Discussion Papers 2005. 
Hungarian–Romanian and Hungarian–Ukrainian Border 
Regions as Areas of Co-operation Along the External Borders of Europe 11. p.
Introduction 
The Hungarian–Romanian and the Hungarian–Ukrainian border sections (which 
are 447.8 and 136.7 kilometres long, respectively) and border regions touch 
Hungary from the east. Although they share several common characteristics, still it 
is reasonable to survey them separately. Both eastern border sections of Hungary 
were designated by the Peace Treaty of Trianon concluding World War I; however, 
there are significant differences between them both as regards their past to date and 
their future prospects. In the case of the Hungarian–Romanian border section, on 
both sides of the border the same state has existed since the borders were drawn, 
while several different state formations succeeded each other on the Ukrainian side 
of the present Hungarian–Ukrainian border. Another significant difference is the 
fact that this border section is the only gate of Romania to the West, whereas The 
Ukraine can join the European socio-economic and cultural affairs via Slovakia 
and Poland, as well. In addition, the public administrative and the statistical system 
of Romania and The Ukraine are considerably different from both one another and 
the Hungarian system. The system of statistical data collection is not fully 
compatible with the EUROSTAT system even in Hungary, in Romania it is only 
partially and in The Ukraine not at all compatible with the European system. This 
makes the comparative study of the two border regions rather difficult, if we insist 
on the same indices. As regards future prospects, the two border regions cannot be 
treated jointly, either, as Romania will become a full-right member of the European 
Union in 2007, while the date of the possible accession of The Ukraine is 
impossible to forecast at this point. Even besides the above facts, we can see 
fundamentally different historical, socio-economic and political dimensions, also 
different traditions and ways of life in Romania and The Ukraine. 
The region’s socio-economic development is significantly lagging behind the 
European Union’s average indicators. The total Hungarian–Ukrainian frontier zone 
and the northern Hungarian–Romanian border are peripheral areas within their 
mother countries. Thus, two peripheral areas are meeting at the border. Since 
Hungary’s EU accession (May 1st 2004) the Hungarian–Ukrainian border is a long-
term, the Hungarian–Romanian border is a short-term external border of the EU. 
Before the change of the political system (1989) East-Hungarian borders were very 
strict. The East Central-European political transformation opened them up but the 
quality and intensity of cross-border cooperation is still low, very few economic 
cooperation projects have been established so far. The enhancement of cooperation 
activities is further hindered by ethnic problems. For this reason the current 
researches are seeking for further areas of CBC. 
Debrecen, August 2005. 
Béla Baranyi 
editor 
 
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