Discussion Papers 1999. No. 31.
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern
Part of the Great Hungarian Plain
CENTRE FOR REGIONAL STUDIES
OF HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
DISCUSSION PAPERS
No. 31
Borderland Situation and
Periferality in the North-Eastern
Part of the Great Hungarian Plain
by
Béla BARANYI – István BALCSÓK –
László DANCS – Barna MEZŐ

Series editor
Zoltán GÁL

Pécs
1999

Discussion Papers 1999. No. 31.
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern
Part of the Great Hungarian Plain

Publishing of this paper is supported by the
Research Fund of the Centre for Regional Studies, Hungary

This work was supported by the Strategic Great Plain Research
Programme II of HAS. The survey was made in the framework of the
“North-Eastern Great Plain Borderlands Reserach” directed by Béla Baranyi

ISSN 0238–2008

© 1999 by Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Technical editor: Dorottya Frick, Zoltán Gál
Typeset by Centre for Regional Studies of HAS
Printed in Hungary by Sümegi Nyomdaipari, Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Ltd., Pécs

Discussion Papers 1999. No. 31.
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern
Part of the Great Hungarian Plain
Contents
1  Introduction / 7
2
“At the periphery of the periphery” – the results and conclusions of a questionnaire
survey in the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands / 10

2.1  The method of investigation / 10

2.2  The results of the investigation / 12

2.2.1 Characteristics
of
population and settlement geography / 12

2.2.2 Socio-economic
conditions / 21


2.2.3  The assessment of cross-border relations / 33
   2.3 Conclusions / 39
3
The situation and development chances of cross-border relations / 40

3.1  Characteristics of the current situation / 40

3.2   Cross-border relations in the North-Eastern Great Plain / 41


3.2.1  Cross-border relations at the level of local authorities / 41


3.2.2  Cross-border relations of the local authorities / 44

3.2.3 Cultural
co-operation / 46


3.2.4  Religious and clerical cross-border relations / 47

3.2.5 Economic
relations / 48


3.2.6  Inter-ethnic cross-border relations / 53

3.3  The future of cross-border relations / 56


3.3.1  PHARE as an opportunity for the development of the
neighbouring borderlands / 56


3.3.2  The Carpathian Euroregion – an opportunity / 57
4
Report on the labour market of the borderlands / 60

4.1  Borderland location – an advantage or a disadvantage? / 60

4.2  High unemployment – few job opportunities / 63

4.3  Prejudices or reality? – The role and opportunities of the Gypsy ethnic
group on the labour market / 67

4.4  Is it hopeless? – The case of the long-term unemployed / 70

4.5  An uncertain vision of the future – chances and limits of development / 73
5
Possible directions to develop the borderlands and the chances of catching up / 74

5.1  Development of the borderlands in the regional context / 74

5.2  Future chances for the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands / 77
References / 84

Discussion Papers 1999. No. 31.
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern
Part of the Great Hungarian Plain
List of Tables
Table 1:  Division of the population of the border region by religion, 1998 / 19
Table 2:  Distribution of the active earners in the border region
by economic sectors, 1998 / 21
Table 3:  Twin county relations of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and
Hajdú-Bihar counties   / 43
Table 4:  Number and capital assets of the foreign-owned enterprises,
and their rank in the hierarchy of the counties / 49
Table 5:  Proportion of the Romanian ethnic population in those Hajdú-Bihar county
settlements with a significant Romanian ethnic group / 55
List of Figures
Figure 1:
The position of borderland settlements in Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-
Szatmár-Bereg counties / 11
Figure 2:
The size of borderland settlements by the size of population / 13
Figure 3:
The motives for foreign immigrations in the border
region (1998) / 16
Figure 4:
The number of people moving in and out / 17
Figure 5:
The rate of unemployment in October 1998 / 23
Figure 6:
The distribution of people commuting from and to the region / 27
Figure 7:
The number of operating businesses by the type of ownership
in the beginning of 1999 / 28
Figure 8:
Has the situation of the settlement improved or worsened
in the last ten years? / 31
Figure 9:
The characteristics of cross-border relations of the
borderland settlements / 34
Figure 10:
Cross-border relations of the borderland settlements in
the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands / 45
Figure 11:
The effectiveness of foreign relations in the borderland settlements
of the North-Eastern Great Plain as seen by the mayors / 45
Figure 12:
The accessibility of the county seat from the other settlements of the county
in Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties / 51
Figure 13a:  The accessibility of the county seats by railway in Hajdú-Bihar
and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties / 52
Figure 13b:  The accessibility of the county seats by railway in Hajdú-Bihar
and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties by the shortest time of
accessibility / 52
Figure 14:
How much are the borderland settlements familiar with the
objectives of the Carpathian Euroregion? / 59
Figure 15:
The level of education regarding the registered unemployed
(October 1998) / 64

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

1 Introduction
The study of the questions of borders and borderlands, the separating and
connecting role of political state borders has special importance nowadays,
especially regarding the current European integration processes. Spatial-ethnic
problems of the past make the European co-operation and integration more
difficult along the borders of the Central-Eastern European countries, particularly
in the post-socialist countries like Hungary. The borders where unsettled socio-
economic-ethnic questions accumulate and still exist mean considerable obstacles
to globalisation and integration tendencies. The borderlands and settlements of
North-Eastern Hungary – “peripheries of the periphery” – can be considered such a
problematic territory. These extended borderlands comprise the most typical
features of the especially disadvantageous peripheries.
In the recent years it has been widely quoted that the by the political changes in
Central-Eastern Europe and the democratisation process, the rigid separating role
of state borders will dissolve in the region. The spiritualisation of the Central
European borders is a basic national interest of Hungary, especially in the
problematic territories of North-Eastern Hungary where three political state borders
meet (Hungarian-Slovakian, Hungarian-Ukrainian and Hungarian-Romanian). A
crucial precondition for this is to study the features of the especially disadvantaged
peripheries in depth and to reduce the disadvantageous consequences, to facilitate
the socio-economic development of the borderlands.
Depending on the Euro-Atlantic processes, the international transit role of the
Great Plain is expected to be appreciated in the near future. The renewal abilities
of the Eastern Hungarian, mostly peripheral borderlands territories – including the
North-Eastern borderlands of the Great Plain – will be of a decisive importance
influencing how the region can become a modern transit area, able to exploit its
opportunities and interests at the same time, of the European economic and
integration processes expanding to the East.
The research of the Great Plain has always meant an exciting challenge for the
regional development experts. The systemic change shed new light on the regional
differences of the development taking place under peripheral circumstances and
influenced by the centre-periphery effects. The large-scale Research Programme of
the Great Plain was launched partly because of increased interests and partly
because of the political will that considers the study of the “Great Plain symptoms”
an important and current issue, which was emphasised in parliament and
government resolutions as well. The scientific results of this programme

7

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

accumulated between 1991 and 1993 has been published in 14 volumes (B. Csatári,
1995).
Many signs hint at the tendency that the societal-economic processes of today
do not facilitate the catching up with the more developed regions. Regional
differences existing for a long time tend to increase or remain at least preserved.
The danger of becoming a periphery threatens extensive territories of the Great
Plain and also the borderland settlements. This fact has also played a role when
the studies focusing on the region became part of the three-year (1997-1998)
Strategic Research Programme of the HAS. The Great Plain Research Programme
II.  was launched in the framework of an academic project in 1998 with an
academic team within the Debrecen Group of Great Plain Research Institute of the
Centre for Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Its task was to carry
out complex research in the borderlands of the North-Eastern Great Plain,
including 119 settlements of Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties.
The first phase of the so-called borderland programme was finished in the middle
of 1999. The results of the research are included in the academic report called “The
situation of the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands – the choices of catching
up” (B. Baranyi ed., 1999).
The academic studies of the borderland started from the idea that a significant
part of the Great Plain still remained peripheral due to the intensified socio-
economic deconcentration processes after the changes in 1989. Certain territories
within the region, borderlands  at the first place became the “peripheries of the
periphery”  according to the proper expression of József Tóth and partly Ferenc
Erdősi. Although there were previous academic studies regarding the borderlands,
however, they remained rather neutral after the national academic discussions –
pointing out thoroughly the directions and tasks of domestic research – in 1986
organised by the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences in Szombathely (J. Tóth 1985, 1988, F. Erdősi 1988, F. Erdősi – J. Tóth
ed. 1988).
The fact that the borderlands are becoming the “peripheries of the periphery”
does not attract either foreign or Hungarian investments. The partly historical (e.g.
late development, Trianon), partly poor natural economic and geographical
characteristics, also the former disadvantageous macro- and micro-economic
factors and effects, the distance from the market, one-sided economy based on the
production of agricultural raw materials, the low income-producing ability of the
economy, the backward infrastructure, the lack of a significant industrial
production capacity, the proximity of borders meaning mostly disadvantages today,
the lack of cities, the continuous lack of capital, the current employment crisis all
force the development of marginal territories and settlements. Under these
circumstances, regional sciences must consider the possibilities of the socio-
8

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

economic catching up of the borderlands, preparing for the challenge of the EU-
integration and managing the problem of the Schengen-borders at the level of
regional research as well.
Finally it is important to note that the research completed in the North-Eastern
Great Plain borderlands – considering all the choices and advantages, success and
failure connected to the new task – means only the first and initial step of this kind
of studies. Carrying on the research on the transformation and choices of all the
Great Plain borderlands, the complete and detailed analysis of the borderlands
gaining crucial importance after the EU accession would be possible in a few
years. The analysis would contain the different possibilities of the peripheries and
questions like the shaping gate and mediator role, the cross-border territorial
integration relations and the ethnic and societal relations. Without too much self-
conceit, it can be stated that the yet incomplete studies that have already been
carried out in the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands may secure a sufficient
basis for the continuation and success of such a current issue.
As the most important mid-term objective of the country is the accession to the
EU, it is of special importance that the resolutions, measures taken to reduce the
current problems and tensions regarding rural areas should contribute to the
fulfilment of accession requirements. Hopefully the studies on the North-Eastern
Great Plain (Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties) borderlands will
facilitate the objective evaluation of the situation, promoting the choices and
possibilities of a catching up process, enriching cross-border connections along
spiritualising borders with the means of science. In our opinion, the complex
evaluation of the situation, by its limited means, may contribute to the success of
catching up programmes for the “peripheries of the periphery”, the development of
cross-border relationships and last but not least, the success of EU accession. The
borderland studies are also important because without an overall examination, the
regional inequalities and especially disadvantageous situation may become stable
and the borderlands will not be able to move forward quickly and effectively from
the current situation, and the micro-region will continue to fall behind and lose its
population. This evaluation tries to promote the change of the current situation by
its limited means.

9

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

2 “At the periphery of the periphery” – the results and
conclusions of a questionnaire survey in the North-
Eastern Great Plain borderlands
2.1 The method of investigation
The first step was to define the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands
geographically as the subject of the study. Besides historical, geographical –
natural, economic, societal and transportation aspects, spatial structure, etc. –
factors, certain effects of the proximity of the state borders played an important
role (F. Erdősi, 1988).
The definition of borderland settlements was followed by drawing up a
questionnaire able to measure the demographic, socio-economic, employment,
infrastructural, environmental, touristic and education characteristics of these
settlements in a complex way. The questionnaires – containing 61 questions and
question groups – were sent to 119 mayors of borderlands settlements as self-
answering questionnaires. Out of the settlements in the sample, 30 are situated in
Hajdú-Bihar and 89 in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county. The sampling concerned
36,6% of the total 82 settlements in Hajdú-Bihar and 39,0% of the total 228
settlements in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg.
During the investigation we had to use sampling methods different from the
ones used in sociology, as the basement was “only” 119 in our case. The choice
was given: to choose between asking the inhabitants or the leaders of the
settlements (mayor, notary or bodies). Finally, a number of arguments made us
choose to ask the chief officers or experts of the mayor’s office. The decision was
also simplified by the fact that making and evaluating questionnaires and
interviews was only one aspect in the work of the academic team investigating the
North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands. The research task and the complexity of the
chosen method meant that besides the questionnaires and interviews the results of
other resources, data and methods (e.g. factor-analysis) had to be built in the
evaluations. In this respect the examination itself can only partially be regarded as
a sociological kind of analysis and mostly in formal respect. Asking the 119 local
authorities rather meant the basis for the completion of the survey with the help of
self-answering questionnaires, and creating a resource basis. Also, it had the
advantage that the answers given by the local authorities not only reflected an
individual opinion, but the opinion of the majority of the population. Regarding the
questions demanding authentic information, the latest official municipality data
came to daylight this way. (Figure 1).
10

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Figure 1
The position of borderland settlements in Hajdú-Bihar and
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties
U K R A I N E
Záhony
Záhony
Záhony
Záhony
Zsurk
Zsurk
Zsurk
Zsurk
#
#
Győ
Gy
Gy röcske
ő
Gy
Gy
Gy röcske
ő
ő röcske
ő
őröcske
ő
ő
#
Tiszabezdéd
# Tiszaszentmárton
Tiszaszentmárton
Tiszaszentmárton
Tiszaszentmárton
Tiszabezdéd
Tiszabezdéd
Tiszabezdéd
Tiszabezdéd
Eperjeske
#
Eperjeske
Eperjeske
Eperjeske
Tuzsér
Tuzsér
Tuzsér
Tuzsér #
#
#
# Tiszamogyorós
Tiszamogyoró
Tiszamogyor
Tiszamogyo
Tiszamogy
Tiszamog
s
Tiszamogyoró
Tiszamogyoró
Tiszamogyor
Tiszamogyo
Tiszamogy
Tiszamog
Tiszamo
Tiszam
r
Tiszamogyo
Tiszamogy
Tiszamog
Tiszamo
Tiszam
Tisza
o
Tiszamogy
Tiszamogy
Tiszamog
Tiszamo
Tiszam
Tisza
Tisz
g
Tiszamo
s
Tiszamogyoró
Tiszamogyor
Tiszamogyo
Tiszamogy
Tiszamog
s
Tiszamogyoró
Tiszamogyoró
Tiszamogyor
Tiszamogyo
Tiszamogy
Tiszamog
Tiszamo
Tiszam
r
Tiszamogyo
Tiszamogy
Tiszamog
Tiszamo
Tiszam
Tisza
o
Tiszamogy
Tiszamog
# Lónya
Lónya
Lónya
Lónya
#
Mándok
Mándok
Mándok
Mándok
#
Komoró
Benk
Komoró
Komoró
Komoró
Benk
Benk
Benk # Mátyus
Mátyus
Mátyus
Mátyus
Mező
Mez
Mez ladány
ő
Mez
Mez
Mez ladány
ő
ő ladány
őladány
ő
ő
#
# Tiszakerecseny
Tiszakerecseny
Tiszakerecseny
Tiszakerecseny
Újkenéz
Újkenéz
Újkenéz
Újkenéz #
Barabás
Barabás
Barabás
Barabás
Tiszaadony
Tiszaadony
Tiszaadony
Tiszaadony #
#
# Beregdaróc
Beregdaróc
Beregdaróc
Beregdaróc
Tiszavid
Tiszavid
Tiszavid
Tiszavid #
#
# Vámosatya
Vámosaty
Vámosat
Vámosa
Vámos
Vámo
a
Vámosaty
Vámosaty
Vámosat
Vámosa
Vámos
Vámo
Vám
Vá
t
Vámosa
Vámos
Vámo
Vám
Vá
V
a
Vámos
Vámos
Vámo
Vám
Vá
V
o
Vám
Vá
V m
Vá
Vá
a
Vámosaty
Vámosat
Vámosa
Vámos
Vámo
a
Vámosaty
Vámosaty
Vámosat
Vámosa
Vámos
Vámo
Vám
Vá
t
Vámosa
Tiszaszalka
Gelénes
Tiszaszalka
Geléne
Tiszaszalka
Gelén
Tiszaszalka
Tiszaszalka
Tiszaszalka
Tiszaszalka
# Gelé
Gel
Ge
s
Geléne
Geléne
Gelén
Gelé
Gel
Ge
G n
Gelé
Gel
Ge
G é
Gel
Gel
Ge
Ge
G
G
s
Geléne
Gelén
Gelé
Gel
Ge
s
Geléne
Geléne
Gelén
Gelé
Gel
Ge
G n
Gelé
Csaroda
Csarod
Csaro
Csar
Csa
Cs
a
Csarod
Csarod
Csaro
Csar
Csa
Cs
C
o
Csar
Csa
Cs
C r
Csa
Csa
Cs
Cs
C
C
a
Csarod
Csaro
Csar
Csa
Cs
a
Csarod
Csarod
Csaro
Csar
Csa
Cs
C
o
Csar # Beregsurány
Beregsurány
Beregsurány
Beregsurány
#
Tákos
#
Tákos
Tákos
Tákos #
Márokpapi
Márokpapi
Márokpapi
Márokpapi
Tiszacsécse
#
Tiszacsécse
Tiszacsécse
Tiszacsécse
Hetefejércse
Tarpa
Hetefejércse
Tarpa
Tarpa
Tarpa Tiszakóród #
Tiszabecs
Jánd Hetefejércse
Tiszabecs
Jánd Hetefejércse
Tiszabecs
Tiszabecs
Jánd
#
Hetefejércse
Jánd Hetefejércse
Hetefejércse
Hetefejércse
Jánd
Jánd
Jánd
#
Tiszakóród
Tiszakóród
Tiszakóród
#
#
#
Gulács
Milota
Gulács
Szatmárcseke
Gulács
Gulács
Gulács
Gulács
Milota
#
Szatmárcseke
Szatmárcseke
Szatmárcseke
Milota
Milota
Uszka
Uszka
Uszka
Uszka
#
#
#
Tivadar
Kölcse
Tivadar
Tivadar
Tivadar
Kölcse
Kölcse
Kölcse
#
#
# Magosliget
Magosliget
Magosliget
Magosliget
#
# Sonkád
Nagyar
Sonkád
Nagyar
Túristvándi
Sonkád
Sonkád
Nagyar
Nagyar
Nagyar
Túristvándi
Túristvándi
Túristvándi
# Botpalád
Botpalád
Botpalád
Botpalád
Kömörő
Kömörő
Kömör
Kömör ő
Kömörő
Kömör
Kömör
#
Kispalád
Tisztaberek
#
Kispalád
Tisztaberek
Kispalád
Kispalád
d Tisztaberek
Tisztaberek
Tisztaberek
Tisztaberek
#
d
s
les d
lesd
les
lees
l esd
les
le
les
#
Füleslesd
les
Fü
#
Fü
Fü
Fü Csaholc
Csaholc
Csaholc
Csaholc
Kishódos
Kishódos
#
Kishódos
Kishódos
#
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
Túrricse
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
Túrricse
Túrricse
Túrricse
Nagyhódos
Kisnamény
# Nagyhódos
Nagyhódos
Nagyhódos
Kisnamény
Kisnamény
Kisnamény
Kisnamény
Jánkmajtis
# Gacsály
Jánkmajtis
# Garbolc
Garbolc
Garbolc
Garbolc
Jánkmajtis
Gacsály
Jánkmajtis
Jánkmajtis
Jánkmajtis
Gacsály
Gacsály
Méhtelek
#
#
Méhtelek
Méhtelek
Méhtelek
Rozsály
#
#
Hermánszeg
Rozsály
Hermánszeg
Hermánszeg
Hermánszeg
Hermánszeg
Császló
Rozsály
Rozsály
Császló
Császló
Császló
Császló
Szamossályi
#
#
Szamossályi
Szamossályi
Szamossályi
Szamossályi
#
# Zajta
Csegöld
Zajta
Csegöld
Zajta
Zajta
Csegöld
Csegöld
Csegöld
#
Porcsalma
#
Porcsalma
Porcsalma
Porcsalma
# Szamostatárfalva
Szamostatárfalva
Szamostatárfalva
Szamostatárfalva
Nagyecsed
Nagyecsed
Nagyecsed
Nagyecsed
#
S
Pátyod
#
Pátyod
z
S SS
# # Szamosbecs
Szamosbecs
Szamosbecs
Szamosbecs
Pátyod
Pátyod
Pátyod
Pátyod
amos
z z
amos
z
Fábiánháza
amos
z
amos
Fábiánháza
Fábiánháza
Fábiánháza
Fábiánháza
# KoKom
Ko # Csengersima
Ko
Ko
Ko
Csengersima
Csengersima
Csengersima
Tyukod
Tyukod
Tyukod
Tyukod
m
m
#
m
ml
an
#
an
ló
l
an
an anan
ló
ló
l d
lóó
lóódd
lódt
ód
lóód
ód
ó
Ura
# Ura
Ura
Ura
gyal
d
gyal
#
tóttó
gyal
#
gyal
gyal gyalgyal
tóó
tttfa
t
tó
Nyírvasvári
Tiborszállás
ó
Nyírvasvári
Tiborszállás
ót
Nyírvasvári
Tiborszállás
Nyírvasvári
# Nyírvasvári
Nyírvasvári
Tiborszállás
Tiborszállás
Csenger
ótf
ó
Csenger
f
ótf
ó
Csenger
ótftfal
Csenger
tfa
t
tf
Csenger
Csenger
Csenger
Csenger
lu
fal
faalualalaualu
al
os
luu
os
Terem
#
u
os
u
os
os osos
# Terem
Terem
Terem
Terem
Mérk
Csengerújfalu
Mérk
#
Csengerújfalu
Mérk
Mérk
Mérk
Mérk
Csengerújfalu
Csengerújfalu
# Nyírpilis
Nyírpilis
Nyírpilis
Nyírpilis
# Vállaj
Vállaj
Vállaj
Vállaj
#
Piricse
Piricse
Piricse
Piricse
Bátorliget
# Bátorliget
Bátorliget
Bátorliget
Encsencs
#
Encsencs
Encsencs
Encsencs
Ömböly
# Ömböly
Ömböly
Ömböly
#
Nyírlugos
#
Nyírlugos
Nyírlugos
Nyírlugos
Nyírbéltek
Nyírbéltek
Nyírbéltek
Nyírbéltek
# Penészlek
Penészlek
Penészlek
Penészlek
Nyíracsád
Nyíracsád
Nyíracsád
Nyíracsád
# Fülöp
Fülöp
Fülöp
Fülöp
#
Nyírábrány
Nyírábrány
Nyírábrány
Nyírábrány
#
#
Hajdú-Bihar
Vámospércs
Vámospércs
Vámospércs
Vámospércs
Bagamér
Bagamér
Bagamér
Bagamér
Újléta
# Újléta
Újléta
Újléta
#
á
l
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i
á
l
yi
á
#
#
Kokad
Kokad
Kokad
Kokad Álmosd
Álmosd
Álmosd
Álmosd
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storpályi
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storpályi
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onotsonotroolyonostrponoonostpionostoráonopionostoráonostoonostp
#
M M
Létavértes
M M
M M
Létavértes
M
Létavértes
Létavértes
#
Pocsaj
# Pocsaj
Pocsaj
Pocsaj
#
A N I A
Esztár
Esztár
Esztár
Esztár
Gáborján
Gáborján
Gáborján
Gáborján
Hencida
#
Hencida
Hencida
Hencida
#
Kismarja
#
Kismarja
Kismarja
Kismarja
#
Bojt
Váncsod
#
Bojt
Váncsod
Bojt
Bojt
Nagykereki
Váncsod
# Nagykereki
Nagykereki
Nagykereki
Váncsod
Váncsod
Váncsod
Váncsod
#
Bedő
Bedő
Bed
Bed ő
Bedő
Bed
Bed
Mező
Mez
Mez peterd
ő
Mez
Mez
Mez peterd
ő
ő peterd
őpeterd
ő
ő
#
Ártánd
Ártánd
Ártánd
Ártánd
#
#
Biharkeresztes
Told
Biharkeresztes
Told
Biharkeresztes
Biharkeresztes
Told
Told
Told
Mező
Mez
Mez sas
ő
Mez
Mez
Mez sas
ő
ő sas
ősas
ő
ő#
#
Kö
KKö
K
KK
KK rrööööörrrrsö
Berekböszörmény
s
ö
#
s
ö
ööös
ö #
s
ö
Berekböszörmény
s
s
ss
ö z
Berekböszörmény
Berekböszörmény
z
ss e
z
zzzg
eg
e
ee aaggggp
a
aaa á
pá
p
ppp t
R O M
Magyarhomorog
t
Magyarhomorog
á
ááái
á
Magyarhomorog
i
á
Magyarhomorog
t
t
á
Magyarhomorog
i
itt
Magyarhomorog
Magyarhomorog
Magyarhomorog
Magyarhomorog
#
#Körösszakál
Körösszakál
Körösszakál
Körösszakál
Újiráz
Újiráz
Újiráz
Újiráz
Komádi
Komádi
Komádi
Komádi
#
#
© Dr. Csordás L. - Dancs L., MTA RKK ATI, 1999.

