Land Hessen

In Hesse there are 265,671 businesses and in the period 2020/2021 400 start-ups were created. Its export rate is 53.5% (the national average is 48%). It is ranked 9th in the 2020 European Innovation Index.

The main industries are in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, including Sanofi-Aventis, Merck KGaA, B. Braun, Fresenius, Heraeus, Messer Griesheim. Rüsselsheim is home to Opel’s largest plant and Baunatal to Volkswagen AG; Fulda is home to the tyre factory of the same name; Frankfurt is home to Continental, and Kassel is home to the locomotive factory of the Canadian company Bombardier. Offenbach, a town of Huguenot origin, known for its leather industry, is now the headquarters of the German Weather Service and a university centre for art and design. The central towns are also home to optics, precision mechanics and electrical engineering companies, including Leitz, Leica, Minox, Hensoldt-Zeiss, Buderus and Brita.

A strategic factor of the region is its central geographic location, which makes it a hub for air, rail and waterway transport. The ‘Rhein-Main’ airport is one of the most important transport hubs in Europe: with 81,000 employees, it is the largest employer in the region. It has the largest volume of freight traffic in Europe and the twelfth largest passenger traffic in the world.

Hesse is the main financial region in continental Europe: it is home to the European Central Bank, the Bundesbank and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Frankfurt am Main hosts numerous trade fairs and congresses. The largest are the International Motor Show, the ISH on heating and air-conditioning technology, the Musikmesse on the music industry, the Frankfurt Book Fair, Paperworld on the paper industry, Ambiente, the leading trade fair for consumer goods, and Automechanika on the automotive industry. The state economy, science and politics are the focus of the activities of the Technology Foundation of Hesse, which was established by the government with the aim of strengthening innovation capacity and competitiveness.

In Hesse, there are 62 research centres and 38 academic centres: 7 universities, 22 universities of applied sciences, 3 academies of music and art, and 6 faculties of theology. The first telephone was presented in 1861 by Philip Reiss from Gelnhausen.

The European Space Operations Centre has been based in Darmstadt since 1967 and it manages the satellite control operations of the European Space Agency.

• The Memorandum of Understandingwas signed on 29 July 1992.
• A joint statement was signed on 29 June 2014, also initiating cooperation in the field of spas and vocational training.
• On 25 October 2017 a Joint Statement on Cooperation in Social Integration was signed (expired in 2019).
• On 25 January2018 the Manifesto for a Cohesion Policy at the Heart of Europe was signed together with Wielkopolska and Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
• In March2018, the two Assemblies signed a joint declaration calling on the Committee of the Regions to continue pursuing a European policy increasingly attentive to regional communities.
• On 12 June2019, the two Regions, together with Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Gauteng, Guandong, Pennsylvania and California, jointly signed the Declaration “Regions for Global Sustainable Development”. Through this document, they officially committed themselves to effectively collaborating on the ‘hot’ topics of Big Data, digitalisation of production systems, transformation of cities, climate change and the environment.

The two regional administrations have initiated projects and exchanged experiences in most areas.

Peace School Foundation of Monte Sole

The Peace School Foundation of Monte Sole, established in 2002, has its registered office and operating facilities in the Historical Park of Monte Sole. Its aim is to promote training and peace education projects, non-violent conflict resolution, respect for human rights, for peaceful coexistence between different peoples and cultures and for a society without xenophobia, racism and violence. Land Hessen is one of the founding members and sits on the Board of Directors.

Representation in Brussels

The Emilia-Romagna Region and Land Hessen have shared a representative office in Brussels since 1994. Two partner Regions, France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Poland’s Wielkopolska, have since joined. This partnership facilitates dialogue with the EU institutions and makes it possible to represent regional interests within the EU, contributing to the process of European integration.

Economy and business

Representatives from the business world have been collaborating on joint projects since 2000. The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) was created in 2008 by the European Commission with the aim of supporting European SMEs in their business activities and growth through an internationalisation and technological innovation service. The Emilia-Romagna chapter of the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce (Unioncamere), the Ravenna Chamber of Commerce and Hessen Agentur, the development agency of Land Hessen, are involved in the EEN.

