Berlin – – September 15, 2026 -- dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur will livestream the closing event of EUconomy - Partnerships4Prosperity on September 15, 2026, at 18:30 CEST via LinkedIn, marking the conclusion of a 12-month media initiative co-financed by the European Union.
Event documents EU-funded cross-border projects across five German border regions
EUconomy - Partnerships4Prosperity, produced by dpa-Custom Content, has tracked EU-backed cross-border initiatives in German border regions adjoining Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, France and Denmark. The project distributed multilingual journalistic content packages -- including video, images and social media material -- free of charge to media outlets in Germany and beyond, illustrating how EU cohesion policy and Interreg funding drive regional development, sustainability, innovation, job creation and professional training.
Panel unites European Commission, Interreg and academic representatives
The closing event, held in dpa's Berlin newsroom, will feature Claudius Schmidt-Faber, Senior Economic Expert at the European Commission, delivering the keynote address. Additional panelists include Dr. Kai Böhme, an expert on European regional policy and territorial development; Izabela Glisic, Head of the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg Brandenburg-Poland cooperation program; and Pinar Hepperle, coordinator of the Sustainable Business Development master's program and the Interreg project TRAIL at Offenburg University.
Program includes project showcase and debate on journalism's role in explaining EU impact
The agenda covers a best-practice showcase of selected EU-funded cross-border projects from German border regions, a highlight video summarizing the EUconomy film series, and a panel discussion titled "How does Europe improve people's everyday lives -- and how can journalism tell this story better?" The panel will address why EU cohesion policy often remains abstract to citizens and how its local impact can be made more visible and relevant to regional audiences.