A number of different methodical viewpoints had to be considered when the
questionnaire was created. For this reason – and for the sake of better processing –
the use of open questions had to be reduced on one hand. On the other hand, the
need emerged to obtain new kind of information – regarding the characteristics of
cross-border relations of the borderlands, the existence and strength of inter-ethic

11

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

relations, the presence and activities of foreign owned companies – which had not
been examined in this context and in such a complex way in the region.
Accordingly, a certain number of questions could only have been phrased and put
in an open way.
Out of the 119 questionnaires sent to the settlements, 95 arrived in time, 29
representing Hajdú-Bihar and 66 Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county. The 95 fulfilled
questionnaires mean that 79,8% arrived, which can be regarded as a very high
percentage when using self-answering questionnaires (two others arrived after
closing the processing, which could not be considered as relevant data). The
questionnaire was completed by a series of interviews made with the mayors of
three borderland cities (Létavértes, Csenger and Záhony), the mayor of an “almost
city” (Komádi), the mayor of a settlement heading for large-scale development,
being transformed into an international border crossing (Csengersima), the leader
of the first special business area in Hungary – Záhony and Surroundings Business
Area and the chief experts of the chambers of agriculture, industry and commerce
of Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties. These were important
supplementary resources for the research and the questionnaires and also the
preparation of this study, just like the different databases correcting incomplete or
false statements.
2.2 The results of the investigation
2.2.1 Characteristics of population and settlement geography
The total population of the 119 settlements of the North-Eastern Great Plain
borderlands amounts to 156 714 persons, which is 14.0% of the total population of
the two counties. 58 239 people (10.7% of the population, 1 941 people per
settlement on the average) live in the 30 settlements in the Hajdú-Bihar sample,
while 98 475 people (17.2% of the population, people per settlement on the
average) live in the 89 settlements belonging to the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
sample. Consequently, among the settlements in the sample, the average number of
inhabitants is almost twice as high in Hajdú-Bihar as in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
county. This also implies that the borderland settlements have longer borders and
are more densely populated in Hajdú-Bihar, whereas they have shorter borders and
are less populated in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (Figure 2).
In the borderland settlements filling out the questionnaire, the average number
of live births per 1000 inhabitants was 11.1 people, the mortality was 13.8 people
in the beginning of 1999. The birth ratio on the average of the 30 settlements in
Hajdú-Bihar was 12.2 per thousand, whereas in the 89 borderland settlements of

12

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg it was 10.4 per thousand. On the contrary, the death ratio
in Hajdú-Bihar was 14.8 and 13.2 in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. The difference
regarding the total number of live births and deaths is not significant in either
county’s borderlands examined. However, the natural migration figures are
unfavourable both regarding the 95 settlements and also the 119 settlements in the
borderlands, compared to the total average of the two counties. With regard to the
average of the borderland settlements, the natural decrease (-2.6 for Hajdú-Bihar
and –2.8 per thousand for Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg) deriving from the difference of
births and deaths significantly exceeds the ratio of Hajdú-Bihar (1.2) and Szabolcs-
Szatmár-Bereg (1.0).
Despite of the significant natural loss of the ageing population (whose ageing is
widely known), real loss is hardy shown due to the positive migration balance. For
example, the loss of 422 persons in 1998 was balanced by the 700 surplus of the
migration balance. This also implies that due to the shrinking possibilities of
moving out and due to the movings in or resettlings for social and other reasons,
the population is more likely to increase continuously in most of the settlements.
The process can be explained by the positive migration balance, which is a rather
contradictory phenomenon in the case of an especially disadvantageous region.
This strange tendency is probably caused by the forced resettlement of the urban
unemployed, the settlement of those coming from the other side of the border and
the stronger immigration of the Gypsy population. As a result, according to the
reports of the local authorities, the 3 473 people leaving the 95 borderland
settlements was compensated by the 4 182 people moving in, showing a surplus of
710 people in 1998.
Because of the latter, the migration of the population deserves a distinguished
attention. According to the 95 questionnaires sent back, the total number of move-
ins was 4 183 (26.7 persons/thousand) in the borderlands, making up for 3% of the
total population choosing a new residence. Examining the move-in ratio by
counties, it can be stated that in the 29 borderland settlements of Hajdú-Bihar there
were 2 158 move-ins (37.2 persons/thousand), 3.7% of the residents. On the other
side, 2 025 people moved in the 66 settlements in the sample, which is 20.6 people
per thousand inhabitants. In this case only 2.1% of the population can be
considered as movers-ins. Accordingly, the ratio of move-ins is much higher in
Hajdú-Bihar compared to the neighbouring county. The higher settlement function
that is a regular consequence of the higher population makes the borderlands
belonging to Hajdú-Bihar more attractive than Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, more
typically dominated by small villages. Further explanations can be found in the
differences in spatial structure, transportation infrastructure and the poor
accessibility, and great distances between the county seat as a centre and the
settlements in the borderlands of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg.
14

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

As regards the nationality of in-movers, the settlements that sent their answers
(N=95) indicated 4 030 as Hungarian and only 153 people as foreign from the total
4 183 move-ins during 1998. The number of foreigners was 3.7% of the total
move-ins. Although the ratio of move-ins from the other side of the border is not
very high compared to the number of total move-ins, however, the amount of 153
per year itself, according to the nature of the issue, should not be disregarded 10
years after the changes. Out of the 4 030 Hungarian move-ins to the North-Eastern
Great Plain borderlands, 53.0% (2 134 people) moved to Hajdú-Bihar and 47.0%
(1 896 people) to Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county. Out of the 153 foreign move-
ins, 24 people (15.7%) became resident in Hajdú-Bihar, while 129 people (84.3)
settled down in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg.
Examining the distribution by nationality, out of the 153 foreign move-ins into
the borderlands, 55.6% (85 people) were Hungarian and 44.4% (68 people) non-
Hungarian. Out of the latter, the number of Ukrainians was the highest (44 people),
followed by the Romanians (22 people), Serbs and Slovaks (1 person each). Out of
the 24 people who became residents in Hajdú-Bihar, 1 was Ukrainian, 6 Romanian,
1 Serb and 16 Hungarian. Out of the 153 people moving in the Northern Great
Plain borderlands, 129 people (84.3%) of all foreign immigrants found new home
in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, 43 of whom were of Ukrainian, 16 of Romanian, 1 of
Slovakian and 69 of Hungarian nationality. Comparing the data of the two
counties, it is striking that the number and ratio of move-ins was much higher in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg in 1998 than in its Southern neighbour. However, it is a
common characteristic that the majority of immigrants are Hungarian in both
counties.
The reason and motivation of foreign move-ins was also a subject of
examination regarding the assessable answers. As the territorial differences are
spectacular, we preferred a breakdown by counties. In Hajdú-Bihar the reason for
moving in was rather the better standard of living and the possibility of getting an
apartment, and not so much the heritage, family foundation or workplace. As it
comes from the data, those who moved to Hungary found their former living
standards and the conditions of their environment unsatisfactory and expected
better perspectives in our country, where they can get an apartment cheaper and are
close to their former domestic or foreign home. Most of the foreigners moving in
already have families and they did not have family relations in these territories
formerly. They do not envisage their future in the borderlands but would rather
settle down permanently in the central areas inside the country. They already
arrived with the purpose to move on after their naturalisation and as they have
stronger financial background and more self-confidence. In the motives of the
foreign immigrants to the borderlands of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, marriage and
founding a family are especially important, followed by buying an apartment and
resettling which also play an important role. However, heritage and workplace do
not play a special role. It is interesting that the better standard of living does not

15

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

play such a big role as in Hajdú-Bihar county. On the other hand, the family
reunion is indicated as a strong motive, which shows stronger family ties among
the people living in the borderlands of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg than those of
Hajdú-Bihar (Figure 3).
Figure 3
The motives for foreign immigrations in the border region (1998)
14
13
12
12
10
10
8
8
6
6
5
5
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
0
0
family unification
better living
marriage, family foundation
re-settling
job
purchase, construction or exchange of house
heritage
other reason
Hajdú-Bihar megye
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg

The total number of those moving away from the borderland settlements (N=95)
of the two counties was 3 473 in 1998. Out of this, 1 870 people (53.8%) stand for
Hajdú-Bihar and 1 603 (46.2%) for Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. The comparison of
the move-in and move–out ratios leads to and interesting conclusion. The number
of move-ins in Hajdú-Bihar was 37.2 people per thousand in 1998, the number of
move-outs was only 32.2, which is 3.7 and 3.2% of the total population examined.
If we do not accept the possibility that the same population moves out and moves
in – which has a very low chance –, adding up the ratios of moving in and out, it
can be seen that 6.9% of the population has changed in the borderland settlements
of Hajdú-Bihar that have sent the questionnaire back. The ratio of move-ins per
thousand was 20.6 people in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, the number of move-outs
was 16.3 people, which means 2.1 and 1.6% of the total borderland population
16

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

considered. This implies that 3.7% of the population has changed continuously.
The ratio calculated this way is approximately half as high as in the case of Hajdú-
Bihar, showing the considerable, sometimes total immobility of the Szabolcs-
Szatmár-Bereg borderlands population, however, the inhabitants usually do not
experience this in such a conscious way but rather on an emotional ground and
under pressure (Figure 4).
Figure 4
The number of people moving in and out
LEGEND
850
425
85
Number of move-ins
Number of move-outs
© Rajhóczki László, MTA RKK ATI Debreceni Csoport, 1999.

Out of the total number of move-outs from the North-Eastern Great Plain
borderlands, 50 was of foreign nationality in 1998. According to the territorial

17

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

division, out of the 50 move-outs 5 – formerly settled foreigners – moved on from
Hajdú-Bihar and 45 from the neighbouring county. Regarding the motive, reason
and destination of moving away, except for one case (Ukraine), 47 was another
Hungarian city and 19 was another village. The former statement, which implies
thin the borderlands are considered only as a temporary station for the foreign
move-ins, and the destination is another city in the central part, a county seat or
other bigger prosperous city and Budapest above all, seems to be justified. Due to
the unfavourable societal and economic conditions, the borderlands can only be
attractive for foreign citizens as a chance to get cheap apartments these days. In the
socio-economic sense the area is not able to be influential and attractive enough for
the neighbouring countries, as it is able to guarantee only a limited living standard
for its own residents. This can be tracked in the reasons listed in the questionnaire
regarding the motives of foreign (and Hungarian) move-outs from the borderlands,
among which the opportunity to work and the better living standards are indicated
in the first and second place.
Finally, if we sum up the figures of the natural mobility of the population per
thousand inhabitants with the total number of move-ins and move-outs per
thousand inhabitants, the real surplus was 7.5 people in the Hajdú-Bihar part of the
borderlands, whereas this number was 1.5 in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg in 1998.
Accordingly, the amount of the population has increased in both counties in the
borderland settlements in the sample, however – although in a smaller amount
compared to the national tendencies – a natural loss is mostly typical for the
borderlands. The origin of the real population gain is mostly the migration surplus.
In the recent years, the Gypsies have been moving in and are concentrated at
certain territories, in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg for the most. This seems to be
verified as according to the 1997 empirical studies on the Gypsy groups in the
borderlands, the increase of the Gypsy population was significant compared to the
1990 census. This is a large-scale change even if we consider that the comparison
between the 1990 census and the rather accurate results of the report of the
Economic Geography Department of József Attila University prepared in summer
and autumn of 1997 in 88 North-Eastern Great Plain borderland settlements
regarding the Gypsy ethnic group leads to inevitable distortions. In the case of the
numeric comparison it is clear that the indicated amount of increase could not take
place as in 1990 evidently much less people defined themselves Gypsy as they are
in reality. In more than the half, 48 of the settlements the number of Gypsies is less
than 50 and there are no Gypsies in 10 settlements. The situation is different if we
do not consider the population but the ratio of Gypsies among the population.
According to 1990 data, the ratio of Gypsies is over 10% in only 22 settlements
and is higher than 25% in only 5 settlements. Looking back to the 1997 situation, it
can be stated that the ratio of Gypsies exceeds 10% in 55 settlements, 25% in 22
settlements and 50% in 2 settlements. The majority of settlements where the Gypsy
population is over 100 people belong to the group of more than 25% (Tuzsér,
18

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Nagyecsed, Csenger, Létavértes, etc.) reaching the one-third ratio in a number of
cases (Tiszaszentmárton, Tiszabezdéd, Encsencs, Berekböszörmény). It is the small
settlements, however, that are the most spectacular with their high ratio. 80% of the
less than 300 people in Uszka, 59% of the less than 500 people in Kispalád, 50% of
the 700 people of Nyírpilis is Gypsy, and among those with a population less than
1000 the ratio is higher than 25% in another 8 settlements. It appears that the small
settlements becoming even more unfavourable because of their population give
home to more and more underprivileged ethnic population, which further increases
their unfavourable conditions (Cs. Kovács 1999).
The study includes the examination of breakdown by religion, too. On the basis
of the 95 questionnaires sent back, it was possible to get information about the
religion of 122 836 people out of the 156 714 living in the borderlands.
Accordingly, the majority traditionally belongs to the Calvinists in the borderland
settlements of the two counties, which can be explained by the situation after the
reformation and the religious influence of Debrecen in the neighbourhood. The
number of Greek Catholics is also significant in both counties. The difference is
spectacular in the number and ratio of Roman Catholics, who are present in a
higher number in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg than in Hajdú-Bihar. Because of the
more significant Romanian population in Hajdú-Bihar, the number and ratio of
Orthodox people is higher than in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (Table 1).
Table 1
Division of the population of the border region by religion, 1998
Szabolcs-Szatmár-
Hajdú-Bihar
Total
Congregation
Bereg

persons % persons % persons %
Evangelic
28 097
63.32
49 333
62.87
77 430
63.03
Roman catholic
3 565
8.04
12 686
16.17
16 251
13.23
Greek catholic
10 313
23.24
14 239
18.15
24 552
19.99
Orthodox
1 137
2.56
27
0.03
1 164
0.95
Baptist 785
1.78
75
0.09
860
0.70
Other
469
1.06
2 110
2.69
2 579
2.10
Total
44 366
100.0
78 470
100.0
122
100.0
836
Source: Data from a questionnaire survey. Debrecen Group of the Great Plain Research Institute of
the CRS, HAS, 1999
Note: N=95, i.e. 122 836 persons, 78.1% of the total population of the border region.
In accordance with their ratio, it is the Calvinist, the Roman Catholic and the
Greek Catholic church that have the most widespread cross-border relations in the

19

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

region. According to the unanimous opinion of the authorised bishops in the area –
Calvinist Episcopacy of the Trans-Tisza Region, Roman Catholic Episcopacy,
Greek Catholic Episcopacy of Hajdúdorog – the churches keep the closest
relationship with the Hungarian churches beyond the frontier. This co-operation is
concentrated on the pastors’ training, religious education and culture, and charities
regardless of religion (L. Dancs 1999).
The breakdown by nationality among the population of the borderlands has also
been examined in the questionnaires. The data are based on the information
published by the local mayors’ offices. Out of the local authorities sending back
the questionnaires, only four settlements have referred to ethnic minorities.
Accordingly, 55% of the population of Bedő is Romanian, 1% of the population in
Körösszakáll and Létavértes is Romanian and 7% of Körösszegapáti is Romanian.
In all the other settlements the population is only of Hungarian nationality. Not
underestimating the importance of the issue, and being aware of the fact that in
reality, the number and ratio of ethnic inhabitants may be higher as is seemed from
the data given by the local authorities based on the usage of mother tongue, it must
be seen that the assimilation of the borderlands ethnic minority – mostly those
using their mother tongue as well – is rather advanced. As the population on both
sides of the border can be considered homogeneous and Hungarian as a majority –
not considering the Gypsy ethnic group as a nationality – the inter-ethnic relations
between the two sides of the borders operate as “Hungarian-Hungarian” relations
in reality.
Like it or not, in the regions and settlements of Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-
Szatmár-Bereg along the state borders, the only minority represented is almost only
the Gypsy group, with a much higher ratio compared to the national average. It
should also be added that the ethnic group of Gypsies live in a very much
unfavourable situation regarding economic, societal and geographical conditions.
This makes the situation of the examined territory even worse, as if we talk about
the problems of North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands, we should not forget
about the role of the Gypsy minority and the choice to reduce the conflicts given.
The ratio of the Gypsy minority is about 10% of the total population on the average
(exact and reliable data are not available from any source), but in some settlements
this number reaches 30-40%. For this reason, their role is not a subsidiary question,
especially regarding the labour market pressed by serious difficulties (I. Balcsók,
1999).
20

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

2.2.2 Socio-economic conditions
With the help of the questionnaires and the related analyses, the breakdown by
occupations of the working population of the borderlands could be specified rather
accurately in 1998. The number of employed based on the data of registered
employees is 30 328 people, if we add the number of commuters (5 741 people) it
is found that 65.3% of the working population is employed at the examined
territory, i.e. the ratio of the registered unemployed and those who got out of the
registration system and those who are able to work but do not have a job is 34.7%.
However, the latter percentage includes a certain distortion, as housewives,
mothers on maternity grant, soldiers and imprisoned are also included, these data
show serious employment difficulties (Table 2).
As it is pointed out in Table 2., most people are employed in the service sector.
Although the number of service sector employees is almost the same in both
counties’ borderlands, considering the population which is much smaller (30
thousand people less) in Hajdú-Bihar, the role of the service sector is much
stronger in this county, besides similar ratios. Because of the characteristics of the
settlement network, the quality and quantity standard of services is higher in larger
villages and in settlements with a larger population in Hajdú-Bihar. From the
demand side this could also mean that people living in a more urbanised
environment follow and copy the urban lifestyle more than those living in isolated
small villages.
Table 2
Distribution of the active earners in the border region
by economic sectors, 1998

