ABSTRACT
Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004 and freedom of establishment for Poles in Germany in 2011 have been a driving force for economic cooperation and development in the German–Polish border region. Gross monthly wages in the business sector in the Lubuskie Voivodeship have increased rapidly in recent years and the value of exports on the Polish side of the Oder has doubled, whereas in the state of Brandenburg minimal increase is noted. Although the differences between these two regions are getting smaller, they still exist regarding, for example, the number of companies or average employment in the manufacturing sector. The aim of this chapter is to identify factors that enhance as well as handicap bilateral economic relationships in the German–Polish borderland. The author also deals with the question of whether, in the German–Polish border area, asymmetry can be observed as an imbalance in terms of economic capacity and economic development.
