Around 150 guests from politics, municipalities, business, and academia discussed both traditional funding programs and new cooperation models at the spring reception of the regionen.NRW network, held at the state parliament in Düsseldorf on Tuesday, March 17.

In the opening remarks, President of the State Parliament André Kuper pointed to the acute financial challenges faced by municipalities, noting that around €30 billion is missing nationwide this year. At the same time, he emphasized: “The major transformations of our time are shaped locally – in our cities and regions. As different as they may be, they share the ability to actively shape change and to overcome challenges together. Here, the federal government, the state, municipalities, and the business community share a joint responsibility.”

Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Media, and Head of the State Chancellery, also underlined the importance of regions in Europe on behalf of the state government: “In Brussels, too, during the current negotiations on the upcoming EU budget, it must remain clear: Europe’s strength lies in its regions. We must continue to ensure that decision-making on the use of funding remains within the regions.”

Ulla Thönnissen, Managing Director of the Region Aachen Special-Purpose Association, welcomed the participants on behalf of all regions in the network. In a panel discussion, representatives from business as well as from the state, federal, and municipal levels discussed concrete financing approaches. Participants included Vera Bökenbrink, Managing Director of STAHLWILLE, Garrelt Duin, Regional Director of the Ruhr Regional Association, Dr. Raphael L’Hoest from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and Christof Sommer, Managing Director of the Association of Cities and Municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The exchange continued in personal conversations during the subsequent reception.