Szabolcs-Szatmár-
Hajdú-Bihar county
Total
Sector
Bereg county

persons % persons % persons %
Agriculture
3 608
24.66
4 977
31.70
8 585
28.31
Industry
3 121
21.33
1 811
11.54
4 932
16.26
Trade
1 018
6.96
1 056
6.74
2 074
6.84
Services (catering,

transportation, tourism,
5 127
35.05
5 018
31.96
10 145
33.45
other)
Public services (public

administration,

education, health)
1 756
12.00
2 836
18.06
4 592
15.14
Total
14 630
100.00
15 698
100.00
30 328
100.00

21

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Source: Data from a questionnaire survey. Debrecen Group of the Great Plain Research
Institute of the CRS, HAS, 1999
The importance of agriculture is huge in the strongly agricultural borderlands,
both regarding employment and the production of income. The number and ratio of
people employed in agriculture in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, mostly due to pressing
economic constraints, is much higher than in its Southern neighbour. However, the
real socio-economic role of the sector is much smaller due to the differences in the
state of development and certain other particularities. Besides the large number of
constrained businesses, this can also be explained by the low quality of soil, the
unfavourable natural conditions and the constant danger of floods and inland
waters.
The ratio of people employed in industry is very modest with its 16.3%, which
refers to the fact that this branch of the economy plays a less important role in the
borderlands. The figure is especially low in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, only 11.5%,
and it is 21.3% in Hajdú-Bihar. It is typical of the situation that 40 of the 95 local
authorities asked (42.1%) stated that there was some kind of industrial activity at
the particular place. Nevertheless, the number of considerable industrial companies
is rather small. The ratio of people employed in the industry and services sector is
higher in Hajdú-Bihar, whereas the ratio of the public administration sector is
lower than in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. It is an interesting but also evident aspect
under the given circumstances that the ratio of the active earners in commerce, due
to the “breakout” character of these businesses, is almost the same in both counties.
However, the sectoral data – even though with significant differences by counties –
prove the contradictory, rather low state of socio-economic development in the
borderlands.
It appears of the whole economy thin the borderlands’ settlements separated
from their original natural centres (Ungvár, Munkács, Beregszász, Szatmárnémeti,
Nagykároly and Nagyvárad) are usually in a more favourable economic situation in
Hajdú-Bihar than in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. The question of unemployed looking
for work is solved in more cases than in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, however the
figures compared to the county average, the county seat or the capital city reveal a
rather unfavourable picture, which proves that the region is on “the periphery of
the periphery” regarding employment as well.
The questionnaire also paid attention to the issues concerning the labour
market. On the basis of the given answers it was found that the most serious
problem of the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands is the constant lack of jobs.
It often occurs – mostly in the winter months – that in most of the settlements the
number of free work places does not reach 1 for 100 unemployed. Comparing data
of the 11 employment districts in the borderlands, it is revealed that the nature of
unemployment is extraordinarily serious here. The unemployment rate is absolutely
higher than the national average in both counties and except for the two districts in
22

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

a relatively better situation (Berettyóújfalu and Kisvárda), the other nine seriously
exceed their own county’s average. In general, the labour market can be
characterised as the ratio of unemployed and the long-term unemployed is far
higher in the borderland settlements, in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg for the most, than
in the inner territories of the counties concerned (Figure 5).
Figure 5
The rate of unemployment in October 1998
Unemployment rate
National av arage
Hajdú-Bihar
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
25
20
15
%
10
5
0
di
s
lu
r
t
rtes
rcs
áto
ny
alka
nger
rma
rda
omá
újfa
rb
K
reszte
spé
yí
se
amé
ttyó
N
C
gya
sn
Kisvá
re
Létavé
Mátész
hér
harke
Vámo
áro
Bi
Be
Fe
Vás

The former large businesses have closed and the “employment gap” in their
place them has not been filled yet. The local businesses are small and are in a lack
of capital and the modest conditions do not attract foreign capital, which could
make larger investments. Employment and the state of economy are closely
connected. Without the development of the latter no significant job creation can be
supposed, which, given the lack of local capital can only be assumed with
significant government support. Above all, the construction and development of
road networks would be necessary.
It is characteristic of the labour market of the North-Eastern Great Plain
borderlands that the tertiary sector was not able to absorb the surplus in
agriculture and industry originating from the changes in 1989. Most of the
businesses in the tertiary sector employ one or two people, thus their role played on
the labour market is not significant. Catering and accommodation services – except
for a few examples – do not play an important role. The area does not attract
domestic tourism, either, and due to the closed borders the number of people

23

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

coming from the neighbouring countries is negligible. Demand is reduced in both
cases because of the underdeveloped infrastructure: despite the developments there
is no sufficient background for high level services. It is trade that suffers the most
from the closed borders, because their turnover could be helped a lot by
appropriately built crossing points and connected roads of better quality.
The huge unemployment experienced among the Gypsies means an especially
serious socio-economic problem for the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands. In
general, 70-80% of this ethnic group is constantly out of the legal labour market
and as it is estimated that they make the majority of hidden unemployment. Their
chances to enter the labour market again are very limited (I. Balcsók 1999).
The dramatic situation that has developed in connection with the ethnic group
of Gypsies is even more emphasised by the size of the Gypsy population living in
the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands. After Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county at
the first place, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg is the second and Hajdú-Bihar is the third
in Hungary regarding the absolute number of the Gypsies compared to the whole
population. The ratio of the Gypsies within the total population makes 8.9% in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and 8.2% in Hajdú-Bihar, which means the third and fourth
place for the two Great Plain counties, after Nógrád. The average ratio of the Gypsies
in comparison with the total population is 16.3% in the examined borderlands, which
is 3.5-4 times more than the national average (Cs. Kovács 1999).
As regards the already quoted survey, Nagyecsed, Csenger, Létavértes and
Tuzsér were the settlements in 1997 with a considerable Gypsy population, more
than 1000 people in absolute numbers. These have all acquired the city status,
except for Tuzsér. Accordingly, three out of the five cities of the borderlands have
significant Gypsy population, whereas the other two “gates” to Ukraine and
Romania – Záhony and Biharkeresztes –, which have approximately the same size
of Gypsy population, give residence to less Gypsy people. The reason for this is
their stronger economic potential due to their favourable settlement geographic and
transportation situation and their better conditions for job creation. The Gypsy
population of Záhony amounts to 20 people only, and only 300 Gypsies live in
Biharkeresztes as well, whereas in the neighbouring settlements there is a
considerable Gypsy population. The connection between the size of the settlement,
its economic potential, the number of workplaces and the size of Gypsy population
cannot be a coincidence. The settlements with an unfavourable economic situation
and few workplaces usually have larger Gypsy population compared to the
settlements with more favourable conditions. In those places where the purchasing
power of the population is stronger, the Gypsies with less favourable financial
conditions are pushed out step by step and so they settle down at the neighbouring
places. This way the neighbourhood of richer areas gradually becomes “Gypsy-
dominated”. Consequently, parallel with poverty goes the settlement and
concentration of the Gypsies, their segregation and social marginalisation, as it has
24

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

happened in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, in the Mid-Tisza area and the extensive areas
of South and South-Western Transdanubia (T. Vuics 1993, 1995).
As most of the larger Gypsy populations live in isolated “dead-end settlements”
in the peripheries of borderlands, far from traffic, the Gypsies living here are on the
peripheries both in the societal and the geographical sense, which is aggravated by
the rather low education level that they have. The extremely unfavourable situation
of the Gypsies becomes evident this way, especially as regards their employment.
This is proved by the following data: according to a 1971 survey concerning the
Gypsies, the ratio of working population was almost equal regarding both Gypsy
and non-Gypsy men (85.2 and 87.7%). As a result of the changes in 1989, today
the ratio of unemployed Gypsy men in active age is 48.6%. In addition there is
20% who are disabled pensioners but can be regarded as hidden unemployed.
Altogether more than two thirds of the Gypsy population, according to our own
surveys possibly 70-80%, sometimes 90-100% is unemployed (Cs. Kovács 1999,
B. Baranyi – B. Mező 1999).
Within the Gypsy population there is no significant difference between the
employment of men and women today. The traditionally lower employment ratio
of the women is almost the same as men’s today. The situation – if it can be any
worse – is even more unfavourable for the young Gypsies. The real danger for their
near and far future is building their lives on unemployment and on the benefits
from social redistribution.
Being aware of the serious socio-economic situation and problems of the
borderlands, the interpretation of information regarding the possibilities to work
and the employment conditions was essential during the preparation of the
questionnaire. The serious decrease in the number of workplaces forces many
people to choose commuting as the only solution, however, the economic recession
reduces these possibilities significantly. For this reason the questionnaire paid
attention to define the number of commuters. It was found that the 5 741 people
commute from the 95 sample settlements to other places, which makes 10.4% of
the working population, taking the total population (122 836 people) and the ratio
of working people compared to the whole population (45%, 55 276 people) into
consideration. (It can be another point that from the working population it is 33-36
thousand together with commuters who perform regular paid activities in any
branch of the economy. Most of the others belong to the large group of
unemployed, earn wages in other ways or have a share of social benefits.)
Commuting is more significant close to cities and larger settlements and it is
less important in the small-village-no-city Szatmár-Bereg area bordered by the
Szamos and Tisza rivers and the two frontiers. The volume and possibility of
commuting is of course strongly dependent on the job opportunities and the
conditions of traffic. There is an extremely important connection between the
number of commuters and how the particular place can be reached. Beyond
immobility, the life of the population living in villages of the “periphery of the

25

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

periphery” is influenced also by isolation, decrease of workplaces, being pushed
out from the labour market and market processes, current and long-term
employment crisis and segregation. It is also not a coincident that the number of
commuters was 2 599 people in the places examined in Hajdú-Bihar and 3 142 in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, much less compared to any figures of the recent decades.
Most of the commuters turn to those cities that offer the most workplaces, are easy
to reach and have an upward trend in their economy (Záhony, some settlements in
the Záhony and Surroundings Business Area, Kisvárda, Mátészalka, Nyírbátor,
Debrecen, Berettyóújfalu and the Business Area of Bihar).
Regarding the number of commuters going to work in the neighbouring
settlements, the process seems to be rather one-way, based on the outcome of the
questionnaire. The commuters prefer going to work in the larger cities or places in
the neighbourhood, that are in a more favourable situation due to the functions they
perform or the proximity of borders, where the number of workplaces is usually
higher. The long-distance commuting that was widespread in the 1970s and 1980s,
the “black trains” connecting the capital city or the neighbouring counties and
distant destinations have absolutely lost their importance by today. The formerly
attractive centres and decentres need much less uneducated workforce. For this
reason, the job opportunities that existed in the capital city or other distant large
cities have been mostly diminished or have disappeared for the residents of the
small villages of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county.
The number of people commuting to the North-Eastern Great Plain borderland
settlements amounts to 3 725 people in 1998, which is 6.7% of the working
population. Their number and ratio is 2 000 people (9.7%) less than the number of
people commuting from here. If we presume that most (about two-thirds) of those
commuting to the settlements come from the neighbouring settlements and it is
only one-third that comes from more distant settlements, and if we consider that the
ratio of commuters is 10.4% of the working population, it is likely that 5% of the
working population in the borderlands commute to the neighbouring settlement.
Approximately this is the migration inside the examined borderlands, which is
rather low. As a destination for commuters the most popular settlements within the
borderlands are the following, from the North to the South: Záhony, Tuzsér,
Csenger, Nagyecsed, Mérk, Vámospércs, Biharkeresztes, Ártánd and Komádi
(Figure 6). It was also examined if there were typical settlements that absorb or
emit workforce, the information from the questionnaire confirm that besides the
above mentioned settlements that employ a lot of workforce, the following are
significant emissaries of workforce: Tuzsér, Mándok, Nagyecsed, Nyíracsád,
Nyírbátor, Nyírábrány, Vámospércs, Létavértes, Monostorpályi, Kismarja,
Nagykereki and Komádi. Nevertheless, in the villages between the Szamos and
Tisza rivers and the Ukrainian-Romanian border, the migration both in and out
from the territory is negligible. It is also not surprising or contradictory – as it has
appeared from the former list – that due to the relatively more favourable
26

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

conditions, more settlements perform an absorbing and emissive function in the
same time (Tuzsér, Csenger, Nagyecsed, Mérk, Vámospércs and Komádi). The
residents of those settlements that are easy to reach and have better infrastructure,
for example Vámospércs, Monostorpályi, Létavértes and Nagyecsed, are in a more
favourable position on the labour market as it will be easier for them to reach their
workplace compared to the dwellers of the isolated settlements.
Figure 6
The distribution of people commuting from and to the region
LEGEND
1 100
550
110
Number of those commuting to work from the settlement
Number of those commuting to work in the settlement
© Rajhóczki László, MTA RKK ATI Debreceni Csoport, 1999.

27

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

In order to characterise the economic situation in a realistic and detailed way,
the role of businesses was also examined in the questionnaire. Specific questions
asked about the form of undertakings, their ownership and the breakdown of
private businesses by activities and economic branches. On the basis of the
answers we arrived at a surprising conclusion regarding the number of only foreign
owned businesses, as there were only five of them in the examined territory. The
number of joint ventures – businesses that are owned by both Hungarians and
foreigners – was also only seven in the borderlands. It appears that the foreign
capital is present only to a very limited amount in the examined 95 settlements.
The reason can be found in the very unfavourable economic, societal and
infrastructural conditions at the “periphery of the periphery” situation. Foreign
capital is not invested – and Hungarian either – to places that are permanently in
recession and segregation. Most of the North-Eastern Great Plain borderland
settlements are in this situation (Figure 7).
Figure 7
The number of operating businesses by the type
of ownership in the beginning of 1999
6 0
5 4
5 0
4 0
3 2
3 0
2 2
2 0
1 0
4
3
1
4
5
7
0
H a jd ú -B ih a r m e g ye
S z a b o lc s -S za tm á r-
Ö s s ze s e n
B e re g m e g ye
H u n g a ria n
fo re ig n
m ixe d

As the answers given by the local authorities have been rather contradictory,
incomplete and difficult to interpret, the method used by László Csordás seemed
more appropriate to characterise the state of economy. This was based on the 1994
and 1997 databases of the Central Statistical Office called TSTAR (System of
Regional Statistical Data), illustration of the value of 13 variables per 1000
residents on a map, with the help of rank calculation and factor analysis, taking
the data of 119 borderland settlements into consideration. This method allowed the
evaluation of the changes compared to 1994. One of his conclusions was that the
number of private undertakings per 1000 residents is higher in the cities above all,
in Nyíregyháza and Fehérgyarmat and in Biharkeresztes and Hajdúszoboszló it
exceeds 67. Figures higher than 35 are found in Hajdú-Bihar and sporadically in
28

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

the borderlands also. Compared to some cities of the county, the number of private
undertakings is negligible in the borderlands, in one-eighth of the settlements it
does not reach 20 per 1000 residents. The figure is between 20 and 35 in two-thirds
of the settlements and exceeds 50 in only Biharkeresztes and Nagyhódos, as it has
already been mentioned.
Between 1994 and 1997 the number of private undertakings increased only in
60 settlements in the two counties, 60% of these concerns the examined
borderlands and the Northern part first of all. Out of the most increasing (50-850%)
and the most decreasing (40-86%) settlements three-quarters of them are found in
the borderlands, the ones with good or bad figures are often neighbours (Hencida-
Bojt, Kishódos-Nagyhódos and others).
From the first 18 settlements in the national rank of the settlements, the most are
cities, from the borderlands only Biharkeresztes and Tákos could qualify. On the
Csaroda-Csenger line more settlements could reach a better position compared to
the settlements mostly in the last category or the one before the last.
In the recent three years nearly half of the settlements of the two counties have
lost their positions in the national hierarchy, the other half have improved. The
latter amounts to 58% in the borderlands. It can be stated that the two most extreme
cases concern two neighbouring villages: Kishódos  has lost 2 640 positions,
Nagyhódos  has improved by 2 380 positions in the national hierarchy of 3 125
settlements. Most of the 14 settlements (12) that have improved their positions
significantly (by 800-1600 places) can be found also in the borderlands. Out of
those North-Eastern Great Plain settlements whose situation worsened to a small
extent, more than 30% is found in the examined borderlands, whereas 40% is
found at the same place as the ones that have improved a little.
The number of businesses with a legal entity per 1000 residents remains below
5 in two-thirds of the settlements, namely 57% of the borderland settlements. It is
more interesting that in 39 settlements there was no businesses with a legal entity at
all and 60% of these is to be found in the territory examined. It was only
Bakonszeg  in Hajdú-Bihar where the figure exceeded 15, whereas in the second
category – between 5 and 15 – there are several villages apart from Záhony
(Ártánd, Tiszaszalka, Barabás and Csaroda).
Between 1994 and 1997, in two-thirds of all the settlements of the two counties
the number of businesses with a legal entity increased, in 35 settlements it
decreased by 0-25 and in 11 settlements decreased by 25-80%. In 55 places in
either 1994 or 1997 there was no such undertaking at all (this way the division
resulted in a zero sum). The situation was absolutely different in the neighbouring
settlements in the borderlands: in 17 cases there was a decrease, in 72 cases an
increase and in 30 other cases no such business in either of the two years. From the
most increasing (2.5-9.6-fold) places, 22 are in the borderlands, whereas from the
decreasing only one-third is to be found there.

29

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Besides a certain group of cities and the already mentioned Ártánd, Tiszaszalka,
Barabás, Csaroda, it was Tarpa, TIvadar and Tiszaberek that could get into the
best 20 settlements in the national hierarchy. At the same time it can be observed
that half of the 66 settlements in the worst category can be found in the
borderlands, first of all in the Northern part, many times surrounded by the above-
mentioned settlements. On the line from Csenger to Újíráz, the settlements in the
fourth category (1 875-2 500) in the rank of the 3 125 Hungarian settlements,
divided into five equal units, can be found along the borders, sometimes on the
inside, sometimes the outside row of settlements.
During the years between 1994 and 1997, the position of 77-78% of the
settlements in both counties worsened in the national hierarchy. Out of the 16
settlements that lost the most (695-1380) only 6, out of the 14 that significantly
improved (450-1340), 10 settlements are in the borderlands. From those whose
situation worsened only a little, 37%, namely 86 settlements, from those that
improved somewhat, only one-third are in the examined territories. The factor
analysis performed regarding the settlements in the borderlands, completed by and
in accordance with the results of the questionnaire concerning the state of
economy, shows a more unfavourable picture compared to the inner territories of
the two counties concerned. However, it also implies that the most improved
settlements of the borderlands are the ones in a “special traffic position” and the
ones with a larger population (L. Csordás 1999).
The questionnaire also made an attempt to evaluate the socio-economic
modifications through subjective opinions in the decade following the systemic
change. The question was put like: “Has the situation of the settlement improved
or worsened in the recent ten years?” Three groups were made from the answers:
worsened, improved, not changed. Out of the 95 (=100%) local authorities that sent
the questionnaire back, 48 (50.%) thought that the situation was worse than it had
been, 39 (40%) said that it had improved and 8 (8.5%) thought that it had not
changed. However, the evaluation by counties leads to interesting conclusions. It
appears from the comparison that from the two most typical opinions (worse,
improved) more settlements indicated “worse” among the 28 settlements of Hajdú-
Bihar in the sample than in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, where 34 out of 67
settlements gave the same answer. In other words, in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg –
which is usually referred to as the most lagging behind county regarding socio-
economic conditions – relatively less people considered the recent ten years as bad
as in the Southern neighbouring county.
Among the ones saying “the situation has improved”, there was an inverse
situation, as compared to the ratio of settlements, more people judged their
situation being better in Hajdú-Bihar (11 from 28) than in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
(28 from 67) county. Regarding the “not changed” answers, Szabolcs-Szatmár-
Bereg is in the first place again, however, this cannot be considered significant
according to the small size of the basis (3 settlements in Hajdú-Bihar and 8 in
30

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg). Whatever way is chosen to analyse the question, the
essence can be summarised as in both counties of the borderlands the opinions
“worse” and “not changed” seem to dominate over “improved” (Figure 8).
Figure 8
Has the situation of the settlement improved or worsened
in the last ten years?
LEGEND
no reply
worsened
improved
not changed
© Rajhóczki László, MTA RKK ATI Debreceni Csoport, 1999.

