Welcome
German-Czech cross-border cooperation
National flags of the Czech Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, © dpa-Zentralbild
The Treaty on Good Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation of 1992 and the German-Czech Declaration on Mutual Relations and their Future Development of 1997 form the basis for the good and intensive cross-border relations between the two countries.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the border region reminded us just how closely connected Germany and the Czech Republic have become. The Federal Government’s objective remains to strengthen the integration of border regions and cross-border institutions. There are obstacles with regard to very practical matters that affect the everyday lives of the inhabitants of the border regions, including in cross-border transport, healthcare and the labour market.
On 14 July 2023, Federal Minister Annalena Baerbock visited the German-Czech border region and met her Czech counterpart Jan Lipavský in Vejprty/Bärenstein. The two municipalities are only a stone’s throw from one another. In Bärenstein, Baerbock and Lipavský briefed each other about the situation of cross-border commuters during the pandemic and about the cooperation between fire brigades and police forces across the shared border.
German-Czech regional forum of the Federal Foreign Office
In order to strengthen the networking of stakeholders from administration, civil society, business and science across local, regional and national levels, the Federal Foreign Office hosted the first German-Czech regional forum in Chemnitz in autumn 2023 in close coordination with Bavaria, Saxony and the Czech Republic. Under the patronage of Foreign Minister Baerbock and her Czech counterpart, over 200 participants exchanged views on German-Czech cross-border cooperation over the course of two days. The Federal Foreign Office intends to establish the German-Czech regional forum as a permanent fixture for stakeholders involved in German-Czech cross-border cooperation.
The Free State of Saxony and the Free State of Bavaria have maintained bilateral interministerial working groups with the Czech Republic on cross-border issues for over 30 years. In addition, there are five Euroregions: the Saxon-Polish-Czech Neisse-Nysa-Nisa; the two Saxon-Czech Euroregions Elbe/Labe and Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří; the EUREGIO EGRENSIS, which comprises the Bavarian, Thuringian, Saxon and Czech regions; and the Bavarian-Austrian-Czech EUREGIO Bayerischer Wald/Böhmerwald/Unterer Inn.