The Fehmarn Belt Region

A growing and significant German commitment to the upcoming Fehmarnbelt link is opening a highway of growth opportunities in the future Danish-German Fehmarnbelt Region.

This became clear during the three-day Fehmarnbelt Days event in Lübeck from 14 to 16 June.

“We witnessed strong German interest in expanding cross-border cooperation, which is becoming increasingly important as the Fehmarnbelt link approaches completion. I am pleased that there is now a solid foundation and a clear will to seriously accelerate Danish-German cooperation across the Fehmarnbelt,” says Stig Rømer Winther, Director of Femern Belt Development.

Strong Organisations
Together with Lübeck’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Pia Steinbrücke (SPD), and Director of the business organisation Wirtschaftsförderung Lübeck, Dirk Gerdes, Stig Rømer Winther presented a project at Fehmarnbelt Days.

Over the next three years, the project will develop a Danish-German strategy to strengthen both business and cultural development in the Fehmarnbelt Region.

The project is led by Wirtschaftsförderung Lübeck (WIFÖ) and Femern Belt Development (FBD).

The goal is to expand the group of partners in the coming months with more strong organisations from both sides of the Fehmarnbelt.

From Words to Action
Senator Pia Steinbrücke emphasises that now is the time to move from words to action.

“The fixed Fehmarnbelt link connects us. Now we must understand how to make the most of the opportunities it brings. We are ready – and we will not waste the chances we’ve been given,” says Pia Steinbrücke.

Dirk Gerdes, Director of WIFÖ, adds that the Fehmarnbelt Region can grow into a cross-border development zone for business.

Stig Rømer Winther from FBD continues:

“We have a unique opportunity to develop the Fehmarnbelt Region as a European model for cross-border cooperation. This is not just about the major cities – in our case, Hamburg and Copenhagen/Malmö – but also about the regional towns and rural areas in between. They too must benefit from this major international infrastructure project,” says Stig Rømer Winther. 

The northernmost German state Schleswig-Holstein with approximately 3 million inhabitants, is increasing its focus on Eastern Denmark and aiming for even closer cooperation. Schleswig-Holstein’s growing interest in its northern neighbour is reflected in the 100-page "Denmark Strategy" adopted by the state, with a particular focus on the opportunities created by the Fehmarn connection.

"We aim for even closer collaboration with Denmark, our most important neighbor in the Baltic Sea region, within key future areas such as economy and infrastructure, education and culture, environment, climate and energy, as well as digitalization," stated Johannes Callsen, the Minister President's representative for cooperation with Denmark, on the state’s website.

Commenting on Schleswig-Holstein's "Denmark Strategy," Stig Rømer Winther, Director of Femern Belt Development, said:
"Schleswig-Holstein is very clear in its assessment of the new opportunities that the Fehmarn connection creates for intensified German-Danish cooperation, politically, economically, and culturally. The state has a longstanding tradition of close cross-border cooperation with Southern Jutland, and they now plan to draw from these experiences in a future intensified partnership with Eastern Denmark."

Increased Cooperation Benefiting Development
In its "Denmark Strategy," Schleswig-Holstein highlights numerous areas where enhanced collaboration across the Fehmarn Belt can benefit development on both sides, including:

• Promotion of cross-border cooperation and reduction of border barriers
• Strengthening of a shared economic region
• Improvement of cross-border mobility and infrastructure
• Culture, education, and research in close collaboration
• Energy, climate, and environment under shared responsibility
• Digitalization as an opportunity

Even Closer Danish-German Cooperation
Stig Rømer Winther, Director of Femern Belt Development, welcomes the content of Schleswig-Holstein’s "Denmark Strategy."
“The state's focus areas align precisely with the areas we have been working on from the Danish side for many years and are currently addressing by creating networks and collaboration between Danish companies, educational and knowledge institutions, cultural actors, and the political sector. I am pleased that we see the same development opportunities, and I look forward to continued and even closer collaboration with Schleswig-Holstein,” says Stig Rømer Winther.

Schleswig-Holstein has also appointed a “Denmark Coordinator” who will bear the primary responsibility for keeping the intensified focus on collaboration with its northern neighbor on track.

Further Information
Further information about Schleswig-Holstein’s "Denmark Strategy," including an option to download the entire strategy, can be found on the state’s website

Danish and German business promotion organizations are joining forces for a joint initiative at Europe’s largest trade fair for real estate and investments, Expo Real 2024, which will take place in Munich from October 4-7.

“We are delighted to have the unique opportunity to be part of Schleswig-Holstein's stand at the fair. This collaboration between the state and the Danish and German business promotion organizations allows us to promote a collective Fehmarn Belt region together. This partnership highlights the iron-will commitment to cross-border cooperation across the Fehmarn Belt to drive growth and development in the region,” says Stig Rømer Winther, CEO of Femern Belt Development.

Powerful Danish-German Cooperation
Femern Belt Development has participated in Expo Real for the past five years, but this is the first time such a broad and powerful Danish-German collaboration has been established at the fair.

The Danish participants at Expo Real 2024 include Erhvervshus Sjælland, Business LF, and Femern Belt Development.
The German partners are Wirtschaftsförderung Lübeck GmbH, Wirtschaftsförderung Kreis Stormarn, Wirtschaftsförderung Kreis Segeberg, and Wirtschaftsförderung Herzogtum Lauenburg.

Growing Interest in the Fehmarn Corridor
Femern Belt Development has positive experiences of participating in Expo Real.

“We specifically aim to establish connections with property developers and companies in the energy sector and renewable green energy production. It is difficult to specifically the measure of our participation, but we can see that contacts we made five years ago have since visited our area, explored the opportunities here, or even made investments,” says Stig Rømer Winther.

“And there is no doubt that interest in the entire Fehmarn Corridor will continue to grow in the coming years as we approach the opening date of the fixed link,” he adds.