The members of Mittlere Oder e.V., the German supporting association of the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion, met on 22.11.2024 at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) for the ordinary general meeting.
In addition to the annual financial statements of the previous years, the work and budget plan for 2025 was also discussed and adopted. The members also used the meeting to find out about the INTERREG VIA Brandenburg – Poland 2021–2027 cooperation program and the continuation of funding from the Small Projects Fund. Against the backdrop of the current challenges, the discussion about the projects currently being run by the association, including the establishment of "border information points" or cross-border educational programs, took up a lot of space.
The members welcomed the official start of funding from the Small Projects Fund a few months ago as part of the INTERREG V A Brandenburg – Poland 2021–2027 cooperation program. They were pleased to note the lively interest and broad response from applicants and endorsed the intended simplifications and increased attractiveness of this funding instrument.
With regard to the funding of German-Polish youth exchange events by the German-Polish Youth Office, the members noted with great concern that the increasing demand is offset by a stagnating annual budget. In conjunction with inflation-related cost increases, the situation has already come to a head to the extent that funding rates had to be reduced in 2024 on the one hand and funding had to be refused altogether on the other. The members expressly welcomed the initiative taken by both Euroregion sponsoring associations to join forces with the other German-Polish Euroregions to make an appeal to the governments of Germany and Poland in order to obtain a perspective for a substantial increase in the budget for the German-Polish Youth Office as soon as possible. Beyond the direct German-Polish border region, this would benefit all actors who are involved in German-Polish youth encounters in both countries.
The members also acknowledged the appeal of the Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA to the transport ministers of Germany and Poland, which is aimed at the immediate electrification and double-track expansion of the Eastern Railway. In this case, the Euroregion is once again taking on a current challenge in the German-Polish border region.
The 6-member board of Mittlere Oder e.V. (Chairman: Rainer Schinkel, Alderman, District of Märkisch-Oderland; Deputy Chairwoman: Milena Manns, Head of Department, City of Frankfurt (Oder); Treasurer: Sascha Gehm, 1st Alderman, Oder-Spree district; Board member: Christoph Bruckhoff, retired Superintendent; Board member: Janine Nuyken, Vice President, European University Viadrina; Board member: Robert Nitz, Mayor of Seelow) has been unanimously approved for the financial years 2022 and 2023.
Rainer Schinkel summarized the members' exchange as follows: "In view of the current national and global upheavals, the Euroregion's commitment to improving German-Polish cooperation has remarkable continuity and stability. With the work and budget plan adopted today, the basis for action has been created to be able to respond to upcoming challenges with the activities and projects planned for 2025 – for the benefit of the inhabitants in the cities, municipalities and districts on both sides of the border."
Mittlere Oder e.V. is a non-profit association based in Frankfurt (Oder) with 16 institutional members representing local authorities as well as business, society, the environment and science from the districts of Märkisch-Oderland and Oder-Spree and the city of Frankfurt (Oder). Mittlere Oder e.V. is a supporting institution of Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA (German side), EUROPE DIRECT Frankfurt (Oder), the central office of the German-Polish Youth Office for the state of Brandenburg for extracurricular youth exchange and the small projects fund within the framework of INTERREG. Together with the Polish supporting association Stowarzyszenie Gmin Polskich Euroregionu "Pro Europa Viadrina", Mittlere Oder e.V. has been working for over 30 years to initiate, coordinate and promote cross-border German-Polish cooperation, to intensify exchanges and partnerships in all areas of public life and to promote encounters and mutual understanding between Germans and Poles.