02–05 April 2003, hosted by the Verband Region Stuttgart and held in the Haus der Wirtschaft. Having only joined METREX in 2002, Verband Region Stuttgart hosted the Spring METREX Meeting in 2003 on the theme Metropolitan Governance. An outcome of the Conference was the adoption of a Strategy Statement by the Network of German Metropolitan Regions:
- Policies in all spheres and at all levels must be increasingly geared towards meeting the needs of metropolitan regions
- Efficient forms of regional co-operation must have political legitimacy and secure funding
- The most important tasks of the metropolitan regions are connected with supra-local planning, provision of infrastructure and regional promotion of economic development Stuttgart Spring meeting
- Metropolitan regions must co-operate more closely both at national and international level in order to enhance their efficiency and advance their common interests
- Each metropolitan region must consistently develop its specific profile as a business location
- The metropolitan regions must aim at a division of labour and tasks
- The metropolitan regions must develop a sense of identity and encourage active participation of their citizens
- The German metropolitan regions must intensify and co-ordinate their Europe-related activities.
