Cross-border cooperation of Hungary and Croatia and territorial governance systems

Abstract

Croatia became a member of the European Union (EU) in 2013, a fact that enhances cross-border cooperation opportunities in terms of geographical space, organisational solutions and available financial resources. The cooperation is supported by the European Union and is of a nonprofit nature. Because previous cooperation practices are of limited use, project development and implementation required the development of new types of skills and institutional forms of cooperation.

The aim of the study is to show to what extent the institutional asymmetries between Hungary and Croatia are reflected in the activity of cross-border cooperation, both in terms of the composition of the beneficiary organisations implementing the projects and the different levels of the settlement network affected.

The first part offers a brief overview of the emergence of cross-border cooperation on the border between Hungary and Croatia and highlights the role of the European Union. After describing the specificities of governance and public administration in each country, an overview is provided on the implementation of the Hungary-Croatia IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme of the 2007–2013 programming period. After a brief methodological overview, the differences in the activity patterns of the different types of beneficiaries are identified, highlighting the two key areas of the programme – sustainable and attractive environment and sustainable tourism in the Mur–Drava–Danube region. Finally, activities and the role played in cooperation on individual levels of the settlement structure are investigated and the most relevant organisational types on these levels are described.

The main findings highlight the symmetric role of the two large regional centre cities, Pécs and Osijek, and their universities. However, in Hungary, despite the fact that both countries are unitary states, the role of state bodies is somewhat more important, especially in investmentoriented areas of intervention, even at lower levels of the settlement structure. In Croatia regional (county) institutions are generally more active, also in investment-oriented projects, being the main investors in the upper categories of the settlement structure. This gap on the Hungarian side is filled with non-governmental organisations, national bodies and private nonprofit organisations, the latter being an unknown category in Croatia. On the level of small towns and municipalities, Hungary is characterised by more intensive investment-orientation and a somewhat stronger presence of non-governmental organisations.