scholarly journals Small Border Traffic and Cross-Border Tourism Between Poland and the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Anisiewicz ◽  
Tadeusz Palmowski

Abstract Polish and Russian cross-border cooperation is governed by lawful agreements. The enlargement of the Schengen Area had a significant impact on Kaliningrad Oblast relations and cross-border cooperation with its neighbours. The introduction of visas between Poland and Russia hindered and restricted local border trade which had for years been the only measure mitigating social and economic problems of the cross-border regions. Nevertheless, border traffic between Poland and Kaliningrad grew steadily, to exceed four million in 2012. Poland and Russia, supported by Germany, applied to the EU for small border traffic to cover the entire territory of the Oblast. According to the European Commission, the proposed solution would be a European exception. The agreement on small border traffic came into force on July 27, 2012, covering the entire area of the Kaliningrad Oblast and selected Polish poviats of Pomerania and Warmia-Mazuria voivodeships. Towards the end of the first quarter of 2013, the number of Poles crossing the border showed a rising tendency, and starting from the second through the third quarter of 2013, the number of Russians coming to Poland grew more dynamically. The visits of Kaliningrad residents, apart from commercially oriented ones, also include recreation, tourism, medical tourism visits, etc. Kaliningrad citizens looking for leisure, recreation and entertainment come to participate in great sporting and cultural events in Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia. The local self governments of poviats covered by small border traffic noted a clear upturn in the economies and trade of their regions. The development of cross-border cooperation, including small border traffic, has not resulted in attracting a substantial number of Polish tourists to the Kaliningrad Oblast, but it has provided such a possibility. This region is quite expensive for the average Pole. However, as scientists from Kaliningrad projected, with the easing of the visa system and the development of transport and tourist infrastructure the role of tourism shows a growing trend.

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 24-32
Author(s):  
T. V. Sokolska ◽  
S. P. Polishchuk

The article considers the role and place of public authorities in shaping the policy of effective cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and the EU taking into account the national interests.Particular attention is paid to the principles and features of territorial cooperation, taking into account the specifics of the EU’s external cooperation as well as the interests of the participating countries.The basic principles of the cooperation are determined on the basis of connections as well as contractual interregional and interstate relations, in compliance with the national legislation and respect for the international obligations of the states that are subjects of contractual relations; the thematic objectives are defined.The current state of Ukraine and the EU countries cross-border cooperation development is characterized and the main factors limiting this process are outlined. The most significant ones are the insufficient level of the national economic development and inconformity of the national legislation with European standards; lack of well-balanced management at the local level; the impossibility of implementing international projects of economic and social development due to ineffective management; lack of proper infrastructure; lack of marketing which aims to facilitate the existing resource potential of the border regions; sparking interethnic conflicts; the lack of skilled personnel in different spheres of establishing effective cooperation between the authorities, business and the public, etc. are also among them.Lack of sufficient financial resources and managerial powers in local administrations, in particular, for establishing the information infrastructure necessary for the cooperation with the authorities of the foreign countries regions and the development of financial projects is a specific problem of cross-border cooperation.The role of international projects and regional programs such as EU4Business, cross-border cooperation (Black Sea, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland), EU programs, such as ERASMUS, HORIZON (61 projects amounting to 11.95 million euros were announced in 2016), COSME (May 2016) and their role in improving the socio-economic development of the border regions as well as solving common problems in ecology, health, safety and security, promoting the living conditions of citizens are grounded in the paper.The role of the united territorial communities (UTC) in cross-border cooperation activating, in particular their participation in international projects is grounded and the results of this activity in the Transcarpathia are presented. Insufficient level of professional training of public authorities representatives is pointed out. It is proved that cross-border cooperation is one of the main economic mechanisms of attracting foreign investments and grant funds for the economy modernization, for new jobs creation through the small business development, attraction of innovative technologies, access to the European market and the entry of Ukraine into the European community in the current economic situation.The expediency of working out the coherent effective state policy of cross-border cooperation with the EU, in which the legal, institutional and financial instruments should be clearly defined, along with the determined means of its implementation and mandatory public monitoring of the results is emphasized. The development of cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and the EU countries, ensuring a competitive economy running, the effective development of international trade, improvement of conditions and support of entrepreneurship, can be realized under the condition of implementation of the policy of public administration at the regional level.


