As part of the 6th milestone of the Legal accessibility project, a study involving French experts was carried out to take stock of the situation and governance models of cross-border conurbations in France, showing their modalities and legal frameworks and the underlying territorial dynamics.

This study is significant as – although the structure of border settlements in France differs from those in Hungary – the experience gained there since the 1990s can be extremely useful for the development of the nearly 40 large, medium and small towns in Hungary that found themselves at the border as a result of Trianon, which has a perceptible negative impact on the development of these settlements and their catchment area.

The study also provides benchmarks that can help strengthen the role of local actors – in cooperation with the relevant Hungarian authorities – in the governance model of cross-border agglomerations, so that they can have a greater impact on the development of their settlements and the surrounding areas.

The study can be downloaded in Hungarian and French by clicking on the covers below:

As part of the project, building on the French experience, an analysis with three chapters was also carried out. The aim of the studies is to provide ammunition for the institutionalisation of French-style urban cooperation along the Hungarian borders adapted to the Hungarian reality. The vast majority of border towns, despite the EU’s open internal borders, are in a peripheral position, as their organic influencing area and the administrative grid ensured by the national administrative system do not coincide. As they are not able to perform their spatial development functions in a 360 ° circle without hindrance, the operation of the local institutions cannot be ensured economically or they can be provided only within the administrative system of the given country, which is a foreseeable guarantee for gradual decline. The analysis (in Hungarian) can be downloaded by clicking on the cover on the right handside.