Mezei István: Urban development in Slovakia (Pécs-Somorja, 2010)

6. Towns along the Hungarian and Slovak border

Types of cooperation

It is a typical feature of project-based cooperation that it always focuses on some joint investment. Investment usually requires the single joining of forces, which, as is shown by the above examples, can be organized without external help, in social work. However, to implement large-scale plans, large amounts of money are needed. As a result of tight resources and, to a larger extent, backward situation, settlements can only achieve their goals with resources from grants. This is how human needs are changed into projects. Since it is mostly good luck that these settlements need for a successful application for a grant, writing grant applications is an everyday activity; winning a grant, on the other hand, is an exceptional event.

Cross-border cooperation was helped by the PHARE CBC programme. Regarding the Hungarian and Slovak border, there were two limitations in connection with the programme. On the one hand, submitting joint grant applications along this border section was not possible until 1999, because before that two pilot attempts with the Austrian people had had to be completed. On the other hand, the support available for this longest border section (from the Hungarian point of view) was the least, an unchanged 2 million euros every year. In the course of the years more and more winners were able to fulfill the tasks specified in the grant application (Table 44).

Table 44. PHARE CBC programmes along the Hungarian and Slovak border

1995

1996

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

Approved support

1,500,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,000,000

2,000,000

2,000,000

2,000,000

Contracted

723,116

1,498,580

1,793,815

1,969,670

1,998,659

1,819,146

1,953,459

Closing of the programm

1999

2000

2002

2003

2004

2000

2006

Supported projects

4

24

12

12

10

26

23

large (over 10,000 euros)

4l

4

1

1

1

15

18

small(to 8,000 euros)-20

11

11

9

11

5

Source: Váti Kht.

Meanwhile, the authority in charge modified the initial practice, since, due to the high number of applications, the money allocated for larger tenders was divided into several parts in the last two rounds. If the money that can be distributed is too little, there should at least be more people to have a share. Concerning small projects, the conclusion can be drawn that the number of applications submitted by towns was higher, and the counties to the east of the Danube submitted more applications. The large difference between the sums they applied for and the

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