31

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

The following question created a rather interesting and strange situation as it
intended to find an answer to the following: “In your opinion, on which side of the
border do people live better?”. In this context it was rather strange to read the
unanimous, accurate and self-confident answer of the 95 settlements phrased
briefly stating life was better on the Hungarian side, whereas in the former question
nearly 60% of the answers declared a worsening or stagnating situation.
The economic, region-making role of the settlements in the sample is also
indicated by the fact whether they have a mart and if yes, how often. Within the
multi-functional opportunities of the mark, the role played in the socio-economic
life of the neighbourhood and the settlement itself should be highlighted, mostly
because the society and the economy of the territory examined shows lots of
archaic and premodern elements. Among the 95 settlements sending the
questionnaire back, 22 have a regular mart, usually twice or once a week and only
two of them have the mart every day (Csenger and Tyukod). As it regards the
breakdown by counties, 14 market settlements are found in Hajdú-Bihar and 8 in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. The reason for that is the size of the settlements, as in
Hajdú-Bihar – as it has already been mentioned – larger settlements are found in
the borderlands, where it is worth having a market because of the larger population
and the stronger purchasing power. On the other side, the borderland settlements of
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg are smaller, which makes it useless to have regular marts,
due to the weaker purchasing power.
The questionnaire also contained the question “Which settlements have a
mart?” A positive answer was given by ten borderland settlements. However, it is
only one, Létavértes, the centre of the so-called Erdőspuszták (“Woodlands”)
group of settlements, which has a regular weekly market, the other 9 settlements
give place to a market every month, three months or only once a year. As it regards
the type of the markets, one only co-ordinates the trade of animals, the other is only
a fair and the other 8 deal with both. As it concerns the location, 7 out of the 10 are
found in Hajdú-Bihar, just because of the larger population in the settlements, and
3 of them are in the neighbouring county.
Among the questions referring to market activities, there was one closely
connected to the borderland situation, asking the mayors to estimate the number of
people dealing with cross-border trade in their settlements (cigarettes, fuel, etc.).
The total number given for cross-border traders was 101 in Hajdú-Bihar and 330 in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, altogether 431 people in the case of the 95 borderland
settlements. Nevertheless, without any personal experience, it is easy to realise that
this number might be much higher in reality.
32

Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

2.2.3 The assessment of cross-border relations
The importance of questions regarding the state and opportunities of cross-border
relations has significantly increased nowadays, due to the Euro-Atlantic accession
process. With the accession to the EU, the Hungarian-Romanian and the
Hungarian-Ukrainian borders will be the borderline of the EU in the near future.
The chance of the neighbouring countries to join the EU in the same round is slight
today. This way the dividing role of the borders is likely to become stronger
temporarily as the Schengen criteria must be kept at the crossing points that belong
to the currently examined territory. The free movement of people and goods will
rather be hindered than facilitated by this new situation. The chance for the
borderlands to improve and become strong enough in the near future to play an
integrative role before the accession, like Burgenland in Austria and Vas and Győr-
Moson-Sopron, is also limited.
Because of these reasons it was very important to study in depth the cross-
border relations of the local authorities in the borderland. As it appeared from the
answers given to questions regarding the establishment and type of relations, it is
only 30 (31%) of the 95 settlements that maintains relations with 53 settlements
over the borders, which lags behind the ideal state that could be expected from the
borderlands status. Most of the settlements and cities on the border stay in contact
with the nearest – usually Hungarian – settlement on the other side of the border,
whereas there are exceptions, too. Nyíracsád, for example, co-operates with Tallin
in Estonia besides the Romanian settlements. The relations of the 53 settlements in
other countries are cultural first of all (in 34 cases), twin-cities  in 30 cases and
sports connections in 19 cases. There are much less relations in education,
religion, business and trade. The low ratio of business, trade and educational
relations is especially disadvantageous (Figure 9).
The efficiency of cross-border relations is considered good by 40%, fair by 34%
and acceptable by 28% of the 30 settlements co-operating with others. Among the
answering settlements, 67 (71%) did not do anything to improve the insufficient
relations or to create relations in general, 17 (18%) were looking for a solution or
attempted to create relations. In only 11 cases was there an effort taken to improve
by organising common programmes (e.g. Nagyecsed, Nyíracsád, Körösszegapáti)
and submitting projects (e.g. Barabás and Csenger).
To the question “In which fields should the relations be improved the most?”,
based on the 58 answers, the most frequent answer was in trade (25 cases) and
business (18 cases), culture was much less common (7 cases). Improvement in the
field of sports (4 cases), tourism (2 cases) and settlement development and
environmental protection (1 case each) was not regarded very important. By the


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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Figure 9
The characteristics of cross-border relations of the borderland settlements
trade
9%
economic
9%
educational
17%
religius
19%
sport
28%
twin-city relations
57%
cultural
64%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%

improvement of trade and business relations, the local economy is expected to be
modernised rapidly. To achieve this, the settlements try to rebuild the relations with
those economic, societal, cultural and health care centres with whom they had their
natural relations before and from which they were separated by Trianon (these are
Nagyvárad, Nagykároly, Szatmárnémeti, Beregszász and Ungvár).
One of the questions asked “What do the settlements do to establish (improve)
relations with cross-border settlements?” This question was important considering
future prospects and the possibility to create co-operation. 18% answered (N=95)
that they were studying the possibilities to create connections. The majority, 67
settlements, 71% of the local authorities answered that they did not do anything to
establish co-operation. It is for sure that most of the borderland settlements on the
Hungarian side do not see the time adequate to create co-operation with cross-
border settlements in the neighbouring countries. The background for this is the
lack of receiving capability on the other side of the border, the lack of possibilities
and the lack of intention to co-operate. The opening of new crossing points as a
possibility to get in contact or to improve the relations was indicated by 3.2% of
the answers. The small number of border crossings means a serious difficulty for
Hajdú-Bihar, as only one operates on the public road and two on the railways along
the 100 km long frontier. It is a promising sign that there are accepted plans to
open new crossing points at Létavértes and Komádi and to prepare one at
Nyírábrány.
Only one settlement, 1% sees the chance to broaden co-operation by submitting
common projects, which includes the intention from the Hungarian side to apply
for programmes facilitating the closing up of the underdeveloped, peripheral
territories and acquire financial resources to which the settlements of neighbouring
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

countries could join as partners. The organisation of common programmes was
considered by 3.2% as a means to broaden co-operation. These kind of
programmes do exist, but they are hindered by the small number of crossing points
and this way the relatively large distance among the settlements.
To the question “How many of the borderland settlements participate in cross-
border programmes and whether they have a share in some kind of financial
support”, seven answered yes. Two of them are found in Hajdú-Bihar (Bagamér
and Kőrösszegapáti) and five in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (Barabás, Csenger,
Mérk, Nagyecsed and Tiszaabony). The programmes partly intend to facilitate
inter-ethnic relations, partly to improve the local infrastructure and partly to
support environmental investments.
The proximity of borders was found advantageous by 14% of the local
authorities mostly because of shopping tourism and lively trade (e.g. Záhony,
Körösszegapáti, Mándok, Gelénes) and broadening of job opportunities
(Biharkeresztes, Beregsurány, Csengersima). On the other side, 23% considered
the proximity of the borders an unambiguous disadvantage because of isolation
(Hermánszeg, Csengerújfalu, Ura), bad public security caused by the increased
transit traffic (Tiszacsécse, Tiszakerecseny, Barabás, Tivadar) and the lack of jobs
(Tyukod, Nyírpilis). Because of the above mentioned reasons, the situation was
found both advantageous and disadvantageous by 11%, while 52% did not answer
the question (L. Dancs 1999).
All in all, the results of the questionnaire verified our former presumption that
the cross-border relations of the local authorities in the North-Eastern Great Plain
borderlands are not significant today either in quantity or in quality. The small
amount of official relations that exist are usually formal and protocol twin city and
sports relations. However, their improvement would be important especially in the
field of business and trade, even if the peripheral situation and underdevelopment
of the territory makes it more difficult for both partners to build new relations.
What possibilities does the Carpathian Euroregion Interregional Association,
founded on 14. February 1993, including the borderlands of five countries, offer?
The answers given to the two referring questions (What is the settlement’s opinion
of the Carpathian Euroregion initiative? How much are the municipality and the
population familiar with the aims and function of the Carpathian Euroregion?) do
not give us a reason to be optimistic. It appears thin the borderlands population is
not informed enough about this organisation. Many do not even know that it exists,
and those who do know are not familiar with its aims and functions. If the
Carpathian Euroregion wants to be a successful interregional organisation, it has to
go beyond the formal frames of its activities and has to facilitate the issue of
interregional co-operation by giving a content to it. It also has to let people know
about the aims, opportunities and results of the organisation, as 57% does not know
the Carpathian Euroregion at all, 40% thinks that it operates well, whereas three
settlements (Nagykereki, Nyírlugos and Tuzsér) – as its activity cannot be

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

perceived in the area above all – think that the initiatives of the organisation are
unfavourable. To the question how much the leaders of the local authorities
familiar are with the aims of the Carpathian Euroregion, only 15% answered “well”
and 2% answered “perfectly” (Tiszakerecseny and Pocsaj). The situation is even
worse if we examine the whole population in general, as 60% of the mayors are not
familiar with the aims of the Euroregion.
Despite the arising problems, the activities of the Carpathian Euroregion – if it
succeeds to draw co-operation interests nearer and overcome the hindering
difficulties of normal operation – can secure an outbreak opportunity for the
economy of the area, it can also help to solve minority problems and facilitate the
improvement of cross-border relations. In the meantime, co-operations of
borderland areas at different levels mean the most important form of cross-border
initiatives (L. Dancs 1999).
The questions of the survey inform us about the additional – but not secondary
– fields of cross-border relations as well. They also refer to the relations of the
population, which are directed in only one way, namely, the Hungarian settlements
along the border. Whereas from the other side of the border, nobody from any of
the settlements inhabited by Hungarians comes to Hungary to use health care
services, they do not cross the border in order to purchase medicine, 9 (9.5%) out
of the 95 borderlands settlements stated that people come to use medical services
on a regular basis and according to 21 (22.1%) of them, they come to purchase
medicines. Because of the delicate manner of the question it is likely that the
frequency is much higher in reality, as it was presumed regarding cross-border
trade.
The questions regarding the forms, character, conditions, circumstances,
turnover, economic efficiency of tourism directed to and beyond the North-Eastern
Great Plain borderlands – including the situation of the development and the
opportunities of rural tourism – referred to the cross-border relations as well. The
majority opinion formed on the basis of the analysis and evaluation of the answers
to these questions can be summarised as follows:
The significance of tourism in the examined part of the borderlands is still small
today, which is verified by the data of the accommodations, the interviews and the
answers given to the questionnaire. The significance of the borderlands decreased
regarding the turnover of the accommodations in the two counties, despite the fact
that the check-points are crossed more than 10 million times a year. Availability
and the difficulties of accessibility should be regarded as the main reasons,
however, the level of education and the knowledge of foreign languages also lag
behind, if we consider that this area would like to profit more from tourism. (One-
day tourism, the so-called shopping tourism increases significantly the frequency
of crossing the border, which has no real relevance to tourism of course.)
The majority of settlements that see a choice in tourism believe in rural tourism.
This process has already started in several settlements of the Upper-Tisza region.
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

The countryside holidays can be enriched and prolonged by hunting, ecotourism,
fitness programmes and wellness programmes as additional elements, which can
also contribute to the diversification of the economy and increasing the living
conditions of the population in the settlements offering them. Ten per cent of the
borderland settlements count on twin city, cross-border relations in connection with
cultural and sports programmes. This way tourism can contribute to the
improvement in the relations of the neighbouring countries. To sum up the most
important conclusions that can be drawn from the results of the questionnaire, it
can be stated that without the improvement of technical and human infrastructure
at the North-Eastern Great Plain, no significant achievements can be expected in
the field of tourism either (L. Csordás 1999).
Several questions referred to environmental protection as well, from which two
should be considered above all. To the question “Is there a waste disposal site in
the settlement?” 76 out of 95 said yes. 28 of them are in Hajdú-Bihar, 48 in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. Figures show that the simplest way to treat and dump
waste, namely to establish waste disposal sites works in 80 % of the settlements,
the others use common waste disposal sites or they do not deal with garbage at all,
as they have such a small amount of it. As the modern technology of collection,
dumping and managing waste is not too widespread in the whole country, the
borderlands are not much more backward than the country in general.
It is worth considering that none of the borderland settlements sending back the
questionnaire co-operate with settlements beyond the frontier in the field of
environmental protection. This can imply two things, one is that the problem of
pollution is not significant and the environmental protection is very effective at
both sides; the other is that for co-operation in this field – like for the others – there
is no will and there are no partners. It is true that except for some small and
medium size businesses there are no large sources of pollution on the Hungarian
side, most of the pollution originates from the big borderland cities of Romania and
Ukraine (I. Nagy 1999).
Finally, some questions referred to education, which can be connected to cross-
border relations from the human resource aspect, can foster or hinder their
development. It was revealed by the answers how many of the students living in
the borderlands (primary, secondary and higher education) commute between their
homes and the chosen school. Of course there is a primary school in most of the
settlements, this way commuting concerns secondary school students the most.
Many higher education students do not choose commuting because it is very
difficult to reach the institution, this way many of them have fallen out of the
sample. Accordingly, we call commuters those who leave their settlement every
schoolday and go to school to another settlement. From those who sent back the

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

questionnaire in Hajdú-Bihar, 2 570 students go to study to another neighbouring
or distant settlement. This figure is 2 919, altogether 5 489 students in the
borderlands.
As it regards commuting students from other settlements, firstly it implies those
who commute to borderland secondary schools from other borderland settlements
or other part of the county. This is 304 people in Hajdú-Bihar, whereas it is 918 in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, 1222 people altogether. To the Hajdú-Bihar part of the
borderlands no foreign student commutes, whereas 37 students study temporarily,
mostly from Ukraine. This implies that the schools on the Hungarian side are very
attractive for Hungarian students of a foreign citizenship.
The human potential living in the borderlands is a determining factor regarding
the future of the settlements. White-collar workers are represented exclusively by
teachers, with a significant ratio of commuters. In the settlements sending back the
questionnaire, there are 300 commuting teachers, from which 111 work in Hajdú-
Bihar and 189 in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. The number of commuters is 126 in the
borderlands, 61 in Hajdú-Bihar and 65 in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. These figures
imply that the numbers of commuters to the borderlands is much higher than the
number of commuters from there. This is in accordance with the tendency that
intellectuals concentrate at bigger settlements, do not prefer moving to small
villages and rather choose commuting there.
Because of the borderland character of the settlements and the role played by
the quality of human capital in the improvement of cross-border relations, it was
important to know which foreign languages are considered important in general
and at the regional level by the different local authorities. Out of the 95 answers in
the sample, in general English was at the first place in 87, German in 74, French in
9 and Russian in 4 replies (besides these, 2 preferred either Italian, Ukrainian or
Romanian). Regarding the regional level, the answers were more specific. In this
case also English and German were the most preferred (49 and 34 answers at the
regional level). However, it is especially important that 32 (4 in Hajdú-Bihar and
28 in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg) have chosen Russian. Of course it is not a
coincidence that they were exactly the settlements on the Ukrainian border
choosing Russian. Many preferred the Romanian language, 22 local authorities in
the whole region (11 in both two examined counties) think that it is important to
know the language of the neighbouring country which is also natural as both
counties have a long border with the Republic of Romania. Accordingly, the six
local authorities on the Ukrainian border consider the knowledge of Ukrainian to
be important. It appears from the answers that the utility and necessity to know
foreign languages is more and more acknowledged by the residents of the
borderlands.
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

2.3. Conclusions
The region of the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands with a depressed
agriculture has traditionally been lagging behind the more improved regions
(Budapest and North-Western Hungary). This underdevelopment visible in socio-
economic development continued to increase after the changes in 1989, in fact, the
process became more intensive. The data of the population changes show a
moderate increase, however, a restructuring and change in the ethnic composition
of the population can be perceived.
In the light of the results regarding the questionnaire about the North-Eastern
Great Plain borderlands, it is important to note again that most of the borderlands
are still underdeveloped regions, especially in North-Eastern Hungary. There are
no viable economic programmes, the situation of infrastructure is very
unfavourable and the traffic conditions have not improved, either, for these reasons
the number of entrepreneurs is small. It is vital for Hungary that its borders are
open. Its geographic situation and the relations to Hungarians living in the
neighbouring countries demand this.
The danger in the current situation – beyond the economy remaining archaic –
is that the premodern elements intensify and the population deteriorates in the
mental and moral sense of the word. This way the opportunity originating from the
crisis in agriculture, i.e. to introduce different, new production technologies like
bio-production, is lost. Nevertheless, the latter has only obstacles in the borderland
area as bio-production is a typical “urban” activity requiring advanced production
technology, significant investment of capital and a stable market, none of which is
present in the area. The borderland settlements should effectively exploit their own
inner resources and the advantages of the borderlands in both the economic and
societal sense in order to find the way to accelerate development, to catch up and
eliminate isolation. However, the success of finding the way out from the
“periphery of the periphery” situation by own resources is rather doubtful without
support external from (state or other capital inflow) even in the long run.
Nowadays it is obvious that the role of the Eastern borders of the country is
increasing, since in case of accession these territories will be the Eastern borders of
the Union as well. For this reason surveys fostering the development of the
“periphery of the periphery” are distinguished in order to avoid serious difficulties
in the economy of the region deriving from the falling behind the European level.
This is essential to enable the Eastern border to fulfil the role of the connecting
bridge to the neighbouring countries in the business and cultural relations. This
way the improvement of the borderlands is not only the interest of this area but it is
also a profitable investment for the whole country. The results and conclusions of
the questionnaire draw the attention to this fact.

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
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Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

3 The situation and development chances of
cross-border relations
3.1 Characteristics of the current situation
The regions taking shape by the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century
were broken into pieces by the new political borders set in Trianon, dividing the
Carpathian basin. Around the turn of the century, the centres of regional
development were about to emerge in the same time when Hungary was on the way
to become a capitalist country. They could have become real regions in course of
time if they could have developed in the normal way. Due to the way the north-
eastern borders of the country were marked in the peace treaty, the railway running
along with the fair towns was annexed to Czechoslovakia and Romania. The
hostile relations between the neighbours made business relations impossible among
the cities (Kassa, Ungvár, Beregszász, Szatmárnémeti, Nagykároly and Nagyvárad)
and the agglomerations which lost their centres and still belonged to Hungary (J.
Tóth – P. Golobics 1996).
Besides ruining regional initiatives, the new borders made interregional
relations also impossible. In the case of peaceful neighbouring countries with open
borders, setting new borders does not automatically hinder development, regional
relations can be the same as without borders in theory. However, the hostile
atmosphere between the countries during the years between the two World Wars
was not very favourable for regional co-operation in the Carpathian basin. The
Hungarian leaders regarded this only a temporary situation and for this reason they
did not take the necessary steps to catch up these territories. This situation was not
changed by the territorial corrections in World War II, in fact, with the Soviet
influence getting stronger after the war, it became even more complicated to cross
the frontier.
The political changes taking place at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s opened
new prospects in the Carpathian basin as well. As the iron curtain disappeared, the
strict dividing role of the state borders seemed to decrease and the prospect of
cross-border relations seemed to broaden. These expectations did not come true
everywhere along the Hungarian borders, especially not in the north-eastern part of
the Great Plain. Crossing the frontier here became even more difficult compared to
the former situation. The number of border crossings that are able to check enough
people is small and the border control is hindered by unnecessary, bureaucratic
steps.
Hungary is one of the countries in Central-Eastern Europe with the most open
economy. The central position it holds in the Carpathian basin and the national
economic targets demand general openness of the borders. In spite of this, the
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

borders around the north-eastern Great Plain – unlike the Austrian and Slovenian
“open border” – are absolutely not open. Despite their borderland position, the
peripheral North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands hardly ever get in contact with
the international economy. The opening of the north-eastern borders is Hungary’s
basic interest considering its NATO-membership and the forthcoming EU-
membership. It should be also taken into account that the co-operation of the
neighbouring countries is also necessary for the creation of open borders.
Unfortunately, the large number of Hungarian minorities in the territories annexed
to the neighbouring countries by the border corrections of Trianon, arises problems
for the solution of this issue. Some of the leaders of the neighbouring countries
regard closer co-operation between Hungary and the Hungarians beyond the
borders as dangerous and so they try to hinder the process of the border opening.
3.2 Cross-border relations in the North-Eastern Great Plain
Besides literature, data from the questionnaire (concerning 119 settlements in the
North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands) created and processed by the Debrecen
group of the Great Plain Research Institute of the Centre for Regional Studies,
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, interviews made with local churches, local
chambers of commerce and agriculture and also the leaders of business zones,
served as resources to examine the cross-border relations of the region. The results
of the diversified research in the north-eastern Great Plain borderlands, completed
as a part of the HAS Strategic Research Great Plain Programme II., are summarised
by an academic interim report ready for publication (B. Baranyi ed. 1999). Cross-
border co-operations operate at different levels at the same time in the North-
Eastern Great Plain. Formal (co-operation between the county and settlement local
authorities), cultural, business, religious, inter-ethnic and others can be
differentiated.
3.2.1 Cross-border relations at the level of local authorities
Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties have far-reaching relations both
to the East and the West. Besides the twin-relations between the cities and villages,
in accordance with their interests, the county offices established co-operation in
their own professional fields with offices of similar profile in other counties. As
regards cross-border relations, the local authorities search the opportunity to get
closer to the European Union and also to renew the former relations to similar
offices in the ex-socialist countries, to create partnership according to the new
conditions.

