El reconocimiento del derecho al territorio

The cross-border cooperation Oradea - Debrecen is a topic of current interest at European level and implicitly within the area of the Romanian- Hungarian border area and the urban communities of Debrecen and Oradea as neighbouring cities, with old forms of cooperation in various areas: social, cultural, economic, educational, sports, etc.; the prospects for cooperation is taking a new form, as European cross-border cooperation and more specifically, the form of European cross-border cooperation groupings (EGCC).

With reference to the cooperation between the two cities of Debrecen and Oradea, there is a wide range of perspectives:

a) The cultural-historical premise

- Debrecen and Oradea have developed over time as separate but complementary communities, where Oradea was a city with a strong Catholic influence (housing one of the oldest Hungarian Roman- Catholic bishops and one Greek-Catholic bishop, which had a major impact in shaping the identity of the Romanians) and also Orthodox; Debrecen was one of the Reform cradles in Hungary.

- Oradea played a political-administrative part, while Debrecen played an economic one

- The communication between the two cities was easy due to the short distance

- after 1990 the convergence process is relaunched; in the beginning there was a cultural convergence, then an economic one and during the latest years there has also been a political one.

b) Socio-cultural premises

- There is a business infrastructure between the two cities, represented by SMEs that cooperate on both markets, the projects carried out on both sides are very dynamic (Eurolimes, vol 8, 2009)

- INTERREG financing tools - Transylvania highway

c) The cooperation expertise, based on the existence of an important body of actors participating in the cross-border cooperation.

The beginnings of the idea of cross-border cooperation between Hungary and Romania, namely the cities of Debrecen and Oradea, can be traced to the innovative idea of Prof. dr. István Süli - Zakar (University of Debrecen) and Prof. dr. Ioan Horga (University of Oradea), a project entitled “To prepare a common future: Agglomeration of Communities Debrecen-Oradea 700,000 (2020)”(Analele U.O, vol I, 2009; Horga I. - Silaşi G. - Süli-Zakar I. – Sagan S. 2009; Ţoca C. V. 2009), premises that are found in the development of the Lisbon Strategy, which generates clusters of urban communities and also aims to develop Europe into a knowledgeable society; all of the aforementioned could be achieved in several ways, among which urban concentration and development of scientific and technological research within the centres (poles) of excellence.

As we noted in the current European geography, these poles of excellence are found in the large agglomerations that exercise attraction by means of financial and human investment, due to own power consumption and its impact on a wider region and not least all major investors are looking for strong communities of consumers

These poles are found in the major economic and political capitals with a population greater than 500,000 inhabitants, poles that are developing within regional capitals.

Here are some examples of urban concentrations: Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao (Spain), Porto (Portugal), Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes (France), Liverpool (UK), München, Leipzig, Köln (Germany), Kraków, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Katowice (Poland), Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Göteborg (Sweden), Milano, Torino, Bologna (Italy), Salonic (Greece), Zürich (Switzerland)

Constantin Vasile Ţoca

The European Union is very closely paying attention to one of its important objectives, the European Territorial Cooperation which envisages the following:

 development of cross-border economic and social activities through local and regional initiatives in joint venture

 strengthening transnational cooperation through initiatives that promote integrated territorial development

 bilateral cooperation between maritime regions

 interregional cooperation through networking activities and experience exchange between regional and local authorities.

According to the World Bank criteria for assessing the share of investment in relation to a community, Oradea and Debrecen, in 2007, are cities that can expect a maximum investment of $ 30,000,000. Through a coherent policy of promoting a common development strategy, they could attract investments of up to 100 million.

Table 14. Investment type - Source:http://www.worldbank.org/

Investment type Value Community size Examples

A+ investments (exceptional)

+ $1 billion + 5 mil. inhabitants Shanghai, New York, Paris

AA investments (very great) $500 –1 billion 1 – 5 mil. Inhabitants Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, Berlin A- investments (great) $100 –500 mil.

700.000 – 1 mil. Valencia, Bilbao, Toulouse, Nantes, Leipzig, Krakow B+ investments (average to great) $50 – 100 mil 500.000 – 700.000 Inhabitants Bratislava, Nuremberg, Brescia, Florence, Montpelier BB investments (average) $30 – 50 mil 250.000 – 300.000 Inhabitants

Cluj Napoca, Timisoara, Graz

B- investments (under average)

$10 – 30 mil 150.000 – 250.000 Inhabitants

Oradea, Debrecen, Kosice

C+ investments (small or average)

$5 – 10 mil 100.000 – 150.000 Inhabitants

Satu Mare, Arad

CC investments (small) $1 – 5 mil 50.000 – 100.000 Inhabitants C- very small investments Less than $1 mil. Under 50.000 inhabitants

Complying with this model, i.e. to build a strategy for cross-border cooperation, we will approach two major dimensions of the PhD Thesis:

- the theoretical dimension - the practical dimension

The theoretical dimension shall cover the following elements: historical approach at the level of the two communities

The practical dimension reflects a methodology drawn from sociology, with the sociological survey method and the sociological questionnaire as the sociological instrument (this questionnaire contains also a SWOT analysis), using a stratified sample on three target groups.

The sociological survey will be applied in the two communities under discussion, Oradea and Debrecen, this being a first essential and important step after which we will have a solid database, with supporting results and a SWOT analysis, all of which giving us a starting point for our research.

The wide range of results will allow us to have a broader vision, but the same time, accurate in the opinion of both communities citizens on the background for an effective cross-border cooperation, while being able to set goals and priorities.

To implement the proposed plan, we will seek to identify those measures and projects through which we can develop the model that we have proposed to be done.

An important financial dimension of the integration mechanisms are the Structural Funds, among which we name a few:

 European Social Fund (ESF)

 Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

 European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)

Constantin Vasile Ţoca