Knut Abraham visits the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion

German-Polish partnerships at municipal level an anchor in cross-border cooperation in the heart of Europe

Knut Abraham, Member of the German Bundestag and Coordinator for German-Polish inter-societal and cross-border cooperation of the Federal Government, also used his visit to Frankfurt (Oder) on September 3, 2025 to meet with representatives of the PRO EUROPA VIADRINA Euroregion and the East Brandenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He was accompanied by Ms. Anna Mołodciak, Deputy Chairwoman of the Board Stowarzyszenie Gmin Polskich Euroregionu "Pro Europa Viadrina", Mayor of Kłodawa Municipality, Mr. Rainer Schinkel, Chairman Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA, Mittlere Oder e.V., Alderman of the district of Märkisch-Oderland, and Ms. Monique Zweig, Managing Director of IHK Ostbrandenburg, were warmly welcomed to this first meeting at the German office of the Euroregion.

The managing directors of the Euroregion's supporting associations, Krzystof Szydłak and Toralf Schiwietz, introduced the participants to the discussion by outlining the structure, working methods and projects of the Euroregion as well as the special features of this border region, the opportunities and potential and current challenges. The importance of the projects realized within the framework of the Small Projects Fund and the German-Polish Youth Office was particularly emphasized. A central concern was the joint appeal of all 4 German-Polish Euroregions to the governments of Germany and Poland to increase the national shares in the funding of the German-Polish Youth Office in order to meet the growing demand for youth exchange projects.

Another focus of the discussion was on the existing border controls and their negative impact on the economic and social interdependencies of our border region. The interests of the border regions should be given greater consideration in national decisions: Furthermore, possibilities were also discussed to reduce existing hurdles for economic cooperation, e.g. within the framework of experimentation clauses. Cross-border infrastructure was also a topic of discussion. The demand of the IHK Ostbrandenburg and the Euroregion to include the German section of the Eastern Railway (Berlin – Kostrzyn – Gorzów Wielkopolski) in the "urgent requirements" of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan remains of particular importance. This would make it possible to finance the double-track extension and electrification of the line. Mr. Schinkel also discussed the six-lane expansion of the A12 and the construction of the new Oder bridge on the B1/DK22 between Küstrin-Kietz/Kostrzyn, including the resulting need to adapt the roads on the German side.

Thanks to his extensive international experience, particularly in the German-Polish context, Knut Abraham showed great interest and attached great importance to the many long-standing partnerships at the municipal level, which have often survived politically difficult times and form an essential backbone of German-Polish cooperation in the heart of Europe. He gladly accepted the offer from the representatives of our Euroregion for another meeting in the near future – this time on the Polish side, e.g., in Gorzów Wielkopolski.