Strong cooperation in the German-Polish border region

From 5th till 7th October 2011, Szczecin was the centre for cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region. The German and Polish social partners of BSLN met for the second successful expert- and round table meeting while the 19th BSSSC-conference took place in Szczecin too.

At the BSLN expert meeting the draft concept for a cross-border labour market monitor as well as the draft report on existing activities in border region was presented and discussed. The results will be taken into account in the final concept for a cross border information and competence centre (CBICC) and will be presented at the BSLN conference in November 2011 in Hamburg. Also two representatives of an information centre for polish workers in Berlin reported about the challenges of cross border mobility at the expert meeting.

The discussions of the social partners are reflected in the second statement of the round table meeting. The representatives underlined the importance of a transparent regional labour market, where the necessary information are available for employees and employers. A platform for cooperation is needed in order to prepare short term as well as long term solutions in the fields of:

•    Labour market monitoring, which enables the identification of problems and challenges at the labour market and in vocational training.
•    Information management about living and working conditions as well as about labour- and social law on both sides of the border.
•    Best practice monitoring and exchange of experiences in the fields of training, life long learning, vocational training as well as the recognition of occupational qualifications.

The development of the border region was also the central topic at the 19th BSSSC-conference, which was organised by the Western-Pomeranian Presidency under the title “The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the Cohesion Policy – expectations and the role of the regions in the BSR”. Opened by the Marshall of the region Olgierd Geblewicz and the Baltic Sea Ambassador for the German Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States Gerhard Almer, topics around cohesion policy were discussed in plenary sessions and workshops. Most interesting for BLSN were discussions around migration and demographic processes. In the workshop “Social cohesion and voluntary work” BSLN and especially the German-Polish pilot project on the CBICC were presented. Afterwards an interesting discussion took place and many contacts could be established to interested organisations.

The discussions from the BSLN meetings and the BSSSC – conference show, that the border regions play a decisive role in implementing the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Especially the development of social dialogue and deeper cooperation structures can be taken as a good example for other Baltic Sea Regions.

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Download 2nd Statement of the BSLN round table in the German-Polish border region