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
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Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Both county authorities participate in the work of different international
organisations. With the forthcoming EU-membership, the participation in the
Committee of European Regions (CER) becomes more important for Hungarian
counties as the main objective of CER is to unite the regions and counties of
Europe, to represent its regions and to facilitate preparations to the “Europe of
Regions”. Hungarian members participate in the annual meetings (last time held in
Linz, 1998) and in the work of various committees (Regionalism, EU Enlargement,
East-West Committee, Regional Development, Infrastructure, Environmental
Protection, Tourism).
Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, Debrecen and Nyíregyháza
county towns are the founders of the Carpathian Euroregion Interregional
Association. The size of the area (132 000 square kilometres), the ethnic diversity
and the different socio-economic conditions raise a lot of questions for the
organisation that celebrated the 6th anniversary of its foundation on 14th February
1999. Finding the solutions to these question is slow and difficult, whereas it also
offers a good opportunity to the five member countries (Hungary, Poland,
Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine) and their member regions to deepen their cross-
border relations (Helsinki P. 1998).
The Commission of Regions created five workgroups – Tourism and Ecology,
Regional Development, Education, Culture and Sports, Trade and Financial
Control – which work continuously. Although the half decade that has passed has
mostly been a period for the stabilisation efforts and for the definition of the
directions, there are certain results, too. For example, building the television and
media network within the Carpathian Euroregion is under way. In order to foster
interpersonal relations, certain programmes were organised ( Professional Study
Competition of Travelling Apprentices, Festival of Disabled and Handicapped,
Tradition Preserving Folklore and Sports Games etc.). Although it is expensive to
participate in the Carpathian Euroregion, according to the northern regions of the
Great Plain it is worth maintaining the membership, despite the difficulties.
Hajdú-Bihar is a member of the European Youth Activity (PLATFORM)
international organisation. The local government supports youth exchanges and
language camps from the County Youth Fund in the form of applications on a
regular basis. In accordance with the annual programme of the PLATFORM,
German, Finnish, Slovenian, Ukrainian and Luxembourg children spent almost ten
days in Debrecen in 1998. The children got familiar with ancient Hungarian crafts
and local folklore traditions, visited historic sights of the region and met children
from the region several times. In 1998 the representatives of the county authority
participated in the annual meeting of the organisation, where the programme
schedule of 1999 was accepted and Bihor (Romania) was accepted as a new
member (B. Baranyi 1998).
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
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Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Both Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Hajdú-Bihar have widespread twin-county
relations. This expression cannot fully be identified with the formerly used twin-
county relations, as these are not always confirmed by official co-operation
agreements. These relations are cultural and educational, above all. When the twin-
county relations were being formed, the counties tried to get in contact with
regions as diversified as possible. As a result, besides the regions of the
neighbouring countries, regions of Japan and the United States are also members of
the co-operation (Table 3).
Table 3
Twin county relations of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Hajdú-Bihar counties
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Hajdú-Bihar
Twin county
Country
Twin county
Country
Kárpátalja (Subcarpathia)  Ukraine
Lublin
Poland
Hargita Romania
Skierniewice
Poland
Radom Poland
Bihor
Romania
Havlickuv Brod
Czech Republic
Caras-Severin
Romania
Perm Russia
Kárpátalja
Ukraine
(Subcarpathia)
Niznegorod Russia
Cernovci
Ukraine
Kurgan Russia
Vorarlberg
Austria
Burgenland Austria
Limburg
The
Netherlands
Gelderland The
Netherlands
Split  Croatia
Ribe Denmark
Toyama
Japan
North-Rhine-Westfalia
Germany Ryazan
Russia
Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Italy
St.Gallen
Switzerland
Lusnja Albania

Heilongjiang China

Wayne (Michigan)
USA

Source: Database of the Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county governments.
It can be stated about the cross-border relations of the local authorities that they
intended to draw attention to the county and the region more than in the years
before. The local authorities participate in international organisations regularly,
which helps to join European business and cultural processes and it is a good
chance to get experience about the tasks of local authorities which can be expected
at the accession to the EU. Although co-operation in the field of business has
broadened in the twin-county relations, the relations among entrepreneurs and
businessmen have improved, the co-operations in the field of education, culture
and youth are the most successful. In the case of some twin-county relations

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

(Japan, USA and China) the big distance and the high costs hinder further
improvement. The co-operations that operate the best and are the most active are
the ones with the neighbouring and nearer counties. The co-operations are by no
means perfect, but they are relatively satisfactory regarding the co-operation
between Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Sub-Carpathia and Hargita county, and also
the co-operation between Hajdú-Bihar, Lublin and Bihor. Unfortunately certain co-
operations (Hajdú-Bihar – Csernovci and Sub-Carpathia, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
– Lusnja) practically do not work, which is partly due to the lack of interest of the
foreign partners and partly their deteriorating economic situation.
There is a good reason to develop the cross-county co-operations anyway, as it
is not only a precondition for partnership and good relations to the neighbourhood
but it also secures the ground for deepening business relations, to attract investors
and to find market for the products of the region.
3.2.2 Cross-border relations of the local authorities
After the changes in 1989, more and more settlements in the North-Eastern Great
Plain discovered the advantages of having twin-cities regarding cross-border
relations. It is only Máriapócs, Nagyecsed and Tiszalök in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
and Balmazújváros, Nádudvar, Nyíradony and Polgár in Hajdú-Bihar that do not
have a twin-city. From the 1999 survey conducted by the Debrecen Group of Great
Plain Research Institute of the Centre for Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of
Sciences (concerning 119 settlements), certain conclusions can be drawn regarding
the foreign relations of the local authorities in the borderlands. Out of the 95
settlements that answered, only 30 (31%) are in contact with 53 settlements beyond
the borders. Most of the borderland settlements are in contact with the nearest
settlements – mostly with a large Hungarian minority – in the nearest country.
There are also exceptions, for example Nyíracsád co-operates with Tallin (Estonia),
in addition to Romanian settlements (Figure 10).
The co-operation established with the 53 foreign settlements is mostly twin-
relation (30 cases), cultural (34 cases) and sport (19 cases), while the educational,
religious and economic-trade relations are much less frequent (see Figure 9.).
The efficiency of foreign relations is regarded good by 11, medium by 10,
acceptable by 8 out of 30 settlements and, excellent by the mayor of Vámospércs.
From the answering settlements, 67 (71%) did nothing either in order to improve
their unsatisfactory relations or to establish non-existent co-operations, 17
settlements (18%) are looking for the solution or the way to create new relations
now. Only 11 settlements (11%) tried to do something to improve the co-operation
by organising common programmes (e.g. Nagyecsed, Nyíracsád, Körösszegapáti)
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

and by the submission of common applications (Barabás and Csenger)  (Figure
11).
Figure 10
Figure 11

Cross-border relations of the
  The effectiveness of foreign relations
  borderland settlements in the North-
  in the borderland settlements of the

Eastern Great Plain borderlands
  North-Eastern Great Plain as seen

by the mayors
LEGEND
LEGEND
No reply
Excellent
No reply
Good
No cross-border relation
Medium
Non-Hungarian inhabited in the neighbour country
Acceptable
Mixed
No twin city relations
Hungarian inhabited settlement in the neighbour country
© Dancs László MTA RKK ATI Debreceni Csoport, 1999.
© Dancs László MTA RKK ATI Debreceni Csoport, 1999.

The proximity of borders was found advantageous by 14% of the local
authorities, mostly because of shopping tourism and lively trade (e.g. Záhony,
Körösszegapáti, Mándok, Gelénes) and the broadening of job opportunities
(Biharkeresztes, Beregsurány, Csengersima). On the other side, 23% considered
the proximity of the borders as an unambiguous disadvantage because of isolation
(Hermánszeg, Csengerújfalu, Ura),  bad public security caused by the increased
transit traffic (Tiszacsécse, Tiszakerecseny, Barabás, Tivadar) and the lack of jobs
(Tyukod, Nyírpilis). Because of the above mentioned reasons, the situation was
found both advantageous and disadvantageous by 11%, while and 52% did not
answer the question.
As regards the cross-border relations of local authorities, it can be said that –
like the county co-operations – these mostly concern culture, education and sports,
many times only protocol. There is a good reason for their improvement, even if

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

the peripheral situation of the region and its economic underdevelopment hinder
the creation of co-operation.
3.2.3 Cultural co-operation
It is cultural co-operation that represents the most active and most diversified form
of cross-border relations in the North-Eastern Great Plain. These go back to a long
history, as in the former regime it was only cultural co-operation that was
legitimate because of the closed borders. The period after the changes was also
characterised by cultural co-operation above all, with the increasing role of civil
organisations besides the county and municipal authorities. The various
international cultural programmes – besides the cultural co-operation agreements of
local authorities – are important scenes of cultural relations (such as folk dance and
choir festivals, different music and folklore programmes etc.) as well as
programmes of civil organisations (photo clubs, art groups).
There are numerous cultural programmes with a long past in the northern part of
the Great Plain which became famous abroad, as well. These programmes
attracting many people are organised mainly by two organisations – the Kölcsey
Educational Centre in Hajdú-Bihar and Váci Mihály City Educational and
Children’s Centre (the former county educational centre as well) in Nyíregyháza,
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county.
The most significant programmes in Hajdú-Bihar are the Flower Parade, the
Spring Festival of Debrecen and the Bartók Béla International Choir Festival. The
most important cultural programmes in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg are organised as a
part of the Nyírség Autumn (International Folk Dance festival of Nyíregyháza,
International Brass Band and Majorette Ensemble etc.). These festivals are visited
by performers and guests from Central Europe to Japan and the USA. The
Hungarian Borderland Theatres’ Festival organised every year in Kisvárda is also
remarkable as it was the first programme of this kind in the country.
Besides the large-scale international programmes, the cross-border cultural
relations take shape in the form of smaller or larger exhibitions, colonies of artists,
creative camps, guest performances of art groups of the region and invitation of
foreign art groups.
The cultural relations of the North-Eastern Great Plain thus work at different
levels. The most popular ones are the series of cultural events organised for the
broad public, but the mutual guest performances of art groups, cultural relations of
civil organisations and local authorities represent a great value also. Cultural co-
operations connecting the Hungarian territories beyond the borders – Sub-
Carpathia and Transylvania above all – to the region of the North-Eastern Great
Plain are especially important. These help to preserve the cultural heritage and
identity of the Hungarian minority. The improvement of cultural relations makes it
possible for the people of Central-Eastern Europe to get familiar with each other’s
traditions and customs, which may contribute to the development of the regional
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

identity. The recognition of regional belonging is one of the important factors in
order to develop intensive business relations.
3.2.4 Religious and clerical cross-border relations
Clerical relations are an interesting kind of cross-border co-operations. In the
north-eastern part of the Great Plain, 95% of the population belong to three historic
religions – Roman Catholic (22%), Calvinist (59%) and Greek Catholic (14%).
However, it is the 1949 census that reports official data, according to the locally
authorised churches, the situation of these days is almost the same as at the end of
the 1940s.
In accordance with their share, the Roman Catholic, the Calvinist and the Greek
Catholic church have the most widespread cross-border relations in the region.
According to the unanimous opinion of the locally authorised episcopacies –
Calvinist Episcopacy of the Trans-Tisza Region, Roman Catholic Episcopacy of
Debrecen-Nyíregyháza, Greek Catholic Episcopacy of Hajdúdorog – these
churches are in closest contact with the Hungarian churches beyond the borders.
The most important field of foreign church relations may be education, priest
training above all. The roots for this should be found in the socialist era, as due to
the border corrections in Trianon the possibilities of priest training decreased in the
Hungarian-speaking territories abroad. The Roman Catholic Diocese in Debrecen-
Nyíregyháza does not have theology (the training takes place in Eger), but the
Calvinist and Greek Catholic churches do. The Greek Catholic Saint Atanase
Theological College in Nyíregyháza has currently 53 Hungarian novices and also
30 Hungarians from other countries. There is a correspondent course for RE
teachers (5 years) which also has participants from beyond the borders. The
Theological College of Debrecen offers Calvinist priest training. Novices come
from Sub-Carpathia mostly, as there is Calvinist theology education in
Transylvania (Kolozsvár) and also in the former Upper Northern Hungary
(Komárom).
All the three historic churches offer religious secondary school education in the
region. The Calvinist church supports three (Debrecen, Kisvárda, Nagyecsed), the
Greek Catholic one (Hajdúdorog) and the Roman Catholic supports also three
(Debrecen, Kisvárda and Nyíregyháza) religious secondary schools in the north-
eastern part of the Great Plain. It is the Greek Catholic Secondary School and
Vocational School in Hajdúdorog where the most students study from other
countries (20-30 students). There are only a few foreign students in Calvinist
secondary schools, as with the support of the Calvinist Episcopacy of the Trans-
Tisza Region, Calvinist secondary schools were established in Sub-Carpathia in the
recent few years (Calvinist Secondary schools in Nagydobrony and Nagybereg).
The Roman Catholic and the Calvinist churches have courses on the spot for RE
teachers in Sub-Carpathia with the assistance of priests from Hungary (Theology
Course in Munkács, RE Education in Beregszász). Besides these, all three churches

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

organise further training courses for Hungarian church personalities from beyond
the border (priests, teachers), the Calvinist Church District of The Trans-Tisza
Region has twin-congregation relations, too.
The churches also have cross-border relations of cultural character. The most
significant event of this kind is the World Festival of Hungarian Calvinists. The
last event like this in 1996 was organised in Debrecen, where choirs from Sub-
Carpathia, the former Upper Northern Hungary, Transylvania and Voivodina
participated in the Festival of Calvinist Choirs of the Carpathian Basin. The Greek
Catholic Diocese in Hajdúdorog organises Greek Catholic Church Choirs’
International Festival every second year with participants from Kassa, Munkács,
Ungvár, Eperjes and Brassó. Tens of thousands of visitors form territories beyond
the borders came to see the visit of the Pope in 1991, and many visit the Patronal
Festival of Ethnic Groups Beyond the Borders in Máriapócs from year to year.
Charity is a particular form of cross-border relations of the churches. This
support tries to help the ones in need, regardless of their religion. A good example
for this is the several million Forint aid collected for the victims of the floods in
Sub-Carpathia in November 1998.
The support of the north-eastern Great Plain dioceses has been essential in the
reorganisation of churches beyond the borders after the changes. The
congregations of the neighbouring territories inhabited by Hungarians were
supplied with bibles, hymn-books and religious textbooks, priest clothes and relics
from Hungary. The Roman Catholic church did a lot to revitalise Sub-Carpathian –
Franciscan (Nagyszőlős), Jesuit (Ungvár) and Dominican (Munkács) –
monasteries.
The authorised church leaders reckon their cross-border relations to the
churches of their religion as appropriate. Besides this, the co-operation with other
churches is insignificant and is rather diplomatic, if it exists at all. Relations are
significantly hindered by the difficulties in crossing the borders – between Hungary
and Ukrainian first of all –, which hinders the delivery of relief packages many
times. The cross-border relations foster Hungarian-Hungarian co-operation and this
way also facilitate to preserve the identity of ethnic Hungarians beyond our
borders.
3.2.5 Economic relations
According to its geographic situation, the region of the North-Eastern Great Plain
is a natural meeting point of eastern and western trade, and Western European
goods cross it as a gate to reach the enormous Eastern markets. Agriculture and
food processing are the most typical for the economy of the region, however, with
continuous restructuring, the ratio of industry and services gradually increases. On
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

materials of the textile industry and vehicles and vehicle parts represent the largest
part.
The conditions and development possibilities of infrastructure are dominant for
the development of the region’s foreign economic relations. A significant step
forward has been taken in the development of public services and
telecommunications, however, there is still a lot to improve regarding the
conditions of traffic, road infrastructure above all, which are especially important
for successful cross-border economic relations. A motorway has not been built yet
in the region, whereas passenger and freight traffic growing at a fast pace makes its
construction urgent. The construction of the whole M3 motorway will mean a
significant step forward, regarding accessibility, but in itself it is not enough to
solve the problems of road traffic in the region. There is a lack of freeways to
connect county towns and cities, although they would make it possible to pass
faster but avoiding the central areas of the settlements. Some settlements in
Szatmár and Bereg are in an extremely disadvantageous situation, as they cannot
be reached within two hours from the county town. Magosliget, Méhtelek, Garbolc,
Kishódos and Nagyhódos belong to this group, but it also takes almost two hours
to reach the international border crossing at Csengersima (Figure 12).
The axis of railway traffic is the Budapest-Szolnok-Debrecen main line leading
to Ukraine. Besides this one, it is only the Nyíregyháza-Miskolc line that is an
electrified line in the area. The distance in time has decreased in the last few years
– Euro City, Inter City and Inter Pici services –, however, some settlements (e.g.
Csenger, Gacsály, Jánkmajtis, Zajta) can be reached in almost two and a half hours
from the county town. To get to Komádi (170 minutes) and Körösszakáll (191
minutes) takes about three hours, which results from the fact that there is no direct
railway connection between these settlements and Debrecen, they can only be
reached through Püspökladány and Szeghalom. There are 37 (45%) settlements in
Hajdú-Bihar and 146 (64%) in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg without railway
connection (Figure 13a-b).
One of the obstacles of broadening cross-border relations in the region is the
small number of border crossings available for freight traffic also. Passenger and
freight traffic can use four railway border stations. There is only limited crossing at
Ágerdőmajor, but Záhony, Nyírábrány and Ártánd are open for international traffic
as well. Because of the broad-gauge railways used in CIS countries, a reloading
area of 21 million tonnes capacity was built in Záhony and its surroundings, which
has a bright prospective to become the meeting point of east-west trade. Eight road
border crossings operate in the area – three on the Romanian and five on the
Ukrainian borderline –, from these three can be used for the purpose of passenger
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

traffic (Záhony, Csengersima and Ártánd), whereas for freight traffic only two can
be used (Záhony and Ártánd). The border crossing at Csengersima is being built
with the support of PHARE CBC, from 2000 it will also be possible for freight
traffic to pass.

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Figure 12
The accessibility of the county seat from the other settlements of the
county in Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties
Záhony
•
• Kisvárda
Nagyhalász
•
Vásárosnamény
•
• Ibrány
• Fehérgyarmat
• Tiszalök
• Baktalórántháza
• Mátészalka
Tiszavasvári
•
• Nyíregyháza
• Máriapócs
Nagyecsed
• Nagykálló
•
Nagykálló
Polgár
Hajdúnánás •
•
•
Csenger
•
•
Nyírbátor
Hajdúdorog
• Újfehértó
Hajdúböszörmény
Téglás
•
Nyíradony
•
•
• Hajdúhadház
•
Balmazújváros
• Debrecen
Hajdúszoboszló
•
Nádudvar
•
•
Létavértes
•
Derecske
•
Püspökladány
Berettyóújfalu
•
LEGEND
Access time (in minute
• Biharkeresztes
Less than 15
15 -  30
30 -  45
45 -  60
60 -  75
75 -  90
90 - 120
More than 120
© Terra Studio Kft. - Dancs László, MTA RKK ATI Debreceni Csoport, 1999.

