New appointments to the Executive Committee and committees
Following the opening of the meeting by the chair of the Committee on Economic Affairs, Dr Stefan Dietzfelbinger, the mayor of the municipality of Bergen, Michael Rauner, warmly welcomed everyone to his municipality – a municipality with just one inhabitant per square kilometre and a unique location in relation to Germany. Following the welcome address, Stephan Reinders, mayor of the municipality of Bedburg-Hau, was appointed vice-chair of the Euregio Rhine-Waal and chair of the regional steering group. Luciën van Riswijk, mayor of Zevenaar, was also appointed chair of the finance and projects committee. Simon Panke, mayor of the Stadt Dinslaken, was appointed deputy chair of the finance and projects committee. Martin Kepser, mayor of Kranenburg, has been appointed deputy chair of the Committee on Cross-Border Relations, and Inge van Dijk, mayor of the municipality of Mook and Middelaar, has been appointed deputy chair of the Committee on Economic Affairs.
Farewell to Euregio Ambassador Prof. Dr Paul Sars
During the Euregio Council meeting, the Euregio Rhine-Waal bid farewell to the Euregio Ambassador, Prof. Dr Paul Sars. Since the network’s inception, he has always shown great enthusiasm in his commitment to our Euregio and, in this role as ambassador, has made a significant contribution to the Euregio Rhine-Waal. Dr Stefan Diezfelbinger emphasised once again that Prof. Dr Paul Sars has always been one of the greatest advocates of our Euregio. Whether it was handing out D-NL pins to prospective and new students, requesting the latest presentations for guest lectures, or organising visits to organisations, companies and Interreg projects: Prof. Dr Paul Sars has worked tirelessly to raise students’ awareness of the opportunities and importance of the Euregio. The Euregio Rhine-Waal extends its warmest thanks to him for all this and more.
Projects and project ideas presented
The Euregio Rhine-Waal regularly receives feedback from both Dutch and German member municipalities that the issue of the population’s resilience and self-reliance is becoming increasingly important, and that people are seeking the right approach to enhance this resilience. For this reason, during the meeting, the Deputy Secretary, Dr Heidi de Ruiter, presented the project idea for resilient municipalities, ‘REBORN’.
Mr Justus Keitel, a research assistant at the University of Münster, also presented a brochure on behalf of the Dutch-German Commission for Spatial Planning (NDCRO). The brochure provides residents in the border region with information on opportunities for public participation in spatial development and can be downloaded via this link.
This was made possible in part by the Interreg Deutschland-Nederland Programme and its programme partners, and co-financed by the European Union under the name ‘RuimteKompas: Orientation in the Border Region’.
Malve Falk then presented, on behalf of the Dutch Cultural Landscape Association, the Interreg Deutschland-Nederland project ‘Grenzenloos Landschap – Grenzenlose Landschaft’. Climate change and the biodiversity crisis are two major problems that society can only solve by working together. For this reason, the Naturschutzzentrum im Kreis Kleve e.V., together with the Vereniging Nederlands Cultuurlandschap, launched the project.
The Euregio Rhine-Waal would like to thank all those present for their valuable contributions and the interesting presentations.