Several B2B meetings have been held as part of the trade fair dedicated to the green economy ‘Ecomondo’ and previously at ‘Ricicla’ in Rimini.

Saving water and protecting the environment

Since 2010, the two Regions have cooperated on the topics of water, water saving and the environment. In that year, they signed an agreement and started the WaterCoRe project with five other European Regions, whose aims are to combat climate change and to preserve water resources. In November 2011, they signed an agreement with 10 other European Regions on air quality called “AIR, Air Initiative of Regions”. In 2019, both Regions signed the “Under2 Memorandum of Understanding” aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This international agreement led to the formation of the Under2 Coalition, in which the Emilia-Romagna Region is a member of the steering group.  In September 2021, the Under2 Coalition updated its MoU, bringing it in line with the newest and most urgent European and international goals, namely introducing carbon neutrality by 2050.

Jugendpreis contest

Since 2006, the Emilia-Romagna Region has participated in the Youth Prize Contest organised by the Hessian Academy of Research and Planning in Rural Areas together with the partner Regions Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Wielkopolska. The contest, in Italian and German, is open to young people aged 12 to 21. It takes place in cooperation with schools and universities. The aim of the contest is to strengthen the sense of belonging of young people from Hesse and its twin Regions to the European Union and to encourage them to work for an inclusive, supportive and tolerant society.  The theme for 2023 is ‘Data’, to stimulate reflection on the role of data in contemporary society and to make young people better aware of the opportunities and risks of using data.

Regional wine shop in Frankfurt am Main

In September 2009, a partnership between private entrepreneurs and Enoteca Regionale Emilia-Romagna led to the opening in the financial district of Frankfurt am Main of ‘InCantina’, a venue showcasing wines and typical products from Emilia-Romagna. ‘InCantina’ hosts exhibitions and cultural events and it also sells wines and food products from Emilia-Romagna.

Agriculture and quality: the AREPO network

Since 2004, the two Regions have been members of AREPO, the Association of European Regions for Products of Origin.

Immigration and asylum

Erlaim is a European network of Regions and local authorities on immigration and asylum, promoted and coordinated by the Emilia-Romagna Region. It is made up of more than thirty institutions from eight Member States (Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom) and its aim is to gain a better understanding of European local contexts in the field of immigration, reception and integration. Land Hessen has also joined this network.

Aerospace industry

Since 2020, the two Regions have been cooperating within NEREUS, the Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies, a non-profit organisation based in Brussels.

Twin Towns

• Bertinoro (Province of Forlì-Cesena) and Kaufungen
• Brisighella (Province of Ravenna) and Zwingenberg
• Carpineti (Province of Reggio Emilia) and Münzenberg
• Casina (Province of Reggio Emilia) and Fritzlar
• Castel San Pietro (Province of Bologna) and Bad Salzschlirf
• Codigoro (Province of Ferrara) and Eppertshausen
• Collecchio (Province of Parma) and Butzbach
• Ferrara and Gießen
• Gattatico (Province of Reggio Emilia) and Zierenberg
• Gatteo a Mare (Province of Forlì-Cesena) and Fuldatal
• Meldola (Province of Forlì-Cesena) and Wolfhagen
• Modigliana (Province of Forlì-Cesena) and Immenhausen
• Predappio (Province of Forlì-Cesena) and Breuna
• Quattrocastella (Province of Reggio Emilia) and Weilburg
• San Mauro Pascoli (Province of Forlì-Cesena) and Naumburg
• Sarsina (Province of Forlì-Cesena) and Grebenstein
• Sub Ambito Acquacheta (Province of Forlì-Cesena) and Hofbieber
• Vignola (Province of Modena) and Witzenhausen

Twin Provinces

• Province of Forlì-Cesena and Landkreis Kassel
• Province of Parma and Kreis Offenbach