borders Poland for over 80 km, 2 voivodeships and several Polish partner districts, with which we have been working closely for years. Furthermore, as a founding member of the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion, we have been constantly striving for almost 35 years to improve the German-Polish dialog across borders and to promote cooperation between citizens. All this, rounded off by the responsibilities and expertise of our district administration, is ideally suited to make LIVING, LEARNING or WORKING across borders easier for the almost 200 thousand inhabitants of our district and for the numerous Polish citizens", explained Rainer Schinkel, Deputy Mayor of the district of Märkisch-Oderland and Chairman of the German supporting association of the Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA, during the signing ceremony.

Toralf Schiwietz, our Managing Director, was confident about this joint challenge: "With the district of Märkisch-Oderland, we have a reliable and competent network partner who also brings understanding and extensive experience with our Polish neighbors. We are delighted that the idea of establishing a border information point for the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion has met with such approval and support from regional stakeholders. We would like to thank the district of Märkisch-Oderland for their cooperation and support, and we are delighted with the increase in expertise and know-how that this has brought."

More and more people in the German-Polish border region are LIVING, LEARNING or WORKING across the border on the opposite side of the border. In the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion alone (Märkisch-Oderland district, Oder-Spree district, the city of Frankfurt (Oder) on the German side and the "Gorzowski subregion" – the northern half of the Polish voivodeship of Lubuskie), around 816,000 German and Polish citizens LIVE, LEARN and WORK. It should be emphasized that over 29,000 Polish citizens have resided in the state of Brandenburg for some time now, over 3,500 of them in Frankfurt (Oder) alone. Special attention should also be paid to the 68,900 Polish commuters to Germany, 13,800 of whom commute to Brandenburg.

The increasing interdependencies go hand in hand with a growing need for information and advice, for example on legal provisions or institutional responsibilities. It is therefore important to provide citizens seeking advice, as well as institutions, public bodies and authorities, but also non-governmental organizations from Germany and Poland, with the most reliable, diverse and expert information and advice possible in the areas of LIVING, LEARNING and WORKING. The existing initiatives and (advisory) services are to be communicated and linked with each other, and gaps are to be closed. To this end, the aim is to develop a network of institutions that will provide the information required by those seeking advice, but also create synergies for the institutions and players active in the network. The role of this network, which was initiated and is to be maintained by the network partner and the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion, is to provide expert support to the Border Information Point of the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion in Frankfurt (Oder) in its implementation and operation.

The Border Information Point of the Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA in Frankfurt (Oder) is available to citizens seeking advice as well as institutions, public bodies and authorities, but also to non-governmental organizations from Germany and Poland, in German and Polish, with free information and advice on LIVING, LEARNING, WORKING across borders in the Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA.

All towns, offices and municipalities on the German side of the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion are also encouraged to contact the Border Information Point. Its employees will also be happy to visit you on site to present the information and advice services, determine information and advice requirements and identify relevant topics.

You can find out more about the establishment of BorderInformationPoints in the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion at: www.euroregion-viadrina.de/gip or on our Facebook profile: www.facebook.com/euroregionviadrinaDE