Baltic Region ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
Vladimir A. Kolosov ◽  
Alexander B. Sebentso

The progress and sustainability of international cross-border region formation is a major concern for Russia, a country bordering sixteen states. In the early 2000s, the development of regions with Russian participation was at its height in northwestern Europe. Cross-border regions arise both naturally, stemming from various functional relations, and as a result of political decisions. In the latter case, political discourse is an important factor in successful region-building. The Northern Dimension (ND) programme, which was launched in 1997, embodied the principle of depoliticised cooperation — Europe’s ‘new regionalism’. This article aims to evaluate the role of the ND in the federal and regional political discourse of 1997—2016, to determine its place among other cross-border cooperation projects, and to follow changes in the understanding of its goals. The study relies on data from the Integrum agency, which has built up the most comprehensive digital archive of federal and regional printed and online media. The federal discourse on the ND reflected the whole set of relations between Russia and the EU. The idea about the crisis of the programme came from the discrepancy between the expectations aroused by political discourse and the actual results of cooperation. The study shows the ND-related discourse changed over the study period and stresses profound differences between federal and regional discourses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-20
Author(s):  
Hanna Ihorivna Melehanych

This article is devoted to the study of the implementation of cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and EU countries. Transcarpathia was chosen as the region for the study because it is here that Ukraine is bordering with four European states. The most important role in the implementation of cross-border programs belongs to the communities in the field provided by the local self-government bodies. It is they who have the relevant knowledge and experience to successfully implement projects and programs from different funding sources targeted for the development of cross-border regions. The successful development and success of Ukraine’s border territories largely depend on the successful mobilization and strategic use of funds.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020(41) (3) ◽  
pp. 75-89
Author(s):  
Jan Pochwała ◽  

In order to support the development of Polish and Slovak border regions, after the accession of both countries to the EU, the “Interreg Poland – Slovakia” Program was implemented. One of the priorities of the Program is the protection and use of the common Polish-Slovak cultural and natural heritage for the development of cross-border cooperation. As part of Interreg since 2004, EU-Structural Funds have co-financed joint Polish-Slovak projects implemented in selected counties/poviat located in the following voivodeships/provinces: Śląskie, Małopolskie, Podkarpackie (on the Polish side) and Žilinskom kraji, Prešovskom kraji and Košickým kraji (on the Slovak side). The next editions of Interreg are becoming increasingly popular in Poland and Slovakia including its recognition by experts as well as the implementation of a cross-border effect.


Author(s):  
Nadiia Yurevych ◽  
Victor Tsekhanovych

The article substantiates the objective necessity of introducing cross-border medical clusters in the euroregions of Ukraine. Clusters are a community of firms, closely related industries that complement each other and contribute to the growth of their competitiveness, and thus they serve as "points of growth" in the development of the domestic market and the economy of the euroregions. Innovative development of the world economy, associated with progressive changes in technology and in the forms and methods of labor organization, requires new approaches to production management and significant expenditures of material, intellectual and financial resources. In modern theories of development, more and more attention is paid to problematic issues of organizational and economic classification. This will improve the level of health, maintain social stability in society, and improve the quality of medical care to the level of world standards, optimizing public spending. Innovation clusters have become the object of close attention due to the increasing role of innovation in the competition of global markets for medical services. The cross-border medical cluster provides for the creation of a strategic unit in the structure of the euroregion, which will coordinate the implementation of the strategy for the development of medical tourism, improving the collection and processing of information on incoming tourists, conducting a promotional campaign of the city in key markets and improving the tourist infrastructure and measures to support it. This type of cluster is particularly relevant for Ukraine, which has taken a course to modernize the national economy based on the priority development of high-tech and high-tech industries. Diversification of the economy of the Euroregions through the cluster approach is one of the main solutions to this problem. High-quality provision of medical services, the creation of joint clinics, can become one of the ways to diversify the economy, using the growing potential of cross-border cooperation and the flow of medical tourists.


