The ceremony heralds a special presidential year, as 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the network. Having gained experiences from 30 years of fruitful cooperation the anniversary not solely permits to reflect the Four Motors’ past but also to define future ways of cooperation. Therefore, one major aim of Baden-Württemberg’s presidency is to maintain best practices and to hold on to essential areas of cooperation like digital economy, the cluster dialogue and climate protection - established by previous presidencies - while at same time giving new impetuses.
In particular the transformation process of the automotive industry and the future of mobility is a focal topic raised by the presidency of Baden-Württemberg. In a similar vein, the current presidency identified the future of the Europe of the regions – a debate that can be seen as the breeding ground of the network - as a major topic and one of its priorities. It can be argued that the idea of the Europe of the regions is at the heart of the cooperation. This is why the ceremony on the occasion of the anniversary on the 3rd of July 2018 in Stuttgart approaches the topic from a cultural perspective. The Working programme of the current presidency can be found here: Working Programme Baden-Wuüttemberg Presidency.
The next presidency is held by Lombardy starting from spring 2019.