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Figure 13a
Figure 13b

The accessibility of the county

The accessibility of the county

seats by railway in Hajdú-Bihar
  seats by railway in Hajdú-Bihar and
  and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties by the

shortest time of accessibility
•Záhony
Záhony
Záhony
Záhony
Záhony
•Záhony
Záhony
Záhony
•Mátészalka
Mátészalka
Mátészalka
•Mátészalka
Mátészalka
Mátészalka
•
Mátészalka
Mátészalka
Mátészalka
Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza
•Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza
• Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen
•Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen
•Püspökladány
Püspökladány
Püspökladány
Püspökladány
•Püspökladány
Püspökladány
Püspökladány
Püspökladány
LEGEND
Access time (in minutes)
•Biharkeresztes
Biharkeresztes
Biharkeresztes
Biharkeresztes
•Biharkeresztes
Biharkeresztes
Biharkeresztes
Biharkeresztes
No railway
1 -  10
10 -  30
30 -  45
45 -  60
60 -  90
90 - 120
120 - 180
More than 180
Dancs László, MTA RKK ATI Debreceni Csoport, 1999.
©
Dancs László, MTA RKK ATI Debreceni Csoport, 1999.
©

The improvement of cross-border business relations is promoted by business
development foundations and companies, exhibitions, fairs and meetings for
businessmen, organised by different chambers and local governments. The East-
West Expo in Nyíregyháza has been organised from 1997 on, it is the biggest event
of this kind in the countryside. The other important fair to attract foreign visitors is
the Szatmár Expo General Exhibition and Fair, organised in Mátészalka. The most
significant even of this kind in Hajdú-Bihar should be the Farmer Expo
International Agricultural and Food Processing Exhibition. Hungarian-Romanian
and Hungarian-Ukrainian business meetings are also frequently organised in the
region.
As regards cross-border economic relations, borderland settlements are in the
worst position in the northern Great Plain area. According to the 95 local
governments who answered the questionnaire sent to 119 borderland settlements,
the number of business co-operations is very low. Only four Hungarian settlements
have economic-trade contacts to six settlements beyond the border: Záhony –
Ágcsernyő and Csap, Körösszakáll – Meresti, Körösszegapáti – Vascau, Nyíracsád
– Küküllődombó and Szék. Only a few businesses with foreign interest (16)

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

operate in the examined group of settlements (5 of hem are German, 4 Ukrainian, 2
Romanian and 2 Italian, 1 Chinese, 1 French and 1 English).
The visits to fairs and markets of the settlements can also be regarded as trade
relations. Although none of the Hungarian settlements interviewed visit fairs or
markets on the other side of the border, many from there come to visit the
Hungarian programmes of this kind. For example, fairs organised by Pocsaj,
Váncsod, Záhony, Porcsalma, Nyírlugos and Csenger are often visited by
Romanian and Ukrainian sellers, however, not in a great number.
As it appears from the figures of the questionnaire, economic relations of the
borderlands are not very lively. However, the same does not stand for cross-border
trade (illegal trade, smuggling of fuel, tobacco and others). 450 residents in 29
settlements out of 95 answering the questionnaire deal with such activities, not to
speak about Ukrainians and Romanians forced to make living from illegal trade by
the deteriorating economic conditions.
More serious co-operations in economy are hindered by unfavourable economic
conditions in the neighbouring countries, which are worsened by the effects of
economic and financial crisis in Russia. It is widely quoted that the lack of stable
legal environment, underdevelopment of payment practice and the bank sector do
not attract investments to Ukraine and Romania, not to mention the difficulties to
cross the borders.
Similar to economic relations, co-operation in the labour market is also not
typical in the region. It hardy occurs that Hungarians work in the neighbouring
countries, whereas Romanian and Ukrainian illegal work is typical for seasonal
work in agriculture on the Hungarian side of the border (I. Balcsók 1999).
In order to develop the economy of the region and to promote cross-border
economic relations, the government decided to establish the Záhony and
Surroundings Business Area in 1996 and the Bihar Business Area in 1998. There
are signs of initial results and the first large foreign investors (e.g. General Electric
and Interspan) are present in the region, but there is no real change in relation to
the neighbouring countries. Ukrainian and Romanian investors of relatively small
capital are still interested in retail outlets close to border crossings, which serve the
strong shopping tourism. No miracle can be expected from the business areas, they
should rather be regarded as an opportunity to promote the economy of the region
and to facilitate cross-border economic relations in the long run, possibly in the
course of several decades.
3.2.6 Inter-ethnic cross-border relations
The expression “inter-ethnic relations” covers the relations between different
nationalities of a settlement or a certain territory of the country. The examination of
cross-border inter-ethnic relations of a region refers to the co-operation between
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

nationalities, with the difference that relations between groups of the same
nationalities living nn two different sides of the border can also be regarded inter-
ethnic.
The Northern Great Plain is almost homogeneous regarding nationalities. If the
ethnic group of Gypsies is not regarded as a minority, it is only the Romanian
ethnic group that represents a considerable minority in some settlements in Hajdú-
Bihar besides the Hungarian population in the region. In the 1990 census we find
similar data regarding mother tongues, it is only Bedő, Körösszakáll and
Körösszegapáti that have a Romanian speaking population over 1%. Many times a
parallel can be drawn between nationality and religion, for this reason these two
should be studied together. The well-known connection between the Greek
Catholic and orthodox religion and the Romanians appears from this analysis.
Unfortunately censuses do not refer to the religion of the population, however, data
from the 1949 census and estimations of the local governments concerned verify
the Romanian character of Bedő, Körösszakáll and Körösszegapáti.
According to the data regarding mother tongue, in the 1900 and 1910 censuses
there were much larger Romanian populations in the area. These were situated in a
transitory area on the Hungarian side of the Hungarian-Romanian border. The
settlements that belonged here were Vekerd (Romanians: 96.1%-1900, 36.5%-
1910), Pocsaj (Romanians: 48.3%-1900, 41.8%-1910), Körösszegapáti
(Romanians: 43.7%-1900, 36.2-1910), Körösszakáll (Romanians: 66.3%-1900,
63.5%-1910), Nagyléta (Romanians: 26.9%-1990, 15.6%-1910), Bedő
(Romanians: 84.4%-1900, 89.5%-1910) and Mezőpeterd (Romanians: 66.3%-
1900, 59.8%-1910). From these, in Bedő, Pocsaj and Nagyléta there is a Greek
Catholic ethnic group of Romanians, in the others they are Orthodox. The ethnic
group of Romanians has significantly decreased due to the border corrections
following World War I. Due to the Trianon decision of 1920, the ethnic group of
Romanians were isolated from the millions of Romanian population in
Transylvania, and remained as a small community without intellectuals.
Besides the language specifications, a new concept was introduced in the 1940
census, the population was also asked about the nationality. The fact that the 1941
figures showed an insignificant ratio of Romanians (e.g. 97.3% of Bedő is
Hungarian, the ratio of Romanians is only 2.6%) cannot be explained with
assimilation in such a short time. The background for this should be the new
concept of nationality and also the fact that a small part of the Romanian ethnic
group dared to declare its nationality within the new frames of the state. For this
reason, instead of the language, people indicated that they belonged to the majority
nationality of the country (E. Tamás 1998) (Table 5).
The geographic situation of the Romanians is favourable for the preservation of
their identity, which makes it easier for Romanians living in the borderlands next to

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Table 5
Proportion of the Romanian ethnic population in those Hajdú-Bihar county
settlements with a significant Romanian ethnic group

Proportion of the Romanian ethnic population (in per cent)
Settlement
By mother tongue
By ethnic breakdown
1910
1941
1941
Bedő 89.5
77.1
2.7
Körösszakál 63.5
56.6
56.6
Körösszegapáti 36.2
24.4
19.3
Mezőpeterd 59.8
0.4
0.4
Nagyléta 15.6
1.0
1.2
Pocsaj 41.8
1.0
0.1
Vekerd 36.5
6.9
6.9
Source: Central Statistical Office, data from the censuses taken in 1910 and 1941
Since the transition, within the expansion of relations, Romania supports
Romanian young people living in Hungary with scholarships for their training in
Romania and also sends missionaries to orthodox Romanian communities.
Romania organises summer trainings for teachers (in the junior faculty of the
primary school there is language education and in senior school there is education
in Romanian language in Bedő) and also supports holidays in Romania for
Romanian children.
Besides Bedő, Körösszakáll and Körösszegapáti, ethnic groups of Romanians
live in other settlements in Hajdú-Bihar – e.g. Létavértes, Rozsály, Vámospércs,
Gacsály, Esztár and Debrecen –, however, their ratio does not reach 1% according
to the 1990 census. Cross-border inter-ethnic relations of Romanian ethnic groups
living in the north-eastern Great Plain are connected to the Romanians living in the
motherland. In the “cultural policies” of these settlements, the preservation,
cultivation and passing on the Romanian folklore is of special importance. Besides
the local representatives of interest, cultural groups (e.g. folk dance groups,
Romanian Community of Bedő) events (Romanian Days in Bihar –
Körösszegapáti), cross-border inter-ethnic (Romanian-Romanian) relations are also
important means to preserve the traditions, which can foster the preservation of the
cultural heritage and identity of ethnic Romanian communities living in Hungary.
Besides ethnic groups of Romanians, a very small group of Slovaks, Germans
and Ukrainians live in the region, however, their population does not reach 1% in
one settlement. These ethnic groups live scattered and do not form blocks in the
north-eastern part of the Great Plain. Their cross-border relations are mostly
connected to their relatives.

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

As the north-eastern part of the Great Plain is almost homogeneous regarding
ethnic groups and the borderlands of the neighbouring countries is usually
inhabited by Hungarians, it is not surprising at all that Hungarian-Hungarian
relations are dominant in cross-border inter-ethnic relations. On the other side of
the border of the North-Eastern Great Plain a significant ethnic groups of
Hungarians live. The number of the Hungarian minority was 155 711 people
according to the last census, whereas the estimation of Hungarian minority
organisations stated 200 000. The same figure for the whole of Romania – not just
concentrated in the borderlands – is 1 624 959 people, whereas some estimates say
2 000 000 people (Government Office for Hungarian Minorities Abroad 1998).
The importance of Hungarian-Hungarian relations appears in each field of the
cross-border co-operation. The Hungarian nature of co-operations is reflected in
the field of institutionalised relations, regarding both the county governments’
partner county relations (Bihar, Sub-Carpathia, Hargita) and twin and partner
relations of county seats (Ungvár, Nagyvárad, Kassa, Szatmárnémeti) and of
municipal governments. The cross-border relations of the historical churches in the
region are mostly realised with the churches of the Hungarian inhabited
neighbouring territories and the Hungarian-Hungarian character is also strong in
the cultural co-operation. It may only be the field of economics that does not
follow this tendency, which is no wonder considering the unstable economies of
Ukraine and Romania, struggling with very serious problems.
3.3 The future of cross-border relations
3.3.1 PHARE as an opportunity for the development of the
neighbouring borderlands
PHARE is the assistance programme of the European Union to support the socio-
economic restructuring in the countries of Central-Eastern Europe. It also
facilitates preparations for the EU accession by financing different programmes.
The PHARE programme was launched in the autumn of 1989, currently the
following 13 countries are involved: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the
Check Republic, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Macedonia,
Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The individual countries can receive PHARE
grants in different forms: national programmes, cross-border co-operations, multi-
country programmes, horizontal programmes (initiated by Brussels). From 1998, a
new form of programme was introduced to replace the last two, it is the multi-
beneficiary programme, which supports several countries at the same time. From
the above-mentioned programmes, PHARE CBC and CREDO are available for the
development of cross-border relations (Pénzforrás 1998, Volume 4, Number 3.).
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

PHARE CBC Programme concerns four Hungarian and four Romanian counties
on the Hungarian-Romanian borderline (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Hajdú-Bihar,
Békés and Csongrád on the Hungarian side, Szatmár, Bihar, Arad and Temes on
the Romanian side). The Hungarian-Ukrainian borderline cannot participate in this
kind of programme. 5 million ECU for 1996 (ZZ 9622 programme) and 4 million
ECU for 1997 (HU 9705-04 programme) was approved for the Hungarian-
Romanian PHARE CBC programme.
Twenty projects won grants in Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg from
the 1996 and 1997 funds available. Many co-operation programmes were presented
among the projects, from the development of the border crossing at Csengersima
through the “10th Festival of Hungarian Theatres Beyond the Borders” to the
construction of euro-conform consulting systems in agriculture for the borderlands
(PHARE Programme Office of the Ministry of Agriculture Békéscsaba, 1999).
CREDO is the new element in the multi-country programme of PHARE,
supporting cross-border co-operation in PHARE partner countries. Hungarian-
Slovenian, Hungarian-Slovak, Hungarian-Ukrainian and Hungarian-Romanian
border regions are the pilot territories in Hungary. The programme was launched in
1996 when applications could be submitted in the experimental and in the first
phase. Although the Hungarian-Ukrainian borderland regions were also target areas
of the programme, the projects were concentrated on the Hungarian-Romanian
borderline in the first round.
3.3.2 The Carpathian Euroregion – an opportunity
Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Debrecen and Nyíregyháza county seats
are founders of the organisation, this way they have a strong interest in its success
from the very beginning. Since the organisation was founded, successful steps have
been taken in order to develop the borderland infrastructure (e.g. nine new border
crossings have been opened in the region, a special business zone has been
established in the region of Záhony and Csap, etc.), permanent cross-border
programmes have been launched (e.g. conferences are organised for the university
rectors in the Carpathian Euroregion, Carpathian Cultural Festival, Touristic Forum
of Krosno, etc.), the information exchange has improved (Carpathian Euroregion
Newsletter, the university libraries of the region have been connected through
Internet).
With the support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Foundation for
the Development of Carpathian Euroregion was established in 1994. The aim of

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

this foundation – separated from the aims of the Euroregion – is to provide
financial and technical support for programmes assisted by local authorities and
civil organisations in order to improve the quality of life for people living in the
villages of the Carpathians. The foundation facilitates programmes in connection
with economic growth and cross-border activities above all (e.g. trainings for local
government representatives and leaders of civil organisations, exchange
programmes for twin cities and inter-ethnic cultural events, etc.). Among the grants
– which are available for non-profit organisations only – those are privileged which
promote co-operation among sectors and motivate co-operation between
borderland regions (V. Hudak 1998).
The development of the Carpathian Euroregion is hindered by the fact that its
residents are not informed accurately about its aims and the way it operates. If the
Carpathian Euroregion aims to be a successful interregional organisation, it has to
pay much more attention to its management, to raise the quality of its organs
(Council, Secretariat and workgroups) and to inform the population properly about
the aims, opportunities and results of the Euroregion.
According to the answers to the questionnaire sent to 119 settlements, 57% does
not even know the Carpathian Euroregion, 40% reckons the initiative as a good
one, whereas three settlements (Nagykereki, Nyírlugos and Tuzsér) – because its
activity is not visible in the region – think that it is unfavourable.
To the question how much the leaders of the settlements are familiar with the
aims of Carpathian Euroregion, only 15% answered good, 2% (Tiszakerecseny and
Pocsaj) answered perfectly. The situation is even worse if the population is
examined, as – according to the opinion of the mayors – 60% does not know about
the aims of the Euroregion (Figure 14).
The development of cross-border relations regarding the North-Eastern Great
Plain cannot be promoted by means of the PHARE and the Carpathian Euroregion
exclusively. The government, county and municipal governments and civil
organisations should also take the responsibility. With holding borderland regions
together at different levels and with the recognition of common interests, a much
higher level of co-operation can be reached. This is an inevitable condition of good
relations with our neighbours and a successful and efficient participation in the
“Europe of Regions”.

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

4 Report on the labour market of the borderlands
4.1 Borderland location – an advantage or a disadvantage?
The territory examined belongs to two counties – Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-
Szatmár-Bereg – where unemployment has been far higher than the national
average since 1987, when was admitted officially. This causes an enormous
problem both for the economy and the society, and significantly decreases the
future prospects of development. We tried to draw up the most important problems
of the labour market on the basis of the answers given to the questionnaire and the
interviews conducted with the leaders of local offices and their colleagues. Instead
of drawing up an overall picture, we concentrated on highlighting the biggest
problems that concern all the labour districts (B. Baranyi 1998).
As regards the question phrased in the subheading, being familiar with the
general situation of the eastern part of the country, the answer is unambiguous:
most of the people living along our eastern borders could only tell us about
disadvantages. The same stands for the labour market as well, as from the 11 local
offices of the region it is only the neighbourhood of Kisvárda that enjoys the
positive effects of the proximity of the border.
The most influential factor regarding job opportunities is the extremely
unfavourable accessibility of all the settlements along the borderline. This negative
condition further increases the geographical distance from the centres and makes
employment impossible in many cases. Volán (the Hungarian bus company) has
cancelled many lines from the schedule because the low volume of passenger
traffic. This way only “school buses” remained in some settlements, by which it is
impossible to be on time for the beginning of the shift. Finding a job is a reality
only for those who have a car, which is not a cheap solution, either, and for most
families living in the borderlands having a car is rather a dream.
Many places are in a bad situation from traffic aspect, e.g. Komádi is situated 14
km away from the main road number 47. The extremely bad condition of roads and
railways, due to the lack of maintenance, should also be considered (many roads
still do not have a solid surface). The example of Nyírbátor speaks for itself:
although this is the meeting point for railways from the direction of Debrecen and
Nyíregyháza, the tracks are in such a bad condition that the half an hour running
time has increased to one hour and a half recently. However, it is impossible to find
a solution from own resources, as the money for reconstruction is not available
without the support of the government.
Nevertheless, this problem is not a new one, the only choice for residents has
always been long-distance commuting. The processes of the 1990s were not
favourable for this kind of lifestyle and for this reason the number of commuters
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

has significantly decreased. Due to the constant rise of travel costs, employers have
reduced travel contracts almost everywhere. In order to reduce costs, they got rid of
the commuters in the first place. This way it is easy to understand that
unemployment has increased in the borderlands of the two counties first and except
for some cases, unemployment rate is the highest here up to now. What makes the
situation even more difficult is that the economic figures in the two neighbouring
countries are very much unfavourable, limiting the chances of the Hungarian side
as well. In addition, the relations to the neighbouring countries are very limited and
they are not free from difficulties, either (L. Dancs 1999).
The relation between the people living here and on the other side of the border
is dominantly determined by the fact whether there is a relation with the other side
of the border at all or not. From this aspect three types can be separated. The first
group is represented by those territories which do not have an official border
crossing. Compared to the length of borders, many territories belong to this group
(Komádi, Vámospércs, Létavértes, Nyírbátor).
The situation is similar in all the districts concerned: the Romanian partner has
made a promise in each case to build and open a border crossing (the Hungarian
partner has been ready for a long time), but these remained only plans and no
breakthrough is expected in the near future. In Vámospércs even a restaurant was
built to serve transit traffic, but due to the closed border, it could not have a bright
future. Opinions differ in the question whether opening new border crossings
would be of any use for these territories, especially as the labour market is
concerned. It can be stated regarding each territory that opening the borders would
have an effect on the employment only in the neighbourhood of the border and the
road leading there, however, the need for workforce would not be large-scale.
The second type of the relations is when the territory has a border crossing but
its effect is contradictory or regarded as negative. In the area of Csengersima and
Vásárosnamény, the existence of border crossings has rather led to the
strengthening of harmful processes over the recent years and it is only black
economy that profits from the open borders. Only trade businesses with a few
employees operate legally, the establishment of joint ventures is not a frequent
phenomenon in the region. The latter can be found mostly in the capital city, so the
eastern border plays the role of a distant bridge.
As regards legal employment, Hungarian workforce is hardly ever employed on
the other side of the border, whereas many come to Hungary in search of work
from the neighbouring countries. The number of foreign citizens having labour
permit is some ten people per each local office. Most of these people are qualified
and have a degree (engineers, physicians, language teachers). The main reason for
this is that according to the Hungarian regulations, labour permit can be issued
only if there is no Hungarian workforce available for the particular job and in these
territories there is a lack of workforce with a degree.

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

The number of those taking jobs without an official labour permit it much
higher. In the time of seasonal works in agriculture, hundreds of Ukrainian and
Romanian people appear in the area. Another successful kind of black “business”
in the neighbourhood of each border crossing is fuel smuggling. The time of
“rucksack trade” is over (it was typical in the beginning of the 1990s), still there is
a lot of bad quality Ukrainian and Romanian goods on the market. It is a general
experience that crime has increased due to the open borders, and not only
smuggling and illegal work.
The case of Biharkeresztes is a particular one. The large capacity border
crossing is insignificant regarding the demand for labour force, as transit traffic is
dominant here. This is typical for traffic and Romanian shopping tourism as well.
Those Romanians who come to buy household devices or telecommunication
products prefer going to Berettyóújfalu or Debrecen, which have a much larger
supply of goods. For this reason a lively demand typical for border crossings does
not occur here, as profits go to other places. Because of the large-scale poverty and
few job opportunities, black employment is not as significant as in the areas
mentioned above. As a result no sudden increase of crime has taken place, either,
and considering the conditions and transit character of the area, this is not likely to
happen in the future.
In the neighbourhood of Fehérgyarmat, the effect of the border crossing at
Tiszabecs is complex, too. The situation of Tiszabecs can be regarded satisfactory,
in spite of the large unemployment, as black economy provides some additional
sources of income (fuel smuggling, illegal trade and warehouses serving this).
However, these phenomena are characteristic in the nearest surroundings of the
border crossing and not for the whole region. It also plays an important role that
foreign citizens cannot sell their goods in the fair of Fehérgyarmat and this way
they are forced to go to some other places. As a result, transit traffic has increased
and the role of crime and black economy has decreased.
Only one territory belongs to the third type: the district of Kisvárda. This is an
area where despite the negative phenomena, the impact of the border crossing on
the area is positive. There is no doubt that the reason for this is the enormous
capacity and appropriate construction of the “Záhony-gate”. This is indicated by
the fact that unemployment rate in the county is the lowest in Záhony (about 5%),
it does not even reach the national average. The positive impact is due to the large
– although decreasing – demand for workforce, the established business area, the
relatively developed infrastructure and the favourable traffic connections. Because
of the favourable conditions, business relations to the other side of the border are
much stronger and the higher level of investments is not surprising, either. The
number of (Ukrainian) workforce legally living here is higher compared to the
former figures and it is not only qualified workforce that could obtain labour
permit here, but also dressmakers (there were requirements that were impossible
for Hungarian workforce to fulfil…).
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

All in all, except for central places, the job opportunities for people living in
borderland settlements are very limited, due to the general isolation and the bad
traffic connections. Employers often specify as a condition that those who live far
from the centres are out of question in matters of jobs offered, as they cannot be on
time for the start of the shift or it is expensive to pay for commuting. This way it is
black work that provides that most general source of living, as the chance to re-
enter the labour market is minimal. The role of border crossings as employers is
insignificant and the connected trade and catering network is also minimal, as their
chances are very limited.
4.2 High unemployment – few job opportunities
The general problems mentioned before, arising from geographical location, are
dominant factors regarding the conditions under which the labour market operates.
The disadvantageous situation of the borderline areas is apparent on Figure 5,
showing unemployment rate. Districts of Berettyóújfalu and Kisvárda are
exceptions, as the rate is equal to the county average there or lower than that
(Hajdú-Bihar: 12.9%, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg: 15.7%). The high unemployment
does not only stand for October 1998, it has been similar for a long time. The
conditions of commuting, typical for a large number of employees in the previous
years, are not better nowadays, either. In addition, there are plenty of unemployed
in the central areas, so there is a supply of local labour force there, as well.
Commuting has been the only way to get a job for numerous settlements up to now,
as job opportunities are very scarce (Figure 5).
The lack of workplaces is the most important reason for the level of
unemployment permanently exceeding the national average. The former large
employers disappeared after the systemic change or reduced the original staff
significantly. The vacancy created by the reduction of big enterprises is still not
filled up. The number of private companies has favourably increased over the
recent years, although most of them are private firms or have less than ten
employees, so they are not able to give work for the large amount of unemployed
workforce. Local entrepreneurs have no chance to establish a big firm, owing to the
general lack of capital, and the rate of foreign capital still strongly falls behind the
national average.
There are many reasons for the low interest of foreign firms. The geographical
location of this region is unfavourable for foreign capital inflow. Following the
changes in market orientation, the borderlands of the eastern part of the country got
far from the target countries of Hungarian external trade and also the investors of
those countries. The chances are reduced by the fact that the level of infrastructural
supply, although it is getting better in the last few years, still leaves much to be

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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

desired and this stage is not likely to change, knowing the financial conditions of
local governments. These conditions are already enough for the area to fall beyond
the interests of multinational firms. For this reason an insignificant part of the
active capital inflow reaches the analysed area, since the investments of the small
firms interested cannot be compared to the opportunities of big firms.
Beyond the factors mentioned above, the human conditions also hinder the
establishment of industries that employ modern, qualified workforce. The level of
qualification among unemployed at county level also lags behind the national
average both in Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties. This statement
especially applies to the territories along the border. The rate of unskilled
workforce is extremely high everywhere and the proportion of workers with (or
even without) basic qualifications is especially significant. All of the districts
exceed the county averages (Hajdú-Bihar: 42.7%, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg: 43.3%)
except for Berettyóújfalu (40.8%) and three other districts – Biharkeresztes,
Létavértes, Vámospércs –, where the rate is higher than 50% (Figure 15).

