On Monday 12 July 2021, Councillor Marcela Krejsová met with District Councillor Rita Röhrl in Regen, Bavaria. This meeting was initiated to follow up on the joint discussion on the 30th anniversary of the reopening of the border train station Železná Ruda - Alžbětín and to intensify cooperation between the Pilsen Region and the Regen District.
"The meeting was very friendly and beneficial. We discussed how to resume mutual cooperation after the coronavirus pandemic, during which tourism stopped completely. We agreed that the regions need one another very much, that it is necessary to be in constant contact and to cooperate in a targeted way, to connect the regions, to share experiences, to show regional work, to connect schools, etc.," said Marcela Krejsová.
The morning talks focused on the coronavirus crisis. Marcela Krejsová and Rita Röhrl agreed that contact between the two parties should not be interrupted in future crises as strongly as at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Cross-border workers are a necessity in both regions. On the one hand they increase their income by working in Germany, on the other hand they are very much needed as labour force in Bavaria. Economically, culturally or in terms of tourism, the two regions can no longer be separated. Tourist destinations should not be in competition with each other, but should work together on joint marketing and promotion.
Cross-border cooperation should be supported more. Better links should be sought in the field of education and EU subsidy programmes should be used to the maximum. The awarding of scholarships is also of great importance.
The participants visited the Joska World of Crystal, debated over lunch at the Hotel Mooshof in Bodenmais, and visited the ski stadium and Großer Arbersee, where they were joined by a personal friend of Marcela Krejsová, journalist Lída Rakušanová, who now lives in the Regen District.
At the end of the meeting, Marcela Krejsová and Rita Röhrl agreed that regular meetings should be held in the future. "Contact must not be cut off, it must be expanded," was the joint conclusion of the two.