The stakeholders involved informed the region's members of parliament in the Bundestag, the state parliaments and the European Parliament about this in a discussion.

Klara Geywitz, Federal Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Building and Federal Government Commissioner for the Berlin Relocation and Bonn Compensation: "We stand together for the promised further development of the City of Bonn region. The necessary infrastructure for a second federal political center in our country has been built up here over decades. We want to make use of this. Many federal employees work and live here, as do employees of the United Nations and other international organizations. The region is to be further strengthened as a place where democracy is taught, as a cultural center and as a research location. We have underpinned the key points jointly agreed in April last year and prepared them in such a way that a new federal government can build on what we have achieved. The cooperation to date has been characterized by trust and cordial, constructive cooperation. I would like to thank everyone involved for this."

Mayor Katja Dörner: "It is very good that we are working together to secure the good results of the negotiations. I would like to thank Minister Geywitz for this and for her stringent and supportive approach to the negotiation process. In view of the progress made, it is very regrettable that it will no longer be possible to conclude the supplementary agreement in this legislative period. I expect a new Federal Government to build on the results of the negotiations. As a location for the UN and international organizations, as a science location, as a center of excellence for cyber security and sustainability and as the birthplace of the Basic Law and Ludwig van Beethoven, Bonn has many unique selling points that should be strengthened in the interests of the federal government. The good negotiations are already an important commitment by the federal government to Bonn's future viability as a location for government and administration."

Minister for Federal Affairs and Head of the State Chancellery Nathanael Liminski: "Together with Minister Geywitz and the representatives from the region, we have defined important guidelines for the supplementary agreement to the Bonn-Berlin Act. The aim of the state government and the region is now to build a bridge for a new federal government to quickly resume negotiations and bring the supplementary agreement to a swift conclusion. North Rhine-Westphalia will do everything politically necessary to achieve this. We are confident that, together with the federal government, we will achieve a good interim result on all points before the end of January. The "Letter of Intent" is a further development of the key points jointly agreed in April 2024 and must therefore also represent progress. As the state government, our objective is clear. We want to consolidate Bonn's successful development with a long-term perspective and also shape the added value of the City of Bonn in terms of resilience for Germany as a whole."

Dr. Fedor Ruhose, Head of the State Chancellery of Rhineland-Palatinate: "The negotiation process has continued successfully since the key points were agreed. An important result for the entire region is the signal from the federal government to include the concept for the development of new regional cooperation structures in the supplementary agreement, which should improve the sustainability and performance of the region as a place to live and work. The focus on "Places of Democracy Education", in which Rhineland-Palatinate projects are also involved, is becoming increasingly important in times of global crises and attacks on fundamental democratic values. The federal government has commissioned an expert report on this subject, the results of which we await with interest. I am confident that, on the basis of the joint declaration of intent, the negotiations will be continued immediately after the federal elections and brought to a successful conclusion."

The District Administrator and the District Councillors from the region, Cornelia Weigand (Ahrweiler district), Sebastian Schuster (Rhein-Sieg district) and Achim Hallerbach (Neuwied district): "We welcome the decision to record the results of the negotiations to date in a letter of intent. This is an important step towards continuing the talks with the next federal government in a targeted manner. Nevertheless, we would have liked to have already reached a binding supplementary agreement. It is important that this process is now continued swiftly in the interests of the region.

Background

The supplementary agreement between the federal government and the City of Bonn region as well as the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate is intended to follow on from the Berlin/Bonn Act. The political mandate to conclude a supplementary agreement results from the coalition agreement. Due to the new Bundestag elections on 23 February 2025, the supplementary agreement originally planned for March 2025 can no longer be concluded.

Six key points were agreed in April 2024:

• City of Bonn region as the seat of the United Nations and international organizations and as a sustainability location
• City of Bonn region as a national and international cybersecurity location
• City of Bonn region as a cultural center
• Region City of Bonn as a place for democracy education
• City of Bonn region as a location for a nationwide center for researching and teaching resilience
• City of Bonn region as a location for federal authorities and a place of residence for federal employees

Further information can be found at:  www.bmwsb.bund.de (opens in a new tab)

The federal government derives its funding authority from the determination of federal interest. Four studies have been commissioned to determine whether the projects are of federal interest and thus pave the way for possible funding.

The results to date are to be set out in a letter of intent in January.