The supplementary agreement to the Berlin/Bonn Act is due to be signed on 17 December 2026, Federal Minister Verena Hubertz said at a meeting in the North Rhine-Westphalia representation to the federal government. The agreement is meant to permanently strengthen the particular competences and functions of the Bonn region and develop them in Germany’s national interest. The City of Bonn, the Rhein-Sieg district, the Ahrweiler and Neuwied districts and the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate negotiated it with the federal government.

What the agreement covers

The region reviewed a draft submitted by the federal government, and talks are based on a joint letter of intent. The main points:

  • UN and international organisations: under the lead of the Foreign Office, the federal government will draw up an overall strategy for growing the location, with a draft promised by the end of the year. The focus is an international UN and conference sector.
  • Cybersecurity: a cyber campus is rated as a project with potential, and a feasibility study from February 2025 confirmed federal interest. Funding remains open; talks continue in the coming weeks.
  • Culture: the Beethoven-Haus and the Beethovenfest Bonn are to receive additional federal funds for the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death in 2027. Extra support for the Beethoven Foundation is to back its new programme “place to b”. The Forum Exilkultur in the Windeckbunker is shelved for now.
  • Democracy: at the end of July the region applied for almost €90,000 from the foundation “Orte der deutschen Demokratiegeschichte”. Three Rhineland-Palatinate sites are included: the Willy-Brandt-Forum in Unkel, the former Marienthal government bunker in the Ahr valley and the Bridge at Remagen.
  • Federal offices and housing: a first new-build pilot project under the so-called Gebäudetyp E is planned for Bonn.

What was dropped or deferred

The Ahrweiler district commissioned a feasibility study for a civil protection centre in the Ahr valley, but the federal government cannot yet see national added value. It has promised the region a renewed review. The “Global Forum Bonn” sustainability research project will not be pursued, owing to a lack of federal interest and funding.

Regional planning and background

The region won a place in the federal RegioStrat programme and has €405,000 available until autumn 2028. The money funds a strategic regional development concept for the next 10 to 15 years, alongside a new regional governance structure.

For over 30 years the Berlin/Bonn Act has divided political tasks between the capital Berlin and the federal city of Bonn. In that time Bonn has become a major location for federal authorities, international organisations and the United Nations. Lord Mayor Guido Déus said: “Bonn is a strategic advantage for the whole of Germany.” Hubertz added that cooperation does not end with the signature.