Special economic zone or promotion of growth centres - how should eastern Germany be assisted in future?

Once again reconstruction in eastern Germany is a topic of current discussion: Special economic zone or promotion of growth centres - which strategy will put Germany back on the growth path? For Dr. Klaus von Dohnanyi, former federal minister and chairperson of the Discussion Group for Eastern German Reconstruction (Gesprächskreis Aufbau Ost) only a carefully planned and binding cluster strategy can achieve optimal site conditions in eastern Germany since "it was a mistake to give weaker areas general priority in assistance". This view is supported by Matthias Platzeck, Minister President of Brandenburg. Prof. Joachim Weimann, Magdeburg University, underscores the necessity of a further expansion of science centres: "With all successes that have been achieved in this area, eastern German research still lacks a critical mass in many places; the institutes, universities and faculties are too small". In to the opinion of Prof. Helmut Seitz, Technical University of Dresden, eastern Germany failed to present a comprehensive "reconstruction concept" and a co-ordination of policy among the new Länder is also lacking. Dr. Martin Gillo, Economics Minister in Saxony, favours an "examination of all economic-policy instruments".