Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour
Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
© Hans-Dieter Hentschel
Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
© Hans-Dieter Hentschel
The Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour shapes the framework conditions for companies to improve the economic structure of the State. The broad cross-section of tasks extends from attracting and expanding companies to commercial business development and infrastructure funding, support with company succession, competition law and public contracts. Trade and commerce, professional training, innovation and collaborative research, money-laundering prevention and the health economy, developing tourism and employment protection matters are further points.
Labour market policy and combatting unemployment in Germany are basically the responsibility of the federal government. The federal states work on the shaping of federal framework conditions including collaboration with the Federal Employment Agency. The Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour MV supports labour market development in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with self-selected emphases and activities based on regional peculiarities and uses regional scope for manoeuvre and organisation. The promotion of the professional advanced qualification of staff and other labour market policy measures support companies in the north-east in national and international competition to develop and secure jobs in the regular labour market in the State. In addition, measures for the integration of specific labour market policy target groups such as the long-term unemployed, migrants and people with health impairments are developed and implemented in collaboration with the employment agencies and Job Centres in the State.
The European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD) is one of the two European Union structural funds for regions with underdevelopment and structural problems to support the economic catch-up process in these regions. The fund management of the EFRD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is located in the Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour MV. It plans, co-ordinates and controls the use of EFRD funds and monitors the implementation of the EFRD-financed support measures. The other European Union structural fund, the European Social Fund (ESF), is the European Union’s most important financing instrument when it comes to supporting employment measures in Member States. Economic and social measures which contribute to reducing poverty, strengthening education and securing employment are supported. The Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour MV also takes care of ESF fund management in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It works out and checks the strategic framework conditions for using ESF funds in the operational programme, plans, co-ordinates and controls the use of ESF funds and monitors the implementation of support measures financed by the ESF.
Roads, waterways and railways – in the conventional sense, the field of infrastructure covers the production and maintenance of traffic routes such as the building of roads, bridges and cycle tracks and winter road clearance. The harbours are also of outstanding importance for economic development in the north-east. As MV’s supreme aviation and aviation safety authority, the Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour MV is responsible for the areas of aviation policy, air traffic law, air traffic control, aviation safety and flight operations and for all aviation licensing procedures. The Ministry’s traffic policy is oriented towards including, supporting and connecting all areas of social life.
What will energy provision in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern look like in future? This question fundamentally describes the Ministry’s main work assignment. A number of basic points and objectives are already obvious. 80 percent of electricity required is to be sourced from renewable energy by 2050. To reach this goal, electricity production from renewable energy must be drastically increased. To this end, the State government has already taken a number of measures. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the first Federal State that can already supply itself 100 percent from renewable energy in terms of figures. Saving energy is just as important as developing electricity production and heat supply from alternative energy sources. Energy efficiency and energy saving are therefore key topics for security of supply from which innovations for new products and technologies result which in turn stimulate employment.
Spatial planning and State and regional development are the responsibility of the supreme State planning authority, the Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour MV. It is the Ministry’s task to integrate the regionally significant concerns of planners in other departments into spatial planning programmes following consideration of all interests and to reconcile them spatially. At the same time, the supreme State planning authority co-ordinates the planning of State and regional development with neighbouring federal states and the federal government.
The Ministry is located in a building which was built as a State party school from 1952 to 1954 which is already on the Regional Capital of Schwerin’s register of monuments.