Federal politicians and Bavarian business leaders discussed innovations as an engine for export in Heideck

Representatives from federal politics and Bavarian business met at the event of the OstWestWirtschaftsForum Bayern e.V. (OWWF) in Heideck on the topic of ‘Bavarian innovations as an engine for economic cooperation with Eastern Europe and Asia’.

The OstWestWirtschaftsForum Bayern (OWWF) is a non-partisan interest group with around 900 members from business, science, associations and politics. Since its foundation in 1968, it has played a key role in maintaining contacts, exchanging views and establishing economic relations between companies. Long before the fall of the Iron Curtain, the organisation was one of the pioneers in building relations between West and East in Europe.

For the first time, one of the regular OWWF discussion forums took place in the rural area of Central Franconia at the HT Group's innovation and training centre on Wednesday evening. A total of three members of the Bundestag, federal political representatives from Berlin, met with Bavarian business representatives, regional associations and local politicians to discuss opportunities and partnerships in Eastern Europe and Asia. The event met with lively demand and was fully booked with well over 50 participants.

Yvonne Zienert, OWWF representative for Franconia, was responsible for the organisation and smooth running of the event, and she hosted the evening with her confident moderation. After the welcoming address by Ben Schwarz, District Administrator of the district of Roth, MdB Sascha Müller (Alliance 90/The Greens), MdB Nils Gründer (FDP) and MdB Ralph Edelhäußer (CSU) gave impulses from the perspective of their parliamentary groups on Bavarian exports to Eastern Europe and Asia. ‘The fast and competent solutions offered by medium-sized industrial companies in response to different global requirements in different countries are an important driving force behind the Bavarian economy,’ said Nils Gründer, member of the Free Democratic Party faction in the German Bundestag.

The companies Max Bögl, OHB and HT Group explained their range of products and services in the field of research and health buildings, as well as satellite solutions, in order to document their strong competitive position in Eastern Europe and Asia, which is characterised by their own innovation. The advanced system solutions and the strong presence of Bavarian companies, particularly from rural areas, in Eastern European and Asian markets became very clear.

The current challenges faced by Bavarian companies in international competition were discussed in the subsequent intensive discussion. Higher energy costs in Germany, including CO₂ pricing, lower labour costs abroad, particularly due to lower non-wage labour costs, the high tax burden in Germany and the increasing regulation and bureaucracy are leading to a decline in the competitive advantages of German products.

The regulatory challenges for German companies with very high administrative costs include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS-2 Directive), the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), the Taxonomy Regulation and the Energy Audit (EDL-G). Here, German legislators are called upon to optimise the design in such a way that the benefits of the required reporting obligations for companies are in line with the associated costs. This was the unanimous view among the business representatives.

‘Particularly in the rural areas of Bavaria, it is the medium-sized companies that ensure economic growth and prosperity in Bavaria through the high level of innovation of their employees,’ said Bill Holler, board member of the OstWestWirtschaftsForum Bayern (OWWF). At the end of the event, the representatives from politics and business agreed that everyone must work responsibly to ensure that Germany remains an attractive business location and that the current challenges must be resolved quickly.