Erfurt (dpa/th) - In the nationwide competition for the future center for European transformation and German unity, Jena counts on good chances. "We believe that we can score very well in the location competition with the other eastern German candidate cities," said Mayor Thomas Nitzsche (FDP) on Tuesday in Erfurt. The fact that the Thuringian state government backed Jena's application last week also contributes to this. Jena meets all the necessary criteria that were required in the tender.
The Lord Mayor said he was also happy that an interim preliminary determination on Frankfurt (Oder) was lifted and the procedure was transferred to an open competition. The application from Frankfurt (Oder) is supported by the state of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin. Saxony-Anhalt supports the city of Halle. In Saxony, Leipzig and Plauen want to work out a joint application.
The future center is to be built in an East German city by 2028 and will enable research, encounters and exhibitions on questions of transformation. This involves investments of over 200 million euros and 200 jobs. With the center, the federal government wants to honor the experience of East Germans with change and upheaval. The application phase runs until the end of September.
