Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein

WER: Could you update us on the results of your state's restructuring efforts?

Simonis: When the European Union decided to put aside some funds for structural changes in order to prepare some regions to meet the demands of the enlarged market, we got a large amount of money. We were able to use it to put into special regions and into specialized sectors. So we got the sort of structural change we wanted; a quick one.

When we took over in 1989, this region was mainly involved in agriculture and shipbuilding. Today, the biggest sectors for new employment are medical technology, medical research, medical everything -- amounting to 100 companies with some 10,000 employees. All this within just a decade.
Schleswig-Holstein Minister President Heide Simonis

WER: You are also very active in the health care sector. Does the fact that so many new medical technology companies are settling in Schleswig-Holstein play a big part in your involvement?

Simonis: What we saw is that obviously that sector is becoming a lot more attractive -- people want to spend more money for their well being. They want to be healthy, they want to be strong, they want to be able to do their jobs well, and they want something for their kids and themselves in order to enjoy life more.

We did research on new techniques, put quite a lot of money into the university, and are now able to offer medical services and treatment to Norwegian and Danish citizens, for example, who have long waiting lists in their respective countries.

We have also put emphasis on new techniques. One example is the so-called tailored medicine done in the medical university here in Kiel -- by Johnson & Johnson-Ethicon. They offer training for those people who are sitting somewhere else asking advice from the doctors here about what to do in a certain health situation. They send the information via the Internet, and the doctors analyze the data and tell them what they can do.

WER: Schleswig-Holstein acts as the gateway to Hamburg and is Hamburg's natural partner. What are some of the ways you work together with Hamburg in order to promote both regions?

Simonis: Obviously, Hamburg needs us because they need land. They are all city. We have land, and we have promised to provide them with the space they need.

As for us, being such a rural area, we really need the capital and the services a metropolitan area offers for shipping our goods around the world. A third of the container ships from Hamburg come from the Baltic Sea region via the port of Lubeck.

We have to find some sensible ways to work together for the benefit of the area and the greater region. The most important region for growth within the European Union will be the Baltic Sea region. It would be well advised for us to be there from the beginning instead of trying to catch up later.

WER: What are some of the programs you have launched within Schleswig-Holstein to promote growth in the region for foreign companies?

Simonis: We currently have a Japanese boarding school in the state which helps to attract Japanese parents to move over here and have their children closer to them instead of having to send them far away.

WER: What qualities do you think make businessmen want to relocate to Schleswig-Holstein?

Simonis: Part of the reason we have had these big structural changes is the fact that the natural environment here is healthy. These are the companies that need clear water, air, and ideal natural conditions. That is a good reason to convince people to come, a plus point in our favor.

We used to have a negative point, and that was the relative distance from other cities before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Hamburg was considered the end of the "civilized world." We were just an appendix. Now, with the entry of the Scandinavian countries (and in the future the Baltic States) into the EU, all of a sudden the world has broadened before us.

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