“A Matter of Justice”
Federal government settles more authorities in the east
02/23/2023, 10:01 am
Three decades after German reunification, the federal government is distributing its authorities more evenly across the country. This is how jobs are created. However, according to experts, this cannot compensate for the structural change in the East.
Three decades after German reunification, the more even distribution of federal agencies is progressing. Since 2019, the federal government has settled 32 new institutions, branches or offices in the five eastern German states, as the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced in response to a request from Left MP Sören Pellmann. These include, for example, a number of branches of the German Aerospace Center and departments of authorities such as the Federal Network Agency, the Federal Office of Administration or the Federal Office for Economics and Export Control.
Brandenburg and Saxony have each had ten new federal locations since 2019, seven in Saxony-Anhalt, three in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and two in Thuringia. A resettlement spread across state borders to Cottbus in Brandenburg and Zittau in Saxony. According to the Ministry of the Interior, at least 25 full-time positions are associated with each location. Pellmann explained that federal settlements in East Germany were a matter of justice. “That’s why the numbers are definitely showing positive signs,” praised the left-wing parliamentary group’s commissioner for Eastern Europe.
However, the additional federal institutions did not make up for the structural change in the East. The left-wing politician complained that not a single DAX company had its headquarters in the eastern German states. “The federal government, which is at least indirectly involved in Telekom, Post and Bahn, could have a lot more influence here,” said Pellmann. “The federal government must bring Telekom or Post to East Germany – at least parts of it.”