A strong partner for Europe and beyond
The district of Böblingen lies at the heart of Europe and maintains a close network with its European neighbors, and not just on an economic level. After all, Europe is far more a part of our lives than some might think.
The European signpost in Böblingen-Diezenhalde stands for the values of the EU, with which the district strongly identifies
Experts estimate the influence of European legislation on our everyday lives at 70 to 80 percent. The fact that we can travel to our neighbors abroad without having to change currency is already taken for granted. EU citizens also benefit from common standards, for example in consumer protection. The fact that we can make phone calls and surf the internet on the move in other EU countries without additional charges is also a credit to EU policy. The common Europe is also a peace project. The EU member states have been living together peacefully for almost 80 years. Today, this affects around 450 million people.
Cooperation at all levels
The 2022 Europe signpost in Böblingen's Diezenhalde district, not far from the center of Baden-Württemberg, stands for the important role that Europe plays in the district. The signpost shows the values of the EU in the respective national languages as well as distances to places of interest in the district and in Europe. As an art project, it symbolizes a dandelion whose message is carried far beyond the region by the wind.
The agreement establishes contacts in the various areas of social life and promotes friendly relations between the people in both districts. The Förderverein Kreispartnerschaft Böblingen - Temesch e. V. was also founded to support this cooperation.
A similar promise of friendship was made in 2004 between the district of Böblingen and the then Lithuanian district of Kaunas. The Böblingen district hospital had already been in close contact with medical staff from Kaunas since 1994. The promise of friendship set out the intention to extend the long-standing cooperation between the two hospitals in Böblingen and Kaunas to the district administration. The cooperation agreement was renewed in 2012, as the administrative structures in Lithuania were reformed. Since then, the partner has been the Kaunas Region Development Council.
Oujda in Morocco
Kaunas in Lithuania
Partnerships outside the EU
The district of Böblingen also looks beyond the EU's borders. For example, the district is part of the "Municipal Knowledge Transfer Maghreb-Germany" program. The program was launched in 2016 with the partner city of El Guettar in Tunisia. The city was looking for support in the area of sustainability. Abfallwirtschaftsbetriebe Böblingen initially helped to introduce waste separation in El Guettar in a pilot project. The project was then extended to the entire municipality. This also includes the planning and construction of a plant for composting organic waste.
In 2019, the successful partnership was expanded to include the areas of education and language acquisition, sustainable tourism and the marketing of handicrafts.
In addition, the district of Böblingen is also working with the Moroccan city of Oujda in the "Municipal Knowledge Transfer Maghreb-Germany" program. The aim is to promote sustainable mobility. As part of the cooperation, plans are being developed for a new section of cycle path and for the creation of several bicycle parking spaces in the center of Oujda. Swabian know-how is in demand far beyond the borders of the district.
El Guettar in Tunisia
Timisoara in Romania