Figure 15
The level of education regarding the registered unemployed
(October 1998)

2,1%
0,7%
Hajdú-Bihar
5,7%
0,3%
Less than 8 primary school
classes
8,5%
1,6%
6,6%
3,1%
8,8%
Primary School
5,6%
1,7%
National avarage
8,3%
Vocational school
2,5%
7,8%
1,7%
0,7%
34,0%
10,8%
8,4%
Specialised school
36,7%
2,0%
2,7%
Specialised secondary
37,1%
school
2,3%
Technical school
Grammar school
33,1%
College
34,5%
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
University
32,9%

Most of the of employees with a degree leave the area because of the worse
conditions and low salaries, in many cases they have to be replaced from
neighbouring countries. If we examine the rate of unemployed with a degree in the
borderland districts, it appears that they are less than in the counties in general.
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

Komádi and its environment) and commuting is sometimes impossible. To sum up,
much more money should be spent on the courses than is spent today, because the
chance for unemployed to find a job might increase by completing the courses –
which does not apply for the spontaneous actions, communal work done for want
of anything better or the use of passive tools.
As regards the branches of national economy, considering the number of
employees agriculture is the second after industry in both of the counties.
Considering the geographic location of the counties it is not a surprise that the
share of agriculture exceeds the county average by 2-4%, and there are even
regions in the analysed area where the proportion of people living from agriculture
comes close to 60%. For this reason it is a serious problem that agriculture has to
cope with bigger difficulties than industry (B. Mező 1999).
Besides the permanently present problems, in 1998 the branch of agriculture
was basically concerned by sales difficulties and the buying-up crisis in several
fields. Agriculture has not been profitable for smallholders so far, but these days
even the profitability of large estates is getting doubtful. The situation of the co-
operatives that still operate becomes also uncertain, since the incomes not realised
because of the crisis question the launch of next year’s agricultural works. In some
of the borderland villages this means that the last considerable employer could be
closed down, by which the chance to find a job decreases to zero.
It could be perceived on the labour market for years that the co-operatives are
struggling to survive, since the number of seasonal workers they can employ has
been decreasing, and they gradually have to reduce the number of full-time
workers. Some of the co-operatives which have survived chose the transformation
into an Ltd., whereas some of them exist only on paper (in Lövőpetri there is only
one member of the local co-operative, the director himself). The breakdown of the
workers of the co-operatives pursuing agricultural activities in the past (e.g. animal
tenders, etc.) by education and age is even worse compared to that of the
unemployed in industry. Most of them belong to the older age group, and their
qualification is usually not higher than primary school. For this reason, the chance
to find a new job is minimal in their case. There is a significant lack of agrarian
experts with a high level, up-to-date qualification in the territories examined,
although at the regions of bad natural conditions (which represent the majority)
there is a great need for their knowledge.
Consequently, industry and agriculture are still struggling with a lot of
problems, and this is not very promising for the current situation of employment.
The service sector could not take the place of the other two as a large employer, as
its conditions are not very favourable, either. Most of the firms operating in the
service sector are private ones, and most of them have less than ten employees. The
group of owners changes rapidly (firms are closed down and established almost
every day), but this does not have a considerable effect on the labour market, due
to the small number of employees. There are some reserves in the borderland
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Baranyi, Béla - Balcsók, István - Dancs, László - Mező, Barna :
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern Part of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 88. p. Discussion Papers, No. 31.

counties in the agricultural sector, but due to the lack of capital and the bad state of
infrastructure, it is difficult to exploit them.
As a result of the reasons mentioned above, the current distressing situation, i.e.
the fact that the local authorities became the biggest employers in the analysed
region, especially in the isolated borderland villages, occurred inevitably. After the
liquidation of co-operatives, which used to provide the sole possibility to work,
only local governments can give a job to people in the form of communal work.
The communal work programmes launched – since they target the unemployed –
are only spontaneous actions, but still represent the best possible solution at the
moment.
Besides providing jobs, the main goal is to assure the opportunity to be
employed for 180 days, which is needed to apply for income substitution benefits,
since practically this is the only chance to acquire further benefits. Due to the large
number of long term unemployment, the resources available always prove to be
very limited, and the possibilities to work are also restricted by the weather (this is
shown very well by the fact that the number of vacancies decreases rapidly in
winter-time: in the area of Biharkeresztes and Vámospércs there was only 0.8 (!!!)
vacant job for 100 unemployed in the last month of 1998). The communal work
programmes lasting for a longer time (generally several years) are not very
popular, although some of them do function (like road-building or protection
against inland water). There are several reasons to explain the moderate interest.
The most important one is that the local governments, who launch communal work
programmes have to provide their own share of the cost, besides the assistance of
the state. Further retaining forces are the difficulties regarding applications and the
fact that a larger number of workers have to be employed in communal work
programmes. This is impossible to be carried out in small settlements, the only
opportunity for them is to co-operate. However, in many cases co-operation does not
take place even if there are real common interests. There is a great need for co-
operation, as it is still insufficient in itself to solve the serious problems of the lack of
jobs.
4.3 Prejudices or reality? – The role and opportunities of the
Gypsy ethnic group on the labour market
If we talk about the problems of the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands, the role
of Gypsy ethnic group in this area and the chance to eliminate the present conflicts
should be considered. The proportion of the ethnic group of Gypsies is about 10%
(there is no accurate data available from any sources), but there are settlements
where this rate reaches 30-40%.

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For this reason, it is not a question of secondary importance what kind of role
they have on the labour market in the region. The general situation is that 70-80%
of the ethnic group of Gypsies is permanently pushed out form the legal labour
market and there is extremely low chance for them to get back. They represent 70-
80% of the long term unemployed, and according to estimations they represent the
majority among hidden unemployed as well.
The current situation has many reasons. The most evident reason becomes clear
immediately as we analyse the qualification of the ethnic group of Gypsies. The
level of their qualification showed by the data is distressing, and mostly this is the
reason why both countries have worse figures compared to the national average, if
we look at the rate of people having completed 8 years of primary school (or less
then that). The situation is not different in the analysed area, either, moreover, it is
even worse according to the data. For these reason, the catching up courses for the
ethnic group of Gypsies are of vital importance, providing the chance to finish
primary school and to continue their studies and become a skilled worker.
However, experiences are very contradictory. The Gypsies are generally not
very happy about going to school. In Berettyóújfalu almost all these efforts ended
up in failure, and in the region of Mátészalka it was hard to keep the four groups
together. In Vámospércs the catching up courses were supposed to be organised
together with the minority government. The training should have been connected
with communal work (four days of work, one day training) to provide the
opportunity for participants to earn some money. The programme, however, did not
even start, due to the lack of interest, since none of the possible participants
undertook to complete the basic knowledge test. In 1996, HAJDÚBÉT organised a
course for 250 people in Kisvárda, which was supposed to provide a job for the
participants. 60% of them belonged to the ethnic group of Gypsies. Only a few
people gave up during the training, but 70 of them have already left the company
until now. However, in other cases a positive attitude can be observed. In the
region of Csenger, numerous courses have been completed successfully and some
participants have received excellent vocational school reports. To sum up the facts,
there is still a lot to do, since it is difficult to mobilise the Gypsy ethnic group
because of the rather insufficient level of qualification.
The success regarding the general level of qualification is strongly questioned
by the fact that large masses of Gypsies live in miserable conditions, often in
unbelievable housing and hygienic circumstances. In addition, practically all these
families are concerned by unemployment, so in many cases they cannot finance the
education of their children even if there is a will. Accordingly, it is extremely
important to continue the catching up courses for Gypsies, because the successfully
completed training can provide a positive motivation for those who have not
participated yet, especially in the case of small villages. It is worth to support
initiatives that seem useless at this moment (in Fehérgyarmat agricultural subjects
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are included in the courses), since this is one way to find other job opportunities for
Gypsies besides communal work.
The other problem that is often debated is connected to the working moral of the
Gypsy ethnic group and the prejudices related to that. There is no correct answer in
this question either, since the experiences are diverse among the areas, however,
negative examples represent the greater part. In almost all areas there are problems
with the quality and the speed of work they complete. In Vámospércs it was almost
impossible to find anybody for an afforestation programme, since it was “easier to
find an excuse”. It was also typical that even those people stayed away, whose title
for the income substitution benefit has almost expired, and they still did not have
the necessary period of employment to get the assistance for the next two years. On
the other hand, during the 1998 flood of the River Tisza, the Gypsy ethnic group
took a definitely larger part in the fortification of the dams compared to the other
residents who showed their medical excuses, and there was no problem with the
quality of the work, either.
The question could be raised why they stay away from the communal work after
they completed the obligatory 180 days of employment. This is the attitude
everywhere, moreover, it has happened that they arbitrarily left work in progress as
soon as they had completed the obligatory period. The answer is very simple:
“extra” work is not their own interest. The minimum wage and the period of
employment are not attractive enough in comparison to the social and child care
benefits that can be acquired without any work (this is also shown by the fact that
they prefer taking part in communal work programmes to public utility work, as the
first pays better). It can be observed everywhere that they count on these benefits.
The same can be stated about the continuous calculations that they make, according
to which they would lose much if they took minimum wage jobs. That is why they
rather undertake to bring up as many children as possible (usually three or four),
since they can live on the child care benefit this way (nevertheless, it is another
question how much money will be left for the education of these children).
For this reason, many people see the question of providing support for the
Gypsy ethnic group like a never-ending problem that just takes a lot of money and
always returns. On the other hand, we must not forget about the negative
preconception and discrimination against them that does occur on the labour
market (although it is true that this is only expressed in words by employers
towards the labour agencies). All the talented and diligent Gypsies are confronted
with the same difficulties because of this generalisation, and in most cases only
communal and public utility works give the chance to find a job for them. It is not
their fault in all cases when they leave these jobs immediately after they have
worked for 180 days. The sources available are limited so much that in many cases
there is no chance to work any longer, since the local authorities would like to
employ as many people as they can who are threatened by getting out of the

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income substitution network. Accordingly, there is no chance to break through in a
lot of settlements, and it becomes obvious to base the everyday living on benefits.
The picture outlined above is very complex and is not without contradictions,
either. The main reason for this is that the Gypsies have the same characteristics
themselves: there is a difference between Gypsy and Gypsy. Their attitude to work
is basically influenced by the social background that strongly depends on
geographical location, historical traditions and the intelligence of Gypsies living in
that region. There is a huge difference between hovel and Wallachian Gypsies.
While the former do not pay too much attention to their housing conditions,
hygiene and their children’s education, the latter, on the other hand, live in tidy
circumstances and considering the distant future they send their children to
vocational or secondary school. They certainly do not rely only on social benefits
and they are not in the need, either. They run businesses and have no aversion to
agriculture. Consequently, they can easily adapt to the local society (in many
settlements mixed marriages occur), they do not increase crime at all, and the
danger of ethnic conflicts is not too high, either. The only problem is that their
example has a positive influence on the whole Gypsy ethnic group only in a few
cases.
4.4 Is it hopeless? – The case of the long-term unemployed
The large number and share of long term unemployed causes similarly serious
problems in the area examined. The current situation is a natural consequence of
the fact that the number of unemployed significantly increased very early all along
the eastern borderline and high unemployment became stable, despite some cases
of decrease (the reasons have been mentioned before several times). According to
the time passed since the first registration, the share of those being unemployed for
more than two years is extremely high even compared to the county average, and
this is especially true for isolated borderland settlements without job opportunities.
The share of this group exceeds the rather unfavourable figures of the counties in
all the districts (Hajdú-Bihar: 68.2%, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg: 73.8). The most
favourable figure refers to Berettyóújfalu (68.7%) and the least favourable to
Nyírbátor (78.3). Even more striking is the fact that regarding 8 out of 11 local
offices, the ratio is 75% or more. The serious nature of the problem is reflected by
the answer given by local office leader to the question how much the share of the
long term unemployment could be: “Why, are there any unemployed who are not
long term unemployed?” The basic reason for such an answer could be that the
notion that the criterion of long term unemployment is not continuity above all, as
the unemployed sent to do communal work from time to time does not return to the
labour market in reality – he remains the same as he was.
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Currently it seems that in the case of long term unemployed – although there are
special programmes and supports to for them to find a job – the actions taken are
rather spontaneous and the real solution is yet to be found. The most long term
unemployed (having exhausted the period of being entitled for unemployment
benefit) can only receive income substitution if the relevant conditions are given.
The longer the period of unemployment is, the higher the ratio of unemployed
entitled for income substitution will be and it is no wonder that the figures of the
borderlands exceed the average of the counties (Hajdú-Bihar: 49%, Szabolcs-
Szatmár-Bereg: 48.3%). However, the most important problem is not this one, but
the one that the ratio of unemployed entitled for income substitution is lower than
the ratio of long term unemployed. At the same time, the benefit is only paid after
the two-year-long period of entitlement if the unemployed was officially employed
for 180 days during the period of entitlement. Due to their unfavourable education
– more than the half of the unemployed belong to the group of Gypsies, the ratio of
those of low education exceeds the county averages (Hajdú-Bihar: 49%, Szabolcs-
Szatmár-Bereg: 49.8%) and the situation is very much unfavourable compared to
all the registered unemployed – and their age characteristics (the ratio of older
generations unable to get a job is higher), the employment required can only be
obtained in the form of communal work, as the demand for them is very low,
despite the supports. Nevertheless, these programmes can employ less people than
the demand for jobs is. This way it is likely that many people are excluded from the
supply system, however, the local employment offices and the local governments
try to employ the most critical unemployed. Women are still in a disadvantageous
situation, as because of the features of communal work it is more difficult to find a
solution for their unemployment.
Many have written about the negative impact of long term unemployment on
the individual and on the society many times. In this study only the most serious
effects on the individual will be analysed. The sense of being neglected and
redundant leads to abnormal introvertality in many cases and carry many towards
some kind of addiction. As a result of long-term unemployment, the deterioration
of the person begins – both in the mental and the physical sense. The professional
skills acquired become outdated in a short time and for this reason the creation of
new workplaces does not solve the problem, as the professional skills of these
people would not be competitive any more. Accordingly, they do not have a chance
to find a job and do not have prospects, either. Their only goal can be to stay in the
supply system, which provides some means of subsistence for them.
The “frameworks of survival” are very limited in most of the cases. The
broadest opportunities are provided by the summer and autumn months, because
one those who are physically fit for the job can work in the whole season as a day-

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worker. Nevertheless even this chance is limited in the area of Komádi, due to
poverty and the lack of capital. Day-work is usually done illegally in general, but
the employees identity card just introduced is expected to help to legalise this.
Besides casual work, it is household farming that provides some means to survive,
but in itself it is not enough for subsistence. In addition, this form does not exist
among the Gypsy population as it has no traditions (although there are attempts to
introduce it).
In addition, fuel smuggling and rucksack trade have traditions along the border
to supplement incomes, but these opportunities are not available for all the long
term unemployed – partly as it is impossible to cross the borders in many places.
The most general tool to survive is to reduce the level of demand and to adjust the
living standard to the income everywhere. Nevertheless, this is a harmful tendency
for the whole society as it spreads the lack of quality demand and poverty further in
the areas most affected by these problems.
There is no answer to the question that refers to the ratio of hidden
unemployment in the area examined, however, it is not a negligible issue. These are
the people who got out of the databases of local employment offices (and from the
supply system also) or have never been part of it. Due to the lack of registration it
is basically hopeless to find a job for them and it is unknown if they have ever been
employed (housewives, people with reduced ability to work, etc.). Their number
cannot be properly estimated and only cautious estimates can be given, based on
surveys concerning this question. Based on the estimates of the local offices, they
would increase the unemployment rate by 5-20%. Their ratio is especially high in
isolated settlements with large Gypsy population and it is low (Nyírbátor) where
job opportunities can only be reached through the employment offices – and people
are aware of this. Some even question if they can be regarded as unemployed as in
their case, besides registration, the search for job opportunities is also missing from
the criteria. The problem still exists even if these narrow-minded people are not
aware of it.
To sum up, the large number of long term unemployed and the connected
problems are not smaller problems than the above mentioned problems of the
Gypsies. The chances to solve them are just as much limited. It is generally known
that the actions taken are enough to maintain the current situation in the best case,
but they are unable to improve it. The problems of the long term unemployed can
be hardly solved until the present tensions of the labour market are decreased to a
satisfactory level. Nevertheless, long term unemployed can only expect more
serious chances to find a job it they change their attitude significantly – concerning
the search for jobs above all.
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4.5 An uncertain vision of the future – chances and
limits of development
The results of the survey do not provide a reason to be satisfied. If the current
tendencies remain unchanged, the whole area examined is threatened by dropping
even more behind from the more developed regions of the country. To avoid this,
immediate action should be taken, because the permanent crisis of the eastern part
questions the development of the whole country. There is a lot to do. However, it
appeared in the last decade that chances are very limited, as the problems have not
been solved and they have not even been significantly reduced. A reason for this
can partially be the approach which treated unemployment as the problem of a
certain group of the society (namely the problem of unemployed) and did not
consider the broader context. This way of thinking has not changed much until now
and the labour organisation does not have the adequate means at its disposal.
Nevertheless, the problems are so complex and far-reaching that that even a
labour organisation with enough workforce would not be able to treat them
properly. It is the elimination of the unfavourable conditions first of all that leads to
the reduction of unemployment to the satisfactory level, which demands large-scale
co-operation, government support and financial resources to develop the region.
For any kind of step forward, so as to reduce the current unemployment, it is
inevitable to prepare a complex development programme for the borderland area,
to create the academic basis for possible directions of development, to identify the
points to break through and to define the chances to catch up (B. Baranyi 1999).

