Hanna Soltész

Exam nr.: 4106748

Southern Denmark University

Department of Political Science and Public Management

Comparison of two border regions:

The cases of the Hungarian-Austrian border
and the Hungarian-Romanian border
European Border Regions
Katarzyna Stoklosa

Examination Identification: 4106748

Number of keystrokes: 35.851
2023. 06. 15.

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Exam nr.: 4106748

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Theory
a. Actor -Network Theory
b. Cross-Border Cooperation
4. Schengen Agreement
5. Hungarian – Romanian border
6. Hungarian – Austrian border
7. Conclusion

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Introduction:
This paper is focusing on two different border regions, one of them is a border within the
Schengen area, so the border is not that noticeable, the other one is at the edge of Schengen area,
but with a country, which is also part of the European Union. These two borders are the Hungarian
– Austrian and the Hungarian – Romanian borders. These two are completely different from each
other, and this is not only because of Schengen, the East-West difference can also be seen. Hungary
has its past with both of the countries, namely the Habsburg Empire that connects Hungary to
Austria, and the Soviet occupation and influence in the Eastern Europe after the Second World War,
which creates a similar process that happened in Hungary and Romania. Furthermore, in case of
Romania, there is one more factor, the is consequence of the Trianon Treaty after the First World
War, which is that one of Hungary’s largest territories was annexed from Hungary and given to
Romania. This is also true about the Austrian Hungarian border, because a smaller territory was
also given to Austria, but thanks for the Schengen border, it is not so visible. People can cross this
border – often – without border control, while people have to stand in a queue for hours both sides
at the Romanian border in order to cross it. In both cases, there are Hungarian on the other side of
the border, as the territory used to be Hungarian once. So I would like to do this research about the
cross-border cooperation in these regions and also focus on the rights of minorities in these two
regions.

Methodology
The two main focuses of the paper would be the different policies in connection with the
cross-border cooperation in these two regions, how they were developing as a region, also from
economic perspective, and I would also investigate them from sociological perspective, so how the
nations are living together and how they are treating the national minorities in these regions.
As unfortunately in English there are not that many sources about these particular borders, I
will have to use also Hungarian sources in case of the Romanian – Hungarian border region. The
sources are research different papers, book chapters, articles, and official websites.

Theory
Actor-Network theory

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Briefly the actor – network theory’s most basic presupposition is that institutions,
organisations and indeed all of society are impacts, and that these impacts are the consequences of
connections across a diverse network of individuals and non-human entities. Therefore, actors and
their properties are the result of their interactions with other actors, even more than their intrinsic
characteristics. In this manner, non-human actors, such as borders in this case, can be seen as
components of governance and networks across borders. In other words, the presumed stress
between borders and cooperation is no longer present, as networks are seen as challenging and
subverting formal arrangements and hierarchies underpinned by borders. (Zimmerbauer, 2011, pp
215)
The actor – network theory scholars subdivide actors into mediators and intermediaries. The
first ones determine the goal and the issue and try to persuade the other actors to reconcile their
interests with their own. Intermediaries are fairly stable players that make networks possible;
different kinds of intermediaries may consist of texts, technical artefacts, people and money. The
actor – network theory highlights the ways in which specific social contexts and human actors
inscribe these intermediaries into their networks of actors. The actors interact and are influenced by
each other, coexisting side by side. Law, one of the other core authors of actor - network theory,
argued that ,,entities acquire their form as a consequence of the relations in which they are
situated… in, by and through these relations”. (Wang, Yau, 2018, pp 214) Networking is essential
for actor – network theory because it sees the connections, or stabilised groups of relationships or
associations, as a means of constructing the world. (Wang, Yau, 2018, pp 214-215)

Cross - Border Cooperation

In border regions, cooperation can be developed naturally and without difficulty; however,
there are some difficulties to deal with, but perhaps the most crucial is the way the nation state is
traditionally conceived, the territory it controls and thus the key dividing role of borders. State
authorities operate within a specific territory, a state border works as a specific type of barrier that is
used to restrict or obstruct the free movement of a person or goods from one place to another. The
border functions originate from the functions of the state. Internal borders have been given a new
role, at the same time as external borders have been materialised as an external policy area for the
new governance of Europe and the regions’ convergence. While maintaining the role of the
geographic border of the state, administrative powers in border areas have been moved from central

