Characteristics and Institutional Background of German Regional Policy: Lessons of German Unification

Abstract

The German regional policy focuses on supporting structurally underdeveloped regions, with its primary actions being to compensate the disadvantages, to promote structural transformation and to create competitive jobs. The unified German aid scheme was introduced in January 2020, supported by the German Government, to integrate all forms of aid into a single framework, and the catching-up policy now covers the Eastern provinces, as well as the underdeveloped western regions. Thus, thirty years after the establishment of the reunited Germany, the German regional policy was also integrated and the state support for the eastern and western provinces was no longer provided from a separate framework. The Solidarity Pact has been concluded, and previous priorities (i.e., helping the border regions, supporting the development of infrastructure and the establishment of companies, as well as the convergence of economically weaker East German provinces) have been replaced by new objectives. Modernizing the economic structure of the regions with coal mines, the development of green energy sources, digitalisation and modernisation have been highlighted.