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5 Possible directions to develop the borderlands and the
chances of catching up
5.1 Development of the borderlands in the regional context
The most important condition for all kinds of development concepts regarding the
North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands is to enable the North-Eastern Great Plain
planning-statistical region in the broad sense (or the self-organising six counties in
the north-east) to catch up with the more developed regions of the country and
enable the area to play the role of an international bridge. The development
objectives to be prepared and accepted and the development programmes based on
these should comply with this double endeavour. It is obvious now that the own
resources of the region are not enough either to eliminate the serious economic and
societal problems of the region including the borderlands or to improve the region.
For this reason, development should be based on the mobilisation of own resources
to the maximum and on external support (government and EU) at the same time.
According to the heterogeneous features of the region, development is possible
only in a differentiated way. The territories with different conditions should set
different goals for themselves, as the need for crisis management and dynamisation
of the economy occur simultaneously.
The most developed cities should draw nearer to other cities in the country,
whereas the peripheral, rural areas and their population should strive to reach the
living standard of other rural areas of the country, and the first step for the
borderlands should be to catch up with the inner, more developed areas and
settlements of the counties concerned. The main objective for the areas in a
permanent crisis is to stop the socio-economic erosion and create the conditions for
catching up. These differentiated development needs demand special programmes.
With the achievement of these goals, the differences in development may be
reduced within the region of the northern Great Plain and possibly in not so long
time the “periphery of the periphery” situation can be eliminated in the North-
Eastern Great Plain borderlands.
The development of the region cannot be based on preserving the current socio-
economic structures. The basic condition for development is the qualitative
restructuring of the economy, as drawing nearer to the national average is only
possible by exceeding the average growth. The conditions for qualitative change
and for gradual catching up can be provided by a stable economic growth
strengthened by external support. This economic growth should be based on
exploiting the most important features of the region, namely the advantages of the
borderlands and the chances of improving cross-border relations above all.
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Accordingly, the main focus of all development activities is the improvement of
conditions for economic development, the creation of an internationally competitive
regional economy, exploitation of the opportunities deriving from the international
transit role of the area. Besides these, it is also a very important condition that
more emphasis should be put on the development of rural, “periphery of the
periphery” areas.
No doubt that the development of the northern Great Plain would be hindered in
the future if the crisis of these areas deepened. For this reason, besides the actions
fostering economic growth, the more efficient crisis management regarding the
extremely disadvantageous regions should be in the focus. This should be
considered especially in the case of borderland settlements, where further crisis
management actions should be prepared to treat the problems of the long term
unemployed population with low education.
Beyond the importance of finding a solution to the problems of the population
living in extremely disadvantageous areas, the main focus of mid-term and long
term objectives should be setting the economy on the growth path instead of crisis
management. Parallel with the development of the economy, the growing own
resources make more effective crisis management possible. The development of the
region and improvement of the living standards should take place by preserving the
complex environmental potential of the area. The North-Eastern Great Plain
borderline still has natural values in large amounts, most of which are already
absent in the developed countries. Developments should contribute to the
preservation and improvement of the environment, in accordance with the
reduction of exhausting the environmental potential, elimination of former
damages and prevention of future damages to the environment.
Accordingly, the following development priorities can be specified for the
region of the Northern Great Plain:
•  To foster the competitiveness of the economy.
•  To strengthen and to exploit the east-west bridge role, to develop the so-
called gate function (Záhony, Berettyóújfalu-Biharkeresztes).
•  Qualitative, market economy oriented development of the present knowledge
basis.
•  To create job opportunities.
•  To implement an environmentally conscious rural development.
•  To provide the conditions for a quality life for the residents of the region.
For the development of the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands it is the
second objective from the priorities for the whole region that is especially

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important, namely the one that refers to strengthening and exploiting the east-west
bridge role of the region. To comply with this objective, the following should be
considered:
•  To develop the international and national traffic network and infrastructure
in order to make it easier to reach the region both from inside and outside.
•  To improve the business infrastructure of international (transit) trade.
•  To improve the training background of international economic relations, to
initiate international training co-operation.
•  To foster cross-border business co-operation.
•  To initiate interregional co-operation and organisations.
•  To prepare the region for EU accession.
•  To preserve and develop the Regional Ecology Network.
Cross-border co-operations are of special importance for regions with such a
long borderline and directly bordering two countries. The connecting function of
the borderlands is not only definitive for the economy and the transit traffic but
also for cultural, civil and inter-ethnic relations, although the territories beyond the
border are mostly inhabited by Hungarians, the daily contact with whom is also a
significant task. Not to mention that before the EU accession and rather following
that, Hungary has to take responsibility to initiate and finance cross-border socio-
economic relations, as the moral and financial support of cross-border relations
enjoy priority in the EU.
Following the EU accession, the bridge role of Hungary and especially North-
Eastern Hungary towards the neighbouring countries in the field of information
flow, capital movements and cultural relations is expected to increase. The transfer
role – beyond responsibility – includes serious market and business opportunities.
To exploit business opportunities deriving from the transit role, the region itself has
to develop in the fields of traffic conditions and other infrastructure responsible for
business relations, first of all as regards internal and external accessibility,
international, national and connected local traffic networks and infrastructure.
In order to exploit efficiently the opportunities provided by economic and other
transit roles,  the development and building of interregional relations is needed,
within the frames of the Carpathian Euroregion above all, which operates rather
formally nowadays.
Finally, it is also an important short term and mid-term task that the
organisations of the region become familiar with the completion and finance of
cross-border co-operations, this way they will be able to obtain and utilise the
current PHARE CBC and the forthcoming EU funds in the most efficient way and
to utilise these funds for the benefit of their own region and the partner regions as
well. The following forms are the possibilities to promote interregional co-
operation.
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5.2 Future chances for the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands
The following SWOT analysis includes a systematic summary from a strategic
viewpoint, based on the information acquired from the survey on the Hajdú-Bihar
and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg borderlands. Within the SWOT analysis, the
characteristics of the micro-region of the borderlands, including strengths and
weaknesses, as well as the present and future effects of external factors (macro-
economic trends, relations between countries, measures on the national scale) have
been considered, together with opportunities and threats. The outcome of the
SWOT analysis represents a basis for any kind of further development concept.
The SWOT analysis supports the classification, selection and maintenance of the
large amount of information coming from the original analysis, and on the other
hand, it can help the concept making process, as it helps to choose the right
directions of strategic development.

Strengths Weaknesses
•  Borderland situation, favourable geo-political  •  Unfavourable soil conditions.
position.
•  Danger of floods and inland waters, drought.
•  Border crossings already exist.
•  Unfavourable age composition of the
•  Significant transfer capacity of the Záhony
population.
Business Zone.
•  Fragmented settlement network.
•  Existing East-West international bridge role.  •  Weak integration of the former stump
•  The regional influence of Debrecen and
counties.
Nyíregyháza strengthens.
•  “Periphery of the peripheries”, extended
•  The establishment of the Bihar Business Zone
internal and external peripheral territories.
(and Industrial Park).
•  Underdeveloped public infrastructure, traffic
•  Certain territories of the region have
isolation.
favourable natural and tourism conditions
•  Lack of capital, low interest of western
(eco-tourism).
capital.
•  Unpolluted environment.
•  Innovation waves stop in the centres.
•  The region has diverse conditions regarding
•  Small amount of business capital for starting
agricultural production and numerous unique
new businesses and for new investments.
products of agriculture connected to the
•  Lack of entrepreneurial attitude.
region.
•  Lack of modern traffic infrastructure, bad
•  The broader region has considerable free
conditions of present connections.
capacities of (traditional) energy. Important
•  Unemployment rate is critical.
main national and international pipelines
•  High rate of Gypsy ethnic group under
cross the region.
extremely disadvantageous conditions.
•  Large number of cheap workforce, low wage  •  Low ability to keep the population in the
costs.
region, experts with high qualification move
•  Rich natural and ecological conditions.
away.
•  The region is rich in ethnographic and
•  No economic, societal and cultural traditions
historic traditions, values and sights of
of regional co-operation are given, weak
interest.
intention to co-operate.
•  A relatively balanced demographic situation.  •  Generally low standard of technology.
  Present and developing Hungarian-Hungarian

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inter-ethnic relations.
Opportunities Threats
•  Small cities and their close neighbourhood
•  The dividing role of borders is preserved
find each other and co-operate.
(international relations stiffen).
•  Open borders.
•  Underdeveloped infrastructural conditions are
•  Eastern markets become more lively.
conserved.
•  Raw materials from the East are processed.
•  Territories unable to connect to traffic
•  The bridge role is realised and logistic centres
corridors fall behind.
are built.
•  Population moves away permanently.
•  Accession to the EU (PHARE, CBC, EU and  •  Low education, marginalisation of a part of
other resources).
society.
•  Considerate, well-prepared central
•  Deepening unemployment crisis.
development.
•  Strong degradation of the natural
•  Carpathian Euroregion.
environment.
•  EURO-ATLANTIC accession of the country  •  Logistic centres leading to the South and the
(Schengen border protection, EU border
East are built in neighbouring countries.
region, NATO membership, etc.).
•  Low lobby power of the region.
•  Pre-accession funds available from 2000,
•  Further falling behind of the borderlands,
Structural Funds available from the accession
“periphery of the peripheries” situation
for regional and economic development.
worsens.
•  Enlargement and modernisation of existent
•  Due to inappropriate preparations for EU
border crossings, opening of new ones.
accession and establishment of a broader
•  Growing demand for national and
region, the area might get into an
international tourism.
unfavourable competition position regarding
•  Increasing demand for unique, region-
applications for domestic and EU
specific products of agriculture (so called
development grants.
Hungaricums).
•  Utilisation of government and EU grants
•  Increasing international transit trade and
directed to the region in the future (financial
transport of goods.
resources) will not be concentrated and
•  Rich natural, historic, ethnographic and inter-
efficient.
ethnic traditions.
•  Social crisis deepens, unemployment
•  Increasing interest of investors towards north-
increases.
eastern Hungary as a target region of
•  Development of the highway number 4 will
investments.
not be realised.
•  Stronger socio-economic relations to
•  After the accession, the implementation of
Romania and Ukraine.
EU agriculture policies will result in a crisis
•  Stronger role of business zones (Záhony,
in the region.
Berettyóújfalu-Biharkeresztes).
•  Socio-economic crisis deepens continuously
and becomes permanent in CIS countries.

When a development strategy is being outlined for extremely disadvantageous,
peripheral areas, including the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands, the starting
point should be that on one hand, the elimination of spatial disadvantages depends
on the performance (the ability for regeneration and to create public consensus) of
the local market economy and society organised by the local governments. On the
other hand, it depends on the ability to mobilise the local potentials and mostly it is
influenced by the changes of macro-societal and macro-economic conditions. For
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the most important infrastructural developments (telecommunications, traffic,
energy, development of communal services), which are inevitable for the self-
development of the region, as well as to support job creating enterprises, financial
resources  (capital) and additional resources are necessary. To raise funds like
these, different state funds, resources won by applications, programmes of the EU,
PHARE CBC, SAPARD, ISPA, the resources available with the help of regional
development councils of the counties, etc., can be of help.
It is impossible influence macro-economic conditions from the micro-regional
level.  The national economic environment is created by the changes of the
economy, the legal conditions and the institutions of market economy have mostly
been developed (privatisation, restructuring of land ownership, taxation system, the
large-scale independence in financing the maintenance of settlements and the new
role of local governments, the organisational and structural changes of economy,
etc.).
When the local and additional (external, state and other programmes, won by
applications), development resources are utilised, the following should be taken
into consideration both in the short and the long run:
•  creation of jobs, restructuring of employment conditions, retraining courses,
with special regard to unemployed caused by the restructuring of industry
and agriculture, in order to increase the employment chances of young people;
•  operation of targeted employment programmes on the labour market for
backward groups, in co-operation with local labour organisations;
•  complex activities to support entrepreneurs, mostly by supporting small
businesses in agriculture and family businesses;
•  restructuring of the production structure, with special regard to the
establishment of local and regional agricultural processing industries;
•  development of the technical infrastructure at least up to the level of the
national average, first of all in the fields of energy supply,
telecommunications, traffic network, canalisation and sewage treatment, the
development of quality and quantity figures;
•  development of road networks in the central areas and at the outskirts, to
remove dust, construct new junctions, introduce modern, energy-saving
street lighting and other communal investments (e.g. to construct the
drinking water network of the outskirts);
•  establishment of waste dumps for household and communal waste and waste
processing;
•  supplementation of human infrastructure, provision of the operational
conditions of the basic supply regarding health care, first of all for the small
places, improvement of their technical conditions, launching of social crisis
management programmes and enlargement of old age homes;

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•  completion of classroom construction programmes in order to improve
human resources, the creation and development of the basis for secondary
education (secondary schools and/or vocational schools);
•  exploitation of the local characteristics in order to improve tourism, to
develop countryside (eco) tourism;
•  development of cross-border relations and improvement of the conditions in
the regions bordering Ukraine and Romania – e.g. by the enlargement of the
already existing border crossings (Csengersima, Ártánd, Nyírábrány) and by
the modernisation and opening of new ones (Létavértes, Nyírbátor, maybe
Komádi).
The most important objective for the borderland settlements – considering the
demand they have phrased – is the intensive development of local and network
infrastructure.  This would facilitate large-scale economic development in itself,
which would result in a significant demand for workforce in the region. The
development of network and local infrastructure should be considered in the first
place in the future by managers of separated state funds, by experts making
decisions about targeted and addressed support and the county regional
development support supplementing the own resources. From the pressing tasks in
these fields, the improvement of infrastructure and supporting entrepreneurship
cannot be postponed in the borderland settlements in the long, medium and short
run.
The development of the disadvantageous region, rather left to its own devices,
can only be successful with the appropriate programmes, the increased utilisation
of local resources and the financial support of the government and the regional
development councils of the counties. The prosperity of businesses and the
reduction of unemployment can only be expected if the appropriate infrastructure
is built and the appropriate system of regional preferences are set in order to
attract external (Hungarian and foreign) capital. Still it is impossible to realise a
large-scale development plan immediately even if the financial conditions are
given. It is inevitable to classify tasks by their importance  and prepare a time
schedule of improvements.
During the search for strategic points of break through in rural or regional
development, the directions and tasks of development can be classified in the
following four groups:
a)  infrastructural supply, overall improvement of technical and human
infrastructure, reconstruction, modernisation and development, in order to
increase investors’ and entrepreneurs’ activities above all (gas, road,
telephone, sewage, public lighting, transport and storage of communal waste,
secondary education and special training in micro-regions, creation and
enlargement of social homes for old-aged, elimination of traffic isolation,
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improvement of road networks in micro-regions and central areas, creation
of new junctions, development and opening of new border crossings, etc.).
The geo-political isolation of the micro-region would be much reduced by
opening the border crossing at Létavértes.
b)  Investments facilitating businesses and reducing employment problems, with
special regard to businesses in agriculture, the promotion of quality co-
operations, establishment of local or regional processing industry
(processing horse-radish, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, pickling firms, dairy
and meat processing, etc.), creation and development of the conditions for
rural tourism considering  special natural features of deserted, forested,
grove lands of the Upper-Tisza region. Besides increasing the number of
businesses in agriculture and food processing industry, divisions of the
manufacturing industry should be attracted to the region as well.
c)  The future of a settlement or a region is strongly determined by the scale and
quality of local human resources. For this reason, the creation, stabilisation
and modernisation of the conditions required for secondary education should
be targeted.
d)  Cross-border economic relations should be promoted by improving the
Záhony Region Business Zone, Bihar Business Zone and the connected
industrial and innovation centres and other projects, also, the possibility to
establish a new business zone should be studied (e.g. in Csenger).
As it appears from the above mentioned, given the current economic conditions,
the  linking of the actors of the market within the region and the building of
economic relations outside the region should be the main focus of all actors of the
economy. The most serious socio-economic problem of the region is the
employment crisis, almost out of control and the chronic long term unemployment.
As traditionally the dominance of agriculture was typical for the region, and it is
agriculture that made borderland settlements face difficulties after the
“restructuring” of ownership and production, the solution should be found in this
same field. It implies that besides economic interests, agriculture, the local
agricultural sector, together with the local government should take certain social
responsibility,  should play a social role within the field of social policy.  The
solution is only possible if micro-regions join complex national and regional
programmes.  Local governments should find a solution considering social
responsibility, they have to co-operate in national programmes and have to utilise
support to the maximum. It is a significant reserve of the employment policies of
local governments in the agricultural areas in the borderlands that agriculture can
play a significant role in finding a job for undereducated, immobile workforce, also
for a certain part of the populous group of Gypsies.

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Due to the general economic recession, permanent lack of capital, and the
connected lack of information, knowledge, market and assets, the economic
development and employment expansion activities of the borderland local
authorities cannot be limited to the territory of the given micro-region or
settlement. The precondition for more effective actions is a strong and continuous
co-operation  of local authorities at micro- and macro-regional, association,
planning-statistical district and regional level. The basis for the economic,
employment and regional development of a region can be that the associated local
authorities “share” the sectors to be developed and development potentials among
each other, considering the characteristics and limits of the given settlement. The
core idea is that plans and projects should be worked out built on and facilitating
each other, giving up local interests in some cases, so that the development of
other, extremely disadvantageous settlements in the closer or distant
neighbourhood can take place.
A possible form of co-operation among regional and micro-regional authorities
can be setting up business development agencies in the regional centres, with the
main tasks to organise markets (internal, external market), to organise co-
operations  (among individual farmers, among production and sales co-operatives
and individual farmers, among co-operatives, producers of similar products,
supplier possibilities inside and outside the region, etc.), to manage applications
and subsidies (application consulting, in order to increase mobility of domestic,
EU, PHARE, SAPARD, and lately ISPA development resources and to exploit
CBC-connections better), to build relations between entrepreneurs of the region
and local authorities, to build out an active regional marketing, and last but not
least to improve cross-border, multilateral relations and co-operations among
settlements on both sides of the border.
Finally, it is clear that agriculture  with its low demand of capital investment
can be a break through possibility to eliminate unemployment difficulties in the
large agricultural areas of Hungary, including the strongly rural territories of the
North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands. However, it should be pointed out that
agriculture in itself cannot be the sole force to dynamise the economy of the region,
its role is stabilisation and bearing the burdens in the sense that it provides market
for the local workforce, raw materials for the regional processing industry and
cheap food for the population. It takes a proportionate share from social burdens
(e.g. protection of the environment) and the solution of social difficulties. The
definition of the distinguished role and responsibility of agriculture in itself is not
enough. All the initiatives starting from here can be efficient only if the regional
industrial and service sector will be able to improve their insufficient role of today.
An increase in any sector implies development in the others as well, which has a
generating effect on the whole economy.
A regional development programme assisting catching up can only be
successful with the appropriate subsidies. Considering the current situation, it is
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absolutely sure that without the appropriate central (government) or other external
subsidies, the situation of the North-Eastern Great Plain borderlands is hopeless,
and the falling behind of the borderlands can be even more serious compared to the
central and western parts of Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties.
Accordingly, it should also be considered that if the majority of the neighbouring
countries do not become members of the EU at the same time or not so much after
the accession of Hungary, the division role of the borders will become stronger
again – at least temporarily – due to the Schengen Agreement, as if the “iron
curtain” was pulled to the East. This would be very harmful for Central-Europe
and the Hungarians living there. For this reason, the objective should be set to
achieve favourable terms with the EU, reducing the negative effects on ethnic
Hungarians living beyond the borders of the mother country to the possible
minimum. For this the historic reconciliation quoted so many times would be
necessary, so that the past should not poison the present and the future of Central
Eastern Europe any more. In this case the presence of the borders would not be
important and the Scandinavian model of living together could also work here.

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Discussion Papers 1999. No. 31.
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Part of the Great Hungarian Plain
Papers published in the Discussion Papers series
No. 1
OROSZ, Éva (1986): Critical Issues in the Development of Hungarian Public
Health with Special Regard to Spatial Differences
No. 2
ENYEDI, György – ZENTAI, Viola (1986): Environmental Policy in
Hungary
No.
3  HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1987): Administrative Division and Administrative
Geography in Hungary
No. 4
SIKOS T., Tamás (1987): Investigations of Social Infrastructure in Rural
Settlements of Borsod County
No. 5
HORVÁTH, Gyula (1987): Development of the Regional Management of
the Economy in East-Central Europe
No. 6
PÁLNÉ KOVÁCS, Ilona (1988): Chance of Local Independence in Hungary
No. 7
FARAGÓ, László – HRUBI, László (1988): Development Possibilities of
Backward Areas in Hungary
No. 8
SZÖRÉNYINÉ KUKORELLI, Irén (1990): Role of the Accessibility in
Development and Functioning of Settlements
No. 9
ENYEDI, György (1990): New Basis for Regional and Urban Policies in
East-Central Europe
No. 10  RECHNITZER, János (1990): Regional Spread of Computer Technology in
Hungary
No. 11  SIKOS T., Tamás (1992): Types of Social Infrastructure in Hungary (to be
not published)
No. 12  HORVÁTH, Gyula – HRUBI, László (1992): Restructuring and Regional
Policy in Hungary
No. 13  ERDŐSI, Ferenc (1992): Transportation Effects on Spatial Structure of
Hungary
No. 14  PÁLNÉ KOVÁCS, Ilona (1992): The Basic Political and Structural
Problems in the Workings of Local Governments in Hungary
No. 15  PFEIL, Edit (1992): Local Governments and System Change. The Case of a
Regional Centre
No. 16  HORVÁTH, Gyula (1992): Culture and Urban Development (The Case of
Pécs)
No. 17  HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1993): Settlement Network Development Policy in
Hungary in the Period of State Socialism (1949–1985)
No. 18  KOVÁCS, Teréz (1993): Borderland Situation as It Is Seen by a Sociologist

Discussion Papers 1999. No. 31.
Borderland Situation and Periferality in the North-Eastern
Part of the Great Hungarian Plain
No. 19  HRUBI, L. – KRAFTNÉ SOMOGYI, Gabriella (eds.) (1994): Small and
medium-sized firms and the role of private industry in Hungary
No. 20  BENKŐNÉ Lodner, Dorottya (1995): The Legal-Administrative
Questions of Environmental Protection in the Republic of Hungary
No.
21
ENYEDI, György (1998): Transformation in Central European
Postsocialist Cities
No. 22   HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1998): Changes in the Politico-Geographical Position of
Hungary in the 20th Century
No. 23  HORVÁTH, Gyula (1998): Regional and Cohesion Policy in Hungary
No. 24  BUDAY-SÁNTHA, Attila (1998): Sustainable Agricultural Development
in the Region of the Lake Balaton
No. 25  LADOS, Mihály (1998): Future Perspective for Local Government
Finance in Hungary
No. 26  NAGY, Erika (1999): Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing: Planning
an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
No. 27  BELUSZKY, Pál (1999): The Hungarian Urban Network at the End of
the Second Millennium
No. 28  RÁCZ, Lajos (1999): Climate History of Hungary Since the 16th Century:
Past, Present and Future
No. 29  RAVE, Simone (1999): Regional Development in Hungary and Its
Preparation for the Structural Funds
No. 30  BARTA Györgyi (1999): Industrial Restructuring in the Budapest
Agglomeration