Yesterday the Hungarian-Slovakian Intergovernmental Joint Committee for Cross-Border Cooperation met in Visegrád to discuss questions related to cross-border infrastructure and public transport.

The subjects for discussion at the meeting were in essence those joint affairs which had been agreed between the two countries’ prime ministers – Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico – at their first bilateral meeting on 2 October 2012 in Pilisszentkereszt, Hungary. Thus emphasis was placed on cross-border infrastructure and public transport questions. The committee warmly welcomed the fact that – according to the agreement signed between the two prime ministers – a new bridge can be built across the Danube at Komárom/ Komárno, and that following the international agreement signed in February new roads can be built across the border. Participants at the meeting discussed current questions concerning employment on both sides of the border, and agreed that harmonisation of vocational and training systems could improve the situation of jobseekers in both countries, and thereby boost employment figures for the region. Both sides agreed that international cooperation between LEADER groups could further strengthen relations in border regions, as could joint R&D programmes which have been unveiled. Among the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs) operating with Hungarian-Slovakian participation is the Rába-Duna-Vág EGTC, the representative of which presented its history and strategic goals.

The committee is expected to hold its next meeting in Slovakia in the spring, at which, alongside the usual topics (infrastructure, public transport, etc.), discussion will focus on the possibilities for cross-border healthcare cooperation, the situation of EGTCs, and cooperation opportunities in EU programmes from 2014-2020.

The aim of the Hungarian-Slovakian Intergovernmental Joint Committee is promotion of cooperation along the border between local and regional governments and public administration bodies, as well as the exchange of information and the strengthening, encouragement and further development of neighbourly relations. Dr Erika Szabó, Minister of State for Regional Administration and Elections at the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, is the committee’s Hungarian co-chairperson and co-chair of the Hungarian delegation, while Jozef Buček, State Secretary at the Slovakian Ministry of Internal Affairs, is the committee’s Slovakian co-chairperson and chair of the Slovakian delegation.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)