Hungarian overview

From the perspective of regional history, a sub-discipline of regional science, the study is based on the premise that, following the radical geopolitical reconfiguration after the First World War, the new nation-state frameworks established in the Carpathian Basin became, for a long period of time, the main obstacles to the expansion of cross-border cooperation, to the consolidation (cohesion) of the Central and Eastern European spatial structure, and ultimately to the deepening of good-neighbourly relations.

At the same time, favourable conditions for shaping the development trajectories of European regions have been provided by processes aimed at strengthening cohesion policy, the long-term outcome of which could be the reorganization—in modern forms—of integration relationships that have evolved over centuries, and the emergence of a large Carpathian Basin macro-regional economic area. It is therefore a paramount national policy interest of Hungary that, in line with similar long-term territorial strategic plans of the European Union, the Carpathian Basin should also become a new transnational macro-region, within which Hungarian-inhabited areas could become part of a shared geo-economic and strategic space.

By taking the lead in such an initiative, and owing to its specific geopolitical position, Hungary could offer opportunities based on a system of substantive cooperation, including the mutually beneficial management of the dilemmas and disadvantages resulting from the Treaty of Trianon.