Just four months ago, an application by the Greens and ÖDP in the Unterschleißheim city council to seek a town twinning with a municipality in the Ukraine failed by a narrow margin. Now Unterschleißheim is discussing again whether a collaboration can make sense. And the signs have also changed after Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, together with President Volodymyr Zelensky, publicly called for such partnerships to be entered into during his visit to the Ukraine. “Communal partnerships are at the heart of our bilateral cooperation and are an indispensable part of a vibrant Europe of civil society, good governance and local democracy,” the two presidents said in a statement.
During his visit to Kyiv, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke out in favor of partnerships between German and Ukrainian municipalities.
(Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa)
From the point of view of Green City Councilor Lissy Meyer, the moment has now come to think again about closer ties between Unterschleißheim and a municipality in Ukraine. She expressed regret that her application, made jointly with Bernd Knatz (ÖDP) in May, was denied further treatment in June by a vote of 14 to 14. At the most recent city council meeting, she asked whether such a “solidarity partnership” could be put on the agenda again in a different way. Mayor Christoph Böck (SPD) explained that the topic had already reached the council of elders and was being dealt with there.
107 municipalities in Germany already have partnerships
In their statement, Steinmeier and Selnsky emphasized that many municipalities in Germany had already shown solidarity with Ukraine and taken in refugees. Partnerships enable “targeted, stable and rapid aid deliveries and the supply of essential goods”. They promoted the exchange of experiences and have already made a contribution to the economic recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. The application by the Greens and ÖDP was also about supporting a municipality in Ukraine “in the current turmoil of war and in the long-term reconstruction after the war”. “Human suffering and destruction in Ukraine know no bounds,” argued Meyer and Knatz.
As organizational mediators, Meyer and Knatz brought the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) into play, which supports town twinning on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Since the beginning of the war, the number of town twinnings with Ukraine has increased from 70 to 107. Further partnerships are being planned, according to SKEW, or are already being initiated. Pullach is the only community in the district of Munich that has been partnered with a community in the Ukraine. Since 1990, the Isar Valley community has been connected to Baryschivka and Beresan east of Kyiv, which has been marked by the war.