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administrations to the newly established supranational bodies and local authorities. (Badulescu D.,
Badulescu A., Bucur, 2015, pp 559 - 578)
Cooperation across borders has been addressed in numerous official documents. As an
example, the Council of Europe's papers mention the term so-called trans frontier cooperation,
described as "a type of collaboration in the areas of border crossing services and jobs, through
which all kinds of flows pass", such as the improvement of transnational initiatives involving local
bodies from various national jurisdictions. (Badulescu D., Badulescu A., Bucur, 2015, pp 559 - 578)
In various forms, degrees of intensity, geographical and structural organisation, these links
virtually cross all the internal borders of the EU, setting up a great network of collaboration,
reinventing and reinforcing the vision of a Europe without borders, opening the door to a Europe of
Regions, instead of a Europe of Nations. (Badulescu D., Badulescu A., Bucur, 2015, pp 559 - 578)
In Central and Eastern Europe, most cross-border cooperation agreements have been in
place for more than a decade and regional public administrations are permanent and relevant players
in several actions and ongoing projects. Individual partnerships, human resources and qualified staff
involved in cross-border activities may be preconditions of effective operations, but this benefit
may not be maintainable in the mid and long-term future unless cross-border cooperation is
properly institutionalised. (Badulescu D., Badulescu A., Simut, Bac, 2017, pp 583 - 604)
Firstly, the reduced human and financial capacities of local authorities become a spiral.
While there are resources available through projects that demand highly skilled staff, but there are
also limited resources of their own to develop, maintain and manage knowledge, and a shortage of
time to invest in the building of dedicated systems of expertise. Second, there is a high level of
expectation that the managers who participate in cross-border joint actions should have
competences in a wide range of areas, be capable of fully understanding the procedures and
motivations of both sides, be a proper bank of knowledge and generally stay in the field for a long
time. (Badulescu D., Badulescu A., Simut, Bac, 2017, pp 583 – 604)

Schengen Agreement:
All Schengen citizens are allowed to cross the inner borders of the Schengen area without
the need for identity checks. However, certain states might continue to carry out checks at their
borders for a temporary period if public policy or national security so demands. All people from
Schengen countries are strongly recommended to have a valid passport or identity card with them,

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as border checks can always happen. External border control is required in accordance with the
common Schengen standard.
The Schengen Agreement was signed in 1985 by the Federal Republic of Germany, France,
Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, they all agreed on the progressive removal of border
checks at their common borders.
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/visa-service/-/231202#:~:text=On%2014%20June
%201985%20the,Germany%20where%20it%20was%20signed
The Convention on the implementation of the Schengen Agreement was signed on 19 June
1990. Its main points concern actions to establish a new common area of security and justice after
the removal of common border controls. ,,Specifically it is concerned with harmonising provisions
relating to entry into and short stays in the Schengen area by non-EU citizens (uniform Schengen
visa), asylum matters (determining in which member state an application for asylum may be
submitted), measures to combat cross-border drugs-related crime, police cooperation, and
cooperation among Schengen states on judicial matters.”
(https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/visa-service//231202#:~:text=On%2014%20June
%201985%20the,Germany%20where%20it%20was%20signed)
When the Schengen Protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam of 2 October 1997 came into force
on 1 May 1999, Schengen area cooperation, which was initially based on an international treaty,
was integrated into EU law. The removal of controls at the internal borders of the Schengen area
will not only mean more freedom of mobility for EU citizens, but also more security. To
counterbalance the lack of controls at the internal borders of the Schengen area, there are improved
and more efficient controls at the external borders, as well as other security such as mobile police
patrols and better networking of police.
(https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/visa-service/-/231202#:~:text=On%2014%20June
%201985%20the,Germany%20where%20it%20was%20signed
Austria signed the Agreement on the 28 th of April in 1995. Hungary acceded to Schengen on
the 21st of December in 2007. There are still border controls at the borders of some EU countries -
Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania - which have not become complete members of the Schengen area.
(https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/visa-service//231202#:~:text=On%2014%20June
%201985%20the,Germany%20where%20it%20was%20signed)

Hungarian – Romanian border

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Cross-Border Cooperation of Hungary and Romania

After restructuring in the beginning of the 1990s, Hungary and Romania have progressively
taken the first measures to promote cross-border cooperation. Nowadays, Hungary and Romania
have established three cross-border cooperation organisations, the Carpathian Euroregion, the
Danube-Kris-Maros-Tisza Euroregion (DKMT) and the Bihor - Hajdú-Bihar Euroregion.
(Badulescu D., Badulescu A., 2017, pp 191-205)
Romania currently participates in thirteen cross-border cooperation organisations, three of
which are active on the Romanian - Hungarian border. Even though it has been around for almost
two decades, the Carpathian Euroregion has not shown its potential. This is primarily because of the
size of the region, the shape of the landscape and the huge population, which exceeds the total
population of some of the associated countries, and probably because of the different motivations of
the co-founder countries. That is why, in 2002, Hungary proposed the creation of a micro-region
within the Carpathian Euroregion, which is made up of only two counties: the Hajdú - Bihar County
(Hungary) and the Bihor County (Romania). Bihor – Hajdú - Bihar is a cross-border Euro-regional
cooperative structure established in 2002, which is situated in the Romanian-Hungarian border
region, more precisely in the eastern part of Hungary and the north-western side of Romania. The
Bihor - Hajdú - Bihar Euroregion is an open trans-border partnership which has no legal identity,
and is founded on the cooperation of several municipalities, counties, and towns, as well as civil
society organisations. Both counties share a number of demographic and economic common
features. Their populations were comparatively similar. This provides the best conditions for the
Euroregion as a unit with regards to human resources and management. The Romanian-Hungarian
border region has been given significant attention by the cross-border cooperation funds managed at
EU level. (Badulescu D., Badulescu A., Bucur, 2015, pp 559 - 578)
There are often cross-border impacts from natural and man-made risks and disasters. For
example, the processing of chemicals, the handling and transportation of unsafe products or
transnational crimes are real risks for individual countries and their neighbours. External risks are
characterised as a potentially large threat - both at civil and systemic level - that impacts on multiple
countries and hence causes actual or potential damage on all sides of the border. ,,It is well know
that EU countries are very heterogeneous in terms of vulnerability to natural phenomena, and the
Central and South-Eastern European countries exhibit a relatively high frequency of natural
hazards, combined with social and demographic risk factors (e.g. the illegal cross-border flows of
goods and people).” (Badulescu D., Badulescu A., Bucur, 2015, pp 566)

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An extensive study on the adoption of the new principles of local public governance in
Bihor County (Romania) and Hajdú-Bihar County (Hungary) has shown that there are certain
differences in the attitudes of Romanian and Hungarian officials in these institutions, but that these
differences are quite small and can be linked to cultural differences. An extensive study on the
adoption of the new principles of local public governance in Bihor County (Romania) and Hajdú-
Bihar County (Hungary) has shown that there are certain differences in the attitudes of Romanian
and Hungarian officials in these institutions, but that these differences are quite small and can be
linked to cultural differences. Therefore, a relatively higher proportion of employees of Hungarian
public institutions report to be motivated to perform their tasks, whereas Romanian colleagues
referred to a perceived less fair evaluation system. Public administration officials in Romania and
Hungary claim to have autonomy and flexibility in their work, and executives acknowledge that
staff are more involved in the decision-making process. Furthermore, employees working in
Romanian and Hungarian institutions believe that their policies are focused on gaining the trust and
sense of belonging of employees. (Badulescu D., Badulescu A., Simut, Bac, 2017, pp 583 - 604)
The cross-border cooperation in this border region is mostly funded by the European
Regional Development Fund, and also supported by national financing. The distribution of funds is
based on two categories to focus, ,,Improve the key conditions of joint, sustainable development of
the cooperation area, and strengthen social and economic cohesion in the border region.”
(Badulescu,A., Badulescu D., Borma, 2014, pp 357)
The beneficial characteristics of the Bihor – Hajdú - Bihar Euroregion in terms of landscape
and demographic and economic factors provide a favourable environment and basis for unlocking
the actual potential for improved and closer collaboration. The benefits and positive prerequisites
include the considerable tourism resources resulting from the combination of the nature and the
diversity of landscapes (from the major plains mostly in the Hungarian part to the majestic
mountains on the Romanian side), as well as the presence of two major centres of attraction on each
side of the border, Oradea (Romania) and Debrecen (Hungary). (Badulescu,A., Badulescu D.,
Borma, 2014, pp 349 – 371)
The region is wealthy in tourist destinations, environmental resources and cultural heritage,
such as excellent thermal baths, as well as numerous nature reserves, diverse historical memorials,
churches, traditional folklore and ethnographic elements. Spa and health tourists are the most
common types of tourists in the cross-border territory, but also ,,cultural tourism (e.g. medieval
monuments, architectural buildings, religious tourism, museums of fine arts or modern art etc.),

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rural and ethnographic tourism, active and sports tourism, and hunting and fishing tourism” are
important. The high mountains of Romania are famous for hiking, winter sports and caving tourism.
Besides the major attractions, there are also a wide variety of cultural programmes and festivals.
(Badulescu D., Badulescu A., 2017, pp 197)

Minority rights
During the Middle Ages Transylvania was originally part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Then
in 1526, following the break-up of Hungary, it became a sovereign province. Between 1867 and
1920, Transylvania was part of Austria-Hungary, and then annexed to Romania in 1920, after the
First World War. As a result, a Hungarian minority has been established in Romania through the
borders of 1920. As a result of the border modification, more than 200 000 Hungarians emigrated
from Romania and moved to their home country to Hungary. Hungarians are the biggest ethnic and
linguistic ethnic minority community in Romania. (Benő, Szilágyi, 2005)
The greatest Hungarian minority can be found in Romania, more precisely, in Transylvania.
In the Romanian constitution it says that “the State recognizes and guarantees the rights of persons
belonging to national minorities, to the preservation, development and expression of their ethnic,
cultural, linguistic and religious identity”. (Benő, Szilágyi, 2005, pp 142)
It is possible to have political parties of minorities in Romania, for example, The
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania. The constitution also states that if the parties do
not get enough amounts of votes for the entry threshold, which is set by the electoral law, they "are
entitled to one representative seat, under the conditions of the electoral law". (Markó, 2022, pp 7)
In Romania, the school system that was established in the years directly after the Second
World War, during 1945-1948, which in theory, it provided for all levels teaching in Hungarian.
During the 1960s, previously Hungarian high schools were transformed into Hungarian branches of
Romanian schools, afterwards, several Hungarian classes in these institutions were closed down
gradually, particularly drastically in the 1980s. The Romanian school system has undergone
significant changes since 1989, which have had a positive impact on education for minorities. The
opportunities for mother tongue learning have been developed at every educational level, also in
higher education. Many of the Hungarian schools with a strong historical tradition have been re-
established in Transylvanian towns with a large Hungarian population. The total enrolment in
public universities has doubled nationwide and a number of private Romanian universities have

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been founded. However, the Hungarian minority's request for a state university with Hungarian
education still has not been implemented. The Hungarians' strong demand for a Hungarian-language
public university is due to the ongoing situation of ethnic minority discrimination in the Romanian
education system, which is mostly present in the higher education. (Benő, Szilágyi, 2005)
The Constitution of Romania (1991) states that “Romania is a sovereign, independent,
unitary and indivisible National State” and declares that “in Romania, the official language is
Romanian”. The teaching language is also Romanian, “education of all grades shall be in
Romanian”, even though the subsequent article says that ,,the right of persons belonging to
national minorities to learn their mother tongue, and their right to be educated in this language are
guaranteed; the ways to exercise these rights shall be regulated by law.” (Benő, Szilágyi, 2005, pp
142)
Court proceedings must be completed in Romanian (Article 127), and judicial translators are
available for those who do not speak Romanian. These constitutional articles put linguistic
minorities at a disadvantage, as the usage of their mother tongue is only allowed in limited areas
and not always guaranteed, in formal and informal situations, in all kinds of formats, oral and
written. In all official documents in the institutions, all documents have to be written in Romanian,
also if the employees all ethnic minorities. Abuses in the school system can be demonstrated by the
fact that the main formal language is Romanian. Occasionally, the concept of official language is
extended to include the general spoken language, and accordingly in some localities, certain forms
of public use of Hungarian and other minority languages are banned. (Benő, Szilágyi, 2005)
The Education Law of 1995, as amended in 1999, broadly supports the education of ethnic
minorities in their mother languages, but there are certain limitations that violate certain human and
minority rights. These include, for example, the compulsory teaching of specific school subjects
such as Romanian History and Geography only in Romanian in 5th-8th grades and in secondary
schools, despite the fact that students are taught in a minority language. The learning of Romanian
grammar and literature is mandatory in every school. Under the law, citizens who belong to ethnic
minorities have the duty, not the right, to learn Romanian. The Romanian Parliament's decision in
2001 to adopt a law on the administration of local authorities represents a major improvement in
some respects in the promotion of the rights of ethnic minorities in the field of languages. (Benő,
Szilágyi, 2005)

Austrian-Hungarian border region:

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In case of Austria, it was a bit difficult to decide where the border should be after Trianon.
Two of the Western Hungarian counties lost some of their area, which contained four towns that
were inhabited by Hungarians, and there was a fifth town, that could decide which country they
wanted to belong to and most of the people voted for Hungary, that is why Sopron is called as The
Most Loyal Town. Hungarians were acknowledged as an ethnic group first in 1976, they have the
minority rights as other ethnic groups, but they can only exercise their rights within Burgenland. It
is possible for Hungarians to go to have bilingual education in some primary schools and at only
one of the high schools. (http://real.mtak.hu/72174/1/Magyarság%20Burgenlandban.pdf)
Through the policy reconstruction at the beginning of the 1990s, and especially after
Hungary's joining the EU (2004), the previous sharp border line in this region disappeared, whereas
Vienna has gained back its previously important economic position and impact. Since 1990, the
regional patterns of imbalances in Hungary have changed very quickly, leading the West in all
economic well-being aspects within Hungary. In accordance with this, although Austria's
countryside regions within Burgenland and the region lying between Vienna and Graz have
experienced impressive infrastructural improvements, southern Burgenland has continued to stay on
the periphery in terms of economic growth. Burgenland, which is an entirely rural area, was
attached to Austria after the First World War as a consequence of the Trianon Treaty, and the area
could stay as an independent region for seven years before being partitioned by the Nazi regime.
(Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
The border between Austria and Hungary is also considered to be an exceptional formation
in its overall history after the Second World War. Hungary was annexed to socialist Eastern Europe,
in contrast to Austria, which was on the western part of the Iron Curtain. Consequently, Burgenland
turned into a testing ground for the surviving Hungarian areas, especially in the western territories,
as a testing ground for possible regional evolution, which was led by the Western type of market
economy. (Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
Burgenland has emerged as a region in the Alps, with flourishing industries, transports and
trade, as well as a prosperous culture and tourism sectors. The countryside was also given a new
boost by the tourism, recreation and biological farming sectors. Addressing the situation of
degraded economies and strengthening the countryside was essential as on the Austrian side of the
border there was growing demographic decline in the countryside, and this process was primarily
concentrated in southern Burgenland and the mountain areas. (Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-
257)

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Austria has emerged as one of the most industrialised countries of the world, while
Burgenland, which was considered to be in the periphery of the country, has also benefited from the
developing Austrian national economy and the EU's support from structural and cohesion funds
since Austria became a member of the European Union. The development of Burgenland has been a
remarkable success in terms of its economic performance, particularly in comparison with Lower
Austria and Styria. (Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
In the meantime, Hungary continued its "socialist experiment" of developing socially and
economically and attempted to overcome its primarily agrarian and rural characteristics. In Western
Hungary, Győr in particular benefited from the development built on heavy industry in the 1950s
and 1960s, whereas the development of industry became generalised only later. After the political
and economic regime change in 1989, the manufacturing sector was much better utilised, which
facilitated the shift of the market further to the West. (Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
In the first part of the 20th century, in case of the region of western Hungary, which
included the area of present-day Burgenland, the closeness of Vienna was the main factor that
affected the model of regional development. The characteristics were the proportion of literate
persons over 6 years of age, the proportion of dwellings built of stone or brick or with a stone or
brick foundation, the number of persons not working in agriculture, the proportion of the deaths of
persons who had undergone medical treatment before their death, the migration statistics in the first
decade of the 20th century, and the per capita income indicator. Notwithstanding its comparatively
disadvantageous, small-town structure, West-Hungary, thanks to its expanding middle class, was
one of the most economically developed parts of Hungary. The development of the area was largely
influenced by its location close to Vienna. The most developed cities and small towns were situated
in the vicinity of Vienna, which suggests a north-west-south-east development trend. (Jankó,
Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
The development of the region between 1945 and 1989: After the Second World War, the
separation of the world's political and economic order by the Iron Curtain also extended to the
Austro-Hungarian border, which separated West Hungary and Burgenland and created a strong gap
between the Austrian and Hungarian sides in some economic and infrastructural aspects and in
living standards indexes by 1990. In the years of 1960-61, it was possible to outline the social
structure at the settlement level in the wider Austro-Hungarian environment of Burgenland. The
most prominent social trend underlying the rural depopulation phenomenon observed on each side
of the border is the reduction in the number of people employed in farming and the associated

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emigration. Burgenland experienced a much higher proportion of rural population in agriculture as a

consequence of its more provincial structure, which only fell under the level of the two Hungarian
counties combined in the 1970s. At that time, the region of West Transdanubia still had more
extensive agricultural areas than East Austria. There was a close correlation between the decrease in
agriculture and the town size: in Austria and Hungary, agriculture was dominant in the small rural
areas. (Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
In Western Hungary, the intensified development of the national economy and of the
infrastructure from the 1970s onwards was primarily centred in the county capitals and cities, and
the investments undertaken in the 1970s led to a rapid increase in production. The previously
geographically disadvantageous position of the region began to be exploited to its advantage. The
introduction of western technology, the creation of integrated joint enterprises and the development
of shopping tourism. In some cities on the Hungarian side, namely, Sopron, Mosonmagyaróvár,
Kőszeg and Győr, the service sector has developed into a flourishing and varied sector. From the
late 1980s, more and more people started travelling to Austria to work, at first illegally and then
later legally. The region's rapid development was heavily affected by the fact that road and rail
routes are connected between Western Europe and Hungary. The importance of the railway lines
was particularly significant in terms of cross-border transport. But still the development in Western
Hungary was way behind that of Burgenland, which was considered the least developed part of the
country. Sopron has been a destination of large migration inside Hungary, with a high proportion of
movers, who are willing to commute to Austria, due to the great wage differences. The development
of the last few decades clearly shows that Burgenland turned towards Vienna, but rather less
towards Graz, while West Transdanubia in the Western Hungarian region moved eastwards by the
1970s. In the 1970s, as the political climate eased, economic relations were revived between the two
regions, which until then had been sharply divided by the border, and then, with the regime change
in Hungary, these relations began to increase explosively. It is foreign companies, with German and
Austrian capital, that have played a major role in the economic reintegration of the border region.
The approach of the Hungarian and Austrian economies has also brought more intense rivalry
among companies on each side of the border, which has resulted in a better market and better
supply for the population in Hungary in the long run. (Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
Shopping tourism is an increasingly popular activity in the region, where both countries
were involved, with Hungarians mainly looking for household and electronic goods, which were
considered to be in scarce supply. This reached its peak right after the 1980s and 1990s, just after

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the opening of the border. Austrian buyers originally travelled to Hungary for cheap, government-
subsidised food, clothes, and personal and healthcare services, like dentist, hairdresser, car
mechanic. Nowadays, the basic infrastructure - water and electricity supply - does not differ, but in
Burgenland and further west, there are hardly any homes with less than four rooms, while in the
Hungarian-inhabited areas of the region in 2001 there were many villages with small populations
where one fifth of the dwellings had only one room. (Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
The ex-Austrian-Hungarian border never separated Hungary from Austria, as the former
dual Monarchy had an internal border, which was open. Consequently, at the early 20th century, the
periphery of Vienna's area of influence covered the north of what is now Burgenland and western
Hungary, while the southern and south-eastern parts of the region had peripheral characteristics.
(Jankó, Bottlik, Győri, 2022, pp 232-257)
In the late 1980s, years of separation were followed by a new era of convergence. In the late
1980s, years of separation were followed by a new era of convergence. Today's Austrian-Hungarian
border (like the one at the early 20th century) is a more easily crossable border since it is an EU
internal border. There is increasing degree of integration across the whole border area, but in
particular in the northern part of it. The north of Burgenland and accordingly the north part of Győr-
Moson-Sopron County are completely incorporated into the Vienna region, not only economically
but also regarding specific aspects of demographic characteristics like commuting labour force. In
terms of living standards, though, the west-east division remains, whereas intense urbanisation
trends in the southern areas on the two sides of the border demonstrate that the impact of the border
on the overall social and demographic development is somewhat limited. (Jankó, Bottlik, Győri,
2022, pp 232-257)

Conclusion
In conclusion, the cross-border cooperation of these border regions, ad in general, is affected
by the different actors and the networking across the border. The concept of cross-border
cooperation shows a complex process, which is about the control of the free movement of people
and goods from one country to another. There is a difference between different types of borders, as
there are internal borders - for example within the
Schengen area -, and external borders. These two have different roles and there is are
different types of border checks. Since the establishment of the Schengen Agreement, the citizens,

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who are from the countries of the Schengen area, can travel across the Schengen borders without
having checked at the border, but occasionally, they can be checked.
The two cases of this paper are a border within the Schengen area and another border, which
is at the edge of Schengen. The Hungarian - Romanian border region went through a difficult
process in order to harmonise their views in connection with their cooperation. The Trianon
Treaty’s consequence, that the former Hungarian territory, Transylvania is now part of Romania, so
the region also had to deal with the integration of people and the rights of national minorities. Their
cross-border cooperation is an open partnership, which is based on the cooperation of the towns and
municipalities within the area from both sides of the border. The improvement of this border region
is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, in accordance with national financing.
The beautiful landscape of the region and the thermal baths make the area a popular destination for
tourists. The programs, museums and festivals are diverse, there are in connection with religion,
music, art, culture and sports. The minority rights in Romania have developed thought the decades,
but there are still some discriminative rules, which mostly appear in terms of language rights. This
includes that, however, students, who are part of a national minority can learn in their native
language, but there are some subjects, which are taught in Romanian, and they have to learn the
Romanian language in schools.
In case of the Austrian - Hungarian border region, it was difficult to figure out where the
border should be after the Trianon Treaty. This region and the cooperation of the two countries was
easier because of their common past and as both countries are part of Schengen. In this region, the
closeness of Vienna has a major impact, even if Burgenland is not among the most developed
regions of Austria, but it also influenced the Hungarian side of the border in terms of Western type
of rapid development. The iron curtain had its impact on the region, as different developments
happened in Austria and in Hungary. After the Cold War, Hungary had to catch up with Austria, as
the Hungarian side of the border was still based on agriculture. The two countries have benefited
from this rural area and transformed it into a successful industrial area with a developed
infrastructure. As the border was easily crossable, the people started taking advantage of the free
movement and goods. In this area, it has become a common habit for the Austrians to go shopping
to Hungary and for the Hungarians to go to work in Austria, while both nationalities are living in
their own countries.
It is clearly visible that the consequences of the Trianon Treaty had effects in case of both
border regions, but in terms of cross-border cooperation, the Austrian – Hungarian border as an

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 Hanna Soltész
Exam nr.: 4106748

internal Schengen border had a less difficult work to develop as a region and to create a harmony at
the border region.

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 Hanna Soltész
Exam nr.: 4106748

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 Daniel Badulescu, Alina Badulescu, Ramona Simut & Dorin Bac - Considerations
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Exam nr.: 4106748

 (https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/visa-service//231202#:~:text=On
%2014%20June%201985%20the,Germany%20where%20it%20was%20signed)
 (http://real.mtak.hu/72174/1/Magyarság%20Burgenlandban.pdf)

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