Actors and levels of relationships in the construction of cross-border regions - Case study: Bihor and Hajdu Bihar Counties

Abstract

At the level of border regions operate a series of models and structures of cross-border cooperation, all these being built on the basis of levels of relationships between various public, private or non-governmental actors. The construction of cross-border regions is thus closely linked to cross-border cooperation, which must be understood as cooperation between at least two entities located along a common border. The European Commission has advocated a long time for "cooperation for development" to support disadvantaged border regions, in the Centre and Eastern part of the continent. Despite the progress made, there are still some obstacles created by existing national legal and administrative frameworks that have a direct impact on the lives of border area residents. The new approach to regional development creates the promotion of networks between different urban centres and favours the complementarity and individualisation of each region, placing them at the centre of European strategies. In this context, the study aims to analyse the intensity of different types of cross-border relations and the involvement of regional actors in the deep integration of regions corresponding to NUTS III administrative territorial units, Bihor (RO), Hajdu-Bihar (HU), based on cross-border integration models and indicators developed by Castañer, Jańczak and Martín-Uceda.