Baltic Region ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
Alexey V. Kuznetsov ◽  
Olga V. Kuznetsova

This article analyses how the role of border regions has changed in the regional policies of Russia and European countries since the early 1990s. The study aims to estimate the efficiency of Russia’s regional policy with regard to border regions (its completeness, a focus on actual problems, etc.) and to compare it with that of European counterparts. The article relies on publications on the experience of EU countries, earlier contributions from Russian researchers, federal regulations, and statistics on the regional distribution of federal investment in fixed assets. It is shown that the federal border region policy is largely a reflection of the features and problems of Russia’s regional policy as a whole. Currently, the development of cross-border cooperation is affected more strongly by national security concerns than by economic growth considerations. Cross-border cooperation is no longer part of the regional policy. Border regions, however, have received an increasing proportion of federal investments in recent years, particularly, amid the reunification with the Crimea. The study calls for better coordination between different areas of the federal socio-economic policy on border regions and closer attention to border regions’ foreign economic ties, particularly, within the implementation of the Strategy for the Spatial Development of the Russian Federation.


Europa XXI ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imre Nagy ◽  
András Ricz ◽  
Renata Fekete

Researching the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina as a region of Serbia and an European Union (EU) border region, we have long been concerned with the raison d’être of cross-border programmes, their impact, sustainability and long-term results. Against that background, the current study is focused on the results of the 2014-2020 cycle. The region of Vojvodina has neighbouring external borders with three EU Member States. While the partner countries have already applied for almost 100% of the available amounts, the implementation of projects and thus the payment of grants is only 50% effected so far. Our intention has been to examine the Vojvodina region in terms of cross-border programmes based on already completed projects and running along the lines of different Priorities. The Programme Areas of the four (Hungarian-Serbian, Croatian-Serbian, Romanian-Serbian and Serbia-Bosnia and Hercegovina) Cross-border cooperation programmes do overlap significantly. Primarily, we have been researching the territorial distribution of each, by reference to the locations of project owners and of project activities; as well as the related networking character of the projects implemented in Vojvodina in the Interreg-IPA (Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance) 2014-2020 programming period. It is then in this context that we examine the focal and connection points of the cross-border connections, in this way potentially indicating deficiencies in regard to sustainable project implementation. Without claiming to be exhaustive, we have also sought to reference impeding circumstances relating to a barrier effect that is obviously of particular importance given the fact that external borders of the EU are involved.


Author(s):  
К. Kutsab-Bonk

The current stage of European integration of Ukraine is determined by the intensification of partnership relations with the EU in the all planes of socio-economic interaction. In particular, it concerns development of cross-border cooperation and capacity of cross-border markets potential. Because of that the problems of cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and EU today becomes more urgent. One of the key criteria of successful cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and the EU is the alignment of proportions of economic development on different sides of the border. In this sense, an important indicator of the quality of transboundary cooperation is cross-border convergence of regions. It reflects the socio-economic effect from implementation of transboundary projects and plays an important role in the context of leveling the existing threats and challenges of cross-border economic, social and information security. Alignment the quality of life and standards of economic development on different sides of the border eliminates a number of risks associated with the spread of destructive forms of cross-border cooperation, such as smuggling at cross-border markets, illegal labor migration, corruption at the border crossing etc. The priority instrument of transboundary convergence spreading is the institutionalization of cross-border space. First of all it concerns the formation of the legal support, oriented to the deployment of convergent processes. In addition, institutionalization concern such key elements of transboundary cooperation as the functioning of cross-border institutions, the eradication of transboundary institutional dysfunction, and a decrease the level of transaction costs of participants of cross-border markets. Important way to stimulation of cross-border convergence is the formation of joint cross-border brands for each of cross-border regions between Ukraine and the EU. On this basis, should be developed appropriate strategies for development of cross-border markets. Such strategies should ensure the maximum use of socio-economic potential of corresponding cross-border regions, and also should form grounds for the spread of convergent processes within them.


Europa XXI ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 119-137
Author(s):  
Martin Guillermo Ramirez

The European Union (EU) territorial development and cohesion have been supported by European institutions for decades, but they currently face a critical moment: the COVID-19 pandemic and European coordination gaps have to be added to previously-existing difficulties, such as the growing climate-related and demographic challenges, and the wave of Euroscepticism, nationalism and populism. Viruses do not recognise borders, but the EU is still divided between those thinking that the economy should prevail over politics and those thinking otherwise. European citizens living in border areas know very well that we need a common approach (and a stronger commitment) to the preservation of our values and rights, as well as to the definitive positioning of the EU as a global player. Integration starts at the bottom and moves across borders. The legacy of cohesion and territorial stability that the EU leaves for future generations will depend on how it protects and strengthens cross-border cooperation at this stage.


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