Professor John Bachtler was an invited speaker at a major international conference organised by the State Goverment of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany on 23 October 2009 to celebrate 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The three-day conference, '20 Jahre Mauerfall- Dimensionen der Veränderung - Wir in Europa', reflected on the economic and social transformation of eastern Germany over the past two decades.
It highlighted the major investment in infrastructure, urban regeneration and economic restructuring that has taken place, and also examined the considerable challenges that remain, notably demographic decline due to out-migration. John Bachtler was invited to participate in a round-table discussion with Saxony-Anhalt ministers and European Commission officials on the role that EU Cohesion policy is playing in the economic and social changes. Further information on